RST - Bestyrelsen

The Air Museum in Brussels was my first stop on my round trip in Belgium and the Netherlands with flying as the main theme. On Wednesday morning I began my journey. It was supposed to have been a couple of hours ahead, but the starter of my car broke down the Sunday before. I made an appointment with my mechanic that he would repair it Tuesday. He also did this, but when it was taken to the garage in the evening the starter went down again. This meant that I had to attend at the garage at 07.30 a.m., when it opened. A quick test revealed a bad connection of the starter. At 07.40 a.m. I went southwards. I drove app. 1100 kilometres on my first day that was not so much on the motorway, which was also very fine. After a somewhat expensive stay at a hotel I drove further on to Brussels where the museum was situated in the middle of the city. I had checked out the city map before my journey. It did however not seem the way I had expected it. After having driven for a while on my instinctive feeling I suddenly saw a map board in the roadside and by accident a single idle parking place. But I only had to drive a little further, then I had arrived at the destination.

The view is very impressive when you arrive there. This is also something that you can see from the photos. Big buildings and a large portal at the end of a beautiful park. Inside the museum you get the information that it is free to visit the museum. But when you enter the museum hall you will see a Caravelle aircraft standing on three tall pillars under the ceiling. And it was no aircraft model even though it did not take up much space in the hall. The aircraft was a Sabene aircraft that has been worn out.

I spent most of the day on checking aircraft out. In this very museum you also get the chance to get very close to the aircraft since only very few aircraft are enclosed. Then it was possible to get close to them and touching was also allowed. These were very exciting aircraft, but unfortunately it all was marked by dirtyness. Many of the aircraft were actually mucky in order to be totally honest with you, but after all it was a museum that was worth visiting.

Late in the afternoon my plan was to drive on to Zoersel to attend “Chipmeet” that was the meeting of the Chipmunk aircraft. From my personal internet I had already booked a hotel, that was situated only five minutes from the airfield, and I arrived there early enough to explore the area after having checked in on the hotel. Finally I had a very good meal at the hotel. This also included a mug of beer since I was in Belgium after all. This is the country of beer, you know.

I am going to let each photo speak for itself..

Poul-Jørgen

Several of the photos can be enlargened through a click.

This scanned postcard shows the whole museum area. All halls at the left are defence museums. The museum at the top left is the aircraft museum. The top one at your right is Autoworld. The four-sided one at the end of the arch at your right side is the art gallery. The rest I do not know of.

The view is very impressive arriving from this side.

A full-size Caravelle aircraft under the ceiling meets your eyes as one of the first items at the entrance of the giant exhibition hall.

A JU-52 aircraft raised on stilts with a Spitfire and a Douglas A-26 Invader without wing tips in the front.

Just beneath the JU-52 aircraft I tasted two excellent sandwiches in this splendid cafeteria. In the lower edge of the photo the nose of a DC-3 aircraft is visible.

A Spitfire, a A-26 Invader - and a red Norseman on floats with the wheels out which is the reason it is so tall

In the middle of the photo you see a Bleinheim and at the right the nose of a Flying Boxcar.

Here you see a Fairchild C-119 ”Flying Boxcar”. here you can read much more about the aircraft.

An airspeed Oxford. The Royal Danish Air Force has also had such an aircraft.

A Percival Pembroke.

A DC-3 aircraft with “Airspeed Oxford” in the background.

A Danish Chipmunk under restoration. Previously the aircraft was the RDAF P-130

This is a rescue helicopter of the Belgium Air Force. This is one of the aircraft, which origin I had not been able to get to know. But after having studied several internet websites my conclusion is that it must be a Sikorsky S-58. Westland have one very similar.

A Bristol Fighter 17 F2B, year 1917.

A Caudron G III, year 1914.

Because of its photo windows in its nose I assess this to be a RF-84 aircraft.

An Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck.

A Farman MF XI, year 1914. If I have understood the Flemish text correctly, this is the first aircraft of the Belgium Air Force (1915).

A seaplane - Schrech FBA type H 1915.

A seaplane - Schrech FBA type H 1915.

This is a Fiat G-91. I recall this type of aircraft from the air force. For example, the Italian Air Force paid a visit, and when you heard them speak you did not doubt for one second where they came from.