This year the 41st edition of the International Sanicole Airshow took place on 13 and 15 September 2019. The air show is traditionally held at Leopoldsburg airport in the north of Belgium.
History
The Sanicole Airshow, mostly conducted at the Leopoldsburg (Belgiom) airport, has scaled new heights from merely being a small event to a true spectacle. The name Sanicole was invented by the Belgian Lucien Plees who is the founder of the flying 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 didn’t attract much attention but as soon as Gilbert Buekenberghs took the charge of the event, the air show started spreading its wings. The Sanicole Airshow grew in the 1980s into a large air show that earned its place in the list of leading air shows. This was quite a special achievement because almost all successful air shows in Europe were not commercial at that time. Most air shows are usually organised by the air force or another branch of defence 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 was soon branded as an international air show and the name was changed to International Sanicole Airshow (abbreviated: ISA). The ISA is nowadays one of the most important air shows that is held annually in Belgium.
The Sanicole Airshow has long been a household name in Belgium. However, it would take until the 90s for the air show to break through internationally as a big name in the world of air shows. The Sanicole Airshow was named the best European air show in 2010 and was rewarded with the Paul Bowen Award by the European Airshow Council. Since 2011, the Sanicole Sunset Show is also held annually just before the main event. During this show, the spectators can photograph and film flying display of aircraft during the sunset and over the years, the Sunset Show has also developed into a full-fledged event. During this air show, many flares and fireworks are used by the planes and helicopters that glint the dark skies, giving a golden opportunity to visitors to capture some mesmerising air shots.
The planes and helicopters that participate in the Sanicole airshow usually fly from the Kleine-Brogel military airbase not far from Leopoldsburg. Leopoldsburg does not have the right infrastructure, as a result of which many military aircraft cannot fly from this airport.
2019 edition
The 41st edition of the Sanicole Air Show was again started with the Sunset Air Show on Friday evening and a big show on the very next day with the theme 75 years of liberation.
The evening show on Friday started with the traditional flight from an American strategic bomber, this year, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress opened the show. The aircraft comes from the same manufacturer as the Boeing B-17, which flew a little later in the show. This aircraft was built at the end of the World War II and has not experienced any war acts.
During the World War II, area around Sanicole airfield was liberated by the Allies in early September, after which this area formed the starting point for the further operation Market Garden in the Netherlands, targeting for the Arnhem bridge (‘too far’). In the air show, this was emphasised on Friday evening by a formation flight of a Supermarine Spitfire and a North American P-51 Mustang.
As the sun goes down further to the horizon, the luminous aircraft were presented. The 'Patrol de Suisse'; 'OTTO' the helicopter with fireworks; the 'Fireflies' a demo team with two propeller aircraft with fireworks on the wings; an NH-90 from the Belgian Air Force with flares; 'VADOR' the Belgian F-16 demo pilot with flares, while the afterburner was mostly in the ON position. The evening show was closed by a Danish C-130J who shot flares for a longer period of time.
The day show on Sunday also contained many references to the World War II. The Boeing B-17 came along again, just like the formation of the Spitfire and Mustang. Later followed by a
special D-Day formation of the Belgian Air Force: a C-130 Hercules with black and white D-Day stripes and two F-16s with D-Day stripes; all three planes represented the three squadrons that flew with Belgian crews during the World War II within the British Royal Air Force. Various demo teams gave a demonstration: 'Patrouille de Suisse', the 'Jordanian Falcons', '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, there were also individual demonstrations of: Belgian NH90 and A109 helicopters; 'Vador' the Belgian demo F-16; 'Zeus' the Greek demo F-16, the French AlphaJet, the Swedish SAAB Viggen. The loudest demo was performed by the Sukhoi-27 from the Ukraine.
On Friday, some 5000 visitors witnessed the sunset show, while on Sunday around 40,000 visitors were present. The next (42nd) edition is scheduled on 11 & 13 September 2020.
Text and photos: Joris van Boven and Alex van Noije
