Staring at the sky

Eyes were fixed and camera lenses were trained on the sky as the 18th edition of the Malta International Airshow got underway yesterday.

Hundreds of people made their way to the grounds on Malta International Airport’s runway to see the sleek engineering masterpieces up close, as countless others joined them from the rooftops and from the airfield perimeter fences to witness this year’s aerial antics.

An RAF Hawk opened the show, speeding across the runway, soon to be followed by the WE Fly team.

The Italian CL-415 made up for the merciful lack of rain by dropping water on the runway, and the Maltese army took its two Alouette helicopters out for a spin.

Adrenaline was provided by the Belgian and Dutch F-16s, which sliced across the sky with an imposing boom, between which the propeller-driven RAF Tucano flew happily over the airfield.

The pièce de résistance, was, as expected, the aerobatic display by the Patrouille de France, who started off their display by streaking across the runway with Malta’s national colours, then going on to keep necks tilted as they cavorted across the blue, cloudy sky, leaving France’s tricolour in their wake.

On static display are Maltese, German, Italian, Dutch, British, and American aircraft, featuring Torna-does, Harriers and behemoths such as the KDC-10 and KC-135.

This year’s airshow is not only about spectacle. Aerobatic trio WE Fly are out to provide hope for people with a disability – two of their three pilots, in fact, cannot walk. Alessandro Paleri, a 38-year-old aeronautical engineer, lost the use of his legs when he was 15 after he jumped into a shallow pool. He did his thesis on hands-only controlled planes, and collaborated with Fly Synthesis, an Italian aircraft company, to produce planes which could be controlled with hands only.

Later, after meeting WE Fly co-founder Erich Kustatschrer, Mr Paleri started aerobatic flying, and in 2007 WE Fly was born. Teammate Marco Cherubini, 37, who had only obtained his pilot licence a year earlier, was there at the start too. “Our mission is to tell the world that even though you’re disabled, you can still fly,” Mr Cherubini said.

The air show continues today, with displays by the same teams starting at 2 p.m.