In the country, we often see one or two prop-driven trainers from the Uruguay Air Force, which has a base nearby in Pando. All depends on whether they have fuel or not. Seriously.
In town, the window near my desk faces the ocean, so I get to see what’s flying back and forth between Montevideo and Punta del Este. Very little, usually; some corporate-type helicopters occasionally, or a Vietnam-War-era Huey helicopter (introduced in 1956).
Today, three Air Force jets flew out and then back, and seven prop planes in formation, none of which I’ve ever seen before. I had to look them up: the jets appear to be Cessna A-37 Dragonflies (introduced in 1964):
The prop planes I’m guessing are Aermacchi SF.260s (also introduced in 1964):
Which all seems hopelessly quaint, especially compared to mighty (and mighty expensive) beasts like the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 Raptor, but the fact remains that the little planes of the Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya are actually flying (unlike the F-35) and not killing their pilots (one of those unfortunate things the F-22 tends to do).
What a concept!
