Belgium Air Force Days 2014
Located on the North western side of Belgium on the border
with Holland, the air base at Kleine-Brogel is set in a dense forest. Home to 349
squadron and 31 squadron tigers Kleine is the back bone to Belgium’s air defense
and a fitting location to hold the Centenary air show celebrations.
As well as celebrating the centenary 2014 also marks 40
years of the F-16 and as Kleine-Brogel is an active F-16 base it was only right that this milestone was
honored at the show as well.
With the two different anniversaries to recognize, there was
plenty of scope for the organisers to attract a varying lineup, however as with most shows a couple of early announced star displays had to pull out from the show. Plans for the
Canadian Air Forces CF-18 Solo Hornet display to come to Europe for both the
Payerne shows and Belgian Air Days failed to materialise as well as a late cancellation from the Italian air force which unfortunately lead to the cancellation of there C-27j Spartan Demo and Typhoon displays
despite this, there were still significant numbers of aircraft attending from a
vast selection of air forces from around the world.
Amongst the foreign static participation were some
interesting fast jets. A vast array of front line European jets
where lined up along the old runway including two Mig 29s from the
Slovakian air Force and Polish air force, two late additions from the US Air
Force in the form of Two F-15s both a C and D Variant, and undoubtedly the stars of
the Static line had to be the 40 year special f-16 along with Two Portuguese F-16s,
the France armed forces also sent three Rafale’s two Navy variants and an air
force variant. More common aircraft at European shows included two German
typhoons two Danish air force F-16s along with a Hungarian Gripen. Further static participants
included a rotary asset's from the Czech Air Force in the form of a
special scheme Mi-24 Hind however this was positioned poorly on the
airfield and a lot of people did not get the opportunity to see it the Belgium's provided 3 NH-90’s and a Sea King. The large static aircraft were minimal however a Belgium
C-130 and a Norwegian P-3 Orion were present. As a consequence of the airfield
layout itself and the volume of static aircraft, one of the downsides was the
positioning of all the static items along the old runway between the crowd line
and active runway leaving few clear gaps to view the runway which were all taken by
just after 9am on both days.
Friday
Spotters Day
Friday’s crowds enjoyed the best weather of the weekend with
clear and still skies and high temperatures. Opening the day’s action was by
far one of the most impressive displays of the show the Polish Mig 29 with an
impressive take off and one of the best starts to a show I have ever seen.
Next up was a Practice of the joint power demonstration of which was designed
to show how a situation plays out in real life combat incorporating a variety
of different aircraft and nations including a rare opportunity to see a
B-Hunter UAV which conducted a Flypast, ending the demonstration there was the rare treat to
witness a flypast of 7 Belgium air force Alpha Jets.
Next up where a few arrivals including the German Typhoons
and US Air Force F-15s which all taxied right past the crowd line which was
excellent for photographers, after the last few arrivals had landed the gorgeous
Dutch Spitfire took to the air all be it a very short display there were a few
nice passes to be had and unusual dirty pass from a war bird.
With the day Designated as a spotters day and not an air
show the actual flying displays where few and far between due to the number of
arrivals and departures of aircraft however from 3pm onwards there where a
number of display practices ranging from the Frecce Tricolori to a very unique
flypast by a Belgium alpha jet painted in special anniversary markings alongside a Fouga Magister.
Saturday
show day
The weather greeting crowds on the Saturday was a much
different story too that of the previous day with almost full cloud cover and flat lighting for the
photographers attending leading to the cancellation of two of the star flying
attractions the Greek F-16 solo and the Slovak Mig 29 solo, however after around
an hour into the show the weather started to clear and by the
afternoon it was back to warm clear blue skies.
With the weather playing havoc with the morning plans the
flying display was suspended by 30 minutes. The flying began with the Dutch Spitfire flying a short display like the previous day he was quickly followed by a unique
display from The Victors flying 4 Piper PA-28 Warriors. They were then preceded by the
Joint Power Demo which was very similar to the previous day all be it flown
lower due to the low cloud cover and the addition of a NATO Awacs which
provided a flypast with 2 Belgium F-16s on the wings. Just like the spotters day the demo was brought to a close with a flypast
of the 7 Alpha jets trailing the colours of Belgium this officially starting
the air show.
From then on it was nonstop jet noise and blade slap from a
number of display teams and solo acts with the main section of the display
starting with the Frecce Tricolori who were forced to perform a low show due to
low cloud during their display slot. There were quickly followed by the first
rotary act of the day and a rare chance to see a Display from a Czech Air Force
Mi-24 Hind after a great display from a large helicopter the first fast jet
solo took to the skies in the form of the Fantastic Turkish air force F-16 solo
with the added effect of flares this display is really the best F-16 solo's in europe if not the world.
The next section of the day was to celebrate the history of
the Belgium Air Component Starting with the very aerobatic A109 display provided
by the Belgium Air Force then a once in a life time opportunity to witness one
of the most unique Flypast we will ever see a Belgium Air Force F-16 flying
alongside a Bleriot XI although the F-16 is dramatically faster and was
struggling to stay with the Bleriot it still made for a fantastic photo and
experience not to forget there was also a rare opportunity to see the Belgium national display team the Red Devils fly with the Belgium F-16 to create a formation Break which looked excellent from crowd centre.
This was then proceeded by a section of Swiss precision from
the Swiss super Cougar and PC-7 Team. It was however the Mirage 2000N pair from
the French Air Force tactical demonstration team Ramex Delta that stole the jet
display crown with an incredibly fast paced and energetic display containing
tight formations, precision re-joins and plenty of speed a sight and sound to
behold.
The Dutch also provided both there F-16 solo and Apache solo
displays unlike previous years both are now painted in standard military
colours with no special schemes however the where still being displayed fantastically with high speed energetic maneuvers from the F-16 and Dynamic and aerobatic maneuvers from the Apache. Although the dutch where no longer splashing a dash a colour with there displays the french certainly where and the winner for the best looking jet had
to go to there stunning Rafale solo in its special tiger paint
scheme. The Day was brought to a close by the Belgium F-16 solo and the Royal
Air Force Red Arrows who displayed in stunning light in the setting sun.
Roundup
When news
first broke of a the air show to celebrate the centenary, many were
understandably excited at its potential and it’s fair to say that the weekend
of Belgium Air Force days more than met the standard expected by many. The
display program was well thought out offering constant variations in display
types and time between action in the air was kept incredibly short which all
contributed to a fast flowing and fluid experience. With a large number of
relatively rare and different displays including magnificent flypasts and
displays to mark the 100 year centenary the anniversary was certainly marked with style .
