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Pictures From My Trip To The Swiss - Meiringen And Axalp


VinFlyer

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Two weeks ago I went to the Axalp 2008 airshow in Switzerland. Now this isn't just your ordinary 'a nice day at the airfield' kind of airshow, but one located at 7366ft (2300m). To get there must first undergo a 2-3 hour hike/climb. But once on top you have a wonderful view combined with a awesome show. The airshow part starts after lunch around 13:30, before that there is live ammo shooting by the F-5s and F-18s from the Swiss Air Force to wake you up :blink:

Photo conditions up there are to say at least challenging, looking straight into the sun plus also this year having to deal with partly snow covered backgrounds. The actual showdays are on the Wednesday and Thursday. Unfortunately this year the show was canceled on both days because of too much clouds up there. Luckily we had taken the gamble to go one day earlier on Tuesday for the full practice day, in hindsight the best day of the week with the most action. For the rest of the week we stayed at a village close to Meiringen AB, and when I say close I mean really close. The airbase is partly situated in the village of Unterbach itself, to enter it you have to cross the runway and taxiways something I had never seen before.

This year was my first time so I didn't really know what to expect. In the end I think the pictures came out quite ok. I hope you like them as much as I did making them :D Below you'll find pictures first ones taken around Meiringen AB, the rest at Axalp.

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Getting close to the action. The road crosses the runway, when an aircraft lands or takes off the crossing barriers closes.

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Photo taken from the house we stayed in (500m from the runway)

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Long hike/climb to the top...

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...but it's worth the view :D

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Crappy picture, but it shows the live firing

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That's just a small collection from the total of photos shot. If you're not bored by now there are a couple more pics at my photopage here and here. More photos to come there....

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Mr. Vin,

You're an excellent photographer! I would have loved to have been there with you; looks like the Swiss put on a really good show. B)

PS: Now where can I get some great aircraft repaints for Aerosoft's upcoming F-5 and FSDT's/CaptainSim's (Microsoft's) F/A-18's?

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Man that is just brilliant. I will have to chalk this one down and at some point plan a vacation around it! Great scenery and aviation combined! Love it! :D

Thanks guys. Yes you really need to plan a vacation around it, you just can't risk it to go for just one or two days. Around Meiringen you're at a good location, also close to other airbases like Emmen and Payerne. I also payed a visit to Payerne on Wednesday while Axalp was canceled. Payerne is the Swiss AF main base, much bigger than Meiringen but still very accessible for making great photos (as long as the weather is ok :lol: ) Below some pictures from Payerne.

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Mirage III, not flying anymore but luckily they have one private owned example still flying...

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More pics here :)

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