The airshow held every two years at Zeltweg in Austria

I had no idea what to expect from such a large event. Famous display teams were promised (Patrouille de France, Frecce Tricolori, Patrulla Águila, Patrouille Suisse, Turkish Stars and Flying Bulls). Unfortunately Patrouille de France didn't make it due to technical problems. We arrived about 30 minutes before the airfield opened and inched forward in the queue. Unfortunately we were soon diverted to a car park and had to walk to the airfield...

The static display was spread across the whole airfield. Worth singling out was the Swiss F-18, the F-4U4 Corsair and DC-6 in Red Bull livery, and the German Navy's P-3C Orion. The flying displays started at 9:00 and the programme dragged somewhat... The German commentary — or more precisely the phrase: Meine Damen und Herren... — drove me mad. The very loud backing music during the flying displays was also unusual. Not to mention the music choices being completely wrong for certain aircraft types — whatever anyone says, Mozart and the Eurofighter do not go together! The weather cooperated — not quite blue sky, but no rain, which is what counts. I got a sunburnt nose, but that's a minor problem. I'm most pleased with the photos — after the back-focus saga with my AF-D 80-200 f/2.8 ED, I can confirm that at a higher aperture it's not noticeable. The focusing speed was amazing — no more seconds of waiting while the motor makes up its mind... Only the reach isn't quite there, but the pros still outweigh the cons. Meine Damen und Herren finden Sie für zwei Jahre!