TLP2005-5, Florennes

TLP2005-5 proved to be a magnificent end of the aviation year 2005, boasting a line-up that is rarely seen together.

The first 10 pictures of this 20 image-report consists mainly of the USAF-particpantsat the exercise, including F-15C&E and A-10 Thunderbolt II-strike aircraft. Tornado-bombers from the RAF and Italian airforce and French participation with the nowadays rare Mirage F-1CR and Super Etendard are the highlights of part 2.

European trainers Meet 2005, Beauvechain

More naff weather, but this time in Belgium on September 15, on the occasion of the European Trainers Meet at Beauvechain airbase. The event attracted training aircraft from about 10 countries to say farewell to the Alpha Jets of the Belgian airforce. These aircraft will be moving to France shortly, where they will continue training pilots, though they will henceforth be coming from both Belgium and France.

Elementary training aircraft make up the bulk of parts 1 and 2, complemented by the ageing Belgian Fouga Magisters who presented a nice 4-ship routine. Other Belgian aircraft of various shapes and sizes can be found in part 3, together with a NATO AWACS and Dutch F-16, with part 4 presenting the advanced trainers of various participating nations, including Portuguese Alpha Jets, British Dominie T.1 and 2 rarely-seen French aircraft. The final part of this report is dedicated to the swansong of the Alpha Jets at Beauvechain.

2005 Battle of Britain Airshow, Duxford

Inclement weather marred what was supposed to be an action-packed 3-hour flying display commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Still, the organizers at Duxford attempted to put on a nice display with a number of interesting historic aircraft.

Part 1 shows a number of World War II-training aircraft, while part 2 shows some 8th Air Force aircraft stationed in England at the time. Part 3 has plenty to offer for fans of the Hurricane and Spitfire, while the classic jets on display have been grouped in part 4.

Koksijde International Airshow

On 3 and 4 September 2005, the airbase at Coxyde near the Belgian coast organized its annual airshow. Although the show itself had only few exciting items in store and the photographic opportunities on the showdays are less than ideal, the arrival and rehearsal day on September 2 proved to be a big hit with the enthusiasts gathered on and around the base.

Unusually, the show featured a number of classic jets, which can be admired in part 1. Trainers in different shapes and colours are abundant in part 2, while part 3 highlights the helicopters of the organizing unit, 40 sqn, and other visiting helicopter units. The emphasis in part 4 is on liaison and transport aircraft, as well as the ever impressive Nimrod. Parts 5 and 6 finally show a myriad of fighters present at the show, such as F-16s, Mirage 2000N, Greek F-4 Phantom II and the Hungarian Mig-29UB Fulcrum.

29th International Sanicole Airshow, Hechtel

Despite unstable weather conditions and a limited programme, this show still had a few items which made it worth the visit.

From the cloud-creating B-1B, rogue Fouga Magister intercepted by F-16s and classic jets in part 1, things quiet down in part 2 with 2 SAR helicopters from Holland and Belgium, the French air force team Cartouche Dorée and the elegant Catalina.

Operational Integration Exercise, Kleine Brogel

On July 20, the Belgian air component base at Kleine Brogel hosted an Operational Integration Exercise. They kindly invited aviation enthusiasts to their base to witness the aircrews going about their business by means of a photocall. Coupled with some fly-bys by aircraft of the Belgian air component rehearsing the formations for the national parade on July 21 over Brussels and passes by military aircraft from neighbouring countries, this was a spotter's perfect day out! This report also includes pictures from Monday July 18, which saw the arrival of some exotic participants.

Parts 1 and 2 mainly show the Belgian aircraft in attendance, complimented by aCzech delegation equipped with L-159s and a special colourscheme on a Danish F-16A(M). Parts 3 and 4 have a distinctly French flavour, with numerous aircraft from both their airforce and navy participating in the exercise. Part 5 consists of a German Tornado-colony at Kleine Brogel, while part 6 focuses on what many considered the highlights of the flying on July 20: The Royal Air Force Canberra Pr.9 reconnaissance aircraft and 2 A-7 Corsair IIs provided by the Hellenic airforce. 2 Polish aircraft, the special tiger-scheme Fitter and their new Casa CN295, join the Romanian airforce AN-26 and Mig-21s in part 7, with part 8 being dedicated to the Swiss aircraft, a Learjet 45 and 3 FA-18s.

Royal International Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford, UK

The Guinness Book of Records acknowledges the Air Tattoo as the world's largest military airshow and true to form, the organizers once again managed to attract some rare visitors to this year's event.

This 100-picture report covers the many highlights of this wonderful show, starting off with some old geezers on display, like the Army Air Corps Historic Aircraft flight, Spitfires and Hunters. Training aircraft in all shapes and sizes make up parts 2 and 3 of this report and it's helicopters galore in part 4. Surveillance was one of the main themes of this year's show, so it is perfectly possible you will be watched yourself in part 5 by the reconnaissance aircraft on display. Big, bigger, biggest is the the order of the day in part 6, showing various sizes of transport aircraft, while part 7 is filled with some other big boys: The B-1B and B-52 bombers. The international fighter aircraft participation in part 8 brings us to the soon to be phased out Sea Harriers of the Royal Navy in part 9. Finally, the present and future of British attack and fighter power is demonstrated by the Tornado and Typhoon at the Air Tattoo.

TDPU / Fightermeet 2005, Florennes

30 pictures showing some of the highlights of a fightermeet organized by 350(F)sqn at Florennes on July 14. Due to a lot of last-minute cancellations, the event turned out to be a lot smaller than initially anticipated.

Parts 1 and 2 of this report show the F-16A+B Fighting Falcon, some of which were MLU-4 aircraft of th EPAF countries which were undergoing their Operational Testing & Evaluation at the time of the event. Part 3 puts the spotlight on the other aircraft present at the base that day, like French navy Super Etendards and Swiss FA-18C.

Airpower 2005 at Zeltweg, Austria

The bi-annual airshow at Zeltweg is one of the largest airshows in Europe. Unfortunately, a late arrival and inclement weather took most of the fun out of the visit on Saturday June 25.

Historic aircraft and modern military hardware complemented the Austrian airforce at the show. As this was considered the final opportunity to watch operational Saab J35 Drakens, the final part of this report is dedicated to this awesome fighter.

Open Days Royal Netherlands Air Force 2005, Gilze Rijen

80 pictures try to bring the highlights of this 2-day event back to life. While day 1 suffered from low cloud thoughout the display, day 2 brought the record crowds an airdisplay in glorious sunshine.

The first 3 parts of this report are dedicated to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, past and present. Part 4 shows some civilian participants and unusual visitors from Turkey, Greece, New Zealand and Austria. The thunder of the Saab J35 Draken constitutes the bulk of part 5, with part 6 mainly showing pictures of that other Alpine air force: The Swiss. Finally, parts 7 and 8 showcase the numerous RAF aircraft on display: C-130J, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Harrier, Tornado F.3, the Chinook and of course the 2005 Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team the Red Arrows.

TLP2005-4, Florennes

This 30-picture report of the fourth Tactical Leadership Program-session was shot on Monday June 13 and Thursday June 16, 2005.

Spanish and French aircraft make up part 1, while the highlights of part 2 are RAF and USAF aircraft. Finally, part 3 focuses on F-16s from 4 different countries: Denmark, Belgium, Italy and Greece.

Warming up Photo Call, Kleine Brogel

On June 8 2005, Kleine Brogel hosted a photo call on the occasion of a squadron exchange between the F-16 OCU of the Belgian air force and a unit of L-159 Alca fighters of the Czech air force. The event saw some rare participants which will soon be withdrawn from active service.

Part 1 shows the Czech air force delegation, which not only consisted of L-159 but also of a single Mig-21 Fishbed. Part 2 shows the ever popular Phantom II of the German air force, in addition to a French Mirage IVP and a pair of French Jaguars, while part 3 exhibits some local flying and a surprise USAF visit.

Belgian Helidays, Bierset

During the weekend of June 4 and 2005, Bierset hosted the Belgian helidays for the 7th time.

Part one features Austrian and Czech participants, while part 2 has mainly Dutch and French hardware on display. In part 3 you'll find mainly British helicopters and a rare Slovenian AB-412.

TLP2005-3, Florennes

20 pictures showing some of the highlights of the 3rd TLP-session of 2005. Part 1 shows the English, Portuguese and Turkish aircraft taking part in the exercise, while part 2 is dedicated to the Spanish participants, even if some of those were rather uncooperative.

TLP2005-2, Florennes

Part 1 of this 20-picture report showcases the undoubtable stars of this TLP-session, the German and Greek Phantoms. Part 2 shows participants from other NATO-nations, such as USAF and Italian F-16s, French Mirage 2000N and RAF Tornado Gr4s.