A different kind of tourism: Photographing the aircraft that “dance” in the canyons

Perched on the sides of the massif that crosses the Vouraikos gorge, with the picturesque Odontotos Diakoptos – Kalavryton slowly “climbing” higher and higher at the bottom of the narrow ravine, dozens of photographers stand between the rocks and enjoy the tranquility of the landscape.

Except that the German, Italian, Czech, Dutch, Belgian, Polish, Italian, British, Slovak, Japanese fans of the aviation idea are anxiously waiting for the moments when this silence will be “broken”.

They have come from their countries for days to aim their cameras at the sky from early in the morning. Stoically and for many days they will wait when the otherworldly sound of two powerful jet engines is heard in the relief of Achaia.

It is a different kind of tourist who wants to return to their countries with photo frames of these aerodynamic marvels. As they comment on RESEARCH, there are few places on the planet where they can see a heavy 13+ ton fighter thanks to 60,000 pounds of power fly like a well-trained ballerina a breath from the trees and their tops.

Suddenly the conversation stops and in front of us an impressive aircraft will cross the canyon rich in vegetation just like the actors of the movie “Top Gun: Maverick” did in the final scene of the famous movie: only we are not in Arizona, but in Kalavrita. ..

The uniqueness of Greece that excites

“The places where one can photograph many types of fighter aircraft moving low over the terrain are few and far between, we aviation enthusiasts who live in the area have been trying for years to capture beautiful photo frames of the trainee pilots who a few moments will fly by the area and share them with other enthusiasts around the world. This year we were happy to see that even more Aviation lovers from all over the world have arrived and are staying in the area in order to have such a photographic experience. This is positive for the region and for tourism”, commented Mr. Yiannis Rigopoulos, one of the oldest photographers/aircraft spotters in the region, to APE BEE.

All the way to the west, armed with sunscreen, a hat, a few snacks, water and, above all, a desire for company, the climbers like the natives… goats and sheep – who even keep them company – photographers have huge reserves of patience. Time passes and finally they smile widely at late noon. Finally, a pair of F-15SA fighters from Saudi Arabia will give them the gift of flying under, over and past them at high speed, displaying the aerodynamics of its huge wing and “God Bless You” emblazoned on the nose. each such aircraft aluminum “bird” available to that country.

Suddenly an alarm will sound. Hundreds of clicks, telephoto lenses catch fire while admiration for the skills of the operators dominates the world spotters.

From April 24th until May 4th 2023 when the “Iniochos 2023” exercise was completed, there were specific days in which part of the planning of the virtual missions included a quick transition from such morphology to other areas. They were the moments for which more than 500 aircraft spotters had signed up to travel to Greece this spring alone. They rented a car, a hotel and took to the mountains, which the four young Italians next to us did. After traveling from the north of the neighboring country and for about a week they came to Greece to see these aircraft. The days of crossing the Greek canyons by the fighters of all countries paid off especially as Italian fighters arrived in Greece this year for the exercise.

“There are few places in the world where one can see and enjoy exactly this special sight, aircraft ‘dancing’ that is in canyons a few meters from the cliffs of a slope. We came to Greece exactly for this, the whole company,” explains the tall Italian amateur photographer who is sad that they have to leave for their homeland after four days of photography. The group of friends stayed in Corinth and took advantage of another opportunity for photo-clicks with the passage over the Acropolis of the large formation of aircraft on April 28, a moment of tradition for Greece’s “Hiniochos” exercises.

The important footprint of the “Hiniochos” exercise in the wider region, especially since the exercise became international, has therefore aroused the interest of many countries that either participate, or send delegations to monitor the exercise and create a strange tourist product. The ability of the Hellenic Air Force to organize and conduct realistic exercises, in a large area with a variety of geomorphological features, makes these exercises capable of providing participants with a high level of training, but also created a new pole of attraction for a different, more ‘ special’, tourist market. In this particular case, the unique nature-loving route that starts from Diakopto and ends in Kalavryta has for a few days in April and May to offer an aerial attraction, which, although it requires patience from the visitor/photographer, can give special emotions.

On the hunt for the unique photo

“There are very few places in the world to take pictures, make videos and enjoy such a spectacle. There is, for example, Sidewinder Canyon in the USA. while we also have the area known as the Mach Loop which includes specific valleys in central west Wales, an area in which such low-altitude fast flight training takes place,” comments German aircraft spotter Florian Szczepanek who, either alone or with company, plans all year round trips to photograph aircraft in areas of Europe. Indeed, the places where such experiences of observation and photography are possible are few and far between.

In addition to the aforementioned famous Machynlleth Loop canyon or Mach Loop of the United Kingdom, in the USA there is fans go to Rainbow Canyon or Star Wars Canyon as the photographers call part of Death Valley National Park in California, while their – photographic – luck they may also seek out the vast expanses of Nevada when visitors are in large drills a few times a year. Since 2013, the Greek “Hiniochos” has apparently won a place on this short list.

A Belgian fighter aircraft photographer and his German friend await the arrival of the fighters in the canyon with the same enthusiasm with their four cameras. You even observe them carefully studying the position of the sun so that they stand every hour and at the right spot for photography, always ready and with their eyes on the bend of the canyon. The pulses of the large group around us rise when at last two Italian Tornados arrive from the depths and seem to do the incredible by flying between rocks and straits.

Through a telephoto lens they look like two iron arrows whose noses are… ridden by two people. After hours of waiting, finally smiles and many photo frames of the two Italian aircraft licking the tops of the trees in the beautiful Greek ravine. You admire how the pilots ‘shake’ the aircraft in sharp maneuvers as if it were a common day at the… “office”.

In the previous days, Greek F-16s as well as F-4E Phantoms made such passes in the area, but the guests seem to have had the first say this year, since training at low altitude is invaluable for an aviator. So for 2023 were the crossings of the imposing F-15SA fighters of Saudi Arabia, the F-16s of Jordan, the French Rafales, the impressive Italian “Tornadoes” of the Aeronautica Militare (Tornado IDS aircraft of the Italian Air Force) that may be training to avoid the “enemy” they were captured in frames by the international traveller-photographers who were waiting around us perched on the slopes.

Each day of photography will end with the visitors of our country smiling contentedly while enjoying a traditional herb pie in a nearby cafe. There they will comment on how the day went with their friends from all over the world before returning to their hotels. A few days later, together with their suitcases, they will carry back to their homeland abundant stories that will dress up the beautiful photo clicks of the Greek countryside that for a few moments hosted the high-speed crossings of these steel wings from all over the world.