Low Flying Area 7

Posted by: Fast Air Photography Tags: Harrier, Hawk, Hercules, Low Level, Mach Loop Posted date: February 13, 2008 | No comment

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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!

The light was almost perfect; It provided almost ideal conditions for shooting the Hawks on a knife-edge and I was given lots of practice with a steady flow of traffic from RAF Valley.

RAF Hawk T1 XX169 - 19 Sqn - low level photo

Shortly before eleven came the very welcome sight of a Harrier T10 in 1 Sqn markings. It had been an almost unbelievable 505 days since my last low level Harrier in LFA 7.

RAF Harrier T10 ZH657 - 1 Sqn - low level photo

It was turning out to be a great day and it only got better when this Hawk made a pass that allowed me to get the road in the background and giving a real perspective on how low these aircraft are…..

RAF Hawk T1 - 208 Sqn - low level photo

To finish the day two C-130J Hercules from the Lyneham Transport Wing. At one time these use to be rare at low level but have started to become a more regular user on the Low Fly Areas. I suspect due to the increased tactical operations in Op Herrick.

They are quite a sight to see in the valleys and a lot more nimble than you would expect.