At the Aviatická pouť airshow

This year's event looked incredible on paper. I'd say half the country wanted to see the Me-262 Schwalbe. But the weather had other ideas. A front was pushing across Europe and it was either raining here or in Germany. The biggest draws, unfortunately, couldn't make the flight.

The morning still looked fairly promising. By the time we arrived at the airfield everything had flipped 180°. Downpour, cloudburst. Water everywhere. In that situation the hangar is a visitor's best friend, and that's where I took shelter until the flying programme started. By then the rain had stopped and it was time to pull out the borrowed Nikon 200-500 f5.6 and see what it could do.

The clouds were low — a pretty solid overcast. Not great for photos, and the first display was honestly a bit rubbish from a photography standpoint. Even so the lens proved its worth — the stabilisation was very capable. 500mm focal length at the chosen spot was just right. Just shooting into the light. Sometimes I wonder whether it'd be better to be on the other side of the fence, like the wife of a Czech Gripen display pilot.

The cloud cover started breaking up, the sun came out, and sunscreen was even warranted. The photos from the rest of the day came out nicely. Just a shame about the Messerschmitt.