Tag Archives: AW159

Blue Eagles Return

One of the teams taking part at the show at Cosford was the Blue Eagles. The Army Air Corps used to have a team called the Blue Eagles and I saw them on a number of occasions but, apparently, the name went away for a while. It has returned and the routine is a combination of a pair of Apaches and a single Wildcat. This was my first time seeing an Army Wildcat display and that might not happen much more since the recent defence review announced the=at they would be phased out.

The coordinated manoeuvres of the two Apaches combined with the Wildcat doing its own thing. It kept something in front of the crowd at all times. The Apache is such an impressive machine with a menacing air about it. Meanwhile, the Wildcat has inherited the agility of the Lynx and so was thrown around with some vigour. I was happy to watch them perform and liked the synchronisation that they put into the planning. It is a good demo of the Army’s aviation capabilities.

Who is Holding Who Up?

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The Royal Navy contribution to the RAF Cosford air show was a great combination. They brought a Leonardo Wildcat in partnership with a Fairey Swordfish. This is right up there with the odd combination that I have seen at air shows over the years. A rotary airframe and a fixed wing has happened before but often the fixed wing is really struggling to go slowly enough for the helicopter. In this case, the helicopter has the speed advantage on the Swordfish. It is not a speed demon.

They did a pairs takeoff which was really interesting and then commenced their display with a flypast in tribute to the lost crew from the Merlin crash that had occurred not long before the show. They then carried out a sequence of passes before splitting for individual performances. The Stringbag is a beast of an aircraft, even if it isn’t fast. I got some other shots of it that will probably show up at some point.

The Wildcat’s Pilot Must Have Had Their Mum Nearby

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While the Merlins departed for base after the arrival of HMS Prince of Wales, the Wildcat wasn’t going anywhere. I suspect that they had a film unit on board that was recording the arrival of the carrier strike group, so they were getting aerial shots from different angles. A number of times they flew out of the harbour and then turned to run back in. It is possible that this was necessary for a shot that they were trying to get but my suspicion is that the parents of the pilot were in the crowd and a few flybys were for their benefit instead. Who knows???

Flyby of RN Helos for the Returning Carrier

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The arrival of the carrier strike group was the big theme of the day, but the Fleet Air Arm was going to support the process with a flyby. A pair of Merlins and a Wildcat were assigned to the role, and they were initially noted off Bournemouth as they joined up before heading to Portsmouth. As they came over Portchester, we could see them from where we were, and they flew up the harbour and over our location to head out and meet the carrier.

We would see them a bit from a distance as the manoeuvred around the ship and this allowed us to have a reasonable idea of where everything was at any point. Then, as the ship entered the harbour, the formation flew over the top to celebrate the return to home port. The Merlins then peeled off while the Wildcat hung around.

Is This Wildcat Carrying Enough?

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RIAT was visited by a number of AW159 Wildcats for the show. The Navy and Army brought examples with the Navy showing theirs as part of the Black Cats team. Midway through the show, another Navy example showed up. Unlike the others, this one was carrying external stores. The original Lynx looked heavily loaded if it was carrying four Sea Skuas, but this one really did look like it was ready for anything. I’m not sure if this is the Martlet missile installation or something else but, whatever it is, there was no shortage of capability on display.