Belgium Weekend Special

This is something slightly different from the usual COAP aviation tour: a self-drive photographic weekend in Belgium, built around two very special aircraft and two contrasting aviation locations.

Over three days we will bring together a classic Cold War delta and one of the most recognisable Allied fighters of the Second World War. The centrepieces are the preserved Belgian Air Force Dassault Mirage 5BD BD09 at Brustem and the airworthy Curtiss P-40E Warhawk OO-WHK at Brasschaat.

Participants make their own journey by car, either meeting the group on the English side of the Channel for the drive across together, or joining us independently at our first hotel in Belgium.

Once there, the weekend follows the familiar COAP approach: carefully arranged access, good photographic opportunities and enough time to work around the aircraft rather than simply grabbing a few photographs before moving on.

Mirage 5BD BD09 – Brustem

Our first destination is the former Sint-Truiden/Brustem military airfield, a location with a long aviation history. During the Second World War it was used extensively by the Luftwaffe and subsequently by Allied units after liberation. Post-war it became an important Belgian military flying and training base, with Fouga Magisters, T-33s and later Alpha Jets amongst the types associated with Sint-Truiden. Operational military flying finally ceased in the 1990s.

For our purposes, however, the attraction is Dassault Mirage 5BD BD09, construction number 209.The Mirage 5 was derived from the Mirage III but developed with greater emphasis on the ground-attack role. Belgium became one of the type's most significant European operators, acquiring dedicated Mirage 5BA strike aircraft, Mirage 5BR reconnaissance machines and the two-seat Mirage 5BD.BD09 itself rolled into SABCA for construction on 7 October 1970 and rolled out on 25 March 1971. Its operational career subsequently took it through several Belgian Air Force units: principally 8 Squadron and 42 Squadron, but with periods at 1 and 2 Squadrons as well.

Its final flight took place on 13 January 1994 from Bierset to Weelde. By then BD09 had accumulated 3,846 flying hours and 3,930 landings.After leaving service the aircraft had a rather less straightforward life, including a period in France, before eventually returning to Belgium. BD09 arrived at Brustem on 1 February 2018 and is now cared for by Team BD09, whose objective is to preserve both the aircraft and the wider story of Belgium's Mirage force.

Our photographic session is planned to run from approximately 15:30 until 21:30, giving us the opportunity to work through the changing October light into dusk and darkness.That transition is precisely what makes a session such as this worthwhile. The Mirage 5's slim fuselage, highly swept delta wing and distinctive nose lend themselves extremely well to low-angle and three-quarter photography, while the later part of the session should allow us to concentrate on illuminated and night-time compositions.Previous Team BD09 sessions have positioned the aircraft outside on former airfield surfaces as well as around its hangar, demonstrating just how effective the Mirage looks in its original aviation environment.After the shoot we make the relatively short journey to B&B HOTEL Hasselt for our first overnight stop.

Curtiss P-40E Warhawk – Brasschaat

Sunday takes the weekend back another generation. At Brasschaat we turn our attention to a Curtiss P-40E Warhawk, registration OO-WHK, USAAF serial 41-13570 and construction number 16786.

This is not simply a restored P-40 representing wartime history. The aircraft itself has an extraordinary wartime story.Built in 1941, 41-13570 was supplied to the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease programme and became White 51. It served in the Murmansk area with the Soviet forces defending the strategically important Kola Peninsula.

On 1 June 1942, the aircraft was flown by Junior Lieutenant A. V. Pshenev while escorting Tupolev SB bombers attacking the German-held airfield at Petsamo. The formation encountered Bf 109s from JG 5 and Pshenev's aircraft was hit in the engine.With oil loss and an overheating engine, he was forced down onto the partly frozen Lake Kod Ozero, west of Murmansk. He survived and made his way back to Soviet lines, while the P-40 eventually sank beneath the water.There it remained for more than half a century.

On 31 August 1997, the remarkably complete aircraft was recovered from the freshwater lake, lifted out beneath a Kamov Ka-25 helicopter. It subsequently came to Britain, where the remains were displayed for a time at the Frontline Aviation Museum at Sandown on the Isle of Wight.After passing through several owners and restoration projects, the aircraft eventually travelled to Pioneer Aero at Ardmore in New Zealand, one of the best-known specialists in P-40 restoration. The rebuilt aircraft flew again on 11 November 2021. During the restoration a second seat and dual controls were incorporated behind the pilot.It subsequently returned to Europe and reached Brasschaat, where FAST Aero worked on the aircraft.

After initially operating under French marks, it became OO-WHK in Belgian ownership in May 2024.The finished aircraft carries USAAF style wartime markings, complete with the early American national insignia and the military serial 113570.

Its Allison-powered shark-like profile makes a remarkable contrast with the Mirage photographed the previous evening.Brasschaat itself is an appropriate location. One of Belgium's longstanding aviation sites, the former military airfield is now used for recreational aviation and has an 799-metre asphalt runway.

This second session gives us another opportunity to concentrate on an individual aircraft with time to think about backgrounds, angles and details rather than simply photographing it in an airshow crowd.The combination is what makes the weekend particularly interesting: a genuine Soviet-front combat veteran from 1942 followed, historically, by one of Belgium's characteristic Cold War fast jets, both photographed on Belgian airfields with strong aviation connections of their own, and because this is an independent travel style event, it is also a relatively straightforward way to make an enjoyable aviation weekend of it without the structure or cost of a fully escorted overseas tour.