Page 6 - feb25

As a task specialist, Thierry Lecoz (right) works from the cabin of a B200 during events to coordinate the television-relay process, which includes ground-based antenna rigs like this one (left) set up for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics sailing competitions.
WorldLinX owns OO-ASL, a 1984 Model B200C, and OO-LET, a 1994 B200. They operate on the air operator certificate of ASL Group out of Antwerp International Airport (EBAW). Both aircraft have extra antennas mounted, the most obvious of which are housed in the fuselage belly pods of the aircraft as well as extendable transmission arms.
“We’ve modified the Superpod 60 from Commuter Air Technology to be suitable for radio transmission,” Vanhoof said. “This means that all the metal has been removed, so the pods are no longer suitable for actual cargo loads.”
The cabins look quite different, too. A few passenger seats remain though most of the space is filled with tech equipment that turns the King Air into a flying station, broadcasting directly to the ground station. A single operator works the equipment during an event – EASA calls the position a task specialist. Their role is to reconfigure the signals constantly as the event develops. In a cycling race, for example, the task specialist monitors whether all the cyclists are close together or if a few competitors are some distance ahead of the pack. They stay in contact with filming teams on camera motorbikes and in helicopters, and they monitor and
TRIP REPORT
4 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
Jens Vanhoof (left) provided an account of one trip in WorldLinX’s 1984 King Air B200C (OO-ASL) with fellow pilot Thieu Hendriks (right). The two traveled from Antwerp, Belgium, to Auckland, New Zealand, in 2022 for Rally New Zealand. The four-day auto racing event consisted of 17 special stages over gravel roads running through forests and along the coastline. Competitors
covered nearly 174 miles in New Zealand, one of 13 rounds of that year’s World Rally Championship.
Day 1 (Tuesday): Thieu and I flew out of Brussels Airport (EBBR) to Lyon, France (LFLL). We took an Uber to Grenoble Alpes–Isère Airport (LFLS), where our King Air, OO-ASL, had just received Phase 3 maintenance at Blue Aero.
FEBRUARY 2025
The Life of a Television Relay Pilot