Grimbergen Airfield
Encyclopedia
Grimbergen Airfield is a general aviation
airport
located in Grimbergen
, a municipality of the province of Flemish Brabant
in Belgium
. Like many recreational aerodromes in Belgium, it is formally a private field, requiring prior permission to land from visitors, though is normally only a formality. The airfield is home to motorized aircraft
, either privately owned or belonging to two active aeroclubs. It also hosts an aircraft repair and maintenance company.
There are two remarkable hangars on the airfield, constructed in 1947. Looking more like silos, they are in fact round hangars made of concrete
.
The airfield was first created in 1939 by Belgian military, and came to full development by German occupation forces. After the war, it hosted the pilot's school of Belgian flag carrier Sabena
.
In 1989, as part of a political reorganisation, the aerodrome was passed from the Belgian national authority RLW/RVA to the regional Flemish government, who closed it soon after. The aerodrome reopened in 1997 at the hands of a private not for profit association, who have since been running it. A large part of the aerodrome had to be given up however, to be transformed into a forest, Lintbos.
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
located in Grimbergen
Grimbergen
Grimbergen is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Humbeek and Strombeek-Bever. On January 1, 2006 Grimbergen had a total population of 33,965. The total area is...
, a municipality of the province of Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Like many recreational aerodromes in Belgium, it is formally a private field, requiring prior permission to land from visitors, though is normally only a formality. The airfield is home to motorized aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, either privately owned or belonging to two active aeroclubs. It also hosts an aircraft repair and maintenance company.
There are two remarkable hangars on the airfield, constructed in 1947. Looking more like silos, they are in fact round hangars made of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
.
The airfield was first created in 1939 by Belgian military, and came to full development by German occupation forces. After the war, it hosted the pilot's school of Belgian flag carrier Sabena
Sabena
SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...
.
In 1989, as part of a political reorganisation, the aerodrome was passed from the Belgian national authority RLW/RVA to the regional Flemish government, who closed it soon after. The aerodrome reopened in 1997 at the hands of a private not for profit association, who have since been running it. A large part of the aerodrome had to be given up however, to be transformed into a forest, Lintbos.