I was recently invited back for the annual air show at the M.S.Ö. Air and Space Museum (Turkish: M.S.Ö. Hava ve Uzay Müzesi) is located at Sivrihisar Aviation Centre, Eskişehir, Turkey. Oh boy, was I going to be in for a surprise! I want to write a series of posts about this adventure, as just one post would not do this epic adventure justice!
I have been attending M.S.Ö. Air and Space Museum annual Airshow has been flying the T6 Texan since 2019, a considerable privilege. The only break I have had from this Airshow was during the covid pandemic. However, I have attended other smaller air shows at this location, such as the Turkish republic day calibrations and other local events at the museum.
This year’s invitation, however, was extraordinary. We were invited to perform at the Izmir Airshow on the West coast of Turkey before the usual main event at the museum. I wasn’t sure what the event in Izmir was going to consist of, all that I knew was that it involved a cross-country flight of around 216 miles over mountains at about 7000 feet AMSL above the vast open landscape to land at the military airbase at Kaklıç(LTFA) I was also told that in Izmir and a Turkish rock star was going to be performing a free concert on the coast called Tarkan, so naturally, I was in!
Just as a bit of background information, the M.S.Ö. Air and Space Museum. The museum is located at Sivrihisar Aviation Center, Eskişehir, Turkey. The museum is open every day except Mondays, and admission to the museum is free. Please take a look at the website https://msomuseum.com/en/. The museum has both airworthy historical aircraft and static displays. Some of the aircraft on display are listed below –
- North American P-51 Mustang”Ferocious Frankie” Ser. No. 44-13704
- Douglas DC-3″Turkish Delight” Ser. No. 2204
- North American T-6 Texan” Happy Hour” Ser. No. SA079
- Boeing-Stearman Model 75
- Antonov An-2 No. 17805
- Cessna 195
So back to the story! The aircraft and pilots involved with the Airshow in Izmir would be Semin Öztürk Şener flying the Pitts, P-51D, and Andy Goodall flying the T6 Texan. Semin is a Turkish female professional aerobatic display pilot. She is Turkey’s first female civilian pilot to be recognised as a professional female aerobatic pilot. She performs her aerobatics shows with a two-seat biplane Pitts Special S-2B aircraft powered by a 360 hp (270 kW) Lycoming engine. Her Pitts was transported to the event by the museum’s specially built transporter while Gabriel in the P-51 and me flying the T6 Texan were to pass the cross-country trip to Izmir.
The airpark at Sivrihisar is situated about 2 hours by road from Ankara to the Southwest and sits about 2700 feet AMSL. Our first leg of the trip was to an airfield called Zafer (LTBZ), approximately 65 nautical miles West to top up the tanks on the P-51 and Texan, then continue the rest of the 152 nautical mile leg again roughly west, heading 255* to Kaklıç airfield a military base located in Izmir. This was only the second time I had flown cross country in Turkey, so our operations filed us a VFR flight plan and away we went!
As we had a flight plan, the trip went exceptionally well as we were handed over on the radio to various air traffic services along the way. Flying over the mountains on a blue-sky day and looking down at the landscape was something I won’t forget! Gabriel was flying the P-51 and was cruising at around 250 plus knots, while I was flying at a more leisurely pace at about 140 knots. Interestingly on the way there, I had a decent tailwind. However, I was about 40 minutes later than when I arrived at Kaklıç (LTFA) airfield.
On landing at Kaklıç airfield, I was greeted by the “Follow Me” truck and taxied to our stand for the remaining few days preceding the air show. During our stay on the airfield, we were warmly greeted by the Turkish pilots, many of whom were former captains with Turkish and Pegasus airlines, so we exchanged stories and then headed off to the Hotel in Izmir. So far, so good and what an epic trip. I thought it could not get any better! In the next blog, I shall write about the practice display and the main event where we performed for a whopping 2.2 million people crowded onto the Izmir coastline! Previous to this, I think my largest air show was to a crowd of less than 30,000 and, in most cases, about 2000, so this was one hell of an event!
I have to admit im sure most of the public had come to see Tarkan; however, we spiced things up with the P-51, Texan and then all of the other acts, which included the excellent F-16 “Solo Turk” display and the fantastic TAI Hürkuş (Free Bird) which is a tandem two-seat, low-wing, single-engine, turboprop aircraft being developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and flown by the famous test pilot Murat.
TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 2 OF 8
So to recap, we have flown from the M.S.Ö. Air and Space Museum in Sivrihisar, Turkey to Zafer (LTBZ) for fuel and then off to our destination at Kaklıç (LTFA) in Izmir, where we shall stay for the next few days to take part in the air show that’s being run in conjunction with Tarkan, the famous Turkish singer and performer. The P-51D “Ferocious Frankie” arrived first, followed by myself and Hakan (Engineer), who was in the rear seat of the T6 “Happy Hour” on landing at Kaklıç airfield; I was greeted by the “Follow Me” truck and taxied to our stand for the remaining few days preceding the air show.
I know this story is about the adventure’s aviation side; however, I do have to comment on the city of Izmir from a tourist’s perspective. My first impressions were how clean and tidy the city was! The coastline was lovely, and in the evening, the bright orange sunset on the horizon with a beautiful pink and purple hue in the sky was simply stunning! I didn’t realise that one of my display slots over the next few days would be around 7:15 pm, just as the sky would be described!
We had one day to practice, followed by two days of displaying coordinated with other air show performers, such as the amazing Solo Turk in the F-16 ripping it up and the legend Murat in the TAI Hürkuş (Free Bird). After the display briefing, we were all allotted display timings and frequencies. The display consisted of departing. Kaklıç and climbing to 4000 feet overhead the airfield and then leaving to the South to hold over a tower block at 1000 feet and then proceed on call to the display area to the East on the coast. Once the display was completed, we had to depart to the Northwest at 500 feet back to Kaklıç airfield, all quite simple stuff!
My first display on the coast went well, and I was more than happy when I identified the correct portion of the beach to display! I wasn’t going to have this problem on the air show day as 2.2 million people marked it! You heard me right, 2.2 million enthusiastic people along the coastline.
I tipped in from 2000 feet with the smoke system and landing lights on, accelerating to 200 knots IAS, and at the show centre, I went into my first move, which is the Cuban Eight. The performance at sea level in the T6 Texan was noticeable as she apexed at over 1200 feet! She rolled beautifully out of the Cubans, which allowed me to continue with the barrel roll, wingovers and point rolls. The ear-splitting noise of the Hamilton Standard propeller transonic at 2000 rpm reverberated off the buildings on the coastline, enhancing the show and hitting all the right senses with the crowd. After approximately 10 minutes, it was time to head back to Kaklıç airfield for tea and medals.
In the next instalment, I will talk about the evening show looking down over 2.2 million people and then having to make my way back to the hotel through the crowd! That in itself was an adventure!
TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 3 OF 8
After a restful stay in the park Inn Radisson, we returned to the Airfield mid-afternoon at Kaklıç, not before going next door to the local Starbucks for some email admin and a Cappuccino or three! Preparation for the display had been done the day before, so we all knew what to expect, so we spent the afternoon at the airfield relaxing, waiting for our slot timing.
On this evening, I was to perform in the T6 Texan “Happy Hour” just before the P-51 Mustang “Ferocious Frankie.” After taking off at around 18:00, I was cleared to display; I climbed to 2000 feet and went along the coast before descending to 100 feet, gaining speed for my first vertical move. Below me, I could see a mass of people on the beach stretching as far as the eye could see as I started my display. Smoke on!
As I dropped the nose of the T6, I looked at the vast mass of people on the coastline and thought to myself, “that looks busy” Understatement of the year! I later discovered that the air show entertained 2.2 million people on the shoreline before Tarkan kicked off his concert! Flying down the crowd line, seeing the camera flashes winking at me in the diminishing light of the evening as the sun was getting lower on the horizon. A sight I shall never forget! Up until this point, my largest crowd was in the region of 20,000! Oddly I didn’t feel any pressure as the millions of bodies just seemed to look like one great mass and my display routine was well practised, so I just let the fun happen! The aircraft’s performance was excellent at sea level, with an outside air temperature of around 28*C.
After landing back at Kaklıç, the plan was to go to the show centre for autographs, poster signing, and a quick 2 minutes on stage; this sounded fun! I was taken by road to a port on the North side of Izmir and then transported along with the Famous Murat, the TAI Hürkuş pilot, by police boat to the Izmir South coast. This made sense as there was no way the show centre could be reached by road due to the 2.2 million people out in force! After watching Murat’s fantastic speech to the crowd to rapturous applause all in Turkish, it was my turn. I went on stage while the commentator said a few minutes about who I was in Turkish; I waved at the thousands and then left, having had my 2 minutes of fame! This is where the fun began!
Around the show area, I was easily identifiable as a pilot by the military flight suit, I was getting mobbed for autographs, which I didn’t mind, but I needed a break. I removed my flight suit, and suddenly, I was invisible, and no one knew who I was or cared! So, with my flight suit on my back in my day sack, I foolishly decided to walk to my hotel against good advice from the show staff, through the millions of people all waiting to see Tarken! After feeling like a Salmon swimming upstream for 90 minutes, inhaling all sorts of odours and dripping wet with everyone else’s sweat except my own, I was spat out on a side street, annoyed at the terrible decision I had just made! Oh well, I thought this would make for a good story! Thankfully my iPhone GPS got me home via the side streets of Izmir. As soon as I entered the Hotel, I made straight for my room for a very long shower!
One thing I have learned about Turkey in the four years I have been invited to display is the considerable hospitality from the Turkish people, who make you feel like a rock star, not a pilot! Such a different vibe from anywhere else I have performed in the world. The air show scene and aviation have a big future in Turkey!
TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 3 OF 8
After a restful stay in the Park Inn Radisson, we returned to Kaklıç Airfield mid-afternoon, but not before going next door to the local Starbucks for some email admin and a Cappuccino or three! Preparation for the display had been done the day before, so we all knew what to expect and were able to spend the afternoon at the airfield relaxing and waiting for our slot timing.
18:00 was the display timing – “T6 Texan ready to display” – “Cleared to display”, came the reply – I dropped the nose of the Texan and looked at the vast mass of people on the coastline and thought to myself, “that looks busy” – understatement of the year! I later discovered that the air show entertained 2.2 million people on the shoreline before Tarkan kicked off his concert! Flying down the crowd line, seeing the camera flashes winking at me in the diminishing light of the evening as the sun was getting lower on the horizon, was a sight I shall never forget! Up until this point, my largest crowd was in the region of 20,000! Oddly I didn’t feel any pressure as the millions of bodies just seemed to look like one great mass and my display routine was well practised, so I just let the fun happen! The aircraft’s performance was excellent at sea level, with an outside air temperature of around 28*C.
After landing back at Kaklıç, the plan was to go to the show centre for autographs, poster signing, and a quick 2 minutes on stage; this sounded fun! I was taken by road to a port on the North side of Izmir and then transported, along with the Famous Murat, the TAI Hürkuş pilot, by police boat to the Izmir South coast. This made sense as there was no way the show centre could be reached by road due to the 2.2 million people out in force! After watching Murat’s fantastic speech to the crowd to rapturous applause all in Turkish, it was my turn. I went on stage while the commentator said a few minutes about who I was in Turkish; I waved at the thousands and then left, having had my 2 minutes of fame! This is where the fun began…!
Around the show area, I was easily identifiable as a pilot by the military flight suit. I was getting mobbed for autographs, which I didn’t mind, but I needed a break. So I removed my flight suit, and suddenly, I was invisible. No one knew who I was or cared! So, with my flight suit on my back in my day sack, I foolishly decided to walk to my hotel (against good advice from the show staff) through the millions of people all waiting to see Tarkan! After feeling like a Salmon swimming upstream for 90 minutes, inhaling all sorts of odours and dripping wet with everyone else’s sweat except my own, I was spat out on a side street, annoyed at the terrible decision I had just made. Oh well, I thought, that’ll make for a good story! Thankfully my iPhone GPS got me home via the side streets of Izmir. As soon as I entered the hotel, I made straight for my room for a very long shower!
TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 4 OF 8
The air show at Izmir concluded with an excellent final display along the coastline on the 10th of September, with substantially fewer people than the 2.2 million the day before; I would say only a few hundred thousand, yes, just a few hundred thousand! My final display was at 19:15, and I shall never forget the giant orange sun setting on the horizon as I made my first pass. The sky was a spectacular mixture of colours, something I wasn’t used to seeing as I rarely fly this late in the evening. The display went exceptionally well, and after 10 minutes, I made my way back to Kaklıç airfield. I contacted the ATC and requested a practice display, to which they happily replied, “The airfield is yours, cleared to display” having made a few passes over the airfield, the ATC then asked if I would like to do the same at the neighbouring airport at Çiğli to which I happily obliged! By now, the sun had almost gone down, and I made my approach back into Kaklıç with the runway brightly illuminated, something im not used to seeing in the Texan, but this all added to the overall experience.
With the displays now finished in Izmir, it was time to pack up and fly back East to the M.S.Ö. Air and Space Museum at Sivrihisar, approximately 2 hours away in the Texan at cruise power. On arrival at Sivrihisar, it was time to relax for a few days and prepare for the next air show, the museum’s main annual weekend event. We expected around 30,000 people to turn up, so the aircraft had to be checked and flight tested.
The Texan had been flight-tested over the previous few days with nearly 6 hours of flying! So, my first trip was to fly the delightful Dh.82 Tiger Moth. This Tiger was made famous in the Movie ‘The English Patient.’ Which was shot in 1996. I enjoy flying this Tiger as it has an electric starter, brakes, and a tail wheel, perfect! This is how all Tigers should be! Having enjoyed a few circuits in the Tiger, it was time to check out the Museums 1940 and 1943 A75N1 Boeing Stearman.
This was an excellent opportunity to fly a classic and a type that I had always wanted to fly. I wasn’t disappointed, and having completed the checkout with Gabriel, I went solo and then took her for some GH and circuits and bumps! Lovely!
The best is yet to come, The mighty T-28B Trojan. Built-in 1955, this potent aircraft is a delight to fly with its 1,425 horsepower Wright R-1820-86 engine. Again, as luck would have it, I was checked out to fly this remarkable aircraft.
TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 5 OF 8
I have to say a big thanks to all the staff at the M.S.Ö. Air and Space Museum at the Sivrihisar Aviation Centre Turkey, especially Ali İsmet Öztürk, a renowned Turkish professional display pilot, recently retired. Without the support and trust of Ali, his family and the staff, I would not be able to have the content to write these short aviation stories! I would also like to Thank Gabriel for taking the time to check me out and let me loose in the T-28 Trojan.
During the run-up to the Sivrihisar air show, I was fortunate enough to be checked out on some of the museum’s prized possessions, the Boeing Stearman and the T-28 Trojan. This is a dream for any pilot, and I was happy to take on the challenge! Below, I will just mention some of the main points I remember from flying the T-28. Please forgive me for missing a lot of detail, as this is just a quick synopsis of the experience and linked in only allows short stories.
My first impression of the T-28 when I got close to the beast was the size of it! It was huge compared to the T6 Texan and the Hurricane I have been most familiar with over the last two years. The aircraft I was about to fly was built in 1955. A potent aircraft and a delight to fly with its 1,425 horsepower Wright R-1820-86 engine.
From a historical point of view, it doesn’t have the glamour of the WW2 fighters as she was designed purely as a complex trainer designed to train jet pilot candidates for the F-86 and the F9F, I believe. However, this trainer saw combat in various conflicts, such as Vietnam and Algeria.
You don’t get into a T-28. You mount it! It’s a massive aircraft, and you must scale the outside like a climbing wall to get in. It has enough baggage space for everything, including the kitchen sink! With the flap down, you have various footholds to help you climb onto this monster plane. Once inside, you feel like you are in a jet fighter, it has that feel about it, and that’s exactly how it was designed and does exactly what it says on the tin! More systems than I was used to, but after soaking up the POH and some excellent ground school, I was ready.
Starting the aircraft from the checklist was straightforward, and the taxi was very simple compared to most of the tail wagers I have recently flown. The take-off was predictable and exhilarating; I eased the throttle forward to 30 inches of manifold pressure holding the brakes, then released the brakes. As soon as the T-28 started to move, I pushed the throttle to the stop giving around 48 inches. The Trojan accelerated light a jet! The right rudder was needed; however, with a 5* right rudder bias, it almost flew itself off the runway. The engine is canted down and to the right and intentionally done by the designers to help offset the engine’s torque and reduces the amount of rudder needed on take-off.
As soon as the gear was up, I powered back to thirty-six inches and 2,400 rpm; the aeroplane settled down to a 120-knot climb, and she was rock solid.
Climb rate of two and three thousand feet per minute from memory. If you wanted to fly above 16 thousand feet (which I didn’t), you could engage the second stage of the supercharger. The aircraft typically cruises at a true airspeed of around 200 knots (232 mph) at 10,000 to 25,000’ MSL, and in the cruise configuration of 26–28” MAP and 1,850–2,000 rpm, they burn about 45 gph.
What I liked most about the Trojan were its predictability, throttle response and excellent controls; it seemed that at any speed, when trimmed correctly, it could be controlled easily with a very light touch and the roll rate was certainly faster than the P-51 Mustang. The Trojan is powerful, sophisticated and has beautifully balanced controls. A large, exceptionally well laid out cockpit, outstanding visibility, and excellent handling. Aerobatics, I would say that the T-28B could hold its own with most WW2 Warbirds, an incredibly capable machine and here I was flying one! Who would have thought this?
Landing the Trojan was effortless as she settled nicely onto the tarmac, which was a lovely surprise. I was a little focused on the landing due to sitting so high above the ground; however, it was quite intuitive, and I managed to land this big bird consistently.
I could write a lot more about this aircraft; however, Linked in only allows short stories, so I will add to this on my blog at some point. I hope you enjoyed this brief insight into this very understated, high-performance aircraft.
TURKISH ADVENTURE PART 6 of 8
To continue from my last post about the T-28 Trojan – What I liked most about the Trojan were its predictability, throttle response and excellent controls; it seemed that at any speed, when trimmed correctly, it could be controlled easily with a very light touch and the roll rate was undoubtedly faster than the P-51 Mustang. The Trojan is powerful, sophisticated and has beautifully balanced controls. A large, exceptionally well laid out cockpit, outstanding visibility, and excellent handling. Aerobatics-wise, I would say that the T-28B could hold its own with most WW2 Warbirds, an incredibly capable machine, and here I was flying one! Who would have thought this?
Landing the Trojan was effortless as she settled nicely onto the tarmac, which was a lovely surprise. I was a little focused on the landing due to sitting so high above the ground; however, it was pretty intuitive, and I managed to land this big bird consistently. So a fantastic experience and another type in the log book!
Preparations started for the air show on the 17th and 18th of September, and I was down to fly my trusty steed “Happy Hour,” an ex-SAAF Harvard with which I’m very familiar! I have at least 60 hours plus on this, particularly Harvard, and I’m very familiar with all its little idiosyncrasies. At the time of writing this, I have nearly 500 hours on Harvards, so I’m just about getting the hang of it! Having just flown this for at least 8 hours in the previous few days, I was ready for the next show!
I have flown six Harvards over the years, including my own “Wacky Wabbit”, and I have to say that Happy Hour is the best Harvard I have flown. It is rigged perfectly and flies as straight as an arrow. Cubans in this machine are effortless, and she flies hands off when trimmed. Unfortunately, the airfield at Sivrihisar is nearly 3000 feet AMSL, and the temperature for the air show was in the region of about 30*c, so the 
Density altitude was very high, decreasing the overall performance of the aircraft, so care had to be taken when executing the moves, especially at a low level. For this reason, I completed a couple of practice displays to see how she performed, as my previous displays a few days earlier were all at sea level in Izmir.
My air show routine in the Harvard rarely changes and always starts with a Cuban eight. Using the same routine for my shows allows me more capacity to focus on other things as I’m always several moves ahead; this keeps my overall stress levels low. I usually use 210 mph for the initial Cuban, entering at 300 feet agl; following the Cuban, the next manoeuvre is a barrel roll which I enter at a minimum speed of 180 mph, followed by an aileron roll which I enter at a minimum speed of 170 mph. Having assessed the higher-density altitude performance, I was ready for the show! In the following short story, I will talk about the formation flying with the T-28 and P-51