The year 2020 is coming to an end, so it is time to look back on the past year and give a summary in color. This year was the first year for me in which I went completely for film making. After I always made an overview on the various social media forums of the highlights that I saw as a photographer in that year, I now make an overview in a video for the first time. For me personally, 2020 was a year of change in which I will sail a new course, which has manifested itself in the hobby in the form of filming. In terms of aviation it was a strange year because of the conditions in the world with respect to Covid and the lockdown in many countries that followed. It was no different here in the Netherlands. The year started with a unique flight with the Belgian Air Force to the Baltic Air Policing detachment in Siauliai in Lithuania. During the moment there on the base I was able to attend a training scramble and film it completely. During the flight to Lithuania, we were intercepted several times by fighter planes from various NATO partners. This was a unique experience that I would not have wanted to miss. After this great experience, the world would change forever with the arrival of Corona unfortunately. In the field of the hobby, it was mainly back to basics, because all airbase visits and media events were canceled. The first ray of hope was the 75th anniversary of the 298 Squadron. For the occasion, the unit sent a beautifully painted Chinook along several low-flying areas to greet their loyal fans by posing for the photographers. In mid-June things would suddenly go fast, the first lockdown was over and there was again cautious flying in the Netherlands. The Americans would move the 3CAB via Eindhoven Air Base to the Port of Rotterdam, after which the unit returned to the United States. This resulted in the first serious report after Covid. At the same time, the first Airbus A330 MRTT was also delivered to the MMU at Eindhoven. This was also a memorable moment. In France, the launch of the parade on Bastille Day was attended at Evreux. However, the weather was very bad that day. Only a few Rafales were launched and the Mirages have returned to their parking spot after a line up at the runway.
At the beginning of August, a second A330 MRTT was delivered to Eindhoven, which was also captured on photo. Over the months, the DHC has also kept me busy with various helicopters on the Oirschotse Heide. The fact that these helicopters train here is almost daily occurrence. There were also a number of weeks of evening training at this location, so that photography could also be taken with soft light in the summer months. One of the highlights of 2020 took place in August when six Israeli Air Force F-16s, along with support aircraft such as the KC-707 and C-130 Hercules, were scheduled to operate from Nörvenich, Germany, for two weeks. This historic meeting between Germany and Israel attracted many airplane spotters. About 1.5 months later, Nörvenich would be visited again. This time to see the Italian Tornado ECRs present, which were here for training on the Polygon Range. The Falcon Leap exercise in Eindhoven was also visited in mid-September. In October, the delivery of the first and only Airbus A400M for the Luxembourg Armed Forces was attended at Luxembourg-Findel Airport. The delivery of this Airbus took place at the beginning of the evening when the aircraft taxied under a water arch of the fire brigade. The HWIC SOF training took place at Gilze-Rijen, in which a few German helicopters in the form of a Tigre and a few NH90's participated. The last major exercise that took place in 2020 in the Netherlands was the exercise Frisian Lightning II. During this exercise, four Dutch F-35s trained outside their own airbase Leeuwarden for the first time. During the same period, the third Airbus A330 MRTT was also delivered to Eindhoven in the darkness of the evening. The year ended by attending an action of the Dutch Air Mobile Brigade on the Rucphense Heide. 2020 was a strange year in terms of flight movements, but still a good year because we went back to the roots of the hobby, and that was the old-fashioned observation along the fence. We managed to turn an initially lost year into something positive by accepting things that did not go ahead and then converting them into a different agenda. This video shows my personal top 10 shoots of this year. Looking forward to 2021.