A large parade was held at El Trompillo in 2013, to celebrate the Fuerza Aerea Boliviana (Bolivian Air Force) anniversary. The parade proved to be the perfect opportunity to witness various kinds of aircraft in colourful fashion for one of our editors.
How low can you go? One of many types operated by the FAB is the British Aerospace Jetstream, which took off in style to please the photographer.
This Beech 200 is operated from El Alto near the capital La Paz, situated high in the Andes mountains, and came to tropical Santa Cruz to participate in the anniversary celebrations.
The Bolivian presidential ride is the EC145, which are features Estado Pluranacional de Bolivia titles, referring to the mixture of cultures that can be found in this beautiful, diverse and intriguing country.
If you are interested in military Cessna 206 and 210, Bolivia is the place to be. This 210 belongs to Grupo Aereo de Caza 32, a badge of which can be seen on the door.
The Aerotec A122 Uirapuru is a Brazilian made basic trainer, this example is believed to be the very last one flown by the Bolivian air force.
Its replacement came with this Diamond DA40 Star, a state of the art and very efficient aircraft, which can be found at many flying schools in the United States and Europe.
Two more golden oldies, are the original Beech T-34 Mentor and the Neiva T-25 Universal. Both are believed to be hopping on their last legs in Bolivia.
Many units of the FAB operate a number of Cessnas. This CeTU206G is operated by Grupo Aereo Tactico 64 from Cobija.
Search and rescue duties in the Andes mountains are the main task of this bright coloured Ecureuil, which demonstrated its winching capabilities during the parade.
The Bolivian army and police aviation services both participated in the air force parade as well. The efficient Robinson 44 is flown by both services.
The US Department of State initially deployed well-known Hueys for counter narcotics missions as the Red Devil Task Force. This mission has been taken over by Bolivian air force more recently.
In 2017, only two of PC-7s are left in service, after Bolivia became one of the first export customers of this successful Swiss design. They are operated mainly in the light attack role.
Another dying breed is the Convair, a design that dates back to the fifties. FAB-74 is a former Canadian Armed Forces example, the last one operated by the FAB.
A large country with a developing infrastructure requires a large fleet of transport aircraft. The Fokker F27 and Xian MA60 flew together in the parade, a very unique sight.
The FAB has its own airline, which provides heavily subsidized air transport to the Bolivian populations. Two Boeing 737s can be seen here in formation with a Boeing 727.
Like in other Latin American countries, kit-planes are part of efforts to develop something like an aviation industry. Bolivia is no exception and flies the Team Tango Foxtrot 4 in a cool camouflage scheme.
Chinese aircraft have found their way to Bolivia, which operates six K-8VB jet trainers. One of their main tasks is air policing against light aircraft smuggling narcotics.
Bolivia was the very last country to fly the venerable Lockheed T-33 T-bird. These were upgraded these in the early 2000s in Canada, and soldiered on until June 2017.