Tag Archives: RAF

Typhoon Air Data System

Working through some older shots for another project, I ended up looking at some shots of an RAF Typhoon displaying.  As I was zoomed in on some of the shots, it was interesting to see the air data vanes on the underside of the front fuselage as the plane maneuvered.  There are several vanes around the underside of the front fuselage and the differences between them can tell yaw and pitch angles.  In one shot when the jet was climbing straight up, the vanes are all pointing in similar directions.  Shortly before this, as the jet was pulling hard, the angle of attack was higher and the flow up around the front fuselage results in some significant differences in vane angle.

This is the sort of thing that is very important when designing and clearing a flight control system.  We had a front fuselage wind tunnel model for the Typhoon during the development program.  This was used for intake design but also for air data system modeling.  The way in which the various vanes move is vital to understanding the control law requirements.  It is also important when considering failure modes.  If one vane should fail, how much it impacts the flight control behavior and how much the system detect the failure.  Will the aircraft be vulnerable to control loss in the interim?  The Tornado did not have as complex a flight control system, but it did have augmentation of the controls and, as it rolled, you would get quite different readings from the angle of attack probes on each side of the fuselage.  How much of a difference was normal versus what was a failure was an interesting analysis problem which I enjoyed working on.  My days on Typhoon were relatively limited and shortly before first flight so I never got involved with the results of the testing program, but I do enjoy looking at the resulting aircraft whenever I get the chance.

Bristol Britannia

There are many aircraft that the British aircraft industry produced in the middle to late 20th century that did not end up being terribly successful.  There was the occasional commercial product in there but a lot that did not have large production numbers, even by the standards of the day.  It was not unusual for the Royal Air Force to end up operating a few of these as the government of the day found a way to prop up an ailing manufacturer.  One type like this was the Bristol Britannia.

A turboprop airliner, it was too large given that jets had taken over the market by the time it was coming into service.  The Royal Air Force was the “willing” recipient of some of these airframes and, for transporting troops that didn’t have a choice in the matter, they were probably just fine.  One of these airframes, Regulus, is not preserved at Cotswold Airport at Kemble in Gloucestershire.  I didn’t know it was there until I was driving around the airport killing some time.  It looks to be in great condition.  I don’t know how well it is handling the corrosion risk that damp UK airfields offer but I hope it lasts a long time.  There are a few of these around but not many.

Phantoms in Pieces

When I was first into aviation, the Phantom was everywhere.  It was operated by numerous air forces and the RAF had tons of them (including some that had cascaded from the Royal Navy).  At all of my early air shows, there would be Phantoms on static and part of the flying display.  While they had started their RAF career in the strike and ground attack role, by this time they were purely used for air defense.

With the end of the Cold War, the RAF reduced in size and the Phantoms were withdrawn from service far faster than had originally been anticipated.  It wasn’t long before they were all gone.  A bunch ended up in museums and the rest were cut up.  As I was exploring Kemble’s airfield – Cotswold Airport to give it its proper name – I was surprised to come across a bunch of bits of Phantoms alongside the road.  A pair of fuselages including one of a Boscombe test jet that I had a kit of as a kid, some wings, fins and tail planes.  It was all just sitting there so I grabbed a few shots.  I have heard since that the airport was pressuring the owners to cover it all properly and I think it all went under cover shortly after I was there.  A lucky break for me, I guess.

End of the Road for RAF Hercules Ops

It is a feature of getting old that so many things that seem recent really aren’t.  The introduction of the C-130J to service took place in the late 1990s.  One of the earliest operators was the Royal Air Force.  That means that their aircraft are coming up on 25 years old.  That is not that old for a Hercules but they have been used pretty intensively.  Combine that with the cost of supporting multiple transport fleets and it might not be so surprising that they are now being retired.

I figured I would roll through my collection of shots to see how often I had photographed the RAF J models.  The answer is not that often.  The fact that I left the UK not long after they came in to service is part of the reason.  I have seen them at various locations though so I am not without shots.  It is funny to hear the stories now about whether the A400M is ready to take on the role and whether the Hercs should be retained.

When the Js came along, there were loads of stories of how they couldn’t do the things that the old K models could.  Of course, they gradually ironed out the bugs and became a solid workhorse.  The same will probably happen for the A400M and in a couple of decades, someone will be complaining that whatever replaces them is unsuited to the task and that they should be retained.  Such is life…

One Of The Oldest Tornados

The Tornado was entering service in big numbers with the RAF at the same time that I was getting seriously into aviation.  I always felt it was the plane I knew the best.  When I ended up working on them, it felt like a continuation of my youthful enthusiasm.  The Tornado GR1 was my jet.  After I moved on to other projects, MLU came along and that became the GR4.  Somehow, the GR4 never felt like it was mine.  I was a GR1 kid.

When I went to the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection at Old Sarum, there was a Tornado at one end of the hangar.  It was a GR1 that had never been updated.  Better than that, is was one of the earliest production jets that the RAF received.  Some of the test jets at Warton were from this batch so this one really felt like one of the originals for me.  The Tornado is long gone from RAF service but, for me, to see one of these earlier jets was really a treat.  Camo with black radomes is how the Tornado should look!

Missed One Chinook But Got Another

During our day out in Portsmouth, we had lunch at a very nice pub by the harbor.  We sat outside enjoying the various boats coming and going.  I popped inside before leaving and, when I came back outside, Nancy had to inform me that, as soon as I went inside, three helicopters had flown by.  There had been on Chinook with two smaller, unidentified, types flying formation with it.  Needless to say, I was rather disappointed but such is life.

A while later, as we were walking along the sea wall at Southsea, the sound of rotors returned.  The nice thing about Chinooks is that they don’t really sneak up on you.  I had ample time to switch to a longer lens and set up the camera for something more appropriate for a helicopter (although the Chinook rotor rpm is so low, it still is not ideal).  Sure enough, it came right towards us and flew through the harbor entrance and right by.  A nice surprise.  It then flew out to sea and I wondered whether it was going to return.  Instead, it appeared to be hovering over one of the forts out in the Solent.  That would have looked great from closer up.

Newly Arrived Dak

I heard that a DC-3 had arrived at Arlington.  It was a plane that had been with Air Atlantique in the UK for many years and was familiar to a friend of mine that had worked there a while back.  I am not sure if I had seen it in the UK or not but had definitely seen shots of it.  It came in during the week and was parked on the ramp at Arlington over the holiday weekend.  Unfortunately, the weather was not great.  However, with nothing much else to do, I figured I would head up and see it.

The rain was pouring down as I left home but it was actually drier and even with a hint of light up in Arlington when I arrived.  Even so, the conditions were not great.  However, the clouds, while plentiful, did seem to provide some interest to the sky.  Consequently, I went with HDR to try and make the best of the conditions.

I am not sure what the plans are for the plane and whether it will remain in its old RAF colors as a Dakota rather than a DC-3 or C-47.  We shall see.  Hopefully it stays in the area and I’ll get to see it flying.

A Pair of P-8s Testing Together

P-8 production is really moving along at the moment.  Aside from the US Navy aircraft, there are planes destined for the Royal Air Force, the Indian Navy and the Royal Norwegian Air Force in production and on test.  One afternoon I got both an Indian and an RAF jet arriving in close succession.  The nice thing about arrivals from the south when they are military jets is that they then taxi back past you as they head to the military ramp.

The End is Nigh for the Sentinels

On two previous occasions, the RAF’s Sentinel fleet has made an appearance on this blog.  The most recent was for a damp example at RIAT that was in this post.  The Sentinel fleet has spent a number of years under threat of retirement.  It is a small fleet and it is custom made so it will have very high sustainment costs.  Also, it provides a role principally in support of the Army so I imagine it isn’t the highest priority for some of the RAF upper echelons.

Previous reports of its retirement have been followed up with a reprieve.  However, the MOD in the UK has just issued a request for proposals (RFP) for companies to come and dismantle the aircraft (along with a pair of E-3D Sentrys).  This looks like it is really going to happen.  The RFP states that the aircraft are not for reuse and that the selected contractor will disassemble them on site at RAF Waddington.  Not only is the RAF not going to use them but they are making sure no one else does.

Various bits of information have flowed around about them.  There is a suggestion that obsolescence issues mean a lot of equipment needs to be replaced.  Since that will be a custom process, it will be an expensive thing to do and, with the axe having been hanging over them for a number of years, spending a lot of money on them if they might not be around for much longer just doesn’t seem likely.  Maybe there are other issues too.

I’ve had a soft spot for V Sqn from the Lightning and Tornado F3 days.  Seeing it move from a fast jet to a bizjet derivative was a bit odd but at least it survived while so many other squadrons disappeared.  I wonder whether it will surface again.  Maybe an F-35B unit at some point?  We shall see.  My best interaction with the Sentinels was on a Red Flag when I got to shoot them in some great light.  Farewell you oddball.

More of the RAF’s Poseidon Test Flying

In this recent post, I had an RAF Poseidon flying over the house.  A little while later, I was at Boeing Field when the same jet came back from a test flight.  Here are some shots of it as it rolled out after landing.  It wasn’t long after this that the jet was delivered to the RAF and made the trip to its new home in Lossiemouth.