Airpower 2011 Zeltweg (A)

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AIRPOWER11 exceeded all expectations

290,000 fans were visiting the AIRPOWER11 on Friday and Saturday, cheering flight actions of the Austrian Armed Forces, the Flying Bulls, etc., providing the region an additional value of 15 million Euro.
An exciting program with 222 aircraft from 22 countries as well as optimal event weather led to a new attendance record: 290,000 fans were marveling at the 10 hours of pure flight fascination presented on Friday as well as on Saturday. Also Marco Waltenspiel of the Red Bull Skydive Team was arousing the visitorsʼ enthusiasm by performing his wingsuite base jump. The visitors were admiring the fleet of the Flying Bulls, which presented itself for the first time in large formation. They also got an impression of the abilities of the Austrian Air Force, which, among others, was demonstrating the forced landing of a C-130 Hercules by means of two Eurofighters, and they were seeing shows of aerobatic teams like the Frecce Tricolori, the Patrouille Suisse, and the Turkish Stars. In addition, they were presented lots of other highlights – from the F-16 to the Messerschmitt ME 262, from helicopter aerobatics to the glider ballet of the Blanix team.

Delighted teams and pilots: “Weʼll gladly come back”
The AIRPOWER11 was not only a delightful event for the spectators, but also for the pilots: The invitation to come here was a great honor for us,” major Abdulaziz Al-Sohaimi of the Royal Saudi Hawks said. The aerobatics team of the Saudi Arabian Air Force was celebrating its debut on the European continent and is already looking forward “to see again our new Austrian fans and friends as soon as possible”.
15 million Euro of added value for the region
Also for the region, the AIRPOWER11 is a big success: “The green heart of Austria can be happy about around 60,000 additional overnight stays,” Hermann Schützenhöfer, the deputy governor of Styria said. Karl Schmidhofer, the president of the Murtal Holiday Region Association, estimated the regional added value at 15 million Euro. And Styrian governor Franz Voves was emphasizing, during a reception given for 1,000 in Hangar 5 of the Hinterstoisser Airbase, “the excellent chance AIRPOWER11 was providing to promote the province of Styria as a holiday region”. Norbert Darabos, the Austrian Minister of Defense and Sports, was also very satisfied with the AIRPOWER11. “The Airpower is an important event for the region and the Austrian Armed Forces, and it is demonstrating the great flexibility and capability of our Armed Forces. But also our civilian partners, the Province of Styria and Red Bull, have made a considerable contribution to the success of the Airpower.