Lift off for Russia's MAKS Airshow

The 13th edition of the MAKS (International Aviation and Space Salon) is taking place in the small town of Zhukovsky, some forty kilometres outside Moscow.

This biennial exposition hosts numerous delegates and representatives from dozens of nations and hundred of companies, all with business deals on their minds.

The Al Fursan, The Knights, UAE Air Force aerobatic display team perform during the MAKS-2017 International Aviation and Space Show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 21, 2017. [Photo: AP]

The guest stars of the show were the Fursan Al-Emirates (horsemen/knights of the Emirates) who are the Gulf nations solitary air force unit.

They stole the show with their attractive displays and flawless manoeuvres, producing heart shapes and spirals and precision moves with colourful plumes of smoke.

The bodies of their Italian MB-399 aircrafts garner black and gold colours, representing the sand and oil so ubiquitous in the prominent Middle Eastern nation.

Nasser Al-Obaidli is Captain of the Fursan Al Emirates team.

Spectators watch as the Al Fursan, The Knights, UAE Air Force aerobatic display team perform during the MAKS-2017 International Aviation and Space Show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 21, 2017. [Photo: AP]

"It takes plenty time and work. When we come up with a new trick, depending on if it is with one jet, or two jets, when you get a whole team, a month or two is the very least to nail down a trick. So to change the entire profile, I would say is difficult and a lot of work. It would take an entire season, and that is if you go up (fly) daily. It might require flying twice a day, just to keep flying get the hang of it."

This year's most talked about aircraft is the T-50 5th Generation Stealth Aircraft, which performed displays with extreme speed and precise manoeuvrability says Al- Obaidli.

Two Russian Sukhoi T-50 fighters perform during the MAKS-2017 International Aviation and Space Show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 21, 2017. [Photo: AP]

"What most drew my attention personally was the T-50 show, the new Russian jet. It is when the two aircraft flying together in a dogfight, pretty close to the audience, in a tight space, doing tricks that shows the skills of the pilots. And this is something unique."

T -50 pilots can be exposed to around 9 G's of force, which to an untrained individual may well prove fatal.

The T-50 is a costly ($100 million per unit aircraft) state-of-the art fighter jet developed for two decades to counter the U.S. Raptor.

The Al Fursan, The Knights, UAE Air Force aerobatic display team perform during the MAKS-2017 International Aviation and Space Show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 21, 2017. [Photo: AP]

The Syrian war provided an arena for Russia's military to test its latest weapons, including the SU-35 fighter jets in combat

Denis Valeryevich, works for Sukhoi who make the planes.

"This is a multifunctional stealth fighter (Su-35) jet - no, let me put it this way - this is a multifunctional aircraft which is outfitted with very much… it's main work is in the air but it has plenty function when on solid ground. This plane is very advanced, today you will see in the airshow, it is a plane that does such tricks in the air, that among other aviations, other companies, other nations, there are few who can afford this."

Su-30 SM jets of aerobatics team Russkiye Vityasy, or Russian Knights, perform during the MAKS-2017 International Aviation and Space Show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 21, 2017. [Photo: AP]

The MAKS event was established in 1992 mainly as an entertainment show.

It has since grown into an crucial business convention for Russia, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and the world in aviation without losing it's entertainment edge.

This 13th edition of the show opened on 18th July kicking off with an address from Russian President Vladimir Putin, it is expected to host fifty thousand visitors before wrapping up on the 23rd of July.