Hello,
I'll fly to Curacao soon for a family holiday and plan so do some MIL-spotting there as well. The American Forward Operating Location (FOL) seems to be visited by E3 AWACS and KC135 tankers quite regularly. The question is when I could expect flying activity: Workdays only? Morning, afternoon or only at night?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Paul
Not so much E-3 and KC activity lately, so you have got to be lucky to see one of those. Many flights for the US military are flown by civil contractors these days. Afternoons are usually best and flying is not limited to weekdays.
Indeed no MIL activity anymore on Curacao.
The FOL apron was empty when I arrived last week and also when I passed by a few days ago.
Even the Dutch coast guard's Dash 8 with Canadian civil registration C-GPAB does not have a lot to do. Most of the time she is parked inside the Coast guard's hangar. Judging by ads-b she only makes a flight every second day or so.
paul-760 wrote:Indeed no MIL activity anymore on Curacao.
The FOL apron was empty when I arrived last week and also when I passed by a few days ago.
Even the Dutch coast guard's Dash 8 with Canadian civil registration C-GPAB does not have a lot to do. Most of the time she is parked inside the Coast guard's hangar. Judging by ads-b she only makes a flight every second day or so.
paul-760 wrote:Even the Dutch coast guard's Dash 8 with Canadian civil registration C-GPAB does not have a lot to do. Most of the time she is parked inside the Coast guard's hangar. Judging by ads-b she only makes a flight every second day or so.
According to the yearly plan, the Dash-8 has a contract for 1900hrs per year related to the DCCG. (Dutch Carribean Coast Guard)
Besides that there is a yearly shortage of 3 miljon Euro's. So that might hamper operations.
Early in the morning at 5:24lt KC-135R 62-3521 (AFRC Montana) was picked up by ADS-B as EXXON69. It landed at Hato at 6:45lt.
When I passed by this morning it was parked at the FOL apron, and so was USAF E-3 75-0557 OK.
Dutch Carribean Coast Guard Dash-8 C-GRNN had been pulled outside the hangar and C-GPAB was parked inside.
In the afternoon both the AWACS and the Stratotanker were still at the FOL-apron.
Meanwhile also Royal Dutch Airforce Gulfstream V-11 had arrived at Curacao, carrying Dutch minister of foreign affairs Bert Koenders.
13:40 landing of Coast guard Dash-8 C-GRNN, remarkably the bird taxied to the FOL-apron where it was hosed-down by the fire department. Afterwards it continued to the Coast Guard hangar. The other Dash-8 was inside.
13:55 landing KC-135R 62-3521 (same callsign as yesterday: EXXON69). After landing parked on FOL-apron, covers on engines.
To continue about the MIL activity at Hato:
A local spotter told me that last weekend (25/26 Feb) a C17 was at the FOL apron. This was probably the start of the deployment of American troops to Curacao and the E-3 and KC-135 just followed a few days later, when everybody was settled in. Normally the Americans stay at Curacao for up to two months or so. IF this is true, you could expect to see the KC-135 and E-3 here until April or so.
