Vacaviation explaned

Hi there!
Vacaviation is my blog to share my experiences while I'm on the road to photograph aircraft. It's a big hobby of me, hence the name. The Royal Netherlands AirForce used to have the Airbase Twente at 15 minutes cycling away from my home, witch was founded even before WO II. Now due to budget cuts of the Dutch gouvrnement they descided to close it as military airbase in 2003. All military movements ended in 2007 alongside the civil charter flights witch profitted from the Air Controle and fire department facilities. That was a tear inside my heart as I've found some of my main interests in life there: aviation and photography. I also studied for my exams there in the most perfect way. I front of the television would be to destractive as Cartoon Network had busy cartoons and I probably couldn't get my mind of what I would have to miss at the airbase.

My parents supposedly took me to the airshow when I was just a year old. That afternoon I didn't cry of the afterburners thundering over our house because I've seen the source. Other parents in the neighberhood weren't so blessed... Later on they took me to the airbase during airshows, squadron party's or just on regular training day's. All from outside the fence at the specially made spotters hill or on the dirt road at the far end of the runway. I was mesmorised by the aircraft, and captevated by the tails of the aircraft spotters. They had their camera's and frequency scanners and explaned what they could hear (no pictures to show, it was still the slides and negatives period).


It was a few years later though that I got interested into going to the airbase on my own, sometimes with a friend to watch and photograph the aircraft taking off, landing and taxiing by. At the annual hot air balloon festival "Twente Ballooning" in 2000 at a recreational place nearby the airforce would do a fly by with F-16's. I had to see that happening and I went with a friend and got to chat with some folks of the Onze Luchtmacht* (our airforce) stand. They got me excited to join their club of friends of the airforce. That way I could go onto the airbase to see Romanian Mig-21's from close by the next week!! The fly by got my one of my best shots that year, but it failed in comparison to what I saw at that spottersday*. The german Hopsten airbase was out of commission due to runway repares and all the F-4 Phantom jets where stationed at Twente aswell. So it was as busy as it gets (sadly it was the last time it ever got that busy operationally). I had 4 rolls of negative film in my mom's camera bag and shot them all full, and even got one for the landing in the afternoon from a spotter who new how much I would miss. Thanks again! (who ever that was...).
Anyway jetfuel got into my vaines and never left.



With the Onze Luchtmacht I wou go on to bus trips to airshows, military excirses and base visits. The cheap summer deals of the Dutch railsway's gave me the oppertunety to go to other airbases in the Netherlands and just across the borders. Later I would meet other spotters to go on road trips with. Sometimes of just a day, other times a week or several weeks to Belgium, France, the UK and Switzerland. Switzerland hostes a very special airshow witch I got hooked on and turned out to become a annual thing for me.
The details, info, pictures and for sure annekdotes aswell is the reason of this blog. It's my leasure time filled with adventure and kerosine fumes!

I never forgave the CDA and other coalition political parties of the 2nd kabinet Balkenende for closing down Twente airbase. Budget cuts just after making it the most modern base of the country facilety wise is throwing away money better spend on, for example, a better health care programme. And still they are doing strainge things, like wanting the US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This while SAAB had made an offer that is a third of the JSF's costs and is fixed. Anyway, I'm angry about it but the sentiment of the past and enthousiasm of future trips will prevale for sure!




Right: One of the best places at the fence was also the closest to home. I've spend many good day's making good pictures here and this is where photography all began for me.

*Onze Luchtmacht: The Onze Luchtmacht (Our Airforce) is a club of mostly Dutch airforce enthousiasts. They work alongside the airforce bringing news about it and other airforces in their magazine and on internet. The Onze Luchtmacht also organises regionally gatherings with seminars and bus tours to base visits and airshows. http://www.onzeluchtmacht.nl/



* Spottersday: A spottersday is a day where the aviation hobbyist gets (just about) what he or she wants. A organised day on the base at the runway and/or taxistrip to photograph and film aircraft from close by. Usually the pilots do some special maneuvres to show off to the spotters.