On Sunday 7 March, the larger part of the group gathered at Schiphol for our flight to Stockholm, where we would meet the last two group members. After a relaxing flight we took the express train to the large train station of Stockholm. Because we had some time to spare, a part of the group took the opportunity to discover Stockholm. After we had met Frank and René, it was time to board the night train to Luleå. The train was rather full, mostly with soldiers in their way to Boden. The rhythm of the train apparently made us sleepy, because by 22.00 everyone was sleeping.
The last hours in the train were spent enjoying the white landscape, and exactly on time the train stopped in Luleå. The hotel was within walking distance and we dropped off our luggage and enjoyed a breakfast. By 08.20, we were picked up by our taxis and brought to F21. There we met our contact person, Louise. Soon it was clear that she knew exactly what we wanted: taking pictures! One goal of our trip was already met: the whole base was covered in snow.
Four missions were planned this day, and Louise had chosen different locations for taking pictures. We started halfway down the runway to catch the first mission returning. The second mission was photographed along the taxiway. As the snow was not cleared from the taxiway yet, this resulted in very nice pictures! The aircraft returning from the second mission were photographed at the start of the runway.
In the meantime, the strong wind had resulted in cancellation of the 3rd and 4th mission of that day. No problem, as plan B was to visit the F21/1 hangar and the Sk60 hangar, which we did. Much to the delight of Bram, a stop at the fire department was made and they invited us for a spin in their snowmobile!
The second day started halfway down the runway, where we photographed two missions departing and one during arrival. After lunch we visited the control tower, from where we were able to photograph Gripens taking off, very nice! Other spots that we visited that day were the taxiway and the beginning of the runway. As we had some time before the night flying started, we visited two stored Viggens on the other side of the airbase. The last 300 meters to the Viggens were covered in almost a meter high layer of snow, and all but Ralph decided to stay where they were. Ralph made a great effort and ploughed his way through the snow, not knowing that Louise already had arranged for a snow plough! Much to Ralph’s surprise, the rest of the group came strolling behind the big snow machine.
At the beginning of the evening, we were guests of F21/1 for the night flying. Although our movement was limited due to safety regulations, this resulted in very nice pictures! After yet another highlight we said goodbye to Louise and found our way to the night train to Stockholm and our flights back home, looking back at a trip to remember!
