NV Sarens supports DAKOTA vzw with special transport
A complete Boeing 727 forward section with a fully equipped flight deck was added today to the collection of DAKOTA, the non-profit association linked to the Belgian Air Force’s 15 Wing Air Transport.
The President of DAKOTA, Colonel Aviator (ret.) Jacques Lousberg, said: “I am delighted to officially add the B727 to our 15 Wing static collection. We will now restore the nose section to its full glory and Belgian Air Force colour scheme. We will then present it as a centrepiece of our museum for fans and visitors in the coming months.”
At the end of 1975, the Belgian government acquired two Boeing 727-29QC airliners from the national airline Sabena. Both aircraft were to replace 4 Douglas DC-6Bs operated by the 21 Squadron (15 Wing) based in Melsbroek. Although modern for their time, the B727s were somewhat short-legged and had to make several refuelling stops to fly to the United States. To overcome this shortcoming, both Boeing 727s were replaced by two Airbus A310s in 1998.
The Boeing 727 nose section was kindly donated to DAKOTA by the Vlaamse Hogeschool VIVES VLOC based in Ostend where the aircraft was used as a didactic tool for aviation-oriented teaching.
SARENS SA sponsored and provided the lifting and transport of the nose section from a recycler based in St-Truiden to Melsbroek. Its technical supervisor, Pieter Di Cairano, said after the successful transport operation: “We are proud to help DAKOTA with keeping the history of 15 Wing alive. The preparation and execution of the project went very well. For this purpose, we have implemented a truck crane and a tractor with a low loader trailer. Our D-Day team was supervised by Wim Van Roey. It’s great to see these historic military transport aircraft in Melsbroek – and we’re glad to see the Boeing 727 getting its rightful place there as part of the unit’s heritage.”
DAKOTA, a non-profit association, is a documentation centre and museum explaining the history of 15 Wing – with, outside, a static display of aircraft that have flown at 15 Wing.
The museum and static display are open to the public on Mondays and Thursdays, upon prior request as the site is based at Melsbroek Air Base.