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 ZG713 that had an inert Paveway IV strapped to the underside (actually two but you can only see the one in the shots).
The low fly areas are a lot quieter than when I first started to visit them in 2006, mainly due to reduction of pilot training and the disbandment of a number of frontline squadrons. The Tornado F3, Harrier and Dominie...
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....
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...