Low Level Visits

Archived photography from the hills.

Mach Loop

14th July 2011

Whilst just about every other photographer in the UK went to RAF Fairford to shoot the arrivals and practice for RIAT 2011 I decided to head to the Mach Loop instead. I was overdue a return, the forecast was good and who knows I might get some traffic due for RIAT.

The day didn’t deliver much in the way of aircraft and absolutely no Hawks at all (a rare occurance!) but I did get a Beechcraft T-6C as compensation but the main event of the day was the two Tornados, especially…………

Read the full article: Mach Loop 14th July 2011

The Mach Loop

7th Mar 2011

My first trip out to the Mach Loop wasn’t what I expected but then with an exercise in the Tactical Training Area (TTA) and the recent cut to students from 208(R) and 19(R) Squadrons I wasn’t expecting a busy day. I had gone to open my low level account for 2011 and with hopes of catching something a little rarer in the Loop, like a Chinook HC3. The Met Office had forecast that there would be light fog in the morning that would clear by 9am on the Saturday before and then upgrading that to no hill fog at all when I checked again on the Sunday. Of course, they were wrong…….

Read the full article: The Mach Loop

Mach Loop – Harriers, Hawks and Tornado GR4s

7th Oct 2010

This could well be my last trip of the year to LFA 7 and if it is it wouldn’t be a bad one to end it on. The weather was problematic with a near gale force wind that wouldn’t relent through out the day, a lot of cloud cover and when the sun did break through for short periods it was very strong. This made for difficult light metering but this is one of the reasons I made to swap to Nikon so it proved to be an excellent test………

Read the full article: Mach Loop – Harriers, Hawks and Tornado GR4s

LFA 7 – Mach Loop

2nd Sept 2010

With the summer now fading fast the sun is a lot lower in the sky and seemingly stronger. Whilst this opens up another set of options for photography it also makes choosing your location more important than ever. For this trip to the Mach Loop I gambled on a location that I knew would be very challenging in the morning but should improve as the day went on and the sun moves around (15 degrees every hour as it was recently pointed out to me).

The gamble was that the forecast for more cloud that the previous……

Read the full article: LFA 7 – 2nd Sept 2010

LFA 7 – Mach Loop

22nd June 2010

A very mixed day. That’s how I’d sum up my latest trip to LFA 7. The weather was mixed with changes from fog, to overcast, to harsh sun and hazy sun through out the day.

The aircraft was mixed as well with both Harrier GR9, T12, a pair of Tornado F-3s (only one dropped into the valley), a flight of three F-15 Strike Eagles (again, with only one dropping into the valley) and a Tucano.

Read the full article: In the Loop

31 Sqn in the Loop

2nd June 2010

The Mach Loop or LFA 7 to use its correct name sees a variety of aircraft from the RAF, the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. QinetiQ, USAF Europe and visiting air forces practicing tactical low level flying but the 2nd June 2010 it was only a single squadron that mattered.

Two Tornado GR4s of Number 31 Sqn RAF made a number of passes through out the day including a pass with the wings swept back…..

Read the full article: 31 Sqn in the Loop

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….

Read the full article: 19 Sqn in the Mach Loop

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….

Read the full article: T2 Hawk in the Loop

1 Sqn Goldstars in the Loop

10th December 2008

My last trip of the year to LFA 7 gave me a rare a visitor in the shape of G-VIVM, a Jet Provost T Mk 5P of Swords Aviation. G-VIVM is a former RAF aircraft (serial XS230) originally built as the penultimate Mk 4 aircraft in 1964 but rather than being delivered to the RAF it was upgraded to Mk 5P standard, the P denoting a prototype.

It was assigned to the Empire Test Pilots School and then to the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment at MOD Boscombe Down for trials of the Mk 5 standard.

Read the full article: 31 Sqn Goldstars in the Loop

Hawks in the Mach Loop

26th September 2008

Another slow day in LFA7 started with dense fog that didn’t lift until late morning. The afternoon brought hazy sunshine and Hawks; nothing but Hawks!

I’m sure it was the low level gods just compensating for my previous trip to LFA7 earlier this month where I didn’t see a single Hawk but I was rather hoping for a Tornado.

Plenty of waves from the aircrew today, thanks guys!

Read the full article: Hawks in the Mach Loop

RAF Dominie and QinetiQ Alphajet

12th September 2008

With a break in the recent spell of bad weather I made a long overdue visit to LFA7. The day started slowly with nothing seen until 11:32 when a C-130K C3 Hercules (XV299) turned up but stayed high and didn’t decent into the valley. Three minutes later a Dominie T1 (XS730) appeared but he also stayed high. The day wasn’t going to plan!

Another four minutes passes and the same Hercules appears again after completing it’s first lap of the loop but once again stays high.

Read the full article: RAF Dominie and QinetiQ Alphajet

Typhoon in the Mach Loop

8th May 2008

The day held a lot of promise with lots of sun, blue skies and no cloud cover but it turned out to be a quiet day with only two French Air Force Alphajets, two Hawks and a Typhoon T1 to be seen.

The sun also caused a lot of problems in the morning with lots of haze and harsh light (which can be seen in the Alphajet photos) but much improved conditions in the afternoon in time for the Typhoon.

Read the full article: Typhoon in the Mach Loop

Herc, Harriers & Hawks in LFA 7

13th Feburary 2008

With unseasonably warm weather and good visibility forecast I made my first visit to Wales for 2008. The forecast also included light winds coming in from the sea; I expected this would bring low level fog for the first part of the morning burning away by mid-morning. I was absolutely stunned to arrive to crystal clear blue skies, a light breeze and a relatively warm temperature!