The F-16 Solo Display Team of the Belgian Air Force is based at Florennes Air Force base. Lockheed F-16M Fighting Falcon jet plane flying at airshow
The F-16 Solo Display Team of the Belgian Air Force is based at Florennes Air Force base for the first year of a new 2 or 3 season cycle. In the past, numerous pilots of the Belgian Air Force have flown the F-16 as Solo Display. The responsibility for providing the demo pilot wasn't based on fixed rules, but did shift between the operational airforce bases. When Cdt. John Vandebosch of 31 sqn passed the torch to Cdt. Michael Artiges in 2006 it was decided to give the F-16 Solo Display Team a more cyclic character. For the second consecutive year Captain Avi Renaud "Grat" Thys of N° 350 Squadron based at Florennes will be the Lockheed Martin F-16AM Solo display pilot flying the spececially decorated F-16AM FA-84. Aged twenty nine, "Grat" obtained his wings as military pilot in 2004 and totalises flying hours, of them on Lockheed F-16AM. The demo might seem spectacular to the general public, but in fact contains standard F-16 manoeuvres which are flown during practise sessions as operational missions. The only difference between real life operations and this demo is that these manoeuvres are flown in a smooth pattern and at very low altitude. This does mean the demo puts a lot of G forces on the pilot which limits the demo to a maximum of around 10 minutes, giving the audience an overview of the F-16's manoeuvrability and the skills of all F-16 pilots in the Belgian Air Force. For the 2012 demo season a new F-16 needed to be painted in full demo colors. Since the team switched from Kleine Brogel AFB to Florennes AFB another airframe was found in the form of #FA-84. Since the introduction of the more colorfull colors of last years' "Vortex", this years jet at least needed to be as colorful as the former. The main color is a blue top side with some grey, black and white touches together with a "Belgian touch" in the form of a subdued roundel on the tail fin and tricolore leading edges of the stabs and trailing edges of the wings.
Size: 3600px × 2387px
Location: Fairford, Glos, UK
Photo credit: © Avpics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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