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Opening Celebrations

On the morning of Friday the 24th of August be airfield was officially opened with marching bands Balinese dancing and aerobatic shows.
That evening we were once again entertained with dancing at a feast at Lovina Beach Resort.
The next day while Rod took the Regent and a few of the liaison helpers for the event for a joy flight, the rest of us did a full day tour up into the mountains of Bali.
On the last night of the program our farewell dinner was held with the presentation of trophies for the event of which our crew won ofcourse the longest distance travelled to attend the fly-in.
It was at this event that we then decided to continue our trip by joining in with the Air Rally that was continuing on to the West to fly around Java and eventually finished up in Jakarta for the Jakarta 2001 Air Show as the only Australian aircraft to the present for this event.

	Buleleng Fly - In 2001
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The opening of Let.kol Wisnu Airfield at Gerokgak. We arrived in Bali in the late afternoon where thousands of locals had already gathered in anticipation of the following day's official opening of the airfield and the celebrations to follow. Sixteen other aircraft had already flown in from other parts of Asia such as Malaysia, the Philippines and other Indonesian islands. The Beagle was the only aircraft from Australia and was the largest aircraft to land on the new airfield. That evening we attended an official welcome dinner at the Regent of Bulelangs Palace along with the other entrants for the Fly-in. Our accommodation was at the newly completed Nugraha Lovina Resort [phone 001-62-362-41506 ] The Regency of Buleleng is situated in the northern part of Bali and covers almost a third of the island. Several years ago it was decided that the northern part of Bali was missing out on the boom in tourism experienced by the southern region of the island around Kuta Beach and Denpasar. The tourism body then concluded that the 4 to 5 hour bus journey over the mountains or around the coast was impeding the north Western areas opportunities for growth. It was decided that an airport was required to shuttle people from the southern international airport of Denpassar or Jakarta. A dilapidated second world war runway of 600 m was extended to 700 m and sealed, and a small waiting terminal erected. The new airport is 60 kilometres from the Regency capital of Singaraja. To promote the airport an invitation was created on a web page inviting highlights and aircraft from all over the world to participate in the opening celebrations and a new era in tourism for the area.
		Opening Celebrations On the morning of Friday the 24th of August be airfield was officially opened with marching bands Balinese dancing and aerobatic shows. That evening we were once again entertained with dancing at a feast at Lovina Beach Resort. The next day while Rod took the Regent and a few of the liaison helpers for the event for a joy flight, the rest of us did a full day tour up into the mountains of Bali. On the last night of the program our farewell dinner was held with the presentation of trophies for the event of which our crew won ofcourse the longest distance travelled to attend the fly-in. It was at this event that we then decided to continue our trip by joining in with the Air Rally that was continuing on to the West to fly around Java and eventually finished up in Jakarta for the Jakarta 2001 Air Show as the only Australian aircraft to the present for this event.
About Buleleng Now a short charter aircraft flight from Dempasar to Letkol Wisnu Airfield and a 45 minute drive gets you to some fantastic Resorts located away from the hustle and hassle of the more popular southern areas of Bali. A half hour drive gets you into the beautiful mountain region of Bali. The beaches of the north are black volcanic sand beaches with fringing reef which makes it a great area for diving and snorkelling and just good old relaxing. TO SEE THE FLY-IN SITE CLICK BELOW Buleleng Fly-In Site