The weekend of March 23-24 was again the time for the annual Crew Chief training at our homebase in Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport. Although no airshow operations will be flown this season, it was a great way to come together with almost the whole team, and stay current on Bronco procedures. Sunday afternoon also saw the second edition of the Bronco Fan Day taking place, which was visited by many BDT fans.
As a lot of our team members come from as far as Germany and the UK, they started to arrive on Friday evening to be well rested for the big weekend. Saturday morning it was time to welcome everyone in the classroom and start the day with a coffee or another drink. Soon the books were opened and Tony started with some repetitions of the things learned during past trainings. Markus made a great presentation on the Bronco Hydraulic system explaining the use of the system and where all parts are located on the aircraft.
While the Crew Chiefs were on training, the Cheerleaders were busy preparing their secret dance act for the Bronco Fan Day. They also had a great surprise for Edith, a well deserved wellness cure in a spa to get loose of all the stress she had during past months.
After a great lunch, the preparations for the Bronco Fan Day could start, the hangar was cleared, aircraft were parked in their best position, tables were set in position for the big day. During the evening the dinner was opened with a glass of champagne, followed by a delicious Barbeque. After dinner, it was time for Tony to do his speech, where he thanked everyone for the great support received in the difficult times, and looking forward to the future of the Team. Soetkin was awarded the trophy of excellence for all the achievements she did in 2012, thank you Soetkin! For the occasion, a photobook was made by Tom Houquet showing the restoration of Bronco 99+18, and was presented by Tony to everyone who helped making this project a success. In the evening we moved to the hangar where we had some great fun.
On Sunday morning the final preparations for the Fan Day were made, and around 1PM the first visitors came in. The Fan Day itself is shown in a dedicated report on the site. Despite being not a standard full scale training weekend, it was a great time spend together and keeping the spirit alive. Thanks to everyone for attending!