Big Loud Mean Machines

Right, I didn't get a chance to share this.

About 10 days ago, on my way back from work, plugged in to the radio as usual, I did something unusual. I participated in a radio quizz thingie. I hardly EVER do this. But the weird thing was that I won. I bloody won. And oh boy, win I did....

I got tickets to the Singapore AirShow! Majorly woo!

Off we trooped on Sun morning.... were anticipating massive crowds so we were all very patient. I mean, the only public days was sat and sun... and on sat the crowd numbered 40,000 people. I could only imagine that an equal number would turn up on sun too. It took us a full 1.5 hrs of waiting in queue, to catch the shuttle, to wend our way in to the exhibitin site. (Just for comparison, it would have taken 20 minutes by BUS on any other day). So if the tickets hadn't been free, I may not have gone. lol. But there were highlights! Oh my... yes indeedy.... We were all pretty excited as we got to the entrance.

This was a specially constructed venue and it looked good!

Heh, and as we walked in, there was a small military display going on. I all but ran to the tank. Tank! TANK!! I LOVE TANKS!! It was an air show but I couldn't care less. lol
The airshow is linked with our defence arm of the government (research AND active) plus the business end of the airshow were conferences on integrated forces, so I guess 1 tank, 1 helicopter and 1 gunboat was a outward symbol of that. Here's one of the gunboat's, well, guns! lol. It was about 2M long and oh boy, I would have LOVED to try it.
And of course... HELICOPTERS. I am sorry, but I love how helicopters look. You'll just have to bear with all this unladylike whopping. Tough for you, eh?
So once we all calmed down (me and TheSister just went gaga over the thingies) we tropped off to the main display area. OOOOOoooo... very hot.... breezy as we were right by the sea, but we were trudging on tarmac and we had the sun beating down and the heat radiating up. I'll show you my sunburn later :o

Here we are, all agog.

At the start of the display, we had a sampling of some US choice items.

Damn, that looked menacing!

But these looked INCREDIBLY COOL.

Those turbine engines belong to a bomber, but the bugger was so large, I couldn't get the entire plane in a single long shot. That's the cockpit of the bumber just behind the fighter jet.

No need to guess who's a major sponsor. I mean, how could they not have a presence? lol

Another nifty non-piloted spy plane from BAE Systems.

The A380 was also showcased.

Let me tell you something about this plane : all the official stats say it's 7 stories tall, wingspan the width of a football field (that's soccer to you yanks), and all sort of numbers that spin your mind around. You don't feel how big it is when it's sitting on the tarmac and still. But holy shit, they got this behemoth in the sky for the arial display... crap... it was M A S S I V E . I felt myself watching for any incipient signs of a nose dive so I could start to run :o

We had to seek shelter after a while. It was just too hot to be walking around unsheltered. Later on we would see parents tending kids who just couldn't take it. I saw three separate families with kids in trouble (all throwing up) in a span of half an hour. What idiots these parents are!! Hydrate well, keep in shade, and tend carefully!

Anyways, a cold drink and a ciggie restored me somewhat.... it took a while though!

My sister, who looks totally composed in this pic, but she was very VERY flushed. I was a little worried for a bit.

Ciggies done, we were off again... and private jets galore off to one discrete corner. Here's an interesting model I'd never seen before. Fins on the nose! Looked like a catfish! And yes, that looked like the Ferrari prancing horse logo on the front. Interesting, yes?

Anyways... what is an airshow without a moving display!!







I'm surprised I managed to make it through the day.... I mean, I got home from work lasy night, had a coffee and a shower, and I was off to the airshow. I don't know how much more my 35 year old body can take. *chuckles* Anyways. Sunburn!!

I carried my haversack with me and the damned shoulder-straps actually gave me tan lines. :o

Note to self, carry by hand next time!!


HHmmmmm..... next time, eh? I guess I'll be going in 2010 then :))