In August 2020 some work needed to be done in the depots of the Dutch Nationaal Militair Museum. Because of this, several sleeping beauties (otherwise not visible to the public) were parked outside in the morning sun on the platform of the former Soesterberg Airbase.
The true star of the exhibition is this F-4 Phantom in the colours of the 32nd TFS that used to be based at Soesterberg
The National Military Museum is situated on the former air base at Soesterberg. It combines the collections of the former Military Aviation Museum in Soesterberg and Army Museum in Delft. There are numerous pieces on display, including tanks, planes, armoured vehicles and helicopters.
The Fokker S.14 is a unique Dutch product; in total only 21 have been built and 3 have been preserved. This L-11 stands in a beautiful morning sun on the platform near the NMM in Soesterberg.
Considering the fact that a heatwave was taking place, as well as that we were in the middle of school holidays, the choice was made to visit the site in the early morning.
The NMM does not only display Dutch aircraft, but also foreign aircraft related to Dutch avaiation. In this case the T-37 Tweety Bird is displayed since Dutch (and other NATO) pilots received their jet training on this aircraft in the USA
At 7.30 in the morning the August summer sun provides a beautiful low light, which emphasizes the beautiful lines and pristine conditions of these aircraft. Some are so well preserved that you could almost fire them up and fly away.
The NF-5 was a variant of the F-5 that was license built in Canada. This variant was similar to the CF-5, but had more powerful engines. In total 105 NF5’s were delivered to the Koninklijke Luchtmacht. This NF-5B wears the markings of 316 Squadron.
These aircraft were all moved back inside once the maintenance work in the depot was finished. When will we see them aiagin? Hopefully very soon….
Hawker Hunter N-122 on the platform in front of the NMM with the ATC control tower of the former Soesterberg Airbase in the background.
Do you want to know more about the NMM and the former Soesterberg Airbase? Then visit the WEBSITE of the NMM.
Recently I had the opportunity to scan some of the slides that I took at Twenthe Airbase in the nineties and the beginning of the new Milennium. Looking at those pictures brings back nice memories, so why not share those pictures as well.
1996 Open House
The Open House usually brought many nice visitors to Twenthe and 1996 was no exception.
PC-7 L-04 of the EMVO taxiing in for the static display
2003 Open House
The 2003 Open House was a great success, but it was also the last Open House for Twenthe Airbase. The day after the show, Defence Minister Kamp announced that Twenthe would be closed because of budget cuts.
Members of the Airmobile Brigade are being dropped off by a Hercules during the 2003 Open House.
General Visitors
Over the course of the years, Twenthe was visited by many aircraft. Some were spectacular and unique, some a bit less.
This Sukhoi 22 was temporarily based at Hopsten and flew missions to HSA in Hengelo. This was done to test the HSA’s new SMART-L radar. After one of those flights, a fly-by was made at Twenthe.
Tornado F.3s from 25 Sqn were regular visitors.
Normally they came over for a week to have some dogfights against the F-16s
When taxiing back to the flightline, nice pictures could be made.
Alouettes were very regular visitors.
When parked at the civilian platform, pictures were possible though.
This Bo-105CB in UN colours visited Twenthe for a career day.
A Venezuelan Hercules in 1998. This aircraft visited Twenthe to pick up goods from HSA in Hengelo.
In August 2001 two French Mirage 2000s visited Twenthe for some training.
Unfortunately one of the Mirages broke down.
Fortunately for us, a Nord 262 was sent in with technicians and spare parts.
A PD-808GE during Falcon Nut
An Italian AMX during Falcon Nut
This Bulgarian Tupolev 134 was used to fly some soldiers to The Netherlands
A Hungarian MiG-29 together with a 313 Sqn F-16
A Hercules from 334 Squadron sporting special anniversary colours
A Belgian Hercules on Runway 24
This Belgian Airbus 310 was used to ferry the ground crew back from Amendola.
A Danish Hercules was not so common at Twenthe
A Greek Hercules in absolutely appaling weather
Transalls became regular visitors when the neighbours from Hopsten deployed their Phantoms to Twenthe because of runway maintenance.
The German Transalls were used to ferry the German Phantoms and their equipment to Decimomannu
One of the few white C.160Ds
An Italian Hercules supporting a Starfighter detachment during Ample Train.
German Phantoms were regular visitors, but this WTD61 example was quite unique.
A German Tornado taxiing towards Runway 06.
A Luftwaffe Challenger that brought a German minister to Twenthe.
When the F-16’s from Twenthe were deployed to Villafranca and later Amendola, freuquent visits were made my Belgian Hercules aircraft. Together with the Dutch transport fleet they supported the Belgian/Dutch F-16 deployments.
Night Flying
One of the things F-16 pilots had to practice was flying by night. This video shows some take-offs in the beginning of the evening, during the final months of Twenthe’s active period.
F-16AM J-141 deploying the dragchute. This dragchute helps the F-16 to stop at a shorter stretch of runway.
During the week of 15 to 21 june 2015, the 51st edition of the Paris Air Show (Salon international de l’aéronautique et de l’espace)was held at Le Bourget airport. This Air Show takes place every 2 years and counts as one of the largest trade shows for the aviation industry. Also this year, the show was visited by over 150,000 professional visitors as well as more than 3,000 journalists from over 80 countries.
This year’s edition of the Paris Air Show showed 1,017 order commitments and 206 options, which leads to a total of 1,223 orders. Of these orders, 531 went to Airbus and 350 to Boeing.
Traditionally the Paris Air Show is the home show for Airbus, as well as companies from the French defence industry like Dassault, Thales and MDBA. After this year’s merger with Eurocopter, the Airbus booth was the largest booth on the grounds and showed a wide spectrum of aircraft, ranging from the electrically powered E-Fan, through the Caracal helicopter, up to the enormous A.380 airliner. The booth also featured a full-scale mock-up of the new H160 helicopter. The H160 made it’s first flight from Marseille in the week prior to the Paris Air Show. Airbus also showed it’s goods in full force during the flying display. After the may 2015’s fatal crash in Seville and it’s subsequent grounding, the A.400M was back in action, showing an impressive flying display.
The Airbus A.400M waits at the beginning of the runway whilst the A.380 completes its display.
Due to the sequestration, the United Stated Department of Defence had to miss out on the 2013 edition of the Paris Air Show, but this year they returned in full force, showing aircraft such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the P-8 Poseidon on the static display.
US Navy P-8 Poseidon at Paris Air Show 2015
US Army UH-60 Blackhawk
US Army UH-72 Lakota
A US Air Force WC-130J Hercules
A US Air Force F-16C from Aviano Airbase
A US Army CH-47F Chinook
A USAF F-16C together with a US Navy P-8 Poseidon
A US Navy P-8 Poseidon
A Davis-Monthan based A-10 Thunderbolt II
A Davis-Monthan based A-10 Thunderbolt II
An interesting newcomer was the Chengdu/PAC JF-17 fighter aircraft from Pakistan. This fighter aircraft was developed jointly by China and Pakistan. Pakistan produces 58% of the aircraft, China produces 42% and the aircraft is powered by a Klimov RD-93 engine. There are plans though to equip the next version of the JF-17 with a different engine, as the RD-93 (developed from the MiG-29’s RD-33) produces too much smoke. For this year’s Paris Air Show, the Pakistan Air Force brought 3 aircraft. One featured in the static show, while the other was shown during the flying display. The 3rd JF-17 featured as a backup aircraft. At the end of the show, Air Commodore Khalid Mahmood of the Pakistan Air Force announced that the first export-order was signed with an undisclosed Asian country.
The JF-17 in the static show displaying the weapons it can carry.
Even though Airbus dominated the show, Boeing also made sure it’s presence was noted. In the weeks before the Air Show a video was already loaded onto YouTube, showing the complete display that the Boeing 787-9 would fly in Le Bourget. This display featured a near-vertical take-off and the audience was not left disappointed.
Boeing displayed the B.787-9 Dreamliner in the colours of Vietnam Airlines
A new player in the market for small airliners is Bombardier. In Paris the Canadian company showed it’s new C-series with the CS100 and the CS300. With these aircraft Bombardier focuses on the market that is currently served by aircraft such as the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737.
On the Ground
Le Bourget always has many gems in the static display, some hidden away behind flagpoles, tents and banners. Below is an impression of what could be found on the ground.
A Davis-Monthan based A-10 Thunderbolt II
Up in the Air
Next to a huge showground for the static display, Le Bourget would not be complete without a flying display. Here are some pictures from this years show.
Patrouille de France
No Air Show is complete without a show from the famous Patrouille de France. The same obviously goes for Le Bourget.
The next Paris Air Show will be in June 2017. Let’s see what that edition will bring.
