One of the exhibits at the Gifu Air Base Museum and photographed during the base open day. I waited as late as possible after the flying display before photographing the exhibits in order to reduce the number of people in the background. Unfortunately, the guard present wouldn't let me touch the cones.

Impulse 5 is pictured during the Blue Impulse display at the Gifu AB Air Festival 2009.

The highlight of my visit to the Gifu AB Air Festival 2009.This shot isn't quite as simple as it looks - there are many Japanese people kneeling and squatting down to get out of my shot. To ask them all to do this, whilst not speaking much Japanese was quite a feat in logistics!

Photographed at the Gifu AB Air festival 2009. The T-2CCV (Experimental Control Configuration Vehicle) testbed includes extra canards compared with the usual T-2.

Photographed as one of the static exhibits at the Gifu AB Air Festival 2009. Even though I got to the show early there were still many, many people present. So many in fact that I quickly gave up on base and decanted to the South side.

Based on the successful Kawasaki C-1 transport, this was a one-off Quiet STOL research aircraft, developed by the National Aerospace Laboratory. Powered by four FRJ710 turbofan engines and making use of the Coandă effect. It was built to research STOL using upper surface blowing, aircraft noise reduction, fly-by-wire systems and composite materials construction and is now displayed at the Kakamigahara Aerospace Museum outside Gifu Air Base. The small Japanese 航空宇宙技術研究所 titles stand for National Aerospace Laboratory.

In the early 1960s, Shin Meiwa extensively modified a Grumman UF-1 (BuAer 149822) with a boundary layer control STOL system. The company, previously known as Kawanishi, used wartime experience with flying boats (see my Emily photo #20511to further develop the UF-XS, which first flew in 12.62, into an ASW patrol aircraft, leading to the PS-1/US-1 for the JMSDF. The unique UF-XS is now in the Kakamigahara Aerospace Museum; note unusual 4-engined configuration with 3-bladed props inboard and 2-bladed outboard