User:Blk335i/sandbox

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albania_at_the_2009_World_Championships_in_Athletics I can talk about who participated in this event and how they got to this event, the challenges they overcame to get there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbasan_Castle I can talk about some stories about the castle like why it was built and who it was built for and what town are around it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlorë_Air_Base I can talk about what places are around it and why it was built.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarandë_Airport I can talk about the towns around it and why it was constructed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishëm_Castle I can talk about who it was built for and why it was built and what towns are around it.

Vlorë air base lies south of, and close to, the city of Vlorë. The city is located on the Adriatic coast, in the south of the country. It was constructed in the 1950s. It is the home base for the Air Academy, which was first established in 1962. Since the base was occupied by rioters in 1997, the educational facilities have been refurbished. In 2001 the Air Academy merged with the airbase at Kuçovë to form the Akademia e Forcave Ajrore (Air Force Academy). Pilot training resumed in April 2004, with all aircraft flying from Kuçovë. There is also a large naval base on Sazan Island, off Vlorë (see below). Runway data: Rwy 16/34, Size: 2813 x 195 ft (857 x 59 m), Elev: 3 ft (1 m), N40 28 33.78 E019 28 27.04, grass airfield. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/albania/af/albaf-bases.htm

During World War II the airfield was in use with 150°Gruppo (flying CR42s), because that was the reason it was attacked by Blenheims of 30 Sqn of the RAF on 16 March 1941. In 1962 it was the location where the Air Academy was first established. The base was occupied and largely destroyed by rioters during the 'Lottery Uprising' of 1997. Although the Air Academy was rebuilt, the air base was not. Instead it has been built over with civilian homes. In 2001 the Air Academy merged with the air base at Kuçovë to form the Akademia e Forcave Ajrore (Air Force Academy). Vlorë airfield (also spelled as Vlora, Flore or Flora, Italian: Valona ICAO: LAVL) name was an airfield about 100 kilometers south of Tirana.

The airfield was built in the second half of the 1930s as a civilian airfield in the Italian-Albanian domestic air route network.http://www.forgottenairfields.com/albania/vlore/vlore-s48.html

From 2002 to 2004 Vlore Airbase went under comprehensive renovation and upgrade in order to bring it into NATO Standards as part of Albanias NATO accession process.

https://books.google.com/books?id=0HQr5YdZE4kC&pg=PA220&lpg=PA220&dq=vlore+airbase+albania&source=bl&ots=ZF6_E5NmFe&sig=6Zcs8C-5dg10uHYWC48VqqD1wSs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwizjebp9MTTAhUkwYMKHRXjBzUQ6AEIZTAN#v=onepage&q=vlore%20airbase%20albania&f=false

AIR FORCE ARMY HISTORY

Vlorë air base lies north of, and close to, the city of Vlorë. The city is located on the Adriatic coast, in the south of Albania. It was constructed in the 1950s. It is the home base for the Air Academy, which was first established in 1962. Since the base was occupied by rioters in 1997, the educational facilities have been refurbished. In 2001 the Air Academy merged with the airbase at Kuçovë to form the Akademia e Forcave Ajrore. Pilot training resumed in April 2004, with all aircraft flying from Kuçovë. There is also a large naval base on Sazan Island, off Vlorë. http://placebeam.com/?r=poi&l=40.60&g=19.70&type=t&title=Drenove%2C%20Albania During it's occupation of Albania during World War Two, Italy built at least one airfield to assist with combat operations over Greece and Yugoslavia.

On 24 April 1951, an Albanian Air Force was finally formed with Soviet help. This force was formally titled Forcat Ushtarake Ajore Shqipetare, (known in the west as the Albanian People's Army Air Force - APAAF). The initial equipment was a squadron of Yak-9 fighters donated by the Soviet Union. Prior to it's formation, a number of cadet pilots had undergone initial pilot training on Yak-18s in the USSR and then transferred to Yugoslavia for conversion and advanced flying training on Yak-3 fighters, before returning to Albania. These pilot formed the nucleus of the FUAS. The first pilot fly in an Albanian Air Force plane was Lt. Petraq Polena, born in Korca, Albania, who first took to the air on 24 April 1951.

In 1955, the Soviet Union supplied two squadrons of MiG-15bis jet fighters, together with MiG-15UTI trainers. Some of these aircraft remain in service with the Albanian Air Force in 2002.

The break-down in relations with the USSR in the early 1960s forced rapid switch to Chinese supplied equipment. With the fall of the communist regime in 1990?, a reorganisation of Air Force was initiated. It was renamed to its present title, and all the units were renumbered and reduced in strength. The air force took no part in the Kosovo War. During the civil unrest in 1997, some aviation facilities at Vlorë air base were destroyed, along with several Nanchang CJ-6 trainers. In 2000 an Italian training mission, the Grupo Autonomo AM was formed at Vlorë and Pushporo, to train Albanian aircrew.

history of Vlore
Vlore is the second biggest port in Albania, Durres is the biggest port. Vlore is the city where Albania received the Declaration of Independence on November 28, 1912, Vlore was the capital of albania for a while but now its Tirane.

history of Vlore Air base
The air base is south of the city of Vlore but also very close. The city is on the Adriatic coast in the south region of Albania, It was build in 1950s and it is the home base of the Air Academy. The academy was build in 1962. In 1997 during the " lottery uprising" people came and destroyed the air base. The academy was rebuilt in 2002 to 2004 but the airbase wasn't, civilian homes were built over the airbase. And they also joined partnership with the academy of kucove and that helped that form runaway data. Rwy 16/34, Size: 2813 x 195 ft (857 x 59 m), Elev: 3 ft (1 m), N40 28 33.78 E019 28 27.04, grass airfield. During WWII the airbase was being used by flying CR42s The airbase is 100km from tirane.

Albania air force army history
The Air force couldn't happen without the help of the soviet union, they were named Forcat Ushtarake Ajore Shqipetare, known as albanias people army air force. The first plane was the Yak-9 fighters donated by the soviet union. Many pilots had gone through training of the Yak-18 in the ussr and then they were taken to yoguslavia for more training of the Yak-3 planes before they were returned to Albania. The first pilot to fly in the albanian forces is Petraq Polena born in Korca Albania. In 1995 the soviet union supplied 2 squadrons of jet fighters and with Mig-15UTI trainers. some of the aircrafts are still used in today Albania air force.