LIMA '23 - Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition

Discussion relating to 2023 airshows/fly-ins/exercises/other events. Post news before the event and post your photos afterwards! Please create only one thread per event.
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Adam
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Post by Adam » Sun May 14, 2023 12:53 pm

Display routine for the Opening Gambit by the RMAF Tactical Display Team. Over 30 aircraft are involved in total, and it lasts for 8 minutes.

1) From crowd left: Fast pass and climbing aileron rolls by x1 F/A-18D with flares
2) From crowd rear: Opposition break by 2x F/A-18D with flares
3) From crowd rear: Bomb burst by 5x Hawk 208 with flares
4) From crowd front: Break by 2x Su-30MKM
5) From crowd rear, left and right: 3-way opposition pass by 3x Su-30MKM
6) From crowd right: Flypast by A400M and x9 PC-7 Mk.II in Swan formation
7) From crowd right: Flypast in Echelon formation and tactical pitch by 3x C-130H Hercules
8) Orbits by x2 MD530G
9) From crowd rear: Flypast and split by 2x EC725 Caracal
10) From crowd front: Bomb burst by 1x EC725 Caracal, 2x A109 and 2x AW139
11) From crowd front: Flypast by 9x PC-7 Mk.II in Diamond formation
12) From crowd front: Flypast by 1x A400M and 3x C-130H Hercules in Box formation
13) From crowd front and rear: Opposition pass by jets in Diamond formation (3x Su-30MKM, 2x F/A-18D and 5x Hawk 208) and 1x F/A-18D, with flares and ground pyro
Last edited by Adam on Wed May 17, 2023 8:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Adam » Wed May 17, 2023 8:34 am

See edited post from 11/05 for updated flying display schedule. The programme has been re-jigged slightly, especially for the practice days. Several people who are normally reliable are saying the Russian Knights won't make it, but they are still included on this latest version of the schedule. The Friendship Flight will be expanded and will feature Hawks, as well as Su-30s and F-18s.
Last edited by Adam on Wed May 17, 2023 8:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Adam » Wed May 17, 2023 5:13 pm

A couple of interesting developments.

First, the RMAF is continuing to practice a full Su-30 solo display, even though it's not on the schedule.

Second, photos released yesterday by Chinese state media, announcing August 1st's participation in LIMA, show a mixed fleet of J-10CYs single-seaters, with their distinctive dorsal spine, but also an unconfirmed twin-seat model without the dorsal spine. As there's not known to be a twin-seat version of the C model, I'd speculate maybe they've retained some J-10SYs (the twin-seat version of their old J-10AYs). The SY and CY have the same powerplant, so they might be interoperable.

Image
Last edited by Adam on Wed May 17, 2023 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Adam » Sat May 20, 2023 11:16 am

Some clips from the first two days of display practices. The schedule seems to have gone to pot and changes by the minute. The Russian Knights are still listed, but everyone else has arrived and there's still no sign of them.

Hornet solo, from beside the runway


C-130s from the opening gambit, from the hilltop viewpoint.


The still-officially-unscheduled RMAF Su-30 solo practicing its trademark Cobra Stance while scraping the bottoms of the clouds.
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Post by Adam » Sun May 21, 2023 10:58 am

Poor weather hampered the flying today. Some unusually early rain brought low temperatures and high humidity, leading to persistant low cloud. A few teams managed to squeeze in practices, with the last flights ot the day waiting until around 7pm.



Allegedly the Russians made it to China, but no further. With one day left, it's probably simply too late.
Last edited by Adam on Sun May 21, 2023 1:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Adam » Mon May 22, 2023 4:19 pm

More heavy rain today - in fact it's looking like it'll be rather damp all week - but it eventually cleared for the final day of practices. Yesterday's cancelled Opening Gambit rehearsal went ahead today, albeit with some aircraft missing.


The sun almost came out for the Black Eagles and Al Fursan. The latter team showed why they're well-known for having the best smoke systems on the circuit with a fantastic practice display, with the spare jet trailing the formation throughout. This is their trademark manoeuvre, the UAE DNA.


The story of the day was yet more more Russian Knights will-they-won't-they psychodrama, with arrival slots being repeatedly announced - and missed. Six Su-35s and one Su-30 finally appeared overhead just before 7pm, but their Il-76 support aircraft is still yet to arrive. Officially, they are required to perform a validation display before they are allowed to perform for spectators, but with the show starting at 6am tomorrow and the 'Knights due to fly shortly after midday, let's see if that rule gets conveniently forgotten about...
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Post by Adam » Tue May 23, 2023 6:02 pm

The first official day of LIMA saw far better weather than was forecast, with sun and some dramatic cloudscapes. A special feature of today, besides from the Opening Gambit, was a Friendship Flight featuring the Black Eagles, as well as Hawks, Su-30s and F/A-18s from the RMAF. It marked Malaysia's recent purchase of the Korean-designed FA-50, the combat version of the Black Eagles' T-50s.


All five national aerobatic teams performed during the afternoon flying display.


From here on in, all the flying displays will be roughly the same, so that's all the posting I'll do for now and I'll link to a few more videos at the end of the week.
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Post by Adam » Thu May 25, 2023 12:48 pm

That's it for the trade days. The weather has mostly held out, with dramatic storm clouds as the backdrop at times.

A rare sight and not part of the official flying display, a Mi-17 fire bomber took to the air.


The Black Eagles have been by far the busiest team at the show - one display per day so far, and two per day from here on in.


The helicopter tactical display has been action-packed, with lots of types in the air simultaniously.


The two public days come next. As well as more conventional flying displays, a special surprise is being planned to close the show on Saturday.
Last edited by Adam on Thu May 25, 2023 9:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Adam » Sat May 27, 2023 8:34 pm

A mix of bad weather, aircraft going tech, and other unknown issues meant that the show kind of tapered off, rather than building to a finale. No specific videos to share from the public days, but here's the full 50 minute Airshow Dispatches film.

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