Arrival of Saab Viggen at Aviodrome, Lelystad Netherlands

On Friday 13th January 2006 there was a Saab Viggen expected at Lelystad Airport, so Low Approach drove to the North of the Netherlands to witness this extraordinary event.

First a little history: The former Aviodrome at Schiphol placed a request to Sweden for a phased out Saab Viggen for exhibit at the Aviodrome, assuming that the request would not be honored, it was a surprise when some years later a Viggen was offered. The ‘51’ (37901) was originally delivered to the Air Force as a SH 37 Viggen, and has served at F 7, F 10, F 13, F 17 and F 21. This Viggen was part of a group of twenty-five aircraft, which was modified during the years to an AJSH 37 Viggen, this means that mainly the avionics and software were upgraded. The aircraft was taken out of service in 2005. We could say that this example was one of the last operational Viggens by the Swedish Air Force.

Before the arrival of the Viggen we also saw some touch and go’s and arrivals from some little airplanes.

Beside the Viggen, the Aviodrome has a lot more to offer, more nice airplanes can be found here such as the Douglas DC-3, Fokker F.27 Friendship, Antonov An-2, MiG-21 PFM Fishbed-F, F-104 Starfighter, Boeing 747 and many others. A report from the museum could be expected in the future but if you would visit the museum take a look at http://www.aviodrome.nl

Text & Photography: Dirk Geuns