Tag Archives: maritime patrol

Before the Atlantique, There Was the Atlantic!

I posted recently with some shots of the Dassault Atlantique that was at RIAT. However, that got me thinking of the history of the Atlantique. It was actually an update to a previous generation plane. This was the Atlantic. Operated by France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Pakistan, the Atlantic design was updated to create the Atlantique and the Atlantics were retired. I knew I had seen some of them for real and that was likely to be at Mildenhall when the Air Fete was able to attract a wide variety of operators and types. Turns out it was the French and German versions I got to see. Here are some shots of them.

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.

An Aurora Is a Bit of a Rarity These Days

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For many years, the majority of maritime patrol operators have been using P-3 aircraft. However, with the advent of the P-8 Poseidon, the number of P-3s is rapidly reducing. Canada operates its own version of the family called the CP-140 Aurora. With their continued operation, that are now becoming a bit of a treat to see. I had hardly ever seen one in action before so, when they were displaying at the show at Comox, I was really pleased to get a chance to get some photos of one.

As with all military jets these days (or so it seems), grey is the order of the day. Not the most exciting paint job but a different version of grey is definitely good. They threw the plane around with plenty of energy in the display so the photo opportunities were good including a pass with the weapons bay open. The replacement of the Aurora is currently being pursued so they won’t be around for much longer so good to get them now while the opportunity presents itself. Funny how little I was interested in P-3s when I was younger and now I am hunting them down!

Some P-8s But Not Many Markings

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A trip to Whidbey Island at the end of last year resulted in some encounters with the local P-8 Poseidons. The disappointment was that they weren’t exactly showing off loads of unit markings. With one exception, they were rather anonymous. I’m not sure whether they had been recently received and were later to get squadron emblems or not. I hope so. Fortunately, the light was nice at that time of year so I got some images I was pleased with.

Not Many P-3s Left So This Was a Treat

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When my friend Paul first told me he was going to be in Seattle over the holidays, I thought we wouldn’t be able to get together. However, circumstances changed, and it turned out we could go out and check out the local aviation scene. We had been getting some stuff locally but a check on ADSB showed a P-3 and an EP-3 out at Whidbey Island and we debated whether to make the run north. In the end, we went for it. The EP-3 had been out a while already and it did return before we got there but we were not going to come up short. A P-3 made its return with some lovely December sun on it. It flew a bunch of patterns which meant the chance to try different spots to get some images, so we were rather pleased with the outcome.

Old and the New in the Pattern Over Whidbey

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I was down at Fort Casey on Whidbey Island one sunny afternoon. I had been to Ault Field first thing in the morning and some of the shots from then will make it on here at some point. I was down near Coupeville awaiting some FCLP training but, since I had time on my hands, I was wandering down near the shore. The wind must have changed because some planes from Ault Field were coming down our way as part of their patterns. One was a P-8 – the latest that the Navy has for maritime patrol – while the other was a P-3 – the type that the P-8 has almost completely replaced in service. It seemed quite appropriate to have both of them working overhead at the same time.

First RNZAF P-8 Off The Line

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I recently posted about the flights of the first Korean P-8. Next customer down the line is New Zealand. The P-8s are built at Renton but fitted out at Boeing Field so their first flight is to move across and then they go in to the hangar for a while to have the mission equipment installed. The first New Zealand jet has emerged from the paint shop at Renton and I saw it one weekend as it sat on the flight line awaiting completion for its first flight. I doubt I shall see that happen but I will try and catch it once it is undertaking test flights. I also have the second at Renton for good measure.

The First Korean P-8

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The US Navy continues to take deliveries of the P-8 Poseidon jets but they are getting close to the end of their production run. Meanwhile, export customers continue to be receiving their jets. The latest customer to have an aircraft show up on the flight line is the Republic of Korea’s navy. Their first jet flew from Renton to Boeing Field a while back and then went in to the fit out process for a while. It is now out on the flight line and undergoing test.

I have managed to get a few shots of it so far. It is marked up quite colorfully so it looks better than the average jet coming off the line. We shall see how long it stays around here before it gets delivered to Korea. There will be others following it down the line too. New Zealand is the next customer to get its first jet so we shall see how long it is before that jet makes to move to BFI and then is fitted out.

A Pair of P-8s Testing Together

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P-8 production is really moving along at the moment. Aside from the US Navy aircraft, there are planes destined for the Royal Air Force, the Indian Navy and the Royal Norwegian Air Force in production and on test. One afternoon I got both an Indian and an RAF jet arriving in close succession. The nice thing about arrivals from the south when they are military jets is that they then taxi back past you as they head to the military ramp.

P-8 Departs Over My Head

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I was actually out looking for a work project which (I promise this is legit) was right next to Boeing Field. While I was waiting for my project – which ended up being scrubbed due to a serviceability issue – a P-8 took off from Boeing Field. I was basically aligned with the end of the runway so I could see it climbing out and it came right over my location. It turned out to be a good thing since I wouldn’t normally get this angle on a shot so I am glad to have something different. This view really emphasizes the different wing planform of the P-8 compared to the base 737. No winglets and the raked tips really changes the appearance of the jet from below.