In my view, the 1990 National Day Parade (NDP) flypast is best remembered for its 25-ship Skyhawk formation that formed the number "25", 1990 being Singapore's 25th year of independence.
The 1984 NDP flypast was a head turner because it had three flights of 15 F-5 Tigers, 15 Hawker Hunters and 15 Skyhawks that formed three V formations, not counting the contribution from the choppers. That year toasted Singapore's 25th year of nation building.
The amount of airspace management and coordination needed to assemble those large fighter aircraft formations (we're talking about 1980s C2 systems) and synchronise it with an equally impressive Mobile Column that saw systems such as the I-HAWK and Rapier make their NDP debut is commendable.
In my opinion, those two flypasts have not been surpassed in terms of wow factor and crowd appeal.
Bearing in mind financial prudence, what should the NDP 2010 flypast be remembered for in years to come?
Will people remember the "firsts" such as the NDP debut for the F-15SG and G550? Heartlanders are unlikely to appreciate what the G550 can do as its belly silhouette resembles a regular business jet. Indeed, the E-2C which appeared at the 2005 outing is likely to have turned more heads as it is a unique-looking aircraft with that frisbee-like structure on its fuselage.
And with just five F-15SGs on home ground, the number of display permutations is limited. That said, all five should be included in one formation - these are big warplanes - perhaps representing the five stars on the Singapore flag. If they could perform a twinkle roll directly over the Padang, that would be the icing on the cake which would be a crowd pleaser.
The five F-15SGs could represent a flying representation of the NDP 2010 logo. Which looks like this:
But more effort is needed to lift the current routine from a so-so performance that burns tax dollars to something people will talk about in years to come.
5 x F-15SG as the stars, and 10 x F-16C in a crescent.
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