The annual open days of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, now called Air Force Days were held on 18 and 19 June at Gilze-Rijen AB in the south of the Netherlands. The newly formed Defense Helicopter Command (DHC) is based at Gilze-Rijen and formed a big part of the show with the annual airpower demo. Highlights this year: The first appearance of a Finnish NH90 and a C-17 flying demo.

From the air

Due to the layout of the Gilze-Rijen AB, not all areas are visible for the general public. This year, some of the most interesting support aircraft were parked in the woods on the west side of the base. Fortunately we were able to catch a seat on a photo flight and get some great shots.

Static

The static was located mainly on the 02-20 runway and on the grass next to it. The static was somewhat smaller than previous editions, so no aircraft were parked in the shelter areas on the east side. A first this year was the latest addition to the RNLAF transport fleet, the C-130H (G-988). Not like the current two C-130H-30 this is the first of the two short H variants.

Read on in our next part including the airshow and the impressive airpower demo.