OV-10B Bronco - Civilian

Among the most distinctive shapes in the static display will be the North American OV-10B Bronco, being provided by Tony de Bruyn and the Bronco Demo Team from Wevelgem, Belgium. This example of the twin-turboprop multi-purpose aircraft was flown for many years by West Germany's Luftwaffe as a target tug. It ended up in a German museum, from which Tony acquired the airframe in 2011. Since then it has been subjected to an extensive restoration to airworthiness, and 2014 was this aircraft's first season on the display circuit, Tony having made a welcome return to flying after recovering from serious injuries sustained in the crash of his previous airworthy Bronco in 2012. This year it wears special 'Bavarian Air Force' markings, including a painted-up fuel tank, to recall similar colours applied to Luftwaffe Broncos on deployment to Bavaria in the 1960s. The rugged, agile OV-10 saw extensive use with US forces in Vietnam in roles such as forward air control, observation, reconnaissance and light strike. The US Marine Corps also employed the type in the 1991 Gulf campaign.