Welcome to the website of the Aviation PhotoCrew, specialized in high
quality aviation photography, videos and Air-to-Air photowork in particular.
We hope to please you with our images while you fly through our website
and hopefully we'll meet one day high up in the skies.
On the homepage you can find news about our projects and the latest reports
published on our website. On the left side you can find the photo reports
we made during the years. Please have a look at our port-folios and our
services we offer to help you with
your aviation photography needs. We hope you enjoy our work and bring
our website a visit as it will be updated regularly with stunning photo
reports.
Offering the best AIR-TO-AIR projects in the world!
Number
of successfully completed Aerial Photo Join-ups:
The Aviation PhotoCrew is a small team
of enthusiastic photographers and 1 videographer with the same passion
for aviation. In the past 20 years we have had the opportunity to do a
lot of Air-to-Air photowork all around the world, which can be found in
the galleries on our website.
We are the only team in the world offering large scale aerial photomissions
to other aviation photographers around the globe!! If you like to fly
with us, certainly check out the pages ‘Fly
with us!’ ‘Newsletter’
and ‘Projects’.
If you have any questions, suggestions or ideas, please don’t hesitate
to contact us via email: info@aviation-photocrew.com
Do note that Aviation PhotoCrew does NOT offer passengerflights
or pleasure rides! You have to be an aviation photographer in order
to fly with us under the part SPO regulations ( PAS OM-A 8.3.1.5.5
Task Specialist for Aerial Photography ). In UK airspace we fly
under UK Air Ops Regulation.
You will receive multiple mandatory briefings and a specific tasking
for the photoflight. You have to strictly comply with the responsabilities
as described for the task specialist in the preparation briefings.
It is important that you act and behave like a responsible crewmember
on any photoflight!
In addition, you will have to follow strictly the guidelines of
the ‘flight operations manual’ from the photoship. No
matter how much experience you have, these guidelines will be explained
before every single photomission again, and it is mandatory to attend
this briefing.
It is equally important that you confirm by email that you have
received the detailed task specialist briefings ( part 1 and part
2 ) and that you understand the content. You will receive additional
training/recurrent training if any of the guidelines and information
is not fully understood.
> 29-05-2024: Sun 'n Fun
2024
The 2024 season started for us with another new project
in the USA. SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo as the event is officially
called, is the little brother of Oshkosh. ‘little’ as
in still being a super famous and HUGE fly in, with approx. 2000 aircraft
attending that week.
Our team brought the Skyvan photoship to Florida with the plan
to fly with several of the airshow participants and hoping for a
nice mix between vintage, aerobatic, civilian jets, military and
warbirds. Verdict: Sun = 70% , FUN = 100%
> 23-05-2024: Arizona Fun
Flights 2023
The last project of the 2023 season brought us back
to the place where we had our first test flights in the USA... Arizona!
With the phenomenal desert scenery and blue sky forecast, we started
these few days of fun with something we haven't actually done in
15 years of photoflying, a real sunrise photomission! We could have
not asked for a better subject as the classic T-33 from the Arizona
Aviation Historical Group, flown by Tim Brown. The light on that
desert mountains is just so awesome, waking up at 4am was never
so worthwhile!!
> 17-05-2024: Pacific Airshow
2023
October was an exciting month for the team, as we
would fly the Skyvan photoship for our very first big American airshow!
Pacific Airshow well-known for its huge crowds at Huntington Beach
was our destination. Being close to Hollywood they have for sure
a lot of flamboyance added to the airshow experience.
As it is a seaside show there is no static aircraft, but for American
standards the flying program is pretty big. To get enough aircraft
in our air to air basket, we decided to split up the 4 days of flying
the Skyvan photoship: 2 days for Pacific Airshow and 2 days for
our warbird friends at Camarillo.
> 03-05-2024: Belgian Air
Force Days 2023
Once a year we fly the Skyvan photoship in Belgium,
the country of origin of the Aviation PhotoCrew. Normally that is
for the famous Sanicole International Airshow, but this year it
was time again for the bi-annual airshow of the Belgian Air Force,
the Belgian Air Force Days 2023.
They always have a great line-up with plenty of foreign military
participation. As it was the first airshow after the covid-era,
the expectations of the photographers were skyhigh and we managed
to blow everyone away.
> 26-04-2024: Athens Flying
Week 2023
Greece….the Walhalla for the die-hard aviation
photographer looking for the ultimate vintage hardware. Photographers
joined us inside the Skyvan photoship, not only with the high hopes
to get their number 1 target, the F-4 Phantom, but also counting
on a chance to see the Mirage 2000 and for this year…our very
final chances for the T-2 Buckeye.
We had a little celebration, as it was the 5th time we took the
Skyvan to Greece, and so also the 5th time we enjoyed a superb corporation
with Athens Flying Week and the Hellenic Air Force.
> 22-03-2024: Italian Harriers
If you ask most aviation photographers eager to
fly for air-to-air photos "what would be your favorite jet?" the
chance is very high that several will say...a Harrier!
After half a year of trying and paperwork we already knew the Italian
Navy had granted us permission to organize a photomission with the
Harriers in August. This season, there would be the unique logistic
opportunity to stop in Italy, on our way to Athens Flying Week.
As Grottaglie Aeroporto is home to the Harriers, that would be a
pretty efficient plan as the airfield also has a small civilian
apron.
> 10-03-2024: Abbotsford
2023
2023 Is the year the Aviation PhotoCrew crossed
the ocean and started doing projects in the US and Canada. In August,
6 of our crewmembers went to the Abbotsford International Airshow
for the first Canadian project. Abbotsford is located to the South-East
of Vancouver in a truly beautiful scenery. It is an airshow with
legendary status, so our expectations were pretty high!
> 29-02-2024: RIAT 2023
Shall we start about the weather….? Ooh the absolute
horror RIAT this year had to endure, and it was the same for the
photoflights. We managed to fly between showers, for real!! Navigating
through the downpour was a new challenge for us, but it was all
done in a very safe way. Of course the weather did prevent us from
flying the full planning, as many aircraft had a rescheduled arrival
time, or had to use the fuel for the photo join-up as additional
holding time.
However, long story short, is that despite all these challenges
we had another epic edition of RIAT photoflights!! No other project
in the entire world will offer so much military variety, and we
were truly blessed again to welcome so many friends behind the Skyvan
photoship.
> 12-02-2024: US Airpower
We have had friends at Lakenheath airbase for a
long time, resulting in many join-ups with USAF assets in previous
years. For this season, in great corporation with the Liberty Wing,
we organized a 1-day project that was all about American airpower.
Our host 'Evil' had made it sure that the Skyvan photoship could
land and operate out of Lakenheath itself, a true priviledge!
> 14-01-2024: UK Warbirds
2023
In the month of July we celebrate one of our fine
traditions. The week before we start with the aerial photomissions
for the world-famous RIAT airshow, we focus on the most precious
aircraft of all….warbirds. In just one weekend, we flew with 16
incredible aircraft and it’s always a fantastic thrill!! The stars
need to align in a pretty nice way to make it all happen as very
often there is just, well 1 of each. The slightest mechanical issue
or questionable weather will see a photomission cancelled. The other
challenge is pilot availability, as only a rather small selected
group of aviators are qualified to fly the genuine warbirds.
> 18-12-2023: Finnish Airshow
2024
The Finnish Air Force had chosen the city of Turku
to host the airshow, and being a coastal place it could only mean
our ‘photo join-up area’ would bring the Skyvan over
an amazing scenery with a thousand lakes. And the weather forecast
was the best scenario you could wish for as well, with only a few
fluffy white clouds missing but full sunshine all day.
As always, the aerial photomissions were fully supported by the
Finnish Air Force providing us with an incredible line-up of assets.
> 29-11-2023: Airpower Alaska
In June we planned to head out to Anchorage to fly
a few days with our Austrian friend Dietmar Schreiber, as he is
definately the ‘master of Alaska’ when it comes to chasing
all that fantastic old metal that is still flying there.And it certainly
was a great roadtrip with a lot of interesting stops to indulge
ourselves into the floatplanes and Beavers…Alaska style.
However, this report is about our unexpected but brilliant encounter
with the jetfighter power of Eielson airbase. It’s great to
have friends in aviation all around the world.
> 02-06-2023: BAF Dream
Viper
Our crewmember Geert had the chance to hop on the
Belgian Air Force A400M for an aerial photoshoot with the F-16 demo
jet, 'Dream Viper'. Piloted by 'Vrieske', they took the formation
over the Ardennes and coastline to have some nice backdrops. Of
course there are a few ingredients present if you talk about an
F-16 join-up when it's in the hands of a pilot with 5000+ flight
hours on the jet…very dynamic maneuvers, smoke and flares! The grand
finale will always come with the famous inverted pose!
> 16-04-2023: USA Project
#1: Arizona
In March 2023,we were super excited to fly out to
Arizona for two days of testflights with Skydive Arizona providing
the Skyvan photoship. Main purpose is not to have a ton of aircraft
joining up on us, but to see how procedures work and if they are
comparable to our concept in Europe. We had great support in advance
from the FAA, and would focus on two days of flying.