Category Archives: aircraft

Bye Bye ADVs

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In 1993 I was working at BAe’s plant in Warton when we had a special event.  It was the last delivery of a Tornado to the RAF and the aircraft was AT051, a twin stick ADV (or F3 in RAF parlance).  We all received a print of a painting of the aircraft to celebrate the event and trooped out to watch the aircraft depart.  I don’t have pictures of that since cameras were not permitted inside the security perimeter at Warton.

It therefore feels slightly more personal to read all of the information online about the demise of the RAF’s ADV fleet.  They have been on the way out for quite a while but the end has finally come.  Since I made it across to RIAT last year, I did get some final shots of the remaining aircraft and I am glad that I did.  My transition to digital shooting coincided with my move to the US so I don’t have many ADV shots that aren’t on film and I certainly didn’t shoot as many shots before going digital.

I only have a limited number of shots which amazes me given how often I saw ADVs over the years.  I guess when they were common I didn’t make much effort to shoot them when film was something I treated as precious.

 

 

So here are a few mementos and good bye to a plane I liked working on.

The Chase Yields Results

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A few weeks ago during one of my many trips out of Midway, we were taxiing to the departure runway when we passed one of the FBOs on the field. Parked up ready to board was a Lockheed Jetstar. Not endangered perhaps but certainly a rarity. A mental note of the registration and I checked up on it when I got back on the ground.

Turns out this aircraft makes a regular appearance at Midway. Now to find a chance when we can both be in the same place. It doesn’t fly a huge amount so finding the chance would be the tricky thing. Not only must it be flying in to Midway, it must do it when I am in town, not tied up with other work and preferably when the weather is good.

An email alert told me that she was coming in today so all things were aligned.  I headed down to Midway and looked to find a spot to shoot from.  Midway allows you to get very close to the approaching aircraft but it is well developed and has an abundance of power lines so getting a clear shot is not that easy.

I arrived just in time to miss a very attractive Global Express that was landing.  Had I not originally gone to a bad spot, that would probably have been added to my shot list but never mind.  It did seem to be a busy time for corporate aircraft though.  In about 10 minutes, a Hawker 800 and a Cessna Soverign arrived, bracketing the arrival of my target.  Not too bad when you think about it.  Considering Midway is usually wall to wall Southwest 737s, this should be counted as a bit of a result.

The Hawker gave me an opportunity to check whether my lens choice was right.  The 70-200 was okay but perhaps a little short so, keeping an eye out for the imminent arrival, I swapped to the 100-400.  No drama this time and I was ready when the Jetstar came across the roof tops.

She is an interesting looking aircraft.  Certainly dated in her appearance, big fuel tanks on the wings and four engines mounted at the rear.  Not, perhaps, as graveful as some more modern aircraft but more interesting for being such a classic.

It is a brief moment as an aircraft passes by on approach so a rapid series of shots and then she was gone.  Originally, she had a flight plan filed for a departure half an hour later so I was ready to run to the other end to catch her again but this was cancelled.  Even so, a worthwhile expedition to catch a great looking aircraft.

Fun with warbirds

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Since it is the beginning of the year from an air show perspective, it is time to get the aircraft up and ready for the new season. The winter is a great time for maintenance to be undertaken and the great team at Warbird Heritage Foundation is no exception. A couple of their aircraft were recently up and about being wrung out after winter maintenance tasks and I was lucky enough to spend some time with them while they were undertaking some test flying.

The WHF team is always very welcoming but they are not alone. Jim’s team at Waukegan airport is also really helpful when trying to get in position to get some good shots of the aircraft as they are being tested. The two aircraft at work this time were the A-4 Skyhawk and the A-1 Skyraider. Two great looking aircraft. The weather is not always going to be cooperative at this time of year – not only from a photography point of view but also from a flying perspective. However, you make the best of the chances that come along.

What better way to spend a day than hanging out with a great team of people and photographing some unusual aircraft. What more can I want? Thanks Paul and team and also thanks to Jim at the airport.