Restlessness started to set in as the queue seemed to be taking forever. It was a blazing hot afternoon and the awful stench of sweat that hung in the heat wasn't making the situation any more tolerable. Clearly, the organisers overlooked the ventilation in their temporary(but massive) set up. My younger cousin brother held on tightly to the edge of my shirt as we move through the crowd, hoping to reunite with my uncle and aunty who was a good few dozen people ahead. A deafening roar of air turbulence and jet engines sent shock waves throughout the canvas structure. It was a soothing alleviation to the humdrum waiting, but it unfortunately also meant that we were late.
It all started a few weeks ago, when my best friend turned to me for help. He needed a foreign address to get a pair of shoes he bought online delivered as the company wouldn't send it to Malaysia for some reason. Coincidentally, I had some relatives living in Singapore so I thought I'd ask them for a favor. Little did I know, I got more than what I had initially bargained for when they invited me to the Singapore Airshow. Needless to say, I was overjoyed.
Now that I'm back, I thought I'd share with you guys my experiences and an idea of what the airshow was all about. I have received comments in the past saying that my posts were far too wordy for liking, so I'll do my best to keep it short and condense this time... ... with a truck load of pictures in place!!!(There's ALWAYS a catch).
They utilized the public buses to ferry visitors.
Airfield for the flying display.
Boeing C-17 Globemaster lll -USAF
I have to stress, INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW. *proud face*
The Smokey Bandits(Mikoyan MiG-29) -RMAF
Smokey Five.
One man's show(Rebel 300) -Blair Aerosports
Roulettes(PC-9/A) -RAAF
I love candid photography!
Gran Finale!
B-72 Stratofortress ending the flying display! -USAF
We missed both the 787 Dreamliner and the Republic of Singapore Air Force during the flying display. Thank you very much queue.
Next up was the static display. This time, instead of showing off acrobatic moves in the sky, the aircraft were parked stationary in the airfield for visitors to have a closer look . With that said, moving on to more pictures!.
Have I mentioned to you where exactly in Singapore was the event held?
Boeing F-15 Strike Eagle -RSAF
Gulfstream G550 Airbourne Early Warning(AEW) -RSAF
Boeing AH-64D Apache -RSAF
IAI Heron -RSAF
Boeing F-16D+ Fighting Falcon -RSAF
Silkorsky S-70B -RSAF
Boeing 747-400 -Singapore Airlines
Sadly, the A380 wasn't part of the static display. In fact it wasn't a part of anything! Not even a little toy model at the gift shop. ... ... OK fine there was no gift shop, but this proved just how deceiving ads can be.
They pasted it everywhere! Can you believe it??!! Stupid.
Well at least lunch was good.
Beef Tenderloin -Courtesy of Resorts World Sentosa Catering
After food, we continued our excursion in the world of aviation... or should I say military. You'd think fighter jets and airlift aircraft is the closest an airshow could get to the military world but you'd be wrong. The exhibition showcased an array of firearms, ranging from basic machine guns to super high precision sniper rifles, heavy artillery and even their ammunition. Talk about lock and load. That's not even all. State-of-the-art APCs(armored personnel carriers), communication equipment, early warning systems and biometric solutions are also featured. As if that wasn't enough, we were treated to a live(and kinda cheesy) battlefield scenario by some soldiers.
Battleships!
Are they for real???
Of course there are also aviation related showcases.
To be honest, I didn't really find the airshow amazing. Eye-opening? Yes. Entertaining? Yes. Worthwhile?Well...yes, but just not amazing. It somehow lacked the "mindblowing factor". Then again, of course I'm saying this as someone who has little knowledge and interest in aviation, plus, I didn't even try out all the attractions they had. So don't take my word for it and do visit the 2014 Singapore Airshow if you get the chance, because secretly I would too, but that'd be weird cause I'm self-contradicting...
