Tag Archives: hampshire

Caught Off Guard by an A340 Overhead

A walk in the New Forest one weekend was a very pleasant way to spend a day. This was not supposed to be an aviation related time but, as we walked across some open grassland, I noticed something large and four engined coming towards us at pretty low level. It was clearly an Airbus A340-600. European Cargo picked up a few of these jets and is using them from the nearby Bournemouth Airport for freight runs to China. I don’t believe they are a full cargo conversion but instead load the cargo through the normal passenger doors.

I only had the 24-105 on the camera so was a little limited in what I could get. However, when I went to the Bournemouth Aviation Museum a week later, I could see a couple of their jets on the ground at the airport. One was being loaded for another flight while an all-white jet with a registration that might be Maltese, seemed to be stored. Another time, I did try getting a shot of one departing, but conditions were far from ideal, and the location is not great for photography, so things were a bit compromised. Even so, it is cool to see some A340s still in use aside from the Lufthansa examples that have been my only other recent examples.

A Bit of a Royal Flypast

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I was walking in the fields near our house once evening when I heard the sound of a helicopter above me. I searched the skies for it and picked up what appeared to be a dark AW139. I didn’t think it would be a military unit since the UK doesn’t have military 139s. I grabbed a bunch of shots from a distance. Lighting wasn’t ideal but, you don’t always get to chose the conditions you get. I think pulled up FR24 to see if it showed up and, sure enough, it did. It belongs to the King’s Flight and was heading to London from Culdrose in Cornwall. I guess the dark colours I was seeing were the maroon colours used by the royal helicopters. No idea if he was onboard or not.

A Tank Landing Craft

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Before mum took her hovercraft back to the Island, we had a stroll along the waterfront at Southsea. The construction work was blocking off a lot of the space, but the park area was open (if a little soggy). There is a museum to D-Day which I have yet to visit. I will have to check it out at some point. Outside the museum, there is a tank landing craft from the Second World War. It can be visited if you are in the museum but, even from the outside, you have a close view of it. Tanks in the war were a lot smaller than they are now but even then, carrying a bunch of them required a big boat. I have no idea what it could have been like to head to a foreign shore in this thing.

Wind Blown Growth

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There are some open areas in Winnall’s Moor Nature Reserve that have reeds that grow quite high. It seems that the wind bows across the marshes in a consistent direction. The reeds seem to bend over with the wind but then grow back upwards resulting in a curve to their stems. They are all aligned while showing the same curvature and they look really interesting.

A Wardroom on a Hovercraft?

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In the 70s, the potential for hovercraft was unknown and there were many types being developed. The BHC-7 was a military design that was tested by the British Interservice Hovercraft Trials Unit. It went through a variety of modifications as different roles were evaluated. I think some were exported but the UK never bought any more of them. However, the thing that I found amusing was that, because the Navy were involved in operating it, there was a wardroom.

It might not be the most glamorous of locations and I suspect other warships have nicer wardrooms. The sofas looked a little rough and the tea facilities were basic. However, it is fun to see that the important things were taken care of while the trials programme was underway.

What’s Next for Breakfast?

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Back to Winnall’s Moor again and more bird life. I had seen a kestrel hunting on a previous visit, and, on this morning, there was one sitting on a branch surveying the scene. The early light was very nice, and I was optimistic that I would get some more hunting shots. Sadly, the kestrel must have had plenty to eat, or there was nothing to catch. It sat on the branch for ages, and I was so cold, I lost patience standing around. I left it to it. I have no idea when it finally took off.

Small Birds for the Spam Filters

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Lots of bird posts since some of my early time in Winchester involved wandering around the countryside and seeing a lot of wildlife. On one of my walks, I got to see both some great tits and a single blue tit that was sitting on a tree near the river. I do wonder whether a post about these birds will cause some sort of problem with the filters on internet services that will not be able to tell the difference between slang and a bird.

Longer Angle on Alfred

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There is a statue of King Alfred in the centre of Winchester. When we had previously visited, I had taken some shots of it. However, because it is quite high up, you got a distorted look at him with the sky behind. I figured I would try a longer lens shot from further away to get a more normal look at the statue and have a darker background with the hill behind. This was the result!

Tall Ships Youth Trust

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A sunny morning in Portsmouth had me wandering around the marina at Gunwharf Quays. I saw these three yachts tied up with Tall Ships Youth Trust on the side. I imagine you can get to learn to sail if you are a young person with access to the coast. These look like pretty decent boats so you could get out on the water and have a quite an adventure.

Something is Missing from This AW189

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I posted some shots of an Irish Coast Guard AW189 that I saw at Lee on Solent. As I was getting ready to head home, I saw another one being towed out on to the ramp. This was a UK coast guard example, and I got excited by the idea that it might fly too. Then I put the camera up to my eye and realised that there was little likelihood that this airframe was flying on this day. A few bits were absent that seemed like they might be crucial!