A large event of the Royal Netherlands Air Force was held in the Netherlands on 14 and 15 June. It is an annual event and this year it took place at the airbase located in Volkel in North Brabant. The event is scheduled for Leeuwarden airbase for 2020.
The event is meant to give the public a 'look behind the scenes', where you are normally not allowed to enter the airbase, the doors will be opened wide these days. You can see what happens, there is staff available to answer all your questions, and of course there are many air shows.
The event is always very busy and there is a lot to see, but also to hear. If you ever have the idea to visit these days, don't forget your hearing protection! Due to the many F16s that fly above your head, and other air shows, the noise level is very high here and the roar of the air shows can be heard from afar, but also seen.
Already a few days before the event is actually held there are practice days where you can already admire a lot of spectacle in the air around Volkel, and then on Thursday before the event is the official spottersday. A day ideally suited for the photographers among us to be very close to the airbase itself without the crowds, and to be able to photograph the aircraft from very close by. Despite the fact that these are not official air shows, there is plenty of spectacle to see, and the most beautiful pictures can be made.
The program was very extensive. There are not only Dutch demo teams that give the shows, but they come from all over the world. To name a few countries that this year had sent demo / show teams to the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, England, Sweden, Switzerland, America, Austria, Spain and the Czech Republic
The biggest crowd pullers this year were the two Joint Strike Fighters (F 35), who had arrived from America. For a long time this was not entirely certain and only on Thursday morning 13 June did the Defense organization finally announce that the two aircraft would land on Volkel that evening. An attraction for many people in view of the fact that this Joint Strike Fighter will replace the Dutch F 16 from next year.
The Netherlands has purchased no fewer than 37 of these Joint Strike Fighters that will be flying from Leeuwarden air base from next year, and one year later they will also be stationed at Volkel Air Base and Gilze Rijen and make their flights from there.
A small detail is that the F 16 aircraft (10 units) that had come from Denmark for a demo to Volkel all flew back to Denmark without any problem. But that one of the two Joint Strike Fighters is still on the ground in Volkel with a technical defect. What is better now?
But what is so nice about all the noise above your head? It is certainly a drama for your hearing. Not to mention air pollution. Yet there are certainly also special things to see in the sky, it is special to come to a place that you normally cannot visit. Is it interesting to know more about what our Royal Air Force is doing and is it also a nice trip because of all the nice positions and of course the necessary things for the inner person.
