| BIERSET'S 3rd International Helicopter Meet, 3/4 June  Andrew Bates was there: Advertised locally as the
'Bierset Happening 2000', the Belgian Army hosted an International Helicopter Meet during
the first weekend of June, a date which coincided with a spell of gloriously hot and sunny
weather on the continent. Co-located with Liège Airport, this was the third such event to
take place at this former Mirage base, now home to the Alouette IIs and Islanders of 16
BnHLn, and the Agusta A109s of 17 & 18 BnHATk, all from the Aviation Légère de la
Force Terrestre (or Belgische Landmacht, depending on which Belgian language you prefer).
The event itself proved to be a very relaxed affair, with an excellent selection of
helicopters on display, some of which periodically took to the skies to perform for the
assembled crowds. Not surprisingly, the majority of participants were military, and
included a variety of types from neighbouring countries. However, the event was not
entirely dominated by rotary winged aircraft, upon entry to the airfield, visitors were
greeted by two BN-2A Islanders, B-08/LH and B-02/LB, the later
configured for marine environmental control duties. Completing the fixed wing line-up,
there was a trio of immaculate, privately owned L-18 Super Cubs; camouflaged L 47/OO-SPG
and L 156/OO-LGB, along with L 44/OO-SPQ in a very smart looking all yellow scheme.
 The
main static display contained a number of highlights, including EdA (Spanish AF) AS332B Super Puma HD.21-12 and AMI (Italian AF) AB-212AM MM81152/51-73, whilst the all grey RN Merlin
HM1 ZH827 contrasted starkly with EH101 demonstrator I-LIOI in its
bright yellow SAR scheme, representing the proposed Canadian Cormorant variant. However,
the prize for attracting the most attention, especially from all the photographers, went
to the German Army CH-53G 84+34 from HFR35, which had been
specially painted to commemorate 500,000 hours of operations, and was easily the star of
the show for many.
Other notable participants included AdlA (French AF) AS355N
5391/67-VA from EH02.067, Belgian Navy Alouette II M-2/OT-ZPB
from 40 Sml, Gendarmerie/Rijkswacht (Belgian Police) MD-520N G-14, RN Sea King HAS5
ZA130/824 from 771 Squadron and Klu AS532U2 S-450 from 300 Squadron. Meanwhile, the US
Army was in attendance with two examples of the UH-1H from USEUCOM. Along with the
familiar 74-22513, in its high-viz markings, was 74-22368 wearing the more traditional
drab olive colour scheme. Another familiar type on display  was the Lynx, with two
examples parked side by side, one from the French Navy, and the other from the Dutch Navy.
However, this pair were not just related by design, by a strange coincidence, both shared
the same serial number; 269.
Most prolific type on display, for obvious reasons, was the Agusta A109, with both
versions, the HO and HA being available for inspection in the static and hangar displays,
as well as on the flightline, along with various other locations on the airfield. These
were, of course, supplemented by some of the home based Alouette II helicopters from 16
BnHLn.
As mentioned previously, this was a very relaxed event, with no continuous flying display
as such. All flying demonstrations were conducted at sporadic intervals, which saw such
types as the A109, RN Merlin, Spanish AS332B, and Belgian Navy Sea King take to the skies.
For those with an interest in all things rotary, this proved to be a rewarding and
enjoyable day out, without the frenzy of some of the larger events. Plans are already in
hand for the next such helicopter meet, so next year, keep an eye open for the 'Bierset
Happening 2001'.
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