Koksijde 2000

Airshow : 8 - 9 July 2000

The Koksijde 2000 airshow was one of the biggest airshows ever at Koksijde. The weather did not played ball as temperatures were far below the normal July’s temperatures but this could not prevent a superb airshow. There was again a strong participation of the USAFE with a Ramstein C-130E, a Spangdahlem A-10, a Lakenheath F-15E and 2 Aviano F-16’s. For the first time a C-17 touched down at Koksijde. Amongst the many other special aircraft in the static display were 2 Caslav based Czech Republic Mig 21’s! The Czech Republic also participated in the flying display with a L-39C, a W-3A sokol and a Mi-24V Hind. Next to 4 international display teams a lot of solo display acts could be seen as well. The Swedish Air Force came back with 3 Saab Viggens. The RAF presented the Jaguar GR.3, Tornado GR.1 and F-3, the Tucano and a Royal Navy Merlin. The French showed a solo display Mirage 2000, Raffin Mike dual Jaguar display and Voltige Victor dual Mirage F-1 display. To see an aircraft overview, click here.

Koksijde 2001

Airshow : 7 - 8 July 2001

Two Royal Canadian Air Force hornets from 441 TFS based in Cold Lake, were flown over from Florennes to Koksijde to participate in the static display. They were at Florennes to participate the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP). One of the hornets was painted in a special livery from the 441 TFS while the other one had a special tail to commemorate the 30th anniversary of 1 Air Maintenance Squadron (1 AMS). The US Army participated the static display with a Chinook, Apache and Blackhawk helicopter. Always nice to see on an airshow is a German F-4F phantom. The crew made some low passed before its final landing upon arrival. One of the passes was even with the arrestor hook down! The French Aeronavale had sent 2 Alouette III helicopters for the static display, as well as the Armée de l’air. These are not often seen in our regions and they were the last time they came to Koksijde for an airshow. During the airshow the 40th Sqn celebrated 25 years Sea King and RS05 was presented for the first time in its special black livery. To see an aircraft overview, click here.

Koksijde : January - February

In January 3 Royal Navy Sea King HC.4 Junglies came in twice for a fuel stop. Unfortunately nobody was at the fence when they refuelled on the 22 and 29th of January. In February 4 Belgian A.109’s refuelled at Koksijde en-route to the UK. They returned again via Koksijde two weeks later. On the 22th of February the special painted alpha jet (AT05) came to Koksijde for a lot of approaches. The aircraft was painted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 7th Sqn.

Koksijde : March - May

In March again 2 Royal Navy Sea King HC.4’s visited Koksijde for fuel. They refuelled on the 26th and the 30th of March. On the 22th of May 4 Twente based F-16’s came to Koksijde for a night stop! This is quiet exceptional in 2001 in Koksijde. They flew from Hopsten in Germany due to runway works at their home base Twente. On the 23rd of May Alpha Jet AT26 paid a visit to Koksijde. This Alpha jet is the 2001 display jet for the Belgian Air Force.

Koksijde : June - August

On the first of June the special painted Fouga Magister MT14 refuelled at Koksijde on its way to the Biggin Hill airshow. They came back on the 5th of June. On the 12th of July a German UH-1D came to Koksijde with a technical crew for a sick Tornado that was left behind after the open-door. On the 13th of July two US Army chinooks made a night stop at Koksijde en-route to the UK to support the visit of the US president to London. One of the helicopters broke down and left on the 17th of July. Two of the three blackhawks that flew over on the 13th of July came back to Koksijde to pick up the rest of the crew and flew together with the other Chinook back to the UK. On 25 July six Polish TS-11 Iskra jet trainers together with an AN-26 support aircraft made a fuel stop on their way to the RIAT at Cottesmore. On the 30th of July they returned via Koksijde together with a lot of other helicopters. At a certain time they had to park the aircraft on the taxiway because all the aprons were full of visiting aircraft!

Koksijde 2002

Airshow : 6 - 7 July 2002

For the very last time, the Italian Air Force sent a TF-104G Starfighter to the airshow in Koksijde. I will never forget the special howling sound when the aircraft was flying in downwind over Veurne. What a great sight and sound! The French Navy participated with a nice Alouette III based at Lanvéoc/Poulmic. A freshly painted F-4F based at Wittmund filled up the static display. The sole remaining HS.748 in use with the Belgian Air Force came to Koksijde for the very last time before it left to Benin. Highlights of the flying display were a 4-ship display of the based Sea Kings and a pass of an Ellsworth based B-1B on Saturday! To see an aircraft overview, click here.

Koksijde : January - April

On Valentine day we got a nice present from the French and British Air Forces. Two Alpha Jets and four Puma HC.1 made a fuel stop at Koksijde in sunny weather. On the 18th of February a German Transall landed at Koksijde, reason unknown. On the 21th an Italian Piaggio P.180 made a night stop, unfortunately no pictures could be made. On the 8th of March the official disbandment ceremony of 23 "Devils" Sqn took place at Kleine Brogel and for this occasion 14 F-16's in formation passed over all the Belgian military airfields. The squadron ended operations after a nice history of 51 years!

Koksijde : May - June

In May the first of 18 acquired IAI B-Hunter UAV's arrived at Koksijde to be tested over sea. On the 30th of May two Hungarian Air Force Mi-8 based at Solnok accompanied by two A.109's of Bierset came to Koksijde during a navigation training flight. The Hungarian Air Force was on a squadron exchange with the 17th Bn HATk. On the 29th of May a Royal Air Force Seaking MK.3 arrived for a couple of nights at Koksijde and departed on the 31th together with one of the based Seakings for a mission. After their mission they made a fuelstop and continued to Bierset for the Belgian Helidays.

Koksijde : July - August

On the first of July two Italian Air Force HH-3F Pelicans made a fuel stop in late afternoon en-route to the UK. They returned on the 12th of July back to Italy. In July a lot of German helicopters, mainly BO-105's and UH-1D's, refueled on their way to some UK airshows. On 25 July five German Army BO-105's landed at Koksijde to take some gas during a navigation training. They landed again on the 29th back to Germany.

Koksijde : September - December

In September the B-Hunter UAV's came back for some more training flights over the sea. This time with at least 2 airframes. September again brought some Germany helicopters to Koksijde. On the 4th of November three Royal Air Force Merlin HC.3's made a fuel stop en-route to Germany. Unfortunately they didn't land at Koksijde on their way back home. The 18th of December was a beautifully sunny winter day with a lot of movements. An Allouette II and F-16 visited Koksijde and the Falcon 900 made a lot of approaches. The day after 4 Allouette II's and 4 A.109's made a night stop at Koksijde on their way back from their mountain training in Saillagouse (France).


Koksijde 2003

Airshow : 5 - 6 July 2003

The 2003 edition of the airshow, this time called "Defence days", was one of the biggest airshows ever held at Koksijde. The static display aircraft were positioned on the 02/20 runway in two rows. As Belgium was looking for a replacement of the Seakings, the 2 helicopters in the running came to Koksijde. Canada sent over a CH-149 Cormorant with only 40hr on the clock and NHI did a flying display with their NH-90. The USAFE came with two brand new F-15E strike eagles that were based in Florennes to participate the TLP. As it is only 15 minutes flying from Florennes to Koksijde, they made numerous approaches with full AB to burn some fuel before touching the ground at Koksijde! The Swiss Air Force had a very large participation with both their display teams and the Hornet solo display! Germany participated with two Mig 29's both in flying and static display. The F-4F phantom performed its display for the very last time at Koksijde. Also the Royal Air Force came in force and supported the airshow with 20 aircraft! The most special one was off course one of the few remaining Canberra PR.9's in service with 39 Sqn! To see an aircraft overview, click here.

Koksijde : January - June

The year started well with on the 27th of January some approaches of a RNLAF F-16BM based at Volkel. On the 10th of March a Norwegian Air Force Seaking made a night stop, but unfortunately no pictures could be taken from this special visitor. On the second of June two Griffin HT.1's of the British Defense helicopter Flying School made a fuel stop. On the 4th of June the "Tour de France" in aviation came to Koksijde with 25 French civilian aircraft making a night stop. Support for this event was a French Air Force Casa 235.

Koksijde : July

In the beginning of the month we had some transport planes in support of some participants of the airshow. On the 14th the Polish national aerobatic team "Team Iskra", flying with 7 TS-11 Isrka's and one AN-26 transport plane as support, made a fuel stop en-route to the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford. They returned via Ostend on the 21th as Koksijde was closed due to the Belgian national holiday. The 23th was again a busy day with 4 Royal Navy Lynx and an emergency landing of a Florennes based F-16. The F-16 departed again on the 30th after technicians did some repairs. On the 24th most of the foreign helicopters that participated to the Weston-Super-Mare helidays made a fuel stop at Koksijde, so we had our own helidays! The most special helicopter was an AB.412SP from the Norwegian Air Force. They all came back on Monday the 28th.

Koksijde : August - December

The 13th and 14th of August a German Navy Seaking made a fuel stop at Koksijde during a navigation flight to the UK. On the 6th of November an Ecureuil of the French Douane landed at the airfield and the day after even 2 Ecureuils made a fuel stop, though the reason is unknown. On the 9th of December an Italian G.222TCM made a fuel stop during a very sunny but cold winter day.

Koksijde : September

In the second half of September a C-130 was based at Koksijde for paradropping exercises at Moorsele. On the 29th a very nicely painted Royal Navy Junglie made a fuel stop at Koksijde. It was still wearing its arctic camouflage paint used during their winter training in Norway.

Vierdaagse van de Ijzer

The "Four Days of the Yser" is an international march, organized by the Belgian Defence. This annual 'military exercise' is open to civilians and military, Belgians as well as foreigners. To make the march more comfortable, some activities are being organized along the track. One of the activities is paradroppings out of an Alouette II helicopter. During the opening ceremony on the 19th of August, on the evening before the race, the Alouette II performs paradroppings on the beach of Oostduinkerke. The next day they did some paradroppings along the track in De Panne, where they landed on the beach as well.


Koksijde 2004

Airshow : 3 - 4 July 2004

The 2004 airshow brought again some very nice participants to Koksijde. In the static display a French Navy Atlantic and Falcon 10MER could be seen. The large British participation was very welcome again. All frontline fighter types could be found in the static display. The flying display was dominated by the Italian Air Force. The test squadron (RSV) in Pratica Di Mare (near Rome) sent a Tornado, AMX, MB339 and G.222 for a flying display! For the first time on a Belgian airshow, a Saab gripen could be seen in the air. On Saturday an E-3A Awacs made 2 nice passes in front of the crowd.To see an aircraft overview, click here.

Koksijde : January - April

On the 18th of January four USAFE MH-53M helicopters passed over Koksijde en-route to Charleroi. They flew back to Mildenhall on the 25th. On the 12th of March two Royal Navy Merlin HM.1's did a hot refueling at Koksijde. They came back on the 15th en-route to their home base in Culdrose. On the 23rd of April four Royal Navy Lynx helicopters made a fuelstop and on the 28th a German Navy Seaking passed by as well. As there were works in progress on the visitors aprons, all the visiting helicopters and aircraft were parked on the holding platform of RWY11.

Koksijde : May - June

On the 13th of May a German CH-53G and 2 Royal Navy lynx helicopters visited Koksijde. The Lynx returned the next day. On the 18th of May five Fouga Magisters landed at Koksijde for a lunch stop! What a sight. After take-off they passed overhead in a 5-ship formation to continue back to Beauvechain. In the beginning of June three Fouga Magisters refueled en-route to and from the Duxford airshow in the UK. On the 17th of June two RAF Chinooks made a fuel stop, which is quiet rare at Koksijde.

Koksijde : July

A lot of helicopters made a fuel stop to or from British airshows. On the days before and after the Royal International Air Tattoo a German CH-53, BO105, UH-1D and Seaking took some gas at Koksijde. Also a Belgian Fouga Magister and a Royal Netherlands Cougar were thirsty visitors. On the 14th a double seater F-16 landed to bring a pilot for a sick F-16 that was left behind after the airshow.

Koksijde : August - December

On the last day of August a C-130 did some paradroppings over the airfield. The day after a Britten Norman Islander did the same. On the 24th of September a Royal Navy Seaking Mk.7 made a fuel stop, but unfortunately no pictures could be made. On the 24th of November a RAF chinook made a fuel stop in glorious sunny weather. A big contrast was the weather on the 17th of December where we took pictures of a departing ERJ-145 in the pouring rain…

Koksijde : October

October gave us a lot of Alpha Jets and Fougas at Koksijde. From 21 till 27 an MD900 from the Federal Police based at Melsbroek came to the 40th Sqn for winching training. As the squadron members are experts in winchings it is the perfect place to learn everything about winching.

National Defilé 2004

For the 2004 edition of the National Defilé over Brussels, 3 Seakings and 2 alouette III's participated in the fly-past. Afterwards they did some passes over the airfield in a nice 3-ship formation!