When Andy Herzog came back from his trip to the Netherlands June 2013 and told me about the Volkel Airshow and the 100 year jubilee of the royal dutch air force, I remembered that I was once at a similar air show. After a quick search in my slide-archive I discovered the slides from the Deelen air show, past in 1988.

Well - It was then the 75 year jubilee of the RNLAF and the Air show was held on the Weekend of the 2nd July 1988 at the Deelen air base near Arnhem. It was one of the few Air Shows my father accompanied me. In retrospektive he accompanied me on two air shows in the Nederlands; Deelen and Eindhoven - and that where the only two air show I ever visited in the Netherlands.

The first disappointment came in the early hours of the day when I saw the weather of the day. No it was not raining or even cloudy, it was just foggy and all over grey. Later that day the fog was not so thick as before, but it was the whole day very misty and with a low visibility. This hampered the Air Show trough out the whole day. The Flightprogramm begun very late and to take some pictures was almost impossible; therefore the results regarding quality was rather poor.

General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon of the Display Team (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon of the Display Team (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon with a KC-135 Tanker of the USAFE. (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Northrop NF-5A Freedom Fighter (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Northrop NF-5A Freedom Fighter "Double Dutch" Display Team (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Northrop NF-5A Freedom Fighter "Double Dutch" Display Team (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Northrop NF-5A Freedom Fighter "Double Dutch" Display Team (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Northrop NF-5A Freedom Fighter "Double Dutch" Display Team (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Northrop NF-5A Freedom Fighter "Double Dutch" Display Team (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Douglas DC-3 PH-DDA (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Douglas DC-3 PH-DDA (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Looking back 25 years ago, it's strange - the RNLAF still fly’s the F-16 Fighting Falcon as main fighter. The NF-5A are gone, because they were phased ouf shortly after 1988. There are many planes no longer are in use like the Bo-105, Alouette III and the famous Fokker F-27 Friendship. Now the RNLAF has the similar Fokker F-50 in use.

The Dutch had painted an F-16A and two NF-5A in a special livery. They showed their special F-16A in a breathtaking performance. Even better where the two NF-5A from the Double Dutch belonging to the 314 Sqn from Eindhoven.
In honor of the 75th anniversary of the RNLAF, the “Grasshoppers” Alouetttes, each had the 75th Anniversary Klu logo applied on their tail. In 1995, with the retirement of all Alouette III helicopter from the RNLAF, the “Grasshoppers” aerobatic display team was disbanded.

The Fokker F27-100/300M Friendships/Troopships were the workhorses of the KLU, Koninklijke Luchtmacht for decades until they were taken out of service in 1996. The Fokker Troopship is probably best known for its amazing displays by 334 squadron. The first display was in 1970 during the air show at Volkel AB. In the following years the display become more of a show of what was possible when a fighter pilot was flying a cargo plane.

Westland SH-14 Sea Lynx of the Dutch Navy  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Westland SH-14 Sea Lynx of the Dutch Navy  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Messerschmitt Bo-105 of the Dutch Army  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Messerschmitt Bo-105 299 Sqn.  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Fokker F-27 Troopship of the 334 Sqn. (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Fokker F-27 Troopship of the 334 Sqn. (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Fokker F-27 Troopship of the 334 Sqn. (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Fokker F-27 Troopship of the 334 Sqn. (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

The Grasshoppers the Dutch Helocopter Aerobatic Team with Sudest Alouette III (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

The Grasshoppers the Dutch Helocopter Aerobatic Team with Sudest Alouette III (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Historic planes

For me the highlight on the Deelen Air Show was the many vintage planes I've seen there. Republic Thunderjet and Thunderstreak, Hawker Hunter and Gloster Meteor. New to me was the Fokker Machtrainer - a very rare plane that only the Dutch where flying. Over all only 20 planes Fokker produced for the RNLAF. The strange looking Fokker D-21 is in fact a North American Texan lookalike. The other Fokker plane the S-11 was an original.

North American T-6G Texan (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

De Haviland Canada Beaver (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

De Haviland Canada Beaver (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Beech B.18 Expeditor (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Republic F-84G Thunderjet (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Republic F-84G Thunderjet (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Republic F-84G Thunderjet (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Lockheed T-33A (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Lockheed T-33A (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

North American T-6 as Fokker D.21 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Guests

Besides the RNLAF there were some guest at the Air Show. The German Air Force was present with a F-4F Phantom, a Tornado and a Alpha jet. The German Army sent only one Bo-105 wich the Dutch had also in Deelen. Deelen was in fact the Home Base of the light planes and Helicopters like the Bo-105, Aloutette II and Beaver. The US Army was present with a variety of Helicopters. Not als guest was an Mc Donnell Douglas F-15C Eagle of the 32 TFS at Dellen. The "Wolfpack" was based in Sosterberg at a Dutch Air Base and was the only "Royal" USAF Unit wearing crown and wreath of the Dutch Royal Family on its Badge. The French showing an up to date Mirage F-1, and the Belgian an outdated (even then) Mirage V. The Italian still fly the venerable F-104 Starfighter . Highlight of the Deelen Air Show was the first performance in the Netherlands of the Swiss demoteam La Patrouille de Suisse, at the time still flying the Hawker Hunter.

Sikorsky S-61 (Picture courtesy Andreas Herzog)

Boeing 747-400 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

In general it was a spectacular air show with lots of planes you will no longer see anymore today.

last update 1. December 2013

Written 30. November 2013

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