The sons of Bonzo: 312 Squadron and quick trip to Volkel
A sunny weekday off meant a chance to go to photographs at a military base. I decided to make the trip to the RNLAF base at Volkel, in the South of the country, to catch some F-16s before they are retired. 312 Squadron is the last remaining F-16 unit based in The Netherlands.
As this was my first time at this base, I chose to go to the official spotting location. I didn’t know if there would be flying that day, but seeing other spotters there was at least encouraging. After about an hour of waiting, the base’s fire brigade tool their place on the field, indicating that flying activity was about to start.
In the end I was rewarded with 7 Vipers departing, and 6 of them returning to the base about 90 minutes later. The sun angle for the taxi shots was certainly not the best, but in this hobby, sometimes you have to work with what you have. Thanks to a friend here in Amsterdam, I was able to get some good tips and a good location for the jets’ arrivals.
(Click on an image to enlarge)
