Aviation and tourism event MontAdria Seaplane Regatta started in Boka

With the first flying day from Tivat airport and the opening ceremony held in the afternoon in the nautical center of Porto Montenegro, the second aviation-tourism manifestation "MontAdria International Seaplane Regatta", intended primarily for seaplanes, began yesterday.

This event, established last year, is organized by the NGO of the same name, and the initiator and main organizer of everything is aviation enthusiast and pilot Dragiša-Gaga Raičevič from Beran.

At the second hydro-aviation regatta in Tivat, he gathered a dozen seaplanes of various types and sizes, as well as several smaller aircraft from the segment of the so-called general aviation, with crews coming from several European countries.

Among the participants of the second MontAdria Seaplane Regatta are representatives of the famous organization "The Flying Bulls" from Austria, which operates under the auspices of the famous producer of energy drinks Red Bull. Namely, the founder and owner of that company, Ditrih Matešic, himself a great lover of aviation and a collector of various attractive or historical aircraft such as the "Douglas DC-6", which was once the presidential plane of the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito.

The team of "The Flying Bulls" came from Salburg to Tivat for the regatta with a "Cessna 208 Caravan" in the hydroplane version, and in addition to this plane, the American turboprop hydroplane type "Dahler Kodiak 100 amphibian" attracts the most attention among the participants of the regatta.

The organizers of the event intend to, based on the rich tradition of hydroaviation in Boka Kotorska, which was started by Austria-Hungary back in 1913, and continued by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to promote flying on seaplanes as an opportunity to further enrich the tourism offer of Montenegro through linking aviation and tourism, and providing opportunities for visitors from abroad to visit some less visited or lesser-known destinations by the Skadar, Šaš or Plav lakes in an unusual way.

At the same time, the possibility of these amphibious aircraft to land both on classic airports and on water surfaces, gives a completely new dimension to the promotion of the tourism potential of Montenegro.

On the first flying day of the regatta, which usually lasts until June 5, its participants flew over the Boka Kotorska bay, the Montenegrin coast and the Skadar lake in seaplanes, starting from the Tivat airport.

After that, they had shorter demonstration flights and presented their aircraft to a wider audience. On the second flying day of the regatta, on Friday, participants of MontAdria from Tivat will fly to Lake Skadar, where the seaplanes will land, and then fly over Podgorica and Nikšić airports with the so-called touch and go (with a short landing without stopping) at the Salt Lake near Nikšić.

After that, it is planned to descend and drive a seaplane on the water on Piva Lake, and then again fly over the former airport in Žabljak with a touch and go landing on Black Lake.

The second day ends with the landing of the regatta participants at the airport in Berane and a special program that will be arranged for them in that city. On the third and last flying day of the regatta on Saturday, June 4, MontAdrie participants will fly from Beran to Plav and land on Plav Lake, and from there in the afternoon they will head south and have a touch and go landing on Saska Lake, and then land Štoj field near Ulcinj.

After taking off from this location, part of the participants will have a touch and go landing on the Bojana River, and then all of them will land together on Lake Skadar, where it is planned to promote the first floating mobile terminal for seaplanes in Montenegro, and a ceremonial closing ceremony will be held. with awards and recognition.