Open day at the Air Force Museum
Spent the morning enjoying the annual Portuguese AF day at AF Base 1 near my house and home of the Airforce Museum.
Only show the outdoor pictures, where you can see some of the museum inventory that is kept outdoors (the Neptune sure needs some conservation work, but it looks great for an extreme weathering project, just look at the wingtip droptank all grime underneath) and also some invited civil and military aircraft.
The Épsilons are based there as the base also serves for training air cadets.
Hope you like it
Great photos, Pedro! It looks like you have some very interesting aircraft to see. I especially like the Neptune - I always have.
Jeff, the old PV-2 Neptune is also one of my fav in the museum. It breaks my heart to see the sorrow state in wich he is today. It’s begging for some serious conservation work
Thanks for sharing your day with us, Pedro. 🙂
Been there in May this year. Nice museum, I must say. And some beautifull castles in Sintra too.
Thanks for sharing these pictures with us. I like the Christen Eagle and the Decathalon the best, but all are great planes. It looks like a very nice event.
Abrigado Pedro! I am a big fan of Portuguese Aviation! (My parents are from the Acores, and I can speak Portuguese) I would assume that the Asas De Portugal are still flying just a two ship AlphaJet demo team? I wish the funds were there for a 4 or 6 ship team. I have a great DVD of them in action with their T-37's.
Thanks for sharing.
Dan from Bermuda.
Olá Dan! @danfrombermuda Unfortunately the Acrobatic Air Patrol “Asas de Portugal” was decommissioned around 2010, I assume because of a mix of both Budget cuts and the aging of the Dassault’s Alpha Jet airplanes. The fact is that the 2 Alphas you see in the photos are part of the Museum, and only come outdoor during such days. It’s a shame that so much public money is poorly spent and the military are always low when it comes to budget allocation. Perhaps in a few years, when a replacement for the Alpha Jet eventually arrives the Asas will fly again. Thanks for the feedback! Abraço
Hi Pedro:
Really got a lot out of this article. I live and was born in the USA but I am 100% Portuguese. So I always take a big interest in anything from Portugal or Portuguese related. My wife and I visited Lisbon back in 2001 and really want to get back someday soon. I take great pride in my heritage and really enjoyed viewing some Portuguese Aviation history. I am currently in the process of building my 1st Portuguese themed model airplane. It is the 1/72 MENG Fiat G.91. I purchased Portuguese AF decals for it. I will share it when done. I am surprised u did not have a picture of this airplane from the museum. If u do have any Portuguese G.91 pictures please share them.
Hi Paul, @jjetmec , you are absolutely right, there are 2 Fiat G-91 inside the museum. The fact that I didn’t post any photo of them is for that precise reason. I only post those that came out of the Hangar sort of speak. Anyway here’s a few pics of them 😉
I would love to see that Meng kit built. Although it’s not my scale, I’m hoping the kit has the quality to be the benchmark for the Gina in 1/72. If so perhaps they will scale up to 1/48 and I’ll definitly buy one. I made the old Esci kit back in 80’s when I was a teen. If you came around Lisbon again give me a shout.
4 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Thanx for the reply and these pics. 1/72 is not my scale either, always build 1/48 or 1/32. I was desperate to build a model of this cool aircraft in the Portuguese NATO Camo after seeing many nice pics online. There is nothing else decent in other scales. I had built the new MENG 1/72 F-106A, again b/c nothing I liked in 1/48. That model in 1/72 is fabulous for the scale so that is why I decided to give MENG another shot in 1/72. Got it for $9.00 on Ebay so why not give her a go. I also purchased a resin ejection seat and after-market decals. Upon opening the kit I found the molds to be excellent with nice panel lines and rivets but unfortunately does not have the level of detail Meng put into their small F-106. I will add a bit to her to busy up the cockpit and wheel wells. BTW there is a small resin model company that made a 1/48 G.91, all resin, metal, and photo-etch. It is an out of this world model with awesome details and surface details. Company is called ADV. Model is out of production and I could not find anywhere. Here is a link: http://genessis-models.websitetoolbox.com/post/ADV-Models-Fiat-G91-Yankee-70th-Anniversary-Shark-Scheme-148-Scale-Final-Reveals-5992764?pid=1274826625#post1274826625
If I can find it at a reasonable price I will buy asap! Maybe you can find it in European market.
I will look you up next time I am in Lisboa. How far r u from the city?
quick question. Do u have another pic of the G.91 ejection seat right next the airplane in the hanger which shows the detail/colors better. The one in your shot is to dark to make out the details/colors. Its a MB Mk.IV and I found many pics of the seat but many are all different colors and configurations and I wanted the one made for the G.91.
BTW You write in excellent English...never would know it was a second language. I was so impressed with the people in Portugal and how well they could speak multiple languages, including English. If ever in the US look me up!
Looks like you had fun. Nice to see so many homebuilt/sport/classic airplanes there.
Thanks for sharing this Pedro, looked like a great day — sunshine and airplanes.
Really great photos of planes with markings we don't often see in the US. An eclectic collection of diverse types of aircraft. Thanks for posting the photos!
The Christen Eagle is looking like it should! The EAA museum has a display with all the manuals to build it lined up on a shelf. All combined it'd be a book almost five feet thick!