EBBL-Spot1a
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November 30, 2021Kleine Brogel Air Base – Spotting Guide
- last modified on August 1, 2024
Kleine Brogel Air Base is situated in the Northern part of the Belgian Limburg province. The base is home of the 349Sqn and 31Tiger Sqn, both flying the F-16 aircraft. In 2022, major infrastructure works will start in preparation for the arrival of the F-35 anticipated around 2025. The base is spotter friendly and there are hardly any incidents. Please note that ladders and radio scanners are prohibited as on all bases in Belgium. In principle there are 2 waves per day; one in the late morning and one in the afternoon.
Unfortunately, it is not possible in Kleine Brogel to photograph taking off aircraft. After take Off, they are already quite high when they become visible from the spotter sites. On the other hand, they fly very low when landing and you can photograph them very easily. The base will provide the F-16 demo pilot for the period 2022-2024, which you will see at many airshows. The most common aircraft you see are the F-16. But weekly visitors include the NH-90 and A109 Agusta Helicopters, the A400M Atlas. Very occasionally we see an AH-64 Apache helicopter from Gilze-Rijen (NL), a C-17 from the US Forces and the AWACS from Geilenkirchen (D). But that will all become less with the upcoming infrastructure works.
Written Guy Croisiaux and Lukas Lamberty. Last Update: May 2022
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather | |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 05L/23R | 3096m – aspahlt |
| 05R/23L | 2400m – asphalt |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | The use of ladders is strictly prohibited in the immediate vicinity of the fencing! |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is needed as there is no public transport available. |
| Drinks/Food | Bring food and drink because there is nothing near by. Bring your trash with you as there are no trash cans available. Litter attracts birds and they are dangerous for planes |
| Hotels | The beautifully renovated Old Town Hall 1673 houses the Grand Café and the brasserie of Hotel de Boskar in the town of Peer; but it’s not cheap. If you are on a budget your better go to Hoeve Het Gehucht in Overpelt; a bed&breakfast about 5km from the base. |
| Season | There are always flight movements except weekends. From mid-December onwards it is less interesting because most pilots have reached their flying hours. |
| Security | Drones are prohibited! Don’t stand too close to the fence! Never stand under the landing lights because you will be in the middle of the crash zone. Standing too close to the fence arouses suspicion in air base security and then they may come and see what you are doing there. Photographing buildings and military personnel is very sensitive, so it is better not to do that. Also know that you are being watched very closely because there is camera surveillance almost every 50m |
| Runway Usage | |
| General Info | Best time is between 09:30-12:30 and 13:30-17:00. Before you leave, you can check which runway is in use that day through this website. |
| 05R/23L | Major runway with 23 being the dominant direction. |
| 05L/23R | Not known to be in use. |
 |
Spot #1 – Farm Road – 23R arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | You really need to have a look on the map because the sandy dirt road has no name. To get there follow the fence of the base from Kleine-Brogel towards Kaulille (N747 – this is the Vliegveldlaan). At a given moment (after 2,6km) it bends to the right via a dirt road. Follow it and you will arrive at the spotter’s site where you can even park the car. You are now at the rear of the base where you have a very good view of aircrafts during their landing. |
| WHAT | 23R arrivals only. |
| TIME | Light is good from sunrise until afternoon throughout the year. |
| MISC. | There are NO restrooms or shops close by; There is a gas station with shop in Kleine Brogel and in Peer. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Airplanes land in front of you so a 200-300mm lens will suffice |
 |
Spot #2 – Spotters Corner -05L arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | Depending on the wind direction, planes sometimes land on Rwy5. Do not stand at the official spotting area because you will be right under the planes when they land. Better go 150m further (in the direction of Peer, N748); opposite ‘Voortstraat’ you have a dirt road towards a small lake. Park your car there and walk 100m further until you reach the fence of the base. There you have a good view of the landing aircraft. |
| WHAT | 05L arrivals only. 23R depature are also maybe possible but we never tried it. |
| TIME | Light is good from sunrise until afternoon throughout the year. |
| MISC. | There are NO restrooms or shops close by |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Airplanes land in front of you so a 200-300mm lens will suffice |
 |
Spot #3 – Spotters Corner – 05L arrivals |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located at the end of the RWY 05L/23R, north of the previous locatio, next to the Voortstraat. Park your car as marked on the map and walk down in the grass for 25-50m . Remeber parking is on your own risk! |
| WHAT | 05L arrivals only. 23R depature are also maybe possible but we never tried it. |
| TIME | Light is good from afternoon (16:30) till Sunset (~only in the Summer). |
| MISC. | There are NO restrooms or shops close by |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-200mm |
 |
Spot #4 – Farm Road |
|---|---|
| WHERE | The location is literally a small side road “Kruisakkerweg”, near the small town De Pastory and is about 6 minutes by car from the city. |
| WHAT | You can see the awesome tranings display from the Solo Display pilot from the Belgian Air Force, and also the low approaches from the 05L/R and with luck the takeoffs from the 05L/R but it is very far away . |
| TIME | Light is good from sunrise until afternoon throughout the year. |
| MISC. | Keep an eye out for the farmer as you may disturb him at work as you actually park on their paths. There are NO restrooms or shops close by |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200-800mm |
 |
Spottersday Sanicole, Nato Tigermeet, Belgium Air Force Day |
|---|---|
| WHERE | During the annual Sanicole Airshow there are yearly 2 spottersday, one during an airshow day saturdays and the depature day on monday. Every few years the Nato Tigermeet will take place at Kleine Brogel. Every 4 years the Belgian Air Force days will take place too. |
| WHAT | All Movements on Runway 05L/23R, Taxiway and aircraft parked in Static display |
| TIME | On the runway from sunrise till 15:30/winter all day. On the taxiway till sunset also in summer. Static display depends on the parking spot |
| MISC. | Toilets and Food availible during the shows |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Taxway 18-55mm on the runway 150-500mm |
How to check which runway is in use ? If they are landing from spot 1 or spot 2 ? provided link above☝️ is a’dead’ link.
Depends on the wind.. link has been removed. You can ask in their Facebook group.
-Julian
You find all metar/metaf data on this website: https://metar-taf.com/nl/EBBL