On 16 May, 4Aviation travelled to Cambrai in France with no less than 151 enthusiasts. They had all registered to participate in the spotters day the was organised for the NATO Tiger Meet at Cambrai. The bus trip started very early at the train station of Utrecht and the parking lot of AC De Meern. After two very short stops in Breda and Antwerp (to pick up more passengers) the trip continued towards France.
We arrived at the main gate of Cambrai perfectly on time, at 07.15. Unfortunately, the identity checks at the gate took a little longer than hoped for. When arriving at the spot, where everybody was very close and beautifully positioned along the taxi-track and near the flight lines, the first aircraft already took off. They appeared to be the visitors that arrived here just before the weekend. They were either additional aircraft for the Tiger Meet or participants for the air show at Cambrai-Niergnies.
The weather was not very cooperative. It was cold, windy but above all; cloudy. Despite that, the day was a lot of fun. The NATO Tiger Meet was visited by a number of interesting participants this year, that were ‘absent’ during recent editions. The Greeks brought their new F-16s for the first time and the Portuguese were present again for instance. The Slovak MiG-29s were present for the first time as well. A large number of aircraft had been given some sort of Tiger colour scheme. The German Air Force was showing off again for the occasion.
Two sorties were flown by the participants on this Monday, giving everybody plenty of opportunities to photograph the majority of the participants on the taxi-track or during take-off.
By 16.30 the spotters day was finished. The two double decker buses started the journey home by 18.00 and just after 22.00 everybody was dropped off again at his or her starting point.
