During the weekend of June 18-19, the two-yearly Memorial Air Show was held in Roudnice, some 30km North of Prague in Czech Republic. We were invited to take part in the flying display. On Thursday Tony flew the Bronco over to Roudnice where the local television was present to make publicity for the Air Show. Thomas and Markus drove over from Germany, and Edith and Tom drove the van over with all the servicing equipment and the merchandise stand. The weather was perfect and in the evening we visited the local town center and had a beer on the central square before we went sleeping in the loges of the local sports center.
Friday morning we used our free time to visit the Kbely Aviation Museum. When we arrived, Ela was waiting for us, a Polish fan who especially made the trip to Czech Republic to see the Bronco. The museum has a huge collection of aircraft and helicopters who served the Czech aviation history. Inside the hangars a large collection of Unique WW1 and WW2 aircraft are displayed in dioramas. Outside the more modern aircraft are located like fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters. Around noon Michael joined us after his flight to Prague, and then it was time to head back to Roudnice where another TV crew was eager to see the Bronco flying display.
On Friday afternoon the weather was again great and slowly the airfield filled up with the other participating aircraft who arrived for the show. One of them was the Yak-3, with Rick and Remco onboard, who flew over from the Netherlands. So by the evening we were one big group of friends together.
On Saturday morning the Bronco was put outside and towed to the display area, ready for the show. The merchandise stand was assembled and Edith, the Bronco Cheerleader for the weekend, was present in her Bronco outfit. After getting some fuel, the aircraft was prepared and Tony flew the Bronco through the Czech skies as the show-opener. Unfortunately the nice weather from past days didn’t stay during the weekend, it was cloudy with a lot of Wind.
During the afternoon, the crowd was pleased with a whole range of aircraft performances, from old-timers, through aerobatic aircraft to the latest fighter jets. Some of the highlights were the Red Bull Corsair, the French Skyraider, Yak-3, German Bucker team and the Li-2. Other Red Bull aircraft were the Extra 300 and the Flying Bulls. The Czech Air Force also participated the show with Mi-17, Mi-24 and Sokol in the static, while the Mi-24, L-39 and the L-159 also performed a flying display. Under the eyes of the Czech minister of defense, a role display was performed by two L-159s and two Gripens.
		On Saturday evening a hangar party was held in one of the local aircraft hangars. Local food and beer was served with nice music in the background. During the late evening we took the opportunity to take some extra pictures as there was a gorgeous sunset.
On Sunday the weather was a little better with some sunny spells, but there was still a lot of wind. The flying program was the same as the day before and so Tony went up again to open the show. Unfortunately just during the show of the Bronco, the clouds broke open and a rain shower came over the airfield. All the people were searching for shelter, and we probably broke the world-record for most people in one tent. For the rest of the day it stayed dry and mostly sunny.
After the show it was time to prepare the Bronco for the return flight that evening. Getting fuel was a problem, as we were the only ones who needed Jet-fuel. Tony taxied the Bronco to the gas station on the airfield, which has a small jet-fuel tank. But after about 300 liters the tank was empty, but we needed a full tank in order to make the long flight home. Quick telephones were made to find a solution, and after some time it was decided to fly the Bronco over to Vodochody, where the Aero factory is housed. So it was time to say goodbye to everybody, Tony took off and after a nice farewell fly past he headed over to Vodochody where he received fuel to make the trip back home to Wevelgem airport. The rest of the crew also said goodbye and started the long drive back home.
		So a nice long-weekend was finished, we all enjoyed it very much. By this way we would like to thank everyone of the organization for their great hospitality, as well as the people from Vodochody airport and all the visitors and friends who came over to visit us! We hope to come back in two years for the next Roudnice Memorial Air Show.