Community-youth, Plane-spotting, Youth

Plane Spotting at the Singapore Airshow 2024

13 Mar 2024
Text by Jarell Lim, SUTD Aviation Interest Group

The aerial displays at the Singapore Airshow have always been a highlight for aviation enthusiasts and visitors worldwide. As the aviation industry makes a remarkable comeback after the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore Airshow 2024 returns with a spectacular aerial display lineup featuring multiple local and foreign acrobatic teams and aircraft.

Battling the intense heat during the trade show days, we stood out under the sun to get the best shots possible of the performances. The first was the RSAF’s F15SG and AH-64D flying displays. The aircraft displayed many impressive manoeuvres such as the Double Helix, where both the AH-64D and F15SG flew in circles along each other, and the highspeed flyby where they were separated only by a few metres. Personally, I felt that the real highlight of that performance was when the F15SG deployed its flares, and we managed to get some amazing shots with that!

Thereafter, the Indian Air Force Sarang Aerobatic Team entered with 4 HAL Dhruv helicopters equipped with smoke machines. With their peacock themed livery, the 4 aircraft synchronised their spins and turns elegantly while painting the sky with contrails.

After exhilarating performances from the RSAF and Sarang Aerobatic Team, the new Airbus A350-1000 XWB and rare COMAC C919 flew in majestically across the sky and revealed themselves to the world. Although the C919 was only around on Tuesday, on the first day of the trade show, COMAC still featured their smaller passenger jet, the ARJ21, in the following days so that the audience could catch a glimpse of the aircraft.

Following the flybys, the pace of the aerial displays picked up with the next 2 aerobatics teams, the Indonesian Air Force Jupiter Aerobatic Team (JAT) with 6 KT-1B, and the Royal Australian Air Force’s Roulettes (ROU) with their 6 PC-21s. Their exciting daredevil stunts captivated the audience, featuring inverted flying, large spirals and an induced stall and spin recovery, which made photographers run through their camera shutters.

To end it all off, the Republic of Korea Air Force’s Black Eagles gave an exciting and exhilarating performance with their signature tri-colour smoke machines of red, white, blue, with their 8 powerful T50 planes. Demonstrating various formations and stunts, the T50s coloured the sky with their magnificent movements. With the sky as a canvas, the team drew a red heart and the taegeuk, a yin and yang symbol, which represents the people of Korea in the South Korea flag.