The spotters day was scheduled for Thursday (30 June), which again meant an early start. Together with the people from the press group, we were right on time at the gate of Konya. It was clear that it was possible to travel again, photographers from all over the world had come to Konya to experience the spotters day. After the usual formalities, we were taken by bus to a spot near the ramp where all participants of Anatolian Eagle 2022 were parked.
This year’s participants included Turkish F-16s, Su-25s from Azerbaijan, RAF Eurofighters, Jordanian F-16s and Pakistani F-16s. It took a while before the mission started, but once it did, a large part of the aircraft went up in the air. Meanwhile, the Bayrkatar Akinci Drone was shown to the photographers several times and a Pakistani Il-78 came in as support. This last aircraft could be considered one of the highlights of the day!
After all aircraft had come back in (and were photographed), the group was taken in parts to the other side of the runway to watch the Solo Türk show from there. Despite the fact that there was only a limited flight program in the afternoon, it became very interesting with several flypasts of two Turkish F-4s, a Pakistani C-130 and some Turkish F-16s. After everyone was ready, we set course for the hotel to rest and enjoy the Turkish food in the city. Although it had been a while, the Turks had still not forgotten how to organise a spotters day! Hopefully there will be many more days like this in the future.
