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Chakrit Samithinan |
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Chakrit Samithinan & Saichol Krai-amat |
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
1st August Team
The 1st August Aerobatic Team up to now used the J-10A type jet with Russian Salyut AL-31FN engines but since this year, they received new up-graded aircrafts called J-10C which are no longer equipped with engines from Russia but with Chinese Shenyang WS-10B engines. These are said to be more powerful and more suitable for aerobatic flying. LIMA 2023 represented their first show abroad with the new aircrafts. This team presented the usual well-rehearsed routine of display figures supported by lots of colored smoke as is by now customary for the Chinese team. It was an attractive display flown with a great amount of precision.
China Air Force Ground Crew (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Russian Knights
The Russian Knights also participated with new aircrafts never seen in Malaysia before. They are now flying the latest Sukhoi Su-35S. This means that during the last three LIMA exhibitions, they were flying each time a different type of aircraft. In 2016, they appeared with their Sukhoi Su-27 aircrafts, in 2019 with their new Sukhoi Su-30SM with thrust-vectoring and in 2023 with the latest Su-35S. Their display routine is however not the most interesting. Beginning with a 6-ship formation, they stayed over the field for a very long time before they changed to a 4-ship, 2-ship and finally a solo display.
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Jupiter Team
Last but not least, the Jupiter Team from Indonesia was again among the participants in the flying program. The Indonesian Air Force is clearly proud of the team and are giving them good support. Their program was attractive and flown with a higher precision than witnessed in previous years.
(Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Marine Demonstration at Resort World
As is by now customary, the Royal Malaysian Navy again organized a variety of maritime demonstrations at Resort World, however on a lower scale than in the previous years. In particular, the Bombardier CL-15MP amphibian aircrafts were conspicuously absent this year, apparently due to inoperability, and the public therefore missed the most interesting part of the maritime demonstration.
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Summarizing, LIMA 2023 presented us with a large number of national aerobatic teams which was very much appreciated by the public and the many local and international photographers who found their way to Langkawi. While the commercial part of LIMA 2023 was probably a bit disappointing, the flying program was definitively more interesting and diverse than what was expected for this year. The surprise participants were clearly the Russian Knights as next to nobody believed that they would in fact appear in this year’s LIMA.
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
(Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
As mentioned earlier, the organizing committee decided for whatever reasons to set the date for LIMA 2023 in the month of May when the incidence of rain is higher than for example in February or November. This year, several display performances had to be cancelled due to rain showers and the practice for the Opening Gambit was also cancelled twice. Photographers found the sunlight in the wrong place for the show periods 10.00 to 12.00 h and from 14.00 to 16.00 h. At no time were the displays over show center in direct sunlight which made it more difficult than in previous years to obtain good shots. The very high humidity and the cloudy skies on several days were other problem affecting the quality of the photographs. There was talk in Langkawi that the next LIMA will again be held in the month of May which would trigger the same problems as the ones experienced this year.
Finally a word about the organisation of the event. The Ministries of Defense and Transportation entrusted the organization of this year’s activities to a new company who clearly failed in their efforts to present a well-organized event. Chaos existed on many fronts including the media center activities and in the organization of parking facilities. It can only be hoped that LIMA 2025 will be in better hands than those who organized the 2023 event.
