NATO Tiger Meet 2009 Spotter`s Day by Jonathan Derden

With the roar of afterburners echoing through the trees outside the Kleine Brogel Air Base in eastern Belgium, I could not hide the smile on my face as I walked briskly toward the base’s entrance. Never before had I set foot on a military base in Europe. The Spotter’s Day at the 2009 NATO Tiger Meet (NTM), held September 18th, was about to become my first opportunity. It would spoil me for good.

With the roar of afterburners echoing through the trees outside the Kleine Brogel Air Base in eastern Belgium, I could not hide the smile on my face as I walked briskly toward the base’s entrance. Never before had I set foot on a military base in Europe. The Spotter’s Day at the 2009 NATO Tiger Meet (NTM), held September 18th, was about to become my first opportunity. It would spoil me for good.

Throughout the week prior to the Spotter’s Day, photos of aircraft wearing flashy “Tiger” paint schemes had appeared on the Internet as Tiger Meet participants arrived at Kleine Brogel, home of the Belgian Air Component’s 10th Tactical Wing. As I walked down the tree-lined road to the entrance along with seemingly half of Europe’s spotter community, I marveled at the prospect of photographing those beautifully (in most cases) painted jets. As I got closer to the entrance and the crowd grew, the next thought to enter my head was, “Should I have brought a ladder?” While most airshow fans in North America would never consider taking a stepladder to an airshow, aircraft spotters in Europe feel right at home toting ladders as if they came with labels reading “Canon” or “Nikon.” It seemed like I was the only person at Kleine Brogel without one.

After a quick and painless entry through the security checkpoint (WITH a large camera bag, I might add) I walked past a small ramp occupied by the Patrouille Suisse team’s brightly painted Northrop F-5s. Aircraft name notwithstanding, these Tiger IIs were staging from “KB” for the nearby Sanicole International Airshow, not taking part in the Tiger Meet. They made a nice sight, but I had some “real” Tigers to catch! Next I passed a preserved Belgian Air Force Lockheed F-104G (FX-52), painted in the same wild Tiger scheme the jet wore 31 years previously during the 1978 Tiger Meet. This impressive former Tiger stood proudly at the head of a line of memorabilia tents where NTM fans could pick up t-shirts, patches, and other swag from the various Tiger units.

It was a short walk further to Kleine Brogel’s parallel runways. Soon I found myself staring down a fenceline full of photographers, all of us eyeing the stars of the show: the Tigers. The uniquely-painted aircraft – representing “Tiger” squadrons from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the UK – were lined up on the secondary southern runway, right in front of the temporary fenceline, allowing for excellent viewing. (No stepladder required!)

I found an opening between photographers along the fence, and soon after the mass launch of aircraft for the morning’s Combined Air Operations (COMAO) mission began. This launch consisted of about 50 aircraft from most of the Tiger Meet’s participants. A special surprise was a mass formation of Tiger-painted aircraft prior to the recovery of the COMAO mission. Much to the delight of the approximately 6000 Spotter’s Day attendees, after rolling out on the main runway the recovering aircraft all taxied the length of the secondary runway along the crowd line. Many of the pilots relished the opportunity to present their best “tiger poses” for the cameras.

There was even action that would have elated diehard “airshow” fans. Between the morning and afternoon COMAO missions, the Belgian Air Component’s F-16 demo pilot Michel “Mitch” Beulen practiced his display for the Sanicole Airshow. Soon after, Belgian F-16s performed an impressive airfield attack demonstration in conjunction with Belgian Agusta A-109s, Czech Mi-24Vs, and an Italian Agusta AB-212. Some arrivals for the Sanicole Airshow also made their way into Kleine Brogel while we watched and snapped photos, including a P-51 and several RedBull warbirds like the F4UCorsair, P-38, and B-25.

Although this event was not billed as an airshow – a point that was repeatedly stressed over loudspeakers throughout the day – the Spotter’s Day was designed specifically for photographers. Coming from North America, where airshows consider serious photographers to be too small a group to cater to, I found the Tiger Meet experience incredible and unique. The crowd location, flying activities, and even the paint schemes reflected the purpose of the Spotter’s Day: fantastic photo opportunities. However, airshow essentials such as refreshments, memorabilia, and bathrooms were still available.

I left Kleine Brogel exhilarated from a fantastic experience at the 2009 NATO Tiger Meet Spotter’s Day. For military aircraft enthusiasts and photographers, it’s hard to beat the wide variety of subjects and special paint schemes at a NATO Tiger Meet. The Dutch Air Force’s 313 Sqn at Volkel AB will host the 2010 event, and if there is a Spotter’s Day the organizers have a tough act to follow.

Acknowledgements

For more about the NATO Tiger Association and the Tiger Meet, see here).

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