On the weekend of the 28th and 29th of August the City Airport of Saeva, located 15 kilometers west of Gothenburg, was the location of the “Aero Show 2010". This year's edition, organized by the local aviation museum "Aeroseum", was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Swedish aviation. At the beginning of the event it was time to give thought to the Swedish pilot Bertil Gerhardt, who crashed fatally while landing with his SPITFIRE Mk XVIII one week before at the airshow in Tynset, Norway. Bertil began his career in the Swedish Air Force and flew there on J-29 TUNNAN and J-35 DRAKEN. With his 31,000 flight hours, collected in over 30 years of flying, he was considered to be one of the most experienced pilots in all of Scandinavia. In the airshow scene he was a welcome guest with performances in his Supermarine SPITFIRE Mk.XVIII and North American P-51D MUSTANG.

Among many other highlights, the main focus was clearly marked in the development of the Swedish aviation. It was in 1910 when the first Swede - the "Flying Baron” Carl Cederström - ventured into the air. Aircraft from that era, such as an in license built Blériot XI or a later Tummelisa (first flight 1919),  were only two of the many attractions in the flying program. The Swedish aviation is closely connected with the military aircraft produced by Saab. With support from the Swedish armed forces and especially of the "Swedish Air Force Historical Flight" organization the era of Saab jets, including the J-29 TUNNAN, the J-32 LANSEN, the J-35 DRAKEN, the SK60 and the JAS-39 GRIPEN, was impressively presented. To the disappointment of many the announced VIGGEN was canceled shortly before the show. Supposedly in full flying condition, just bureaucratic hurdles prevented its participation. The armed forces themselves showed next to the GRIPEN, the heavy transporter TP 84 HERCULES, a HKP 15 (Agusta A-109) and a wide range of ground-based weapon systems

The star of the international participants, was undoubtedly the most famous Italian acrobatic team FREECE TRICOLORI, which this year celebrated its 50th anniversary in addition to their premiere in Gothenburg. For the organizers of Gothenburg, it was a special honor to have the Italians especially in their anniversary year because due to the numerous invitations the FREECE TRICOLORI very well chooses their few performances abroad.
Also Switzerland and Denmark were present with their national display teams. The Swiss PC-7 Team, with its nine Pilatus training aircraft as well as the Danish BABY BLUE team, which flies on four Saab MFI-17 SUPPORTER were guests of the show. Furthermore, the Danish Air Force showed two of its F-16 fighters. Of course, there was much more to see at the air show of Gothenburg. From aerobatic  aircraft, gliders through to historic classics such as Douglas DC-3 DAKOTA, North American T-6 HARVARD or De Havilland TIGER MOTH, just to name a few. In short, a wonderful mixture which offered great stuff for everyone, and represented the multitude of aviation types available. The weather was fortunately the opposite of the extremely poor forecast, the whole weekend, apart from two short showers, being very good . The flight program itself offered on both days, a nearly identical program. The opening was performed on each day by the Danish BABY BLUE Team on their Saab T-17 SUPPORTER. It was followed by an aerobatics demonstration of a Sukhoi Su-29, a DC-3 DAKOTA, which offered local flights, as well as a SK-61 BULLDOG.

On Saturday afternoon it came with the flight of a HKP 4 (Swedish name of the Boeing VERTOL 107, also known as CH-46 SEA KNIGHT in the U.S. military) to a truly historic moment, because it was the very last flight of a HKP 4 helicopter. While the rest of the fleet was already grounded, this machine had its last flight, which led them to the “Aeroseum”, where it will in future be part of the exhibition of the Swedish armed forces. After a flyover along the spectator line, the HKP 4 made a turn over the northern part of the airfield before it - completely incomprehensibly - landed far away from the visitor’s area. Why it wasn’t brought closer to the audience no one could really understand. The heavy transport helicopter Boeing VERTOL 107, designed in tandem rotor configuration made its first flight in 1958 and can transport up to 26 passengers or about 3.5 tons of suspended load. Over the large rear ramp bulky cargo or even light vehicles can be loaded into the fuselage. Furthermore, the VERTOL has the ability to land on water without additional floats, which makes it very interesting as a Navy helicopter. In Sweden, the HKP 4 was next to the Air Force also utilised in the Naval service since 1962. In the role as a SAR helicopter it was replaced in 1992 by the HKP 10 (AS.332M1 SUPER PUMA). Currently, the VERTOL is still operated by the U.S. (U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps), Japan, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

The beginning of the historical jet displays began with a J-28 VAMPIRE (De Havilland DH 115 VAMPIRE T.55). Next was a J-29 FLYGANDE TUNNAN, whose designation as "FLYING BARREL" is very applicable because of their appearance. The Saab 29 TUNNAN falls into the era of jet fighters from the immediate postwar period, such as the American F-86 SABRE and the Soviet MiG-15 FAGOT and was the world's first, (in large series production), fighter jet with swept wings. From 1951 on about 660 machines were delivered in different versions to the Swedish Air Force. The only export success was achieved in Austria, where from 1960 to 1973, thirty second-hand machines were in service. The last remaining airworthy TUNNAN is now part of the "Swedish Air Force Historical Flight" organization with the civil registration SE-DXB.

It was again a quieter part in the flying program with formation flights of a group of De Havilland TIGER MOTH and a beautifully reconstructed Tummelisa, flown by Mikael Carlson, who later ventured a second time with a very fragile looking Blériot XI into the air. While he carefully demonstrated his flying program on this historic aircraft from the early days of aviation, you could already see at a greater distance the unmistakable silhouette of a DRAKEN. A noticeable relief was now palpable in the audience, because the DRAKEN was, after the cancellation of the VIGGEN, for many - especially the foreign visitors - the main reason to attend the Aero Show in Gothenburg. At that time the concern about a cancellation of the DRAKEN was big, but his late arrival could be explained by a performance on another airshow this day. The presentation of a Danish F-16 MLU was again a little louder. Captain Peter Kristiansen Vejling from ESK 730 (730th Fighter Wing) from Skrydstrup showed a fast and outside Denmark only very rarely sighted display.

After a beautiful formation of two North American SK-16 HARVARD the next historical Saab jet - a J-32 LANSEN - was on display. The beginning of the development, which later led to the J-32 LANSEN began in 1946. In 1952 the J-32 LANSEN made its maiden flight and another year later the sound barrier was broken for the first time. In 1955 the first of more than 450 built machines were introduced into the Swedish Air Force and some of them were operated until 1997 in the role as a target tug.
The Swiss PC-7 Team showed as always a precise demonstration, which was except the lower speed as spectacular as a display of a jet team. It followed a historical part with a HKP 5 (Hughes 300) and a HKP 6 (Bell 206) helicopter from the inventory of the local museum.

Now it was time for the star of the show - the Saab J-35 DRAKEN. The aircraft on display was originally built in version J-35F2, before in mid 1980s it was updated to "J" standard, which primarily modifications were an improved radar, an IFF device and two additional stations for air-to-air missiles under the air intakes. During its active service this DRAKEN flew in the squadrons F13 Norrköping, F12 Kalmar and F10 Ängelholm, whose markings (F10-56) it still retains. "Johan 56", the nickname of this machine, showed a fantastic display with much use of its afterburner, but for most of the audience it was far too short. The Saab 35 DRAKEN is a single-engine fighter aircraft of the second generation, which achieved a speed of more than Mach 2. As a successor to J-29 TUNNAN and J-32 LANSEN the Swedish Air Force addressed the demand for a new fighter jet that could intercept enemy bombers at high altitude. Accordingly the emphasis during the concept and design phase was climb performance and speed. In 1949 Saab began with designs for a wing in double-delta geometry. After initial tests in a wind tunnel the concept of the double delta wing was confirmed in 1952 with a smaller experimental aircraft. On 25th October 1955 a pre-series machine took off on its maiden flight. With assistance of the retractable rear wheels the DRAKEN can perform landing approaches at very high angles of attack, whereby the braking effect of the double delta wing is optimally utilized. A total of more than 600 machines were built in numerous versions. The DRAKEN was exported to Denmark, Finland and Austria, where a further modified version was operated until 2005.

The following displays showed a wonderfully preserved J-34 HAWKER HUNTER and the current combat aircraft in the inventory of the Swedish Air Force - the Saab JAS-39 GRIPEN. At the end of the day the FRECCE TRICOLORI presented as always their spectacular program. On Sunday were two additional acts in the flying program: A fly-by of a TP 84 HERCULES and a unique historical formation of Saab jets. One after the other SK-60, TUNNAN, LANSEN, DRAKEN and GRIPEN took off and after two beautiful formation flyovers they flew directly back to their home bases.
One attraction was also the “Aeroseum” itself, not only because of its exhibits but rather by its unique facilities. The exhibition area is part of an underground facility, consisting of two tunnel systems of which one tunnel has an area of 8,000 m² and the other tunnel an area of 22,000m². Built in the early 1950's, the two tunnel systems are up to 30 meters below ground. It was built for the squadron F9 to offer them protection to withstand even a nuclear attack. Since the spring of 1999 a part of the system contains a museum that gives an interesting overview of the historical development of the Swedish Air Force. 

Conclusion: For an event arranged by a civilian organization the participant list was really good. Especially those, who are interested in Swedish aircraft got great value for their money even without the VIGGEN. Where else can you get a display of a TUNNAN, LANSEN or DRAKEN? The photo corner for press & spotters, despite the less than pefect local conditions, was perhaps as good as possible and also the offered photo tours on the flight line met with a broad interest. The entire event crew was very friendly and tried as one so that you as a media representative felt very comfortable. Let's hope that next year a similar event can be organized again.

Christian Spreitzer / CHK 6 Austria