Walkaround -  Various BAF's Northrop F-5EM under maintenance

 What:
Walkaround - Various BAF's Northrop F-5EM under maintenance
Where:
Brazilian Air Force Aeronautical Materiel Park facilities - PAMA, São Paulo, Brazil
When:
December 5-6, 2015.


 
As you know, the IPMS-Brazil national modeling convention is held every year at PAMA - Aeronautical Materiel Park facilities of the Brazilian Air Force at São Paulo. It is a nice attraction to modelers and aviation fans, as there are always different types of BAF operated aircraft under several stages of maintenance. This year (2015) wasn't different, but there were so many interesting details to photograph that I decided to make this mixed walkaround.

First, the BAF's F-5E are re-designated F-5EM beause they were modernized by Embraer to get a few more years of service from those tired airframes. The main external difference are the guns, nose, and the extended vertical stabilizer fin (F-5Es have rounded fillets there). A few of the F-5s were under heavy maintenance this year, and what a diorama they would make:
   

    
Second, a word about the BAF camouflage colors in this case. I don't know much on their paint specs, but they seem to be applied without much worries about neatness, are very flat, and the gray seems to have a purple tint in it that is not easy to capture on any photo.
 

 
And third, Brazil acquired a few ex-Royal Jordanian Air Force some years ago. Some aiframes are clearly being canibalized for parts (those wrapped in clear plastic) but it looks like two or three are being brought to flight standards. You can see them on the left in the photo below, already primed in yellow chromate... but it is just a guess on my part.
 

   
Here are a few more photos. Enjoy...
   


I hope you find these photos useful somehow. If you have any interesting information about the history of this aircraft, please drop me a line.


Rato Marczak © 2015