Every year from 6 to 8 of November the Hellenic Air force celebrates its protector, the Archangel Michael. Every Air force base hosts several events with unlimited entrance to its numerous friends. 

      Among them the Commander of the Air force base which is co-located at the ΄΄Alexander the Great ΄΄ airport of Kavala, Colonel (pilot) Charousis, kindly invited the local Rc modelers to participate from 6 to 8 of November at the celebration.

      A small team of two Rc pilots took part with several Rc models ranging from drone, foamies and heli along with trainer, STOL model and giant aerobatic bird. One of the two Rc pilots was Dimitris our Chief engineer /pilot who transferred to the static display area with the assistance of Konstantinos and Achilleas three models and Rc equipment such as tools box, field box with fuel and smoke canisters.  Sokratis joined us on the second day. During the three-day period of the event Dimitris represented the Team due to several commitments of the rest.

      The models that were displayed accompanied by specifications labels were:                                                                           

                                                                    The Discovery

the Beaver

and the YAK-54

      The second of the two person’s delegation was our best friend and fellow Rc pilot Michalis to whom belonged the drone, the foamies and the heli.

      Several weapon systems such as a MIM-104 Patriot which is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system were displayed.

      Fire fighting equipment was displayed accompanied by meteorological instruments and two anti- aircraft 20mm Rheinmetall Mk 20 Rh 202 guns.

      Guard dogs which are in use in the Air base were displayed with their respective trainer and short demos were given to the public demonstrating their attack and control capabilities.   

      A  F-5 Freedom fighter surrounded by its ground support vehicles was also displayed.  A total of 114 aircrafts of various versions dominated the skies over Greece from June 1959 when they first entered into service with the Hellenic Air force, until the 29th of March 2001 when they were withdrawn from active flight status. During the 42 years of service, 364.647 hours of flight time were registered and 23 pilots lost their lives flying them… The aircraft on display is stationed in front of the base headquarters building as an exhibit. 

      Below are some videos with Hellenic F-5’s                                            

      The public’s response was huge. Especially students from schools from Kavala and the adjacent prefectures visited by the hundreds the base backed up by the perfect (considering the season of the year) sunny weather!   

      Naturally the day ended with a short demo flight! Being in a vast Air base makes you itchy! So after giving permission from the control tower our Beaver plus the Greek flag took off with a lots of clapping by the spectators and the National Anthem of Greece making everyone’s eyes watering….

      At the end of a 5 minutes flight the flag was released and when it touched the ground it was proudly brought back to the hangar by an Airman.

      At the end of the three day celebration a small feast took place at the base HQ. One deeply touching thing that has to be mentioned was a fully prepared dinner table in the middle of the dining area dedicated to the AIRMEN MISSING IN ACTION……

      At some point during the feast the base Commander Colonel (pilot) Charousis, honored the participation and the passion of the Kavala modeler’s delegation by awarding a plaque with the base emblem and a thank you label on it.  WHAT AN HONOR!

      We heartily like to thank the base Commander Colonel (pilot) Charousis who honored us with his invitation and the most touching gesture at the end of the three-day celebration and the base personnel for the unlimited assistance. We will be at the Air force’s side whenever they need us.