Sanicole Sunset Show; Leopoldsburg, September 13, 2019

The International Sanicole Airshow 2019; Text and Photograph's by Alex van Noye

This year the 41st edition of the International Sanicole Airshow took place on September, 13 and 15. The air show is traditionally held at Leopoldsburg airport in the northern part of Belgium. In addition to the civilian participants, the relations with the Belgian Air Force are also clearly visible in the airshow flight program.

The Sanicole air show at the airport of Leopoldsburg has grown over the years from a small event to a true spectacle. The name Sanicole which is linked to the airshow has a special background and has nothing to do with names of cities or the location of the event. The name Sanicole was invented by the Belgian Lucien Plees. This man is the founder of the aero club at Leopoldsburg airport in the municipality of Hechtel-Eksel in northern Belgium. Plees was the owner of a sanitary facility in Korpsel at the time of its foundation. The name Sanicole is a combination of the word sanitary and the name of his daughter Nicole. When the Sanicole Airshow was held for the first time, the event did not represent much. The size of the airshow contrasted sharply with what the event is today. The airshow started to grow in size when Gilbert Buekenberghs started to interfere with the organization. The Sanicole Airshow grew in the 1980s into a large airshow which earned its place in the list of leading airshows. This was quite a special achievement at the time, because almost all successful airshows in Europe were not commercial at that time. Most airshows are usually organized by the Air Force or another branch of defense in most countries. The first international participants to participate in the Sanicole Airshow came from countries such as the Netherlands, France and England.

The Sanicole Airshow is in Belgium already known for many years. However, it would take until the 90s for the airshow to break through internationally as a big name in the world of airshows. The Sanicole Airshow remained the only annual airshow in Belgium after tightening up safety rules. The organization in Belgium kept developing itself over the years, because the Sanicole Airshow has become a leader internationally when it comes to safety, quality and innovation in the aviation world. The biggest reward which the organization could receive for the effort made came in 2010. The Sanicole Airshow was then named as the best European airshow and was rewarded with the Paul

Bowen Award by the European Airshow Council. Since 2011, the Sanicole Sunset Show is also held annually. This event is held annually on the Friday night before the Sanicole Airshow weekend. During this airshow, the spectators can photograph and film during the golden hour at sunset. Over the years, the Sunset Show has also developed into worthy event on its own. During this airshow traditionally many flares and also fireworks are used by the aircraft and helicopters. Against the often dark skies and the weak evening light, this results in spectacular photos for those present. If lucky, the moon will also show itself during the setting, making the result even more beautiful. The aircraft and helicopters which participate in the Sanicole Airshow usually fly from Kleine-Brogel, not far from Leopoldsburg.

This year there was again a small sunset show on the Friday evening and a big airshow during the day period on the Sunday. 75 years of liberation was the theme of the 41st Sanicole show. The evening show started with the traditional flight of an American strategic bomber. This year it was a Boeing B-52H Stratofortress which gave the presence to open the sunset show. This type of aircraft was already designed in the 50s of the last century. This specific aircraft in question dates back to the 60s. The aircraft is built by the same manufacturer as the Boeing B-17 which flew during the show a little later. This aircraft was built at the end of the Second World War and has not experienced any war acts. The end of the Second World War plays also a major role in Belgium. The area around Leopoldsburg was liberated by the Allies at the beginning of September 1944, after which this area formed the starting point for the further Operation Market Garden that was to take place in the Netherlands. In the airshow this was emphasized on Friday evening by a formation flight of a Supermarine Spitfire and a North American P-51 Mustang. As the sun lowered further and further into the horizon, the flares of spitting planes were displayed. The Patrouille de Suisse, OTTO the helicopter with fireworks, the "Fire Flies (a demo team with 2 propeller planes), an A109 from the Belgian Air Force equipped with flares and VADOR the Belgian F-16 demo with a clear afterburner. The evening show was closed by a Danish C-130J Hercules which popped flares for a longer time frame.

The airshow which was held on Sunday during the day also contained many references to the period of the Second World War. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress again flew by with a great demonstration. The formation with the historic Spitfire and Mustang was also flown here. The formation was followed by a special D-Day formation of the Belgian Air Force. This unique formation consisted of a C-130 Hercules with black and white D-Day stripes over the entire body and the wings. Two F-16s flew next to the Hercules which also had D-Day stripes. These F-16s also had special tails from the 349 and 350 Squadron. These three aircraft represented the three squadrons which flew with Belgian crews during the Second World War within the British Royal Air Force. In addition to these historical commemorations, demo teams were also present during the airshow. Some of these demonstration teams, were; the Patrol de Suisse, the Jordanian Falcons, the Team Raven, the Belgian Red Devils, the Belgian Victors, the Croatian Wings of Storm and one of the very last performances of the French/Swiss Team Breitling. In addition to the teams, there were also individual demonstrations including a Belgian NH-90 and A-109 helicopter, the Belgian demo F-16, Zeus (the Greek demo F-16), the French Alpha-Jet and the Swedish Saab SK -37 Viggen. The most demo violence was shown by the Sukhoi-27 from the Ukraine. Around 40,000 visitors came to the event this year. The next airshow is planned September 11 and 13 next year.