On Friday May 13th, the newly painted Anniversary jet of the No 1 ‘Stingers’ Squadron of the Belgian Air Force was revealed. To commemorate the 105th Anniversary of the Squadron, F-16 FA-57 received a striking paint scheme on the tail and spine.

A few of our Aviation PhotoCrew members had the opportunity to visit NAS Point Mugu in April, part of Naval Base Ventura County (also consisting of Port Hueneme and San Nicolas Island), in California. The facility in Point Mugu, started as a United States Navy anti-aircraft training center during World War II and was developed in the late 1940s as the Navy's major missile development and test facility. This was where most of the Navy's missiles were developed and tested during the 1950/1960 era, and they still do today.

The famous Sanicole airshow at the Leopoldsburg airfield in Belgium is one of the biggest and longest running airshows in Europe. Every year the dedicated team behind the show attracts some of the best airshow performers in the world. After a year of absence due to the covid pandemic, the 2021 show took place covering all the health and safety measures necessary to get the GO from the government. On Friday evening, the sunset show took place while the big airshow was on Sunday. The aircraft operated from the Kleine-Brogel air base close-by, where a spotters day was organized on Saturday.

For the third time, the Aviation PhotoCrew participated in the Athens Flying Week, held at Tanagra. After the Aegean flight, and the excursion to Kalamata and Andravida, it was time to do some awesome flights from Tanagra.

For the third time, the Aviation PhotoCrew participated in the Athens Flying Week, held at Tanagra. This project consisted of an arrival package from Tuesday-night to Friday-night and a departure package on Sunday and Monday. Because the APC likes to go the extra mile, an excursion to Kalamata and Andravida was organised on Wednesday to shoot the rare Buckeyes and Phantoms.

AEGEAN Airlines, member of the Star Alliance group, is the flag carrier airline of Greece. The airline operates both domestic and international flights to Europe and the Middle-East. Since 2020, a new era of growth has begun for AEGEAN, with the official reveal of its new livery and branding as well as the presentation of the first new generation Airbus A320neo, equipped with latest technology Pratt & Whitney engines.

For our first project since the start of the pandemic, the Aviation Photocrew joined forces with Hesja from the ‘Air to Air Meeting’ and the organization of the Gdynia Aerobaltic Airshow. The photomissions were flown above the beautiful coastline and a peninsula called ‘Hel’. The weather was expected to be tricky, but eventually we had sunshine and clouds at the right moments, and a beautiful sunset for our sunset flight! After a completely cancelled 2020 season things started looking up again!

Early July, a Turkish Air Force detachment arrived at the Malbork Air Base in Poland in support of NATO's Air Policing mission in the region. The task force consisted of four F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 161st Squadron, supported by an 80-strong team. This is the second time the Turkish Air Force contributes fighters to NATO Air Policing in the region, and the first deployment to Malbork.

Greece is definitely Phantom country and our prime reason to fly the Skyvan photoship all the way to Tanagra airbase, host airbase of the country's biggest airshow 'Athens Flying Week'. Last year it was an absolutely fantastic project and of course we hoped for a repeat this year... or even better! The cooperation with the airshow team and all of the Hellenic Forces is so good that we had a few incredible new surprises for the photographers flying with us.

YES, WE GOT IT!!! We really got it, for a dedicated photomission lasting 24 minutes! As soon as it was announced that the Ukrainian Su-27 would perform at our ‘home’ airshow, the major challenge started to get the permission for a photo join-up. Not a very quick thing after rehearsal, but a real well prepared photomission to show the photographers onboard the beauty of this rare beast.

But of course that was not all Sanicole had to offer, after all this ‘little’ world famous airshow in Belgium became quite ‘big’ in recent years, and attracts now visitors from all over the world to enjoy a truly varied and amazing airshow program. Thanks to the entire Sanicole and KB team, we had the chance again to enjoy our own private airshows in the skies over Belgium.

This year, the Aviation PhotoCrew teamed-up with the Airpower Zeltweg organization for the first time. Since the Chief Pilot of Pink Skyvan is Austrian, we found the best possible airspace for our join-ups ever. The scenery of the Austrian Alps was breathtakingly spectacular. We staged from Trieben Airfield and flew up-north in between the Northern Styrian Alps to allow for stunning backdrops like the Grimming, even in September with some snow still present on its flanks.

Already for the sixth time, the Aviation PhotoCrew joined forces with the organization of the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, to organize three days of almost non-stop photoflying during the arrival days of RIAT. Detailed preparation together with Pink Skyvan’s Chief Pilot, the FAA, ATC, Cotswold Airport, many of the participating Air Forces and aircrews and of course the good people of RIAT, resulted in just shy of 30 join-ups in two days, as unfortunately we had to cancel our Friday program due to inclement weather. Safety first!

The airshow at Yeovilton Naval Air Station has been known for decades as 'Yeovilton Air Day', from this year onwards they changed it to 'The Royal Navy International Air Day'. This is of course to emphasize that the event is the highlight for the Royal Navy. It paid off right away, as the show attracted some delicious participants from both the Italian and the Spanish Navy.

Warbirds…the most precious aircraft of all. Our living history, and hail to those entrepreneurs, restauration companies, pilots and owners who do their best worldwide to keep these precious aircraft in a flying condition. Each year we have a project in the UK that is fully dedicated to fly with those warbirds. There is a very lively scene in the UK, where there is still a wealth of 'old metal' flying around.

Last April a few of our crewmembers woke up at 2 o'clock at night. A quick shower and a camera check later we found ourselves outside the hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal. Our plan was to visit the Himalayas and who knew, but to get there you have to fly to Lukla, better known as the worlds most dangerous and deadliest airport.

Our last photomission of this season was an assignment from Aegean, the foremost airline of Greece. After the successful, pretty much amazing, join-up with their A320 to fly over the Acropolis, the airline contracted us for another photomission along the pretty coastline of Greece. It was a relaxing 1,5 hour flight where we could picture the Airbus over various backdrops and landmarks.

The last projects of the 2018 anniversary season made another long-time wish becoming a reality. For many years we’ve tried to go all the way to Greece, as it is one of the few Air Forces in Europe that has an incredible inventory flying. With the superb help and invitation of the Athens Flying Week team, we decided to finally just go! In recent years, Athens Flying Week has grown into one of the most amazing airshows in Europe often presenting highly unusual participants. The scenery around Tanagra airbase – host for the airshow – is unprecedented! So soon after the Belgian Air Force Days we embarked on a new adventure with so many big hopes and big dreams….

In 2018, there was only one major airshow in Belgium, organised by the team behind the worldfamous Sanicole airshow. It has been a successful tradition that when the Belgian Air Force hosts their bi-annual event at KB airbase there will be no Sanicole airshow that year, but instead they put the Sanicole team at work for the ‘Belgian Air Force days’. Since Sanicole is also the place the Aviation PhotoCrew can call ‘home’, you know what to expect from us!

Sure you know what RIAT is all about, for the Aviation PhotoCrew it is the biggest project of the season. We are very privileged to fly a lot of photomissions all across Europe, and most of them are great and superb, but in terms of ‘BIG’ the photoflights in the week of the Royal International Air Tattoo are on top!

BBMF, the "Battle of Britain Memorial Flight" is the part of the Royal Air Force keeping some of the alltime iconic British warbirds alive, along with aircraft that flew in World War II. For the 2018 season, the BBMF is flying a rather huge formation called "Trenchard" with their C-47, Lancaster, 3 Spitfires and 2 Hurricanes. How fantastic and unique would it be to see that formation in the air...and that's exactly the once in a lifetime opportunity the Aviation PhotoCrew got on the day before the RIAT photomissions.

The prime PR-event of the Royal Navy has been for many years the airshow at NAS Yeovilton. It is one of the most important airshows in the UK and each year again they manage to get some really special participants. The Aviation PhotoCrew is enjoying a longstanding excellent relationship with the airshow team, and so it was our job again to provide all the Air-to-Air photowork. The weather was no challenge this time, although a tropical 30+ °C all the time is not ideal either.

For many pilots and aircraft owners Duxford airfield is a kinda ‘special’ airfield. They have several additional flight regulations, and most of all ( as we could experience first hand ) it is outreageously expensive to operate from its grounds. Of course that is just a sidenote, as it is also home to some of the most exclusive warbird collections in the world, and we were the lucky team to organise a photomission with some of those iconic birds.

Early july our team embarked to the UK for a few very exciting weeks, flying 4 projects in a row! Busy 10th anniversary season. To fly a dedicated photomossion with the sole flying B-17 in Europe has been a wish for many years, and after a small taste to see a Flying Fortress next to the Skyvan photoship in 2016, the desire to see this magnificent aircraft from all angles only got bigger. Elly Sallingboe and her team have achieved an incredible challenge to keep the B-17 flying in the European skies, not just for a few years, but for decades in a row!

Our final project in the Scandinavian tour brought us to the airbase of Jyvaskyla, our longest way from home so far! The Finnish Air Force was to celebrate its 100th anniversary, but not by inviting a load of other Air Forces. Instead they focused on all the flying assets the Finnish Air Force had and has to offer, along with a presentation of the newest jetfighters taking part in the contest to replace the current F-18’s. that combination made this airshow very interesting for us, as we would have a chance to see some aircraft join up on the Skyvan photoship that hardly go out of Finnish airspace.

The third project in our Scandinavian tour was going to be a real challenge, as we only had 1 single day to fly the photomissions…so it had to be good weather! The forecast was promising, but in the week before the event started to change like every day. The idea: to see join-ups of the fantastic aircraft of the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight, the magnificent and ultra unique collection of Saab aircraft. Dream big, so we wanted all of them...

In the 2016 we went for the first time to Denmark, to fly the photomissions for the Danish Air Force airshow held that year at Skrydstrup airbase. The corporation and photo result were so fantastic, that the next airshow from the Danish Air Force was already planned in our schedule at that time… This year the host airbase would be Aalborg, home of the C-130’s. The second project as part of our ‘Scandinavian tour’ brought the Skyvan photoship to the airfield of Sindal, home for the Aviation PhotoCrew and a super team of participating photographers in the following days.

One of the highlights of our tenth season, was shooting the only airworthy F-104 Starfighter in Europe over Denmark’s Kattegat. The Starfighter is an iconic aircraft that was operational in abundant numbers when some of the older members of the Aviation PhotoCrew grew up. During the first half of the 1980s it was replaced mainly by the F-16, but it left an ever lasting impression on all of us that experienced the long smoke trails, the howling of the J-79 engine in the circuit and the Starfighter’s aerodynamic shape with its long fuselage, short wings and T-tail. And it didn’t disappoint in real life, doing passes past our Skyvan!

In the 2016 season we spend a fantastic day at the famous airbase in North Germany, with the aim to see the iconic A-4 Skyhawk flying a formation with the Eurofighter. After two successful flights we promised to come back, and so our 2018 season opened with another project at Wittmund. This time the mood was a bit different, a mixture between sad and super excited as we knew that this would be thé final chance ever to see the A-4 Skyhawks flying in European airspace.