F-16 "Vrieske" Together with the Silver Tigers 31th Tiger Squadron Kleine Brogel Full Demo.
Together on board with Vrieske .
Fighter pilot Steven De Vries (48), "Vrieske" for the colleagues, has passed the mark of 5,000 flight hours in an F-16 on the 5 /03 /2021. That was celebrated with a formation flight above Kleine Brogel .
Yet those 5,000 flight hours in an F-16 are very special. "Vrieske is the only pilot in the Belgian army to reach this cape", says Kurt Verwilligen, the spokesman for the air force. "5,000 flight hours, that equates to 208 days, nonstop. Only 5 American pilots have done this before."
Those 5,000 flight hours were accumulated both during operational training missions and operational deployment. Captain De Vries, has been a member of the Belgian Air Force since 1990.
The now fourty-eight-year-old 'Vrieske' is only the 6th pilot world wide to reach this unique achievement, and the first non US Pilot to do so.

In Kleine-Brogel he achieved his first 1,000 flying hours on the 'viper', the common call sign for the F-16. Following the disbandment of the 23 'Devil' Squadron, the pilot transferred to the 31 'Tiger' Squadron in 2002, where he reached the milestones of 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 hours on the fighter plane.

In 2015 he had reached the 4000 hours so it took him another 5 years to get the 5000 hours milestone on F-16.


His career:
F-16 Pilot more then 22 years F-16.
into service : dec. 1990 – present
Duration of employment 5/03 2021 : 30 years 4 months
Location : Kleine Brogel

F-16 MLU initial Cadre for 23rd SQN Conversion 1999
Air to Air Weapons Flight Commander 23rd Devil SQN 2000
F-16 FWIT Weapons School Graduate 2001
FWIT Weapons instructor for Class 2002 - 2003 - 2008
Klein Brogel Weapons Tactics and Training Officer Feb 2006 till May 2008
Weapons Flight Commander 31 SQN 2001 - 2003, 2008 - may 2009
Ops officer 31 SQN 2009
OEC Kleine Brogel
31 SQN pilot EW Flight
B-Flight Commander, Mission Planning and Intelligence

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