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My personal summary of Florennes Airshow 2012:
++++ outstanding: organization of a big Airshow by a small country even in times of financial crisis.
++++ outstanding: very good participation of former Eastern Block countries with 3 x Su-22, 2 x MiG-29, 2 x L-159 and some more stuff from these countries
+++ very good: number of aircraft provided by the Belgian Air Force
++ good: number of aircraft provided by Netherlands Air Force and by the Swiss Air Force, plus Show items of the French Forces
- - poor: low contribution of German Forces in spite of strong participation in former TLPs at Florennes, this also concerns tactical French aircraft – what was the problem to deliver at least one Mirage 2000D ore one Rafale from nearby French bases? French Rafales have already been witnessed participating in the static display in minor Shows of French aeroclubs this year ...
- - poor: too many turbo-prop show items concentrated in one show instead of more real airpower, too many F-16 displays concentrated in one show instead of other types (Rafale, Eurofighter, Gripen, ...)
- - poor: with the exception of the Sea King and maybe the two Su-22 no tactical demonstrations (how tactical aircraft are used in real operational business – compare to Dutch, German, Austrian or even former Belgian air power demos); no airpower demonstration of Belgian Forces, Belgian Alpha Jets flying from Beauvechain in spite of enough ramp space at Florennes
- - - very poor: no contribution of British Forces in spite of strong participation in former TLPs at Florennes and even though quite a lot of Belgian aircraft support Airshows at Waddington and Fairford this year …
- - - very poor: no flying of the based 2 Wing F-16s except Solo
- - - - extremely poor: no contribution of US Forces in spite of strong participation in former TLPs at Florennes plus use of Florennes as cruise missile base in the 1980s and also during/after World War II
All in all, I unfortunately must say that there are far more “minus” than “plus” this year. Even though this Airshow obviously was not design to please aircraft enthusiasts but the general public. But what might the general observers think about todays military aviation, when almost only being able to watch Turboprop trainers?
My personal recommendation for next year’ Belgian Show (if there will be one) – more attraction for less money spent by organizers:
2 x F-16 Belgium wake-up with QRA
4 x F-16 Belgium ground attack/recce Airpower
4 x F-16 Belgium air superiority/dog-fight Airpower
4 x A.109 Belgium ground support Airpower
2 x A.109 Belgium Medevac airpower
2 x C-130H Belgium transport airpower
1 x E-3A NATO flying airpower
1 x KDC-10 Klu flying airpower (Belgians also support Dutch Airpower)
2 x AH-64 Klu flying airpower (Belgians also support Dutch Airpower)
2 x Mirage 2000D France flying joint international flypast + airfield attack, flying from/to show base
2 x Tornado RAF flying joint international flypast + airfield attack, flying from/to show base
2 x F-15E USAF flying joint international flypast + airfield attack, flying from/to show base
2 x MiG-29 Poland flying joint international flypast + airfield attack, flying from/to show base
2 x Su-22 Poland 2-ship demo
1 x F-16 Belgium 1-ship demo
4 x SF.260 Red Devils
6 x Alpha Jet Belgium flying from/to show base
2 x F-16 Klu 2-ship demo “Double Dutch”
1 x foreign Jet Team
1 x foreign Solo (no F-16)
-------------------------------------------------
Static:
- 4 x F-16 Belgium various tactical configurations
- 3 x A.109 Belgium various tactical configurations
- spare aircraft for flying show items
- at least one a/s of each further Belgian Mil a/c type
- at least one a/c from each NATO country
- some additional aircraft representing partnership for peace countries
Bas_H wrote:Anyone for the F-16 in the hangar on saturday behind cartouche dore's parking spot?
If that's the same hangar you could see from the start of the fighter-flightline near the Fitters (just the tail visible from that point) it was FA-91 (photoproof).
Some more:
Chipmunk G-AOJR static ex WB756
L-18 OL-L56/OO-HBQ was in the WWII army camp (south)
glider PL-33 was in the gliderbox on TLP-ramp (when opened!)
F-84F FU66/YL-A gate is fake serial = FU103
No other F-84s were seen in the revetment SW or south side dispersals, tried to find them! Maybe inside the shelters?
Request for sunday 24th:
F-16A in hangar behind Baltic Bees (L-39s)
A-109 Medical door on grass near Mirage 5BA
A-109 flying at about 10AM, maybe same as above??
Where all 4 Epsilons on the flightline, we only could see 3 !!
Post all airshow-related items here. Please keep the postings as informative and to-the-point as possible. Refrain from postings with the sole intention to communicate whether you like the show or not, unless accompanied by arguments that can help others.
