Nothing really to say about today’s post. I was working through some images and found a couple of Typhoon shots I took when on an aerial refuelling mission and I thought I would just post them because!
Random Typhoons
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Tag Archives: royal air force
Up Close with Some F-35s
This tanker trip included something I hadn’t had on previous flights – F-35s. Not a lot of them but we did get some jets show up later in the sortie. The surface finish on the F-35 is interesting, and it does pick up the light in good ways when the angles are right. The joy of being up at 16,000’ is that the chances of good light are high.
It is quite funny looking across at the pilot in the cockpit while they are plugged in. There I am staring at them while they are doing something reasonably intense. They have to decide whether to pretend we aren’t there and just look cool or are they going to give us a wave! Depends on your crew of course but I have had both.
Please Come Just a Touch Forward
Sometimes, pilots don’t realise that their obligations to a photographer are more important than their other mission goals!! I was in a Voyager on a refuelling track over the North Sea providing fuel to a bunch of RAF jets. A couple of Typhoons from 3 Sqn (ignore the unit markings on one of the jets) came up to get some fuel. They had a time on a range that they were waiting for so hung out in formation on our wing until near their slot so that they could top off at the last minute before heading in.
A tight formation of the two jets off our wing was really cool. They were close in and their formation was nice and tight. Perfect photo stuff. However, their location was just a touch further back then ideal with the wing tip obscuring the planes a touch. I was desperately hoping that they would pull forward just a touch. Nope, locked in place seemingly effortlessly maintaining station. Then, after a turn at the end of the track, the positioning moved just a touch forward. I was able to get a clear shot of the pair at last. What a great view. This was also one of those moments when it is important to stop looking through the viewfinder and enjoy watching this most unusual of sights.
Hats Off to the Chinook Demo Team
The final display of the Cosford air show was the Chinook demo. I have always enjoyed a Chinook display because it is a very agile helicopter despite its size and it can be thrown around which impresses. There is also the wheelie that it can do which has a unique feel to it. However, I wasn’t prepared for just how much I enjoyed the display.
There were a number of elements that made it so good. First, it was at the end of the show, and the light had come around to be more favourable for photos. This could have been even better because a bit of cloud cover rolled in. A little while after the display was over, this cleared and the warm light was so nice. It would have been great to have that on the helicopter during the display. Let’s not focus on the negative though, when there is so much positive.
They started the display carrying in a couple of underslung loads. Showing off the lifting performance of the helicopter is a great way of showing what this capability is all about. They had a howitzer and a truck on lifting lines using two of the three pickup points that the Chinook has. A bit of manoeuvring with that before dropping it off on the airfield. The gun crew then came out and set the gun up. They proceeded to fire off a few blank rounds.
Then it was back to throwing the helicopter around for a bit. A helicopter display always has an advantage in that it can keep things in front of the crowd, and some tight turns certainly achieved that.
However, I haven’t yet highlighted what really made the display great. The commentary was top notch. You might think that a military display narrator is going to run through a staid list of talking points but that was not the case here. Sure, they did highlight the capabilities of the helicopter and the helicopter force as a while but there was so much ridiculousness thrown in to keep you amused throughout.
Whether it was pointing out that one of the crew had both of his friends in attendance or describing the vertical climb and pointing out it has no operational benefit but it does look really cool, the lines kept coming. They were delivered in such a normal way, though, that you needed to pay attention to spot when the serious bits had been superseded by the more flippant lines. Top stuff and hats off to the team. Great flying, great performance and excellent writing!
Time to Tank Typhoons Again
Tanker trips are always a great opportunity if they come up and I had another one a while back. Back to Brize and up in the Voyager. This was a slightly shorter trip than the last one as a result of a planned runway closure at Brize that needed us to be back on the ground. While it was shorter than my previous trip, we did have more trade.
The majority of what we got was Typhoon traffic. It is quite a challenge picking them out as they turn in towards the tanker for the join. Sometimes I spot them but often they are behind us before I know they are there. Isn’t that what a fighter pilot is supposed to always do? Once they appear on the port wing, you get a good look at them before they slip into pre-contact position. The forward fuselage is a good spot to be when they arrive and depart but, once they are on the hose, you can only see them from the last few rows of the aircraft and then it is very tight.
Fortunately, they stay on the basket for a while which means that people get a good chance to have a look and get some images. Picking a side for the light depending on which side of the racetrack we are using is handy, but you can also get a change of light if making the turn at either end. When the planes gather on the starboard side ready to depart, I changed my approach this time. I would kneel on the floor because, when they power up and climb away, they go up fast. You need to be low down to be able to track them heading off.
What a Difference a Bit of Editing Makes
I will put together a post soon about the Chinook display at RAF Cosford. It was a great display. However, this post is not about that. Instead, it is about editing. Lightroom Classic recently had an update to the masking tools and the subject select process is now way better than it used to be. I used to spend a lot of time refining the selection to get something usable but now the process has become a fair bit quicker as a result of the starting point being more accurate. Not perfect, but better. Anyway, I include a version of the image almost out of camera and then the result when working on the airframe and sky in separate masks. It is a lot more how the thing looked at the time and a significant improvement in my mind.
Vintage Harriers Pulled Out for the Show
The static displays at RAF Cosford’s air show included quite the variety of out of service types that are kept at Cosford for training purposes. This included the first generation of Harriers. A pair of Harrier GR3s were on one lineup while a Sea Harrier FA2 was on another. The sun was out on the GR3s which made their ‘80s camouflage look great. Funny how, after years of Harrier IIs in service, when I think of Harriers, it is still the GR3s and the SHARs that come to mind.
A Very Famous Chinook
Parked in the static at RAF Cosford’s air show was a Chinook. Nothing too special, you might be forgiven for thinking. However, this is a Chinook with some history. Known broadly as Bravo November, despite having worn many markings over the years, this aircraft was delivered to the RAF in 1980. In 1982, it was one of four that went south to the Falklands on Atlantic Conveyor. It was the first to have its blades fitted and flew off the ship shortly before it was hit by an Exocet. The other three Chinooks went down with the ship.
As the sole Chinook with the task force, her lifting capacity was in high demand. There were missions when she was seriously overloaded compared to what the release to service might have said. Some rapid leaps forward were possible by carrying way more troops than would have been the case in peacetime. There was also one flight when the crew got too low and hit a lake. As they skimmed across the surface, water sprayed up towards the engines which began to spool down. A chunk of collective pulled them up and, without the water hitting them, the engines were able to come back up to power. Amazingly no serious damage was done, and she served throughout the remainder of the conflict.
The Falkland’s conflict was 1982 and there were then decades of service in all sorts of operations – both peacetime and conflict. Finally, the airframe has come to the end of its life and now it is on the ground at Cosford. Plenty of visitors were checking out this historic helicopter. Towards the end of the day, the sun came around nicely and it looked great.
Typhoons With Squadron Markings
The first Red Flag of the year has traditionally been the one where the closest allies are invited with the RAF and RAAF being frequent attendees. The RAF brought a selection of Typhoons one year when I was there. The Typhoon fleet is not totally without squadron markings, but they can be a bit sparse. Fortunately, the jets that had been brought across had a few squadron markings on them. This spruces up the otherwise bland look of the grey paint finish.
The Belvedere Looks Amazing
I am far too young to have seen the Bristol Belvedere in flight, despite what some might think! Given how old it is, it really does seem like quite a large helicopter to have been developed and operated. I bet it looked pretty cool when it was flying. Even now, when see in a museum, I think it is still quite a beast. The example at the RAF Museum in Hendon was there when I first visited in the late 80s and it is still on display. Getting shots of something this large in a relatively confined space is tricky but worthwhile. Do you think it looks as good as I do?
