Regular visitors to the blog will know I find the A350 to be the best-looking airliner in production at the moment. During a visit to Heathrow, I got my first look at one of the more recent operators. Air India started taking delivery of jets last year. They have done the decent thing and put a colourful livery on their planes as opposed to the usual mostly white. I am grateful for this as well as for the good light I had when it came in.
The Pakistan Air Force IL-78 showed up at RIAT in 2025 supporting the JF-17 Thunders. Unlike the more recent versions of the IL-76 family, this jet has the original engines. They are a low bypass ratio jet and are not in any way quiet. The high-pitched scream that they produce when idling is really hard on the ears. An occasional bit of fingers jammed in ears was necessary when the angle to the plane made the noise particularly painful, but it was worth it. However, nothing about stills images can convey just how loud these four engines were!
The arrival of the American Airlines retro 777 at Heathrow got me thinking about other liveries that American Airlines has included on its planes. As a result of mergers, there are a lot of legacy airlines that have been engulfed by American over the years. They do reflect this by painting planes in liveries of the older operators. Some of these will probably have shown up on the blog over the years but here is a compilation of different paint jobs on American (and predecessor) planes including variations on their own livery.
I posted a bunch of shots from Heathrow in an earlier post, but I saved this one for its own post. The A380 is a plane some love and some hate. If you have been a passenger on one, you probably love it. It really is a great experience on board. It does seem to make people feel better about themselves that it wasn’t a huge success. Not sure why that happens but people are strange.
I have seen a ton of them over the years, but Etihad was an operator whose fleet I had never photographed until I moved back to the UK. At first this was only from a distance too. When I saw one was coming in a little after the American Airlines special, I decided to wait for it. In an era of white planes, a colourful plane is so welcome, and I find Etihad’s livery very appealing. Here is a great looking jet.
My weekend visit to Heathrow was focused on arrivals but, before I headed home, I did want to check out one more thing. This was not for a lot of photography, but I just wanted to see what the location offered. It was along the south side of the field and would give me a view of departing jets from the south runway. It doesn’t provide much in the way of variety of shot types, but it can provide a dynamic angle on jets just after they have rotated. In nice light, it was a few minutes well spent. Not sure I would spend too long there but it would be good for getting something specific. The fence is a nuisance immediately after getting airborne, but AI tools can do a good job of removing that since I wasn’t up high and the planes are soon clear of the fence line.
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???
When I first learned to fly in the late 80s, I was quite fascinated by Socata aircraft. The Trinidad and the Tobago were something modern in the light aircraft space which was still dominated by some older designs that felt very dated. These looked really sleek and modern at the time and, at least in my eyes, still do. However, there was a more unusual type in their stable and that was the Rallye. It was a dumpier looking airframe with a rugged looking gear. However, the thing that really stuck out was that it had slats.
These were not manually controlled but popped out when they were needed. This resulted in good controllability at low speeds. This was ably demonstrated one afternoon while I was in the flying club at Sandown Airfield on the Isle of Wight. I was chatting with one of the instructors when a Rallye came in to land. It was a bit high and was getting slower and slower. We watched with our eyes wide as it looked like we were about to witness a stall accident. We were both shouting at them to go around. However, that slatted wing kept on working and they miraculously landed without incident. Maybe they knew exactly what it could do but it really did seem like disaster was imminent.
That is a long tangent to have gone on to get to the point that, having not seen a Rallye for a long time, one came into Solent Airport while I was there. It looked in great shape as it taxied in and the couple in it cranked back the bubble canopy as they parked up. Sure, it still looks a bit chunky but now I am not comparing it unfavourably with its younger siblings and instead appreciating it for what it is – another example of cool French engineering.
I have posted already about some light aircraft photography that occurred because a sailing competition never got going. What I also saw that day was something very opportunistic. I had happened to check what was due into Southampton Airport that afternoon with expectations of nothing special. When I saw a French registered Avanti was coming in from Italy, I was very pleased. Of course, I assumed it wouldn’t end up happening but, since it was coming a long way, knew I would have plenty of warning.
When I saw it was on its way, I then started to ponder where to photograph it having never done any photography at Southampton. A southerly approach was what was in use but then I saw an arrival come on from the south so now I was perplexed. Where should I go. I had an idea for a spot south of the airport that might work out so went there with plenty of time to see if it really was a good spot. It did seem to be good, so I then went back to the car to wait. I watched the track of the inbound flight to see if it did come in from the south or not.
It looked like it was coming my way, so I walked back out to my spot. Once there, I saw the plane turn right and it was now clear it was heading north for a southerly approach. I should have stayed in the car. I now sprinted back to the car and made a move for where I figured might work out at the other end having never actually checked it out. At least the process of tracking north for the descent onto the approach meant I had a bit of time in hand.
I got to the north of the airport and found a parking spot just in time to get up on the embankment that overlooks the runway. There were some regulars already there, so I knew this was not a bad choice. I had barely got my breath back when the distinctive sound of the Avanti reached my ears. There it was and I had some shots and then it was down. Back to the car and on my way! Nice result so close to home. Sadly, it departed early the next morning when weather wasn’t great and I was sleepy.
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.
The Czech Air Force brought a pair of PZL-Swidnik W-2 Sokols to RIAT this year. One was in camo and the other in a SAR paint scheme. While this was a type that I hadn’t seen display before, I must admit I wasn’t terribly excited by the prospect. Helicopter displays can be pretty good but often lack punch. This team couldn’t have been further from that idea.
I first saw them display when they were doing a rehearsal. They were absolutely throwing the machines around. A ton of really good, coordinated manoeuvres that showed off the capabilities of the helicopter and the crew in equal measure. They would be pirouetting around each other and keeping the action right in front of the crowd. They never seemed to take a breath, and you were never tempted to stop watching.
The highlight of the demo for me was a winching demonstration. This is not an unusual thing for a helicopter display to include. It is something that makes the type special and the search and rescue role will appeal to people that can imagine needing to be helped at some point. In this display, they added something that showed off the skill of the crew coordination. While in the hover, the winchman would pick up someone on the ground. They would winch them up a certain amount and then stabilise the hover. Then the pilot would climb while the winchman would let out line. The person at the end would stay exactly where they were as the helicopter climbed.
Then the pilot would stabilise again before starting a descent. Again, as the helicopter came down, the line would be taken in and the person at the end wouldn’t move. The whole thing was perfectly coordinated. I don’t know whether the winchman could vary the speed or if the pilot was modulating power to make it work and I don’t mind which it is. It was perfectly executed every time they did it across the days of the show. Top work. I hope other crews get to see this performance and it inspires them to try something innovative with their displays.
