Berlin, 8 May 2014 – Aviation enthusiasts and interested visitors no longer have to wait until they can experience live the fascination of aerospace: in two weeks on May 23rd the public visitor weekend starts at the ILA Berlin Air Show.
The exhibited topics and aircraft are a versatile picture of the highly innovative industry itself. The flight program at the ILA is unique in the world.
Visitors will be fascinated by as many as 300 aircraft of all sizes and categories, and from every period in the age of flight, from classic aircraft to the very latest technology demonstrators. Just a few of the many highlights: Airbus Group is presenting an all-electric, experimental demonstration aircraft, the two-seater E-Fan, to the German public for the first time at this year’s aerospace exhibition ILA. With the Patrouille Suisse (7 Northrop F-5E Tiger II) and the German debut of the Breitling Jet Team (8 L-39C Albatros), the program for the public features two internationally renowned teams this year. The organizers of the ILA are expecting several solo demonstrations of a wide range of combat aircraft, including a MiG-29, an F-16 and the GRIPEN. As in previous years the US Air Force is particularly strongly represented by, among others, the Lockheed Martin C-130 J Hercules trans-porter, the C-17 Globemaster III that was named ‘Spirit of Berlin’ by the then US President Bill Clinton just before the start of the ILA 1998 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, the Boeing UH-60L Black Hawk and Boeing Apache AH-64D helicopters, and the Lockheed Martin F-16 combat aircraft. The highlight of the presentation by the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, is provided by ‘Willfire 2014’, with a remarkable combination of flying skills. Four Tornados, two Eurofighters, two Tigers, one CH-53, one Transall and the Airbus A310 MRTT tanker will be in the air together for approximately 20 minutes in an impressive display of military cooperation.
The helicopter section includes more than 40 of these aircraft, for the civilian and official tasks of ‘Air Rescue’, ‘Aviation Work’, ‘Border Protection and Police Missions’, and the military tasks of ‘Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)’ and ‘Marine Helicopters’. From the Airbus range there are the Eurocopter EC 135 T3, EC 145 T2 (in the flying display) and the EC 645 T2, while the German army is represented by the Eurocopter KH-Tiger combat helicopter and NH 90 transport helicopter.
Unmanned aircraft for civilian and military use, business and touring aircraft, technology platforms, training and sports aircraft, powered and unpowered gliders, as well as ultralights: the ILA 2014 provides a comprehensive range guaranteed to make the heart of any aviation enthusi beat faster. The exhibits also include some 25 historic aircraft such as the Messerschmitt M 17, the first powered aircraft to be designed by the aviation pioneer Willy Messerschmitt in 1925, which weighed just 198 kilograms; the Me 262 (maiden flight 1942), the first production jet aircraft; the propeller-driven STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) Fieseler Storch (Stork), so named on account of its long undercarriage, which first flew in 1936; and the Noratlas, making its first appearance at
the ILA, a twin-engined military transporter known as the ‘Flying Boxcar’ on account of its compact fuselage, which made its first flight in 1949.
Source / Author: ILA Berlin