As the only media outlet in Ecuador accredited, I was present at FAITH 2018 twentieth edition – Santiago de Chile, the main aerospace fair in Latin America that takes place every 2 years in the Chilean capital. Here I tell you the details of this important event, its participants, planes, air shows and what's coming at FIDAE 2020.
Thanks to the kind invitation of LATAM Airlines Ecuador, I traveled to Santiago to be in the last 3 days of the most important aeronautical fair, regional military and space, that this year had important participants. Manufacturers and their aircraft were the stars of the event.
FAITH 2018 twentieth edition – Santiago de Chile
La FIDAE – International Air and Space Fair is a large fair and air show, where many topics are discussed from the military through drones all the way to commercial aviation and MORE. That is why I will show, what has personal taste, it was the most relevant of this edition or more it caught the attention of itself and of the thousands of attendees, plus other interesting subjects caught on camera at over 5.400 photos taken on attendance days. Enjoy!
The Northrop F-5E Tigre III of the Chilean Air Force – FACH.The great commercial traffic of SCL joins the planes of FIDAE. Here 2 LATAM Airbus give way to a FACH F-16.AS-365 Douphin of the Chilean NAVAL in its demonstration show of operations.a new one for me, the rare Vulcanair P-68 Observer of the Chilean NAVAL.The one who stole everyone's eyes, F-22 Raptor. Handsome!Impossible not to recognize the F-22.We need one of these firefighting helicopters in Ecuador. Here the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane showing its capabilities.Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane, looks like a spider, but his performance is amazing.One of the most outstanding shos with the Pitts S-2S, Prometheus de Skip Stewart.Pitts S-2S, Skip Stewart's Prometheus in action. Skip has won countless awards for his unique maneuvers with this biplane..Professional simulation was also present with this no motion Airbus A320 cockpit.do you recognize the plane? It's a USAF C-17 Globemaster III..The favorite and most anticipated by many. The great, mythical, classic and incredible Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.With the bomb and missile compound open the F-22 also looks beautiful.Do you notice the fire coming out of the engines? The raptor in action.Airbus was present as the largest exhibitor at the fair. We couldn't see the Airbus A350-900, but yes to another new plane, Airbus A320neo from LAAM Airlines.Russia was present with several stands, a Sukhoi Superjet would have been great 100 en Faith, but at least we saw it to scale.Defense and weapons is also part of FIDAE, which makes it a complete and broad event for various sectors of the industry.The new simulators now have augmented reality glasses.This simulator can fly too, very interesting and complete 8 touch screens.The General Directorate of Civil Aviation of Chile presented its first traffic control simulator with augmented reality.Boeing Professional Simulator 787 Dreamliner used by LATAM Airlines for pilot training.
My landing in the LATAM Airlines simulator, a little moved, but very, Very good experience.
Aeroespatiale AS-332 Super Puma armed to the teeth.Defense and attack capacity.This modern cabin is from more and nothing less than the Alenia C-27J SpartanPeruvian Air Force C-27J Spartan engine details.Powerful flight line in FIDAE 2018.Short, but this Pitts has enviable maneuverability.We already know this plane in Ecuador. This cabin belongs to a Casa C-295 of the Mexican Air Force.So they can't guess which plane this cabin belongs to… It's from a Hercules, Yes, a repowered C-130, obviously. Amazing to see a classic semi-EFIS plane.Famous Esquadrilha da Fumaça from Brazil in one of those incredible presentations.Esquadrilha da Fumaça marking in the sky the words Brazil – Chile.Another C-27J Spartan during a demonstration flight over FIDAE.my favorite fighter plane, el noble Lockheed Martin F-16 MLU de la FACH.The USAF was the air force with the greatest presence in FIDAE, almost beat Chile.For me, this was a luxury and I never thought that the cockpit of the C-17 Globemaster III could be seen so freely. Incredible EFIS technology with built-in HUD for both pilots.The cargo capacity is incredible of the C-17, can carry 134 soldiers.El B-52 <3 <3 <3Of the F-16s ready to fly… but they are remote controlled, your details are great.Embraer Super Tucano of the FACH on display.Remarkable participation of Embraer, there was also the new KC-390, but he left a day before my arrival.The Super Tucano head. Hopefully one day we can see the FAE planes performing shows of this magnitude.Vista general of FIDAE 2018.Another of FIDAE's gems. Although modern F-35s did not fly, it was amazing to see them up close.Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.Simply, handsome, F-22 Raptor.¡Raptor!Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor was without a doubt, the most photographed.The Halcones High Acrobatics Squadron showed off their show.The Halcones high acrobatic squadron in the romantic moment of the day.There were also parades on land…One who expected to see it fly, the Airbus A400M Atlas.The Airbus A400M Atlas show was impressive.This little guy is not a Super Tucano, is the KAI KT-1P Torito Trainer manufactured in Peru and operated by the Peruvian Air Force.Esquadrilha da Fumaça during uno de sus shows.
I leave you a short video of what it is like to walk through the FIDAE platform so that you are encouraged to attend the next editions:
Tips for FIDAE
Here are some tips if you want to attend for the edition 2020 u otra posterior:
I recommend attending on weekdays., since there are fewer people, more major aircraft, even more interesting shows and exhibitors give away details of their brands which is a plus. Professional entry costs more, But is it worth it.
The cost from Tuesday to Friday for professionals is approximately $43 dollars per day.
The weekend the cost is about $17 Dollars.
To reach, the best way is to do it with the Turbus buses that leave every 5 a 15 minutes from Central Station, for a value of about $6 Dollars round trip.
Sunscreen is mandatory.
jacket in the morning, since the event takes place at the beginning of autumn in Chile, so the temperature can drop to less than 10 degrees.
The food in FIDAE is more expensive than outside, obviously, so if they can go eating a strong breakfast they will save an item. lunch is unavoidable (unless they bring cookies or small things to snack on) and it costs approx. $15 dollars up. There are cheaper options, but less fillers.
The earlier they arrive at the fair, best. Less people, more planes for you.
Like any self-respecting spotter or fanatic, always carry well-charged camera batteries and extras.
Hydration, if they can bring a bottle of water from outside it will be cheaper.
The restrooms are public and quite clean., but it is always good to use them first thing in the day…
to take pictures, the best area is by the aircraft taxiing area towards the runway, there they will have a better view of the air shows and previous movement of the aircraft.
FAITH 2020
The twenty-first edition of FIDAE 2020 started planning, that takes all this time and resources to continue maintaining the status of the main fair in Latin America and the third in the world. In these two years, There will be many technological changes and even new aircraft will appear on the market, such as the Russian model UAC MC-21 and the Chinese Comac C919, which are in the stages of first flights and certifications., so it would not be unreasonable to see them in 2 years showing its capabilities in the main showcase of the region.
advanced combat aircraft, new UAVs and military technology will continue to evolve and we could take it for granted that we will have them at FIDAE 2020 for the enjoyment of all attendees.
