Photo safari: Chasing the bird (Air Force One, NATO summit 2025)

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Yes, it is Air Force One! 

The following days saw extra flights to Schiphol for the NATO summit. First a US Marine Corps KC-130J dropping off some more vehicles followed by the US president and his entourage the following day. 

The US president flies aboard a modified Boeing 747-200 designated VC-25A by the US Air Force. When the US president is on board, it uses the call sign Air Force One. 

The US Air Force has a fleet of two VC-25As and they usually operate together with the second VC-25A hosting past of the presidents entourage. This time however, it was a US Air Force Boeing 757, known as a C-32A by the service, that was used for this task. 

Somehow it just feels wrong without a tail number

Click on any photo to enlarge

Photo safari: Chasing the beast (NATO summit 2025)

 And not just any beast. The beast I am talking about is the U.S. presidential state car built by Cadillac. 

The beast

With the NATO summit in The Hague only a few days away the U.S. presidential motorcade is being airlifted in. Three C-17A Globemaster IIIs brought in 'the beast' and several other cars to Schiphol for use by the president of the United States. 

The US presidential state car, also known as 'the beast' or 'Cadillac One', is never alone. They always drive in pairs, with the car carrying the US president called 'stagecoach' and the other 'spare'. They carry identical license plates.

A modified Chevrolet Suburban

A modified Ford F-350 Super Duty

Stagecoach and spare, but which is which?

They are accompanied by several other vehicles, mostly Chevrolet Suburbans or similar SUVs, each with their own task. These appear to be owned by the Department of Defense.

Operation Orange Shield

As part of the overall security during the summit the Dutch armed forces are executing operation Orange Shield. As part of the operation two NH-90NFH helicopters visited Schiphol.

Click on any photo to enlarge

Mission in Malaysia - Part 3: LIMA day 2

When we arrived at the fence this morning everything was wet, we apparently just missed a huge downpour. With the runway still wet the take-off of the F/A-18D was spectacular, as was the high-speed pass. 

The day would largely go the same as yesterday. The Hornet opening the show, the opening gambit formations, the Flanker and Hornet solo demonstrations and the Jupiter team perfecting their demo. We had better luck with the weather today, I am quite happy with the shots taken today.

After the displays it was bank to the runway to catch air show arrivals. Not everything turned up today but that was okay as we had a few more days to go. And the Russians? Word on the street was that they were still in Novosibirsk.

After a good day's work we decided to visit the hotel pool for a quick swim, followed by a walk to the beach where we were entertained by the local fire breathers.

Mission in Malaysia - Part 2: LIMA day 1

After a short but good night's sleep we steered the scooter towards the airport for the first day at the fence.  We chose a small road opposite the runway and static area. First to depart was a single F/A-18D Hornet, this Hornet would blast over the airport at low level and high speed, dropping flares. A spectacular sight!

After the Hornet display it was time for the 'opening gambit', a display with a helicopter formation, a fighter formation, a trainer formation and a transport formation. This also included a fine Eurocopter Cougar duo display and a surprise visit from the solo Hornet. Now the weather wasn't playing ball so I'm just going to share a few shots from today.

After the opening gambit is was time for solo displays from Su-30MKM Flankers and F/A-18D Hornets but these declined to fly today. The Jupiter team from Indonesia flying South Korean built KT-1B trainer aircraft saved the day so to speak, performing their routine. After this display we relocated to the other side of the airport for better light as we were about to get backlit aircraft on our current spot. 

Our new position was a perfect spot for shooting landing aircraft, we stayed here for the rest of the day. Today saw no extra arrivals for the static show, we were hoping tomorrow would bring some exciting aircraft for the static display. We didn't know what to expect, but word on the street was that the Russians were on their way and now at Novosibirsk. The weather had been so-so for most of the day so we called it quits after a few hours on this spot. Next stop was the swimming pool in our hotel, followed by a walk to the beach for food and drinks. Not a bad way to end my first full day here!

Mission in Malaysia - Part 1: Departure

LIMA 2025

The Lankawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition, LIMA for short, has been on my 'to do' list for a while now. This air show offers some spectacular flying, participants you won't see in the west often and Lankawi Island offers more than just this air show.

This year the stars aligned. With enough days in my schedule available and my buddy Hans joining me, our mission to Malaysia was a 'go'!

Managing expectations

In the weeks leading up to LIMA there was little to no news about participating nations and aircraft. The Malaysian Air Force, Navy and Army would be there and I was hoping for the Chinese Air Force display team which usually participates. Anything else I was happy with.

When the organisation finally released a list of participants the Chinese weren't on it. A big bummer. However the Indians would send their display team, just like the Russians and the Indonesians. I'd seen the Indians and Russians before, but they are amongst the more unusual teams so hey, not bad! Countries like Brunei, Canada, Italy, Singapore and the United States would send participants for the static display too which again was not bad at all. So I was looking forward to a good and varied air show.

My goal was to see the air show rehearsals on the final days before the show and to attend the show itself on Monday, media day. Afterwards Hans and I would travel to Alor Setar where a lot of the aircraft doing the flying display would operate from. I booked a Wednesday evening KLM flight to Kuala Lumpur and from there a flight to Lankawi, arriving Thursday in the early evening. Hans would fly a few days ahead of me as he wanted to explore the tourist attractions Lakawi had to offer. 

Travelling light

So what gear would I bring to Malaysia? I wanted to travel light so I opted for my trusty Canon EOS 5DsR with my Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM and Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lenses. I brought a Canon EOS 90D as a back up camera. These would fit my Crumpler camera bag with room to spare.

Onwards and upwards

By now it was time to board the train to Schiphol.

After an uneventful flight to Kuala Lumpur (it was Thursday by now) it was time for the final hop to Lankawi. Taxiing out the weather looked ominous...

I made it to Lankawi without difficulty. In the last light I got my first glimpse of the air show participants on the main ramp. Hans was waiting for me outside the terminal. Now onwards for a full plate of nasi and a good beer.

Cars & Coffee 2025

The Veluwse Oldtimer Club invited my friend Joeri van Veen to their yearly Cars and Coffee event last Sunday. As it happened we had planned to work on another project on Sunday so we postponed our initial plan and drove off to the lovely city of Apeldoorn to see some classic cars. 

When we arrived at the Zwitsal terrain the first classic cars slowly trickled in - just like the rain - so we decided to do the 'coffee' part of the event first. After a very nice cappuccino we headed outside to enjoy the gathered automobiles.

Me at work. Photo: Joeri van Veen

All in all this was a very enjoyable morning despite the rain. 

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 100S II

Lens: Mitakon Speedmaster 65mm f/1.4

Mode: Fujifilm Acros simulation