This post is for the #wednesdaywalk challenge and the #makemesmile challenge collaboration. This collaboration initially took place once a month, but due to its popularity, @tattoodjay (of the #wednesdaywalk) and @elizacheng (of #makemesmile) decided to make it a weekly thing.
If you want to know more about the rules, visit the Wednesday Walk Community, started by @tattoodjay. You will find all the rules there if you want to start posting in this great community.
This month I want to focus on activities and events in and around Durban.
Last month, on August 10 to be exact, we visited the annual Virginia Air Show.
What we normally do is to go as close to the airport as possible and watch from there. There are pros and cons staying outside the airport and watch from a distance. But there are also pros and cons to pay the entrance fee and enter the airport during the show.
Fair enough, going into the airport will be fun and gives you access to see many things up close. You can also hear the live commentary as events are happening. But at R140.00 per person I start weighing up my options and think whether it's really worth it. I see all the action in the sky and keep R280.00 in my pocket.
Okay, in all honesty, the money might not be the main obstacle...it's the crowds.
The Virginia Airport is a small airport owned by the eThekwini Municipality and is located about 10 KM north of Durban, South Africa.
Some time ago, I was out for business with our youngest daughter. Two of our grandkids were with us too and I made a pit stop at Virginia Airport to show them around.
We were lucky that morning, seeing a helicopter taking off...
...and there was also a small aeroplane coming in for landing and taking off again several times. I got the impression that it was a pilot in training. The one guy (I suppose the instructor) was friendly and even waved at us.
But let's get back to the air show of last month.
As expected, the place was crowded and roads were closed off!
As we approached the airport, cars were parked side to side from a few kilometres away from the airport already. I passed the airport and approached the airport from Umhlanga's side on a road running along the beach and coming to a dead end against the airport on the northern side. That meant we would be right at the end of the runway.
Obviously I wasn't the only one who did this. Many people were camping out to join in the fun and excitement of the air show. As you can see in this photo, a helicopter was already going through his motions with people enjoying the action from the beach.
We found a nice spot to park the car. I got out and started shooting...lol.
I had so much fun, it's unbelievable...during the show as well as afterward.
You'll soon see what I'm talking about.
First, it was the Harvards of The Puma Flying Lions that came thundering over us.
I had the camera in one hand and my mobile in the other to try and get some video footage as well.
At times, while shooting video footage, I would sometimes keep the video running, while quickly looking through the camera in the other hand to get some photos too...lol!
Sometimes I would slip my mobile back in my pocket to adjust the focus on my camera. At the same time, my wife was on standby to warn me if something would be happening behind me or when some aircraft would be coming in from another angle...lol.
Today, I'll start with a series of photos of The Flying Puma Lions doing some loops over us...
The first loop started just as they passed over the airport.
Then the second loop started...coming closer to us.
This is where I started having fun after we got home... Creating more images from the same photo...
I plan on sharing some more images in another post tomorrow. Keep an eye out if you want to see them.
Approaching us while completing the second loop...
As mentioned, I was shooting a video at the same time. I took many videos, but it was mostly a disaster (as can be expected...lol), but this one wasn't too bad, so I'll share it here so you can get an idea of what it was like standing here... When you watch this video, you'll see the sequence of my photos... I was standing next to a little security cubicle for a security guard on duty for the area. You'll catch a glimpse of the top of it right at the end of the video...lol.
A few moments later they came flying by low over the ocean again.
After doing some more spectacular moves they passed over us again and then finally approached from behind us to come in for a landing...one-by-one. There were a total of four Harvards up the sky.
To end this day's post, here are two of them as they came in to land.
I'll share more photos of these Harvards in another post tomorrow.
Next week, I'll share photos of other aeroplanes and how this particular air show will always be remembered with a mixture of excitement and sadness.
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