And now for something completely different as Monty Python once said. This edition of the Volkel in de Wolken report is a little different. It gives you a small peek on what goes on behind the scenes

at an airshow like the one in Volkel. First let me start about the airshow. Though I did not see everything, this because of the travel between airforce base and display line. I will give a review of the participants I did see.

First of it was the Fokker Four team that gave a nice display as usual, with the number 4 sometimes struggling to stay in position. The Fokker S-11 that is used as a vintage trainer aircraft and shows you that aerobatics is one of the things to do with it. All in all they gave a good show in perfect weather.

Next up it was time for Robert "Redyak" de Vries, finally I could get to see a high show of this excellent Yak-52 in bright Red paint. Robert gave a great show with loops, barrel rolls, tumbles and more. The Yak-52 is very capable of unlimited aerobatics. New this year was a smoke system fitted to the plane. Makes the display extra spectacular, the smoke was on the thin side, but maybe with a bit of tweaking the smoke will be thicker on the next show. The roar of the engine was again a pleasure to my ears as it is every display.

The ASK-21 Glide plane was the next participant. A great display, especially when you do aerobatics in a glider. Remember there is no engine and timing is critical as ending the display too low and you won't be able to land on the field.

Shortly after the display done by the ASK-21, it was time for Mark Jefferies. Mark Jefferies is national aerobatics champion in Great Britain. One word can describe his display: EXCELLENT!! To see Mark fly his new Extra-330SC is something that needs to be seen to be believed.

With plenty of smoke, rolls, loops, stall turns and spins it gives us viewers a spectacular display. Be sure to check out the video on the video page as it shows how tight and precise his flying is. One thing that does amaze me is that you only see him at Volkel in de Wolken. I really hope airshow organisers see his skills and invite him over. I want to see more of his flying. A big thanks to Mark for the video footage.

The last participant I saw wasn't spectacular or anything, but did show a great amount of skill. I'm talking about the show done by the Vliegclub Rotterdam.

It was formation flying done in 6 general aviation planes and one aerobatic trainer. Now you might think, what's so hard? Well first of all don't expect these plane to have 800 plus horsepower. Once one of the planes would lose it's position in the formation it's very hard to come back. It also made for nice photos, you don't get to see 7 GA planes in formation in the sky at once. Great job guys!!.

That's all I saw of the airshow unfortunately, but I did have a great time elsewhere, at the Volkel AFB. It gave me a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes. To put it mildly, it's kind of boring for the participants before they can do their show. Once they are airborne it's all action for them

In the morning they start with their briefing about what is and is not allowed at the show. After that it's just waiting for your time to do your show. Don't get me wrong I had a great time there, meeting different participants and seeing all the different planes up close.

The conclusion to this airshow is that the weather was great, great participants and for nice photos and videos. Thanks to Red Sensation for the behind the scenes look.