Afterburner.nl - Lithuanian Border Guard

Oldtimers in the air.
A very interesting part of the Lithuanian Air Arms is the Lithuanian Border Guard. The Krasto Apsaugos Savanoriskosios Pajegos (KASP, Lithuanian Border Guard) is operating from two main bases; Siluté in the northwest and Kyviskes in the southeast of the country. They are equipped with rather old aircraft such as the Antonov An-2 and the Yakovlev Yak-52. The KASP is mainly tasked for parachute jumping and utility flights.

Siluté, close to the border of Kaliningrad, is hosting Antonov 2s, Yak-52s the greater part of the PZL-104 Wilgas. In addition to this they also use several gliders. The aircraft operate with Juozo Kasperaviciaus Aviacijos Eskadrile, Kyviskes is close to capitol Vilnius and close to the Belarus border. From here the Vilniaus Dariaus ir Gireno Aviacijos Eskadrile is operating with An-2s, Yak-52s, a single Yak-18T, a Wilga and a Piper 38.

On one occasion we had the pleasure to fly with an An-2 from the civil airfield of Kleipeda, up north in Lithuania near the coast. Two An-2s were temporary based there for sky diving purposes. One of the aircraft was from Siluté, the other one from Kyviskes. The aircrews used the buildings and facilities from a civil sky diving club. In return for that, the civilians could take the advantage to dive from the military aircraft as well. The atmosphere was very relaxed and gave us the feeling of being at just another aero club. We were invited to join one of the parachute jumping flights, which we of course didn’t turn down. Once in the aircraft, a crewmember dangled the propeller and with lots of noise and smoke the engine started running. After taxiing to the landing strip, we jolted over grass and finally lifted. It took the aircraft three quarters of an hour to reach the altitude of 9000ft! After dumping the load we set course to lower levels again. Like a kite we glided down to the surface again. What an amazing aircraft and what an terrific experience!