Following on from the last newsletter we are pleased to
announce the Fokker F27 Flies once again……
As planned on an almost perfect winters day, the F27 took off from Chevron’s
Base Maintenance Facility at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire at around
12:00hrs.
The Fokker was permitted for just the one low level ferry flight with
undercarriage up, and with a flight time of around 1 hour we were all eagerly
anticipating the 14:00hrs arrival time in Amsterdam.
The F27 was met over the North Sea by the Fokker four Aerobatic team and escorted into Schiphol in a flat formation. It was a nervous wait, but then suddenly we caught our first
glimpse of the formation.
As mentioned in the previous article, this is the first time in 15 years that
Schiphol has received a Fokker F27. With this, special permission was
given to do several low passes down the main runway, followed by a very
impressive 90 degree banked turn.
After an exciting display the Fokker F27 made a perfect landing. This was
welcomed with loud cheers and warm applause from the hundreds of spectators who
had gathered to watch the once in a lifetime event.
The F27 taxied onto stand and was greeted by the Schiphol Airport fire service.
They gave the Fokker F27 a respectful salute in the form of a water cannon
archway, to commerorate the final flight of this almost iconic aircraft.
A special thank you goes to David Kraaijenbrink, Peter de Jong and everyone
else who was involved in this memorable occasion.
