Page 5 - feb25

Jens Vanhoof likely has one of the most unique gigs among Beechcraft King Air pilots. The 38-year- old Belgian alternates between flying in circles for hours at a time and crossing the globe on ferry flights – all in support of bringing major sporting events to worldwide television audiences.
WorldLinX operates two B200 aircraft with television-relay configurations from its base in Antwerp, Belgium. They provide long-range wireless transmissions for television facility companies that have been hired by the television networks with broadcasting rights to the events, mainly sporting events such as auto rallies, cycling, sailing, cross-country skiing and marathons.
“We operate our King Airs exclusively as a relay in live television broadcasting. About 99% of the business is sporting events where you either need to cover a big area or a smaller area that constantly changes, like cycling races that can go on for 80 miles. In these cases, you can’t physically pull cables to a broadcast truck and putting antennas next to the stages is logistically impossible. That’s not the case for tennis or hockey games or even Formula One races, where no relay is needed,” Vanhoof said during an interview from Chile, where he’d landed after ferrying a B200 for six days from Belgium to help broadcast the Rally Chile round of the World Rally Championship.
FEBRUARY 2025
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 3