One of the largest air bases in Belgium is situated about 25km South-East of Brussels. The official name is Air Base Lt.Col. Charles Roman and is located near the town of Beauvechain. The air base is the home of the helicopter force of the Belgian Air Force (1st Wing) and hosts the training squadrons 5 and 9, both flying the Aermacchi Marchetti SF260D/M+.

Veteran
The SF260 is a real veteran in the Belgian Air Force. In 1969 the Belgians ordered 36 SF260’s. The first SF260 (registration ST-01) came in service in November 1969 and unfortunately was already written off on 21 April 1971 after an accident at Goetenshoven . The other 35 (ST-02 to ST-36) arrived between February 1970 and June 1971. 23 of the original 36 aircraft are still in use.

Pilot training
In 1991 the Belgian Air Force added another 9 SF260’s to the fleet (ST-40 to ST-48). The 32 SF260’s are in use for the elementary flight training of the Belgian Air Force pilots and for the Belgian demonstration team “Red Devils”.