Flying in company of "Jambocks" - A2A with Brazilian AF F-5's (IMG HEAVY)
Greetings, everyone!
I though I'd share a couple of my older pictures with you as well. This here is basically a report of a very special flight. As a background info: "Azul" is David Neeleman's Brazilian version of JetBlue. In fact, the top management is comprised of former JetBlue execs and even the name "Azul" means "Blue" in Portuguese.
Enjoy!
Marcelo
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Jambock Azul - Azul's tribute to Brazil's first fighter squadron
The photos you are about to see represent my most unique spotting opportunity to date. This past Friday (22/04) I had the privilege of taking part in a special event at the Santa Cruz Airbase (located in the west part of Rio de Janeiro city). Azul has personalized an E-Jet with the “Senta a Púa!” coat of arms to pay tribute to the Brazilian Air Force’s very first fighter squadron, the “Jambocks”.
The original “Jambock” fighter squadron was established back on December 18th., 1943, during WWII. The “Jambocks” played a pivotal role during WWII and at the end of the war, they had logged 5.645 hours of combat, flying for the allied forces. Out of 50 pilots, 16 were shot down, 5 were imprisoned and eight gave their life in the line of duty. The remaining ones, returned to Brazil.
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PR-AYS - Embraer ERJ-190-200IGW - CN 19000419 - DD 02/04/2011
PR-AYS, Azul’s 19th. Embraer 195 was officially baptized “Jambock Azul” in a ceremony held at the Santa Cruz Airbase as two pairs of F-5EM fighters and A-1 fighter/attack airplanes performed overhead.
I was part of a very lucky and privileged group of people who got to fly with “Jambock Azul” from Campinas-Viracopos to the Santa Cruz Airbase. At the helm of PR-AYS were two former “Jambocks”, Captain Miguel Dau (also VP Operations at Azul) and Captain Kleber Marinho. As we approached our destination, “Jambock Azul” was intercepted by two actual “Jambocks”, a couple of F-5EM. We flew in formation for roughly 20 minutes and performed two incredible low-altitude fly-by’s over the Santa Cruz airbase. The entire occasion allowed for some absolutely fantastic and unique photo opportunities – I myself had never ever done “air-to-air spotting”.
The entire event, particularly the flying experience, was simply astonishing. As we left the Santa Cruz Air Base and made our way back to Campinas-Viracopos, both pilots gave us a run for our money as we went into a steep right turn (right after take-off), banking at a rate of roughly 45-50 degrees, and performed a low and fast final fly-by over the Santa Cruz Airbase before heading on home to Campinas-Viracopos.
I will always remember the 22nd. of April 2011. This was a unique event, a fine tribute by Azul to the original “Jambocks” and the most impressive flying experience I ever had. In this context, I want to convey Azul and everyone involved in forging this particular day, my personal gratitude. Thank you! To my friend Panda: thank you for providing me with the opportunity of a lifetime. This was an incredible day and I will never forget it.
And now to the pictures...
Plus, there's a youtube movie... Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISWnZ...3&feature=plcp
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More images to come...
