Greece 2013
In 2013 another group of photographers was interested in visiting Greece again during the November open days. A couple of days of sunshine and good looking aircraft lay ahead of them.
It was time for the sixth edition of the annual 4Aviation Greece-tour. On Wednesday 6 November at 9.30 in the morning 11 people were waiting near the well-known red/white meeting point at Schiphol. A twelfth person would be met at the gate and two British colleagues would travel to Athens on their own. Via teletext we heard the news about a surprise 24-hour strike in Greece, that also included Greek air traffic controllers…! With a small delay of about 20 minutes we took off for Greece aboard a KLM Boeing 737. After an easy flight are arrived there only 5 minutes behind schedule. After collecting our luggage and arranging the rental vans we completed the group of 14, including the two British guys. Using two vans we headed for Kalamata, a 250 kilometre ride. We arrived at our hotel at 21.30 local time. Everything had been pre-arranged and we could head for our rooms very soon after that.
A busy schedule was waiting for us on Thursday 7 November. Via an F-5 in the middle of Kalamata with very narrow roads we drove to Kalamata AB. On arrival there we had to hand in our passports and received passed. Then we had to wait to get permission to go to the ramp. Around 9 o’clock we could drive onto the air base and the ramp. On the ramp a number of Hellenic Air Force aircraft was parked; an F-16C, F-4E AUP, T-2C and T-6, the latter two in jubilee colours. Photographing the T-2Cs on the flight line was permitted one minute, but forbidden the other minute. All in all we were happy with the result pretty soon. After this we drove to the next base; Andravida. When arriving there we had to hand in our passports again and wait for a bus to take us to the platform. Only one F-4E was found (that is parked here every time) and a T-2E from Kalamata parked in front of a shelter. The ramp was still empty. The F-4Es of 338 and 339 sqn were active though and it was possible to photograph them without any problems. Since the aircraft for the open days were to arrive after 3 o’clock we decided to drive to Araxos first and then return to Andravida. On our way back our British colleague had arranged permission to take photos of the four aircraft that are preserved near the gate. A big plus! The on to Araxos. There the familiar passport ritual and proceed to the ramp. Here we found an F-16C/D and TA-7C outside and an F-16C and A-7E inside (the black Olympus A-7). At first we could not take pictures of the aircraft on the ramp because to open days officially started on 8 November, not 7 November. After some persuasion we were allowed to take pictures though. Then back to Andravida again. By this time they had parked an RF-4E in SEA camo and an F-16C on the ramp. An F-4E of 338 and one of 339 sqn were later added, as well as the T-2E. We were able to take very good shots. By 5 o’clock we headed for our hotel. After about 240 kilometres we arrived here and went for dinner soon after arriving (and five minutes to freshen up). Since the official opening was scheduled for Friday the bases would only open their gates at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. We still had some driving to do in the morning and could collect some W&R en-route.
On Friday 8 November the Archangel St. Michael, patron of the Hellenic Air Force, is celebrated. Two air bases were scheduled for today; Larissa and Nea Anchialos, both between 1 and 5 o’clock in the afternoon. We arrived at Larissa around noon. By 12.45 the guard notified us that we could enter the base. We responded quickly and soon after that the two vans were on-base and heading for the platform. One specially coloured RF-4E of 348 MTE was parked very nice. Only some ropes in the background but we were allowed to put them down and step over them. The static contained three RF-4Es, three F-16C/Ds and a Mirage 2000-5EG. In the afternoon an F-16D from Souda would fly a display. Fortunately, we were allowed to take photos of the preserved aircraft in the memorial park. We were allowed to take photos of the stored F-4s on the opposite side, but only at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. This would result in having to skip Nea Anchialos. The group decided not to wait for that, opt for Nea and leave the base. After about an hour we arrived at Nea by 4 PM. Here (again) some persuasion was needed to convince them that photography was allowed. We had to wait for a security guy to escort us. He arrived soon enough and we entered the base. The ramp contained two F-16C, and RF-4E and an instructional F-5A. The hanger showed another three F-16C of all three squadrons of the base; 330, 341 and 347 Mira (all part of 111 PM). After the operational stuff we asked for permission to capture the preserved aircraft. After some time this was allowed, but only those near the gate. After that we said goodbye to Nea Anchialos and found an F-5A near the base and a civil Mil Mi-26 on the civil terminal. What followed was a relaxed ride towards our hotel. We arrived there by 19.30. After checking in we went into town for a group dinner.
On Saturday (9 November) we were heading for Tanagra early. The gates were to open at 9 so we tried to be there in time and wait. The skies were blue again and allowed for shots to be worn. At 9 o’clock we drove our cars in front of the gate and were allowed on base. The crew of the two vans were the first to walk on the platform. A lot of aircraft were parked here, including a number of older aircraft; F-104G, TF-104G, F-102A, T-33A, CL-13, C-47B and two Mirage F1CG in special colours. All was positioned in such a way that photography was perfect. This also applied to the Mirage 2000 parked in the shelters. After that we headed for the second destination; the museum at Tatoi. While there were hardly any people at Tanagra, it was very crowded at Tatoi. The museum storage area was also open to the public. We did the museum and tried to capture the parked T-41Ds, with the help of a Hellenic Air Force officer. We got close but were stopped by a security guy. Then onto the third base of the day; Elefsis. We visited two F-104Gs on our way there. Soon after our arrival at Elefsis security guys appeared to be nervous. Climbing onto a small hill to capture a C-130 was out of bounds. The platform also contained a VIP ERJ-135. No go, no photos. Some even had to remove photos after being inspected. Since we had enough daylight time left and needed to go to Athens anyway we decided to visit the war-museum in the city. After this museum and viewing the Acropolis we searched for two Dakota’s. One is in the backyard of a restaurant (not good for photos) while the other was parked better and photography is better. At the old airport of Heraklion four aircraft are parked on the ramp. A nice addition for the civil spotters. The ride to the hotel in Athens city was hectic, especially for the second car which had to keep an eye on the first one. Eventually we ended up at our hotel though. It was 18.45 by then, so still rather early. After inspecting the hotel rooms we ventured into town as a group for a nice dinner.
Sunday 10 November was the final day of the tour, time to go home again. Since our British colleagues had to be at the airport in time we could not do very much anymore and we had visited the war-museum the previous day already. We took our time to visit the civil aircraft at Heraklion again, now with the sun shining, and a Mirage F1CG, T-6D and F-5A in the city. After that we drove to Athens IAP and handed in the rental vans. We said goodbye to our two British friends and boarded the KLM Boeing 737 towards Amsterdam with the remaining twelve people. The arrival at Schiphol was according to schedule. After collecting our luggage and saying goodbye we concluded that it was an intensive couple of days resulting in good quality pictures. Bring on 2014!
