Tag Archives: gloucestershire

An Original Lynx is Welcome

The Westland Lynx was a popular type and it sold well around the world. However, time has moved on and many operators have replaced their examples. The AW159 Wildcat has been the successor in some operators but other types have replaced them for most countries. Having an original Lynx still in use is a nice treat and the German Navy has not yet replaced all of theirs. They brought one to RIAT this year and the smooth lines of the original design are relatively untouched on their versions. They will soon be gone so this was a good opportunity to see one again.

The Atlantique is a Great Throwback

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RIAT provided many high points for me this year. One of the types I haven’t seen for a long time was the Atlantique operated by the French Navy. I think I last saw one at Mildenhall at an Air Fete at the beginning of the 90s. Not only was the plane on the ground but it was also taking part in the flying display. Powered by a pair of Tyne turboprops, the engine whine on the ground is quite painful. You do need to give your ears some protection to avoid it getting too much. Once those engines are ramped up to take off power, the humid conditions meant some nice prop vortices showed up.

The display consisted of a number of passes. There is a radar installation that retracts into the fuselage for take off and landing as well as when it isn’t needed and drag reduction is more valuable. For some of the passes this radar was extended. Also, there is a large underfuselage weapons bay and the doors to this were opened to reveal a captive Exocet missile. The Exocet is a large weapon, and you really appreciate that when it is shown against a plane as large as the Atlantique. The French Navy is planning on introducing a new type based on a Falcon business jet so the chances to see an Atlantique will be diminishing soon.

More Super High Frame Rates for the Red’s Syncro Pair

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A bit of a theme for me recently has been playing with the super fast frame rates on my camera. Last year I tried this out with the Blue Angels and posted on here about that. It worked well but they were rather distant. At RIAT, I decided to try again but with the Red Arrows this time. The syncro pair will make many crosses during the course of the show so I had a few opportunities.

First, let’s talk about what didn’t go so well. When you select this mode, it will fire off a bunch of shots – I set it to the maximum at 50 – and, when it has taken them, the camera will be effectively locked up until they finish writing. It doesn’t take long, and it shouldn’t matter because not much is happening for a while. However, if you are a dope and forget you have selected it and then take a shot of a plane coming around the turn towards you, you will get a lot of shots you didn’t intend and you may still be writing them when the cross actually happens. I am speculating, of course. No way I would make such a mistake.

The other issue I had was one of choosing focal length. On some crosses I zoomed out quite wide and the jets ended up being further away than expected and quite small in the frame although it gave me multiple framing options. This had been an over correction after having been too tight on a previous cross. Basic stuff but, at least with a bunch of crosses, I had more chances to sort things out.

Then we come to the crux of it. Did I get stuff I liked? Absolutely. I was always tracking the plane coming from the right so my left eye could see enough of the opposite jet, so I did run the risk of having the background jet in focus, but it all worked out fine. The biggest issue is that you end up with a ton of shots to work through. Then again, that is my story of RIAT as a whole! I have included so of the stills here but also an animated GIF of a sequence so you can see how close the frames are to each other. Please forgive the crappy colour space of the GIF.

Kemble’s Other Residents

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My visit to the TBAG event at Kemble was quite a while ago now. However, still more to share from that day out. The airfield is home to the Buccaneers and the Phantoms that I have posted about but there are some other aircraft that are parked there. This includes one of the Ex-British Airways 747-400s that were painted in retro liveries. There is a Gnat painted in Red Arrows colours, and a Canberra PR9 in a silver scheme. Both look good.

A Hunter is also in a silver scheme which is a nice addition and there is a Bristol Britannia that I have posted about previously. These are all by or close to the café so any visitors to the airfield will have a few cool planes to check out during their visit.

The Spanish Typhoon Gets Some Speed

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The weather for RIAT was variable over the course of the show. We did get some quite humid days. This did make for some spluffy performances from various fast jets. The Spanish Air Force brought a Typhoon for the show. The Luftwaffe had some on static and the Royal Air Force and Italian Air Force were displaying theirs so there was a chance to compare. Of the three displays, the Spanish jet was my favourite by a long way.

It is sometimes hard to justify what it is about a display that makes it better or worse than another. In the case of the Spanish Typhoon, I think the thing it achieved better than the others was to focus on what appeals to the casual viewer. As an aero guy with an interest in stability and control, I am more than willing to marvel at some of the cooler display manoeuvres that are really testing the technology of the planes. However, while some of those might be technically fascinating, they often do not make for a good “show”.

An example of this is high alpha rolling manoeuvres. The way a jet will roll around its velocity vector is great from an aero point of view but is rather dull to watch. Many displays include the same basic elements, and they all get a bit repetitive – particularly if you are spending several days at the show and see multiple performances. The Spanish display seemed to mix things up a bit. There was a lot of speed, a lot of tight turns, no messing around with the slower stuff and the sort of routine that has everyone watching. It didn’t hurt that it pulled a lot of moisture from the air too. Top marks to this pilot from me.

Paint Finish on the Other Bucc

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When I visited The Buccaneer Aviation Group’s event at Kemble, the second airframe was in the process of being prepared for repainting. That is well advanced at the time of writing but, on this day, the airframe had been rubbed back to prepare it. The resulting finish gave a mottled look to the jet, and I thought it could have made a cool idea for a camouflage scheme of its own. I found the patterns it made really appealing.

The jet no longer looks like this so it will be in a historically accurate scheme when next I see it. However, some of these details of the paint are definitely worth remembering.

Some Buccaneer Details

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Older jets were designed with some more brutal approaches to functionality. Modern fighters have a focus on fit, and finish and stealth/drag considerations will result in blemish free surfaces. The Buccaneer comes from a different generation. Wandering around then pair that were on show at Kemble, I did enjoy looking at the little details on these old jets. Here are some shots that caught my eye.

A Visiting Spit While We Wait

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During the Buccaneer event that I went to at Kemble, we spent some time in an enclosure out near the taxiway. This would be good for the first part of the event, but I was out there quite a while before things were due to kick off. While hanging around, the purr of a Rolls Royce Merlin came to my ears and, downwind there was a Spitfire. It flew a nice curving approach and touched down before taxiing in quite close to where I was standing. It was a two-seat example and presumably had come to provide rides for some enthusiasts. I didn’t see it head back out, so I don’t know whether it was a brief visit or whether it did some rides and then left. Interesting markings on it, though.

Buccaneer Event at Kemble

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The Buccaneer Aviation Group has charge of a couple of retired Blackburn Buccaneers that it looks after at Cotswold Airport at Kemble in Gloucestershire. They held an open day in April that included some taxiing of one of the jets and I decided this would be a good way to spend a spring Saturday. They were going to start up the jet, taxi it around on the ramp, run through a sequence of tests on the airframe and then go out to the runway for a fast run before returning to the ramp to shut down.

There would then be a break while they repositioned everything to their ramp where everyone would be able to spend some time up close with the planes and get pictures as required. The jet that was going to be taxied was one of the last Buccaneers built and is painted up in retro Royal Navy colours as worn by 809 Sqn jets when serving on Ark Royal before the carrier was retired. I don’t think this jet actually had any RN pedigree but that isn’t a big deal.

The second jet that they have is in the process of being prepped for painting in the standard RAF camouflage. Currently it is stripped back ready for paint, and I have to admit I found it rather cool looking with the random patterns that are visible. This will show in another post. The two jets were lined up together in front of the hangar to allow everyone to get their photos.

I was one of the first cars allowed through the gate to the second part of the day which meant I was able to get some images before everyone else showed up and it started getting busy. However, they did have a good level of organisation to it all so, after giving everyone some time to get up close, they pulled everyone back a bit to leave it unobscured for photos. I did notice some steps off to one side of the ramp and asked I they might be moved in to get a higher angle on things, fully assuming that wouldn’t be possible. I was wrong. They were more than happy to bring them in which made for a better angle on the shots.

The day had started out with some damp and windy conditions. It did rain a bit during the taxi section of the day. This was quite handy in that it made the grey paint look like it would on a carrier at sea, i.e. wet! It also showed up the blowing of the wing when they carried that out and resulted in a cool vortex in the inlet being visible. As the day progressed, the weather got a lot better. It was quite sunny by the time we were on the ramp with the jets.

The team were in no hurry to kick us out and, as the afternoon wore on, the number of people thinned out and the light got nicer. I hung around with a guy called Matt that I had met, and we were able to pass the time talking about planes, cameras and places. Finally, we were the only ones around and the crew started putting the jets away. The steps were still out so I was able to get a high angle as they pulled a jet beneath me. It was a tight fit, but it all worked out well. A top day out and many thanks to the tea baggers at TBAG.

Gripen Two Ship Departure

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Flashback to RIAT and 2019. I was working through the catalog looking for something for another project and came across these shots of Swedish Gripens departing from RAF Fairford after the show had concluded. A section departure is always more interesting than a singleton even if it does give you something to think about when deciding on which plane to focus on. The Gripen is a great looking jet and one that has been pretty successful given that it was built specifically for Swedish needs. Always happy to get to shoot one.