Location: KDH / Kandahar, Afghanistan
Date: February - June 2006
Home for the duration of my stay was here, Kandahar. Afghanistan's second city and home to the Taliban, the airfield hosted all the fixed and rotary wing aircraft based in the south of the country. Although the airfield has a civil terminal, there are no scheduled flights out of the airport and it was only used by the UN charter flights. Apart from the military aircraft based here, there were numerous Russian transports on charters for the military forces.
First up, it's the fixed wing aircraft. Lots of lovely Il-76s and other Russian transports with strange registrations mixed in with an Australian C-130J and a generous sprinkling of American, Canadian, Afghan and, of course, RAF aircraft.
An-12 LZ-SFK was a frequent visitor on civilian freight duties.
XV188 was a number of RAF Hercules C3As based at Kandahar.
One of many Il-76s to visit, this is RA-76445 of Volga Dnepr.
Another regular was YU-AJK, a DC-9 flying with Eastern SkyJets.
Along with the older C1s and C3s a number of new Hercules C4s and 5s were based at Kandahar, This is ZH878, a C4.
One of two DHL 727 freighters, this is HZ-SNC.
Afghan Air Force An-32, 350.
04-4134 is a C-17A from McGuire AFB in New Jersey.
LZ-SFK taxies past 04-4134
Despite the clear skies this Il-76 - RA-76388 - did a go-around on its first approach.
Canadian Armed Forces CC-130 Hercules, 130308, waiting to depart.
One of the UN-operated aircraft in Afghanistan is ES-NOB, an An-72.
Another Il-76, this time Kyrgystan-registered EX-035.
Hercules C4 ZH876.
Blackwater Aviation operates a number of smaller civilian types for the US forces. This is a CASA 212 N963BW.
XV209 is a Hercules C3 was recently added sensor pods on the rear fuselage.
90-0534 prepares to go-around...
...before loosing off a series of flares!.
C-17 00-0177 preparing to depart.
00-0177 with lights on.
'0534 arriving after its missed approach.
EX-164 an An-12 of British Gulf International.
00-0177 rotating on departure.
Having been held at the end of the runway for 40 minutes, 4K-AZ55 finally leaves.
One of two anonymous C-12s seen at Kandahar, this is 94-0324 of the US Army.
