It’s about planes, and also about cars. And it isn’t the respective Disney movies that I’m talking about. Enjoy military fly pasts and the head-spinning mix of acrobatics and aerobatics; even a unique race involving a Mercedes GT S or a C63 AMG, that burns rubber and slides all over the place, as it maneuvers to keep up with a muscle plane!
The Al Ain Air Show is now the Al Ain Air Championship and this weekend, starting today, it will turn Al Ain Air Base into a carnival ground, not to mention the sky above it. As the teams from the region, Europe and the US take the fight to the open skies, and convert the clouds to the gym room, Al Ain Air Base will be full of wide eyed children, awe-struck teens and adults chasing a childhood dream!
Sonic presence at supersonic speeds
Al Fursan, the pride of the UAE Air Force is designated to fly for the home crowd, taking their national pride soaring. Fans of the F16 will be pleased to see the UAE Air Force pilots fly past in the F16 Fighting Falcon and the Dassalt Mirage, two ‘awesomest’ military aircraft ever to grace the skies. Smokey stunts from the Saudi Hawks and a sling shot flyby from their HQ by the Bahrain Air Force F16 team will complete the special shows.
Richard Goodwin, BreitlingWingwalkers, Glider fx aerobatics, Misty Blues skydiving, Belgian Broncos, Bravo 3 Repsol Team and ArturKeilak are other names that easily set the Al Ain Show among one of the best aerobatic shows on earth. Lucky us to have them here!
Watch out for these!
The roar and the signature trail of the powerful Pitts S2S aircraft of Richard Goodwin. It’s a single-seater ‘muscle plane’ that had an extra shot – or shots – of torque and got painted merrily in the Union Jack.
The world’s only all women skydiving team has an equally charming name – Misty Blues. But far from being misty-eyed damsels, these are brave and bewitching beauties that leap above the ordinary, and into the blues.
BreitlingWingwalkers the world’s only aerobatic formation wing-walking team that have female athletes strapped to a post above the wings, performing acrobatic moves, while three or four Boeing Stearman biplanes perform aerobatic maneuvers.
A couple of my media colleagues were ‘lucky’ to win a random chance to get fixed to the stake in front, to experience what the acrobats feel. Now, I wasn’t watching but I won’t be surprised if all the acrobatics they did up there involved flailing arms! Honestly, I suspect that’s what I may have done instead of spreading my arms and singing the Titanic song; I’d rather watch those pretty things walk the wings.
As for me, the highlight of the day was the unexpected Yes to a bold request to climb aboard the Sukhoi 26 – “the most amazing aircraft ever built” according to Alex, the manager of Team Bravo3 from Spain. She impels you to seek the proof in the flying of the only active Sukhoi flying formation team, just in case you are overlooking the fact that CástorFantoba, its amazing pilot is indeed the reigning European aerobatic champion.
Here behold the man himself, passing on an all-important flying tip to wide-eyed me: “Big building… that way… Small buildings… this way” – there, I know what that oversized joystick is all about!
Family Zone
If your child loves making things, he or she is going to enjoy the Lego area to build… planes as you guessed! There is more, like the Spiderman jumping castle, cooking corners, fun masks, hot air balloons, food and music. The Equestrian and Golf leisure picks are other additions in the family zone.
High-flying fun for just thirty dirhams!
AED 30 is what you pay for a regular ticket on free seating basis. Double that will fetch you reserved seating in the Grand Stand. In case you want to enjoy all this from some privileged space, the VIP grand stand is for AED 150.
You can also get a 3-day season ticket for the price of two or exclusive family of 4 packages. Anyway, children under 6 enter free.
Timing and tickets: You can buy them on www.tixbox.com or at the venue. The planes will return to their hangars a quarter of an hour before sunset, after being up there playing from 11.45 onwards. The show will end on Saturday, the 19th.
