Archived Photography – 2009

Archived Photography from 2009 featuring visits to the Mach Loop for Harriers, F-15s and of course Hawks. Lots of visits to RAF Coningsby for the ever expanding Typhoon fleet. RIAT and Waddington Air Shows. A tour around DCAE Cosford. The departure of the Typhoons to the Falklands.

19 Sqn Hawks in the Mach Loop

11th December 2009

When you go ‘low leveling’ in LFA 7 you can be sure of only two things. The first is the weather, the Snowdonian National Park with its valleys, hills and mountains has it’s own micro-climate making it very hard for weather forecasters to predict what the next day will be like let alone two or three days ahead.

This makes it even harder for photographers trying to pick a good day. It’s over 300 miles, round trip, for me to go….

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Falklands Typhoons Depart

12th September 2009

Originally slated for October 2009 the replacement of the Tornado F3 aircraft deployed to RAF Mount Pleasant, Falklands Islands was brought forward to 12th September 2009 as part of the MODs accelerated effort to withdraw the Tornado F3 from service.

Four Block 8 Typhoons will replace the four Tornado F3s currently assigned to RAF 1435 Flight. I expect the choice to use Block 8 airframes is to maximise the time….

Read the full article: Typhoons depart for the Falklands

RAF Coningsby

9th September 2009

This week at RAF Coningsby saw 3 Squadron and 29(R) Squadron taking part in a night flying exercise with the UK based USAF F-15E Strike Eagles and part of 17(R) Squadron heading to Corsica. With all this going on you would be mistaken in thinking Coningsby would have been quiet in the daytime.

Along with the locally based Typhoons two of the three 41(R) Squadron Harriers took to the sky. ZG510 as….

Read the full article: Pictures from RAF Coningsby

3 Days At RAF Coningsby

17-19th August 2009

RAF Coningsby with its five squadrons and the BBMF is a busy airfield. It’s responsible for QRA (South), training pilots to fly the Typhoon, operational evaluation for the Typhoon, developing the air to ground aspect of the Typhoon, fast jet and weapons operational evaluation (for the Tornado and Harrier) and the display flying from the BBMF and also the Typhoon display team.

Currently they are adopting the new Block 8 Typhoons……

Read the full article: Typhoons at RAF Coningsby

Block 8 Typhoons

After months of negotiations the UK has signed the contract for the Tranche 3A Typhoon. The order of 40 Tranche 3A Typhoons represents 45% of the originally proposed number for this tranche and could be the last order placed by the UK as it has now fulfilled it’s contractual obligation. The option for a Tranche 3B order isn’t likely to be taken up due to the funding black hole in the MOD’s budget. This would leave the RAF with a total of 160 Typhoons but that number includes the……

Read the full article: Block 8 Typhoons

RIAT Air Show 2009

18th July 2009

The Royal International Air Tattoo better know as RIAT. It’s the World’s biggest air show (recognized by the Guinness World Records for the attendance of 535 aircraft in 2003).

It’s also had a number of firsts. First display of the B-2A Spirit outside the USA and the first display of the F-22A Raptor in Europe.

Each year RIAT runs a number of themes……

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RAF Waddington Air Show 2009

4th July 2009

The RAF Waddington International Air Show is the official air show of the RAF. Whilst not as big as RIAT it has become a popular air show with a strong following. This peaked last year with the return to the sky of the Vulcan bringing out the public in record numbers.

This year has been a tough year for the air show. The budget tightening of air forces around the world has made it harder to get the foreign fast jet air displays. The RAF’s own budget problems meant the……

Read the full article: RAF Waddington Airshow 2009

F-15E Eagles in the Mach Loop

25th June 2009

It was looking to be a quiet day. It was almost lunch time and I was yet to see an aircraft. Then the peace and quiet of the countryside was quickly blown away by Jazz 31 and Jazz 32. A pair of USAF F-15E Strike Eagles that dropped into low level after practicing air combat manoeuvring (ACM).

Quite a site at low level! Especially with the trailing vortices off the wing tips. This effect is caused by the pressure change on the wing pulling the moisture out of the air.

Read the full article: F-15E Strike Eagles in the Mach Loop

Harriers in the Loop

2nd June 2009

With some of the best weather in years I headed off to Wales for the Mach Loop. My hope that the weather would bring out the jets. My hope was met and then some!

It seems the RAF decided to make the most of the good weather and were out in force.

Five Harriers put the end to my low level Harrier jinx (at one point I went 505 days without catching one!).

Read the full article: Harriers in the Loop

T2 Hawk in the Loop

21st April 2009

With contradicting weather reports it was always going to be a risk heading to LFA 7 but since I hadn’t made a trip so far in 2009 it had to be done.

Sadly the gamble didn’t pay off.

Whilst the rest of the UK basked in 20 degree temperatures and blue skies LFA 7 was covered in low cloud and lingering fog. I waited 45 minutes for the weather to….

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RAF Air Show Display PDA

18th July 2009

Each year the display teams of the RAF have to perform a Public Display Authorisation (PDA) before they are allowed to perform for the public (as the name suggests!). The process is the end of a lot of practice by the pilots and is performed in front of a high ranking member of the RAF.

RAF Coningsby being the home of both the Typhoon and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) was naturally the place for the PDA to be carried out for the display….

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Photography from DCAE Cosford

18th July 2009

Whilst many people still refer to RAF Cosford its correct name is DCAE Cosford. The DCAE standing for Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering.

The Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering is responsible for phase 2 and phase 3 training of all the aeronautical engineers of the UK Armed Forces.

The training is delivered across five sites with DCAE Cosford as the Headquarters.

Read the full article: Photography from DCAE Cosford

Photography from RAF Waddington

12th March 2009

An afternoon spent at RAF Waddington produced a mix of both civilian and military aircraft. I’ll start with the locally based RAF Sentinel R1.

The RAF Sentinel R1 ASTOR (Airborne Stand-Off Radar) is the newest addition to the RAF fleet. The Sentinel uses the Bombardier Global Express as an air platform modified by Raytheon Systems Limited with a ASARS-2 derivative of the airborne radar system used in the U-2 spy plane. The ASARS-2 is made up of a Synthetic Aperture….

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