Fini flight pilot on the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.
Registration: J-062.
This picture was taken on Tuesday 24 September 2024 during a special spotter's afternoon organised to mark the final farewell of the F-16 within the Royal Air Force. Here, the J-062 taxies past the crowd towards the apron after landing. The event took place at Volkel airbase.
During that afternoon, 4 F-16's flew a training mission. Three pilots made their last flight on the F-16 with that mission. This is called the fini flight. Traditionally, the pilots approach the runway several times and then throttle down again just before landing, often using the afterburner. At the end of the runway, they fly up steeply and then make a sharp turn. After landing, they receive a water salute from the Air Force fire brigade after which the pilots are met by their families on the apron.
I am Jaap van den Berg and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. Since then I travel all over the world to take pictures of military aircrafts. But besides aircraft I also love to photograph other subjects like landscapes, architecture, flowers, animals, .. Read more…