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SAR Changeover
A flyby by an AB.212 of the Italian Air Force, and an Augusta 139 of the Air Wing near the Italian Ambassador’s Maltese residence at Ta’ Xbiex marked the “passing of the baton”, so to speak, of SAR duties from the Italian Military Mission (IMM) to the Armed Forces of Malta. (See Air Wing page for additional details about the IMM.)
| DATE | AIRCRAFT | AIR ARM | SERIAL | NOTES | | 02.06.16 | A.139 | Armed Forces of Malta | AS1429 | | | 02.06.16 | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81212 | |
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Armed Forces of Malta Open Day
An open day which includes a limited aviation element and flying display is that held by the Armed Forces of Malta, usually in the first Sunday of October. Coincidentally, this is on the Sunday following the Malta International Airshow weekend.
On display is a range of equipment used by the various units, as well as demonstrations of AFM techniques such as (but not limited to) unarmed combat.
The flying display is held over what in the past used to be the British Services school courtyard.
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1st edition, October 2003
No additional details available.
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2nd edition, 10 October 2004 | AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | AB.47G-2 | A.F.M. | AS7201 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Static line up | | SA.316B | A.F.M. | AS9212 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Static. | | SA.316B | A.F.M. | AS9215 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Display. |
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3rd edition, 02 October 2005 | AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | AB.47G-2 | A.F.M. | AS7201 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Static line up. | | SA.316B | A.F.M. | AS9212 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Static line up. | | SA.316B | A.F.M. | AS9215 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Air display. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81207 | Italian Military Mission | Static Display. |
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4th edition, 01 October 2006 | AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | AB.47G-2 | A.F.M. | AS7201 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Static line up. | | SA.316B | A.F.M. | AS9211 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Static line up. | | SA.316B | A.F.M. | AS9212 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Air display. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81156/9-14 | Italian Military Mission | Static Display. |
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5th edition, October 2007
No details available.
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6th edition, 5 October 2008 | AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | SA.316B | A.F.M. | AS9212 | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Display. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81144 | Italian Military Mission | Static Display. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81147 | Italian Military Mission | Display. |
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7th edition, 4 October 2009
For the first time, the AFM Open Day was held at the Valletta water front in Grand Harbour, rather than No. 2 Site at the airport. This was done to allow the Maltese public to view a newly-commissioned patrol boat, as well as other vessels.
| AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | SA.316 | A.F.M. | AS____ | Air Sqdn 2 Regt | Display. | | BN Islander | A.F.M. | AS9819 | Air Sqdn | Flyby with two Bulldogs. | | SA Bulldog | A.F.M. | AS0022 | Air Sqdn | Flyby with Islander. | | SA Bulldog | A.F.M. | AS0023 | Air Sqdn | Flyby with Islander. | | Casa 212-300 | A.F.M. | AS0925 | Air Sqdn | Flyby. Aircraft on lease to AFM. |
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8th edition, 3 October 2010 | AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | SA. 316 | A.F.M. | AS9315 | Air Wing | Static display, in new grey colours. | | SA. 316 | A.F.M. | AS9211 | Air Wing | Flying display. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81214 | | Carried “ISAF” titles. Helicopter had arrived in Malta a few days previously. |
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9th edition, 2 October 2011 For this year’s open day, I was unable to witness the flying display, and can only list the helicopters on static display. Beech 200 flyby from newspaper report.
| AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | SA. 316 | A.F.M. | AS9211 | Air Wing | Static display, in new grey colours. | | Beech 200 | A.F.M. | AS1125 | Air Wing | Flyby over parade ground. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81154 | | Static display. |
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10th edition, 6 October 2012 Apart from two helicopters on display, no flying display was listed in the programme.
| AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | SA. 316 | A.F.M. | AS9315 | Air Wing | Static display. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81159 | | Static display. Carried a large yellow 50 on the nose. |
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11th edition, 6 October 2013 Was this years’ Open Day the closest to being cancelled?
Sunday morning dawned grey with rain until mid-morning. Fortunately, not only did the rain stop, but the weather cleared, at least for a couple of hours around midday.
| AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | SA. 316 | A.F.M. | AS9211 | Air Wing | Static display. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81216 | | Static display. Carried “40th Anniversario 1973-2013. Italia – Malta” stickers. Also carried ISAF titles on cockpit door. |
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12th edition, 2014
No details available.
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13th edition, 17 October, 2015 Celebrating their 45th anniversary, the AFM'S annual Open Day was held at Pinto Wharf, Grand harbour. This allowed the public to also view some of the patrol boats used by the Maritime Squadron.
Aviation-wise, three helicopters were available for viewing, an Alouette, AW.139 and the Italian Military Missions' AB.212. All three had landed at Pinto Wharf the previous evening.
To my knowledge, there were no flying displays, although a second AB.212 did make an orbit over the harbour, before proceeding on its way.
Also "flying", but not part of the programme, was a remote-controlled helicopter drone, but whoever was controlling it kept it well away from the area occupied by the AFM.
The only display was by two AFM SAR boats, giving a demonstration of their manoeuvrability.
| AIRCRAFT | OPERATOR | IDENTITY | SQDN | NOTES | | AW.139 | A.F.M. | AS1428 | Air Wing | Static display. | | SA. 316B | A.F.M. | AS9211 | Air Wing | Static display. | | AB.212 | Italian AF | MM81163/9-63 | | Static display. |
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