Anyone else like Birds AND planes? (7 Viewers)

MJB · Jan 13, 2019

StephenHampshire said:
I think you are a little confused John....THIS is a Spamcan!

B of B Class, 92 Squadron.
MJB
PS While I was on 111 Squadron, Phantom FGR2, as an engineer officer, we had a scurrilous joke about 92 Sqn Phantoms at RAF Coningsby, when we were on 6-months workup on role conversion from ground-pounding to air interception before we moved to RAF Leuchars.... (More on request, but ex-92 Sqn can PM me with bribes instead...)

PYRTLE · Jan 22, 2019

Tomorrow is a public photoshoot for the last few remaining GR4 Tornados at RAF Marham, including a couple of special paint jobs, including a fully camouflaged unit. Hopefully combine with a trip down to Breckland area. Last few Tornados will leave Akrotiri, Cyprus to return home later this month and February, most for scrapping and salvaging bits and bobs for museums. Last of the proper smokey RAF fighter bombers. Typhoons will go along for a few more years in the UK but then it will be US Lightning IIs and 6th generation drones.
Keep your eyes peeled FJ, some flew over Southampton, IOW and the south coast this morning.

Farnboro John · Jan 22, 2019

PYRTLE said:
Tomorrow is a public photoshoot for the last few remaining GR4 Tornados at RAF Marham, including a couple of special paint jobs, including a fully camouflaged unit. Hopefully combine with a trip down to Breckland area. Last few Tornados will leave Akrotiri, Cyprus to return home later this month and February, most for scrapping and salvaging bits and bobs for museums. Last of the proper smokey RAF fighter bombers. Typhoons will go along for a few more years in the UK but then it will be US Lightning IIs and 6th generation drones.
Keep your eyes peeled FJ, some flew over Southampton, IOW and the south coast this morning.

I'm all over it, see you there tomorrow. :t:

Looking forward to that wraparound bird.

John

PYRTLE · Jan 22, 2019

Safe journey, its gonna be busy but local farmer has opened a field nearby.
P

MJB · Jan 22, 2019

PYRTLE said:
Tomorrow is a public photoshoot for the last few remaining GR4 Tornados at RAF Marham, including a couple of special paint jobs, including a fully camouflaged unit. Hopefully combine with a trip down to Breckland area. Last few Tornados will leave Akrotiri, Cyprus to return home later this month and February, most for scrapping and salvaging bits and bobs for museums. Last of the proper smokey RAF fighter bombers. Typhoons will go along for a few more years in the UK but then it will be US Lightning IIs and 6th generation drones.
Keep your eyes peeled FJ, some flew over Southampton, IOW and the south coast this morning.

It seems only yesterday when, with a small team, I was tasked to ensure that everything was ready for the four Tornado squadrons to arrive in RAF Germany (early 1980s)....

For example, that involved making sure the taxy lines were adequate from the two types of Hardened Aircraft Shelters (HAS), beating the heads of the bean-counters so that two Tornado detuners were built (because of the many engine runs required to 'proof' the engines in service) in time, finding ways of housing ALL aircraft in the HAS (the smaller one could hold two Tornados only if the wings were swept back, but at angles at which they couldn't taxy out, but needed to be towed. Wing-mounted ordnance could not be fitted, because at full sweepback on the ground, the fully-armed Tornado would sit on its arse), banning anything but low rpm engine runs inside the HAS because the dBA levels would liquefy the internal organs of anyone standing in the HAS and identifying and obtaining all the tiny things that get forgotten, from notice-boards and pens to adequate flying suit storage and hanging so that creases didn't develop on the g-suits.

All four squadrons arrived and worked up to operational status on schedule without a hitch in any of our planned tasks... The credit was entirely that of my team. I just set them up, backed them up to give them top cover and never peered over their shoulders...

Ah, Happy Days!
MJB

PYRTLE · Jan 22, 2019

Thank you M.
P

Farnboro John · Jan 22, 2019

Meanwhile in the mid 1980s I was dealing with the need for the widest calculators in government service due to part of the Tornado funding being in Italian lira..... I was in the GR1 office from late 1987 to mid 1991, an interesting period even for a desk jockey like me.

Even as a spotter I remember my first trip to Cottesmore and first view, on a blazing clear summer morning, of a line of 20 Tonkas in three different air forces' colours, flying dawn to dusk to churn out sufficient aircrew for the aircraft being produced.

The UK won't be the same without the big, slab-sided noise-maker blasting round "under the curtain". Tomorrow is not just a spotting trip. It's homage.

John

Farnboro John · Jan 24, 2019

Good day out yesterday, not just the four Tornados (two special tails, wraparound camo and a bog-standard boring grey one) but two F35 Lightnings and two Typhoons doing a maximum performance takeoff with climb to 10,000 feet straight off the runway. Leaving RAF Marham just before 1600 we dashed down to RAF Lakenheath and through dusk into darkness watched 13 F-15 Eagles blast off for night flying. I have a shedload of pictures to process, its taken me all evening just to edit out the absolute dross then pick out a number to work on.

John

Taster: The 41 Squadron Typhoons.

Owen Krout · Jan 25, 2019

Farnboro John said:
I have a shedload of pictures to process, its taken me all evening just to edit out the absolute dross then pick out a number to work on.

Sounds like me after a productive day birding!

Bird_Bill · Jan 25, 2019

Farnboro John said:
two F35 Lightnings and two Typhoons doing a maximum performance takeoff with climb to 10,000 feet straight off the runway.

Here, or up in the city, air traffic controllers call that a "viking departure"

Number of times I've been lucky enough to have seen F-15's at night, turn on full afterburners, stand straight up, and go vertical.

They're vectored out of the terminal control area (TCA) quickly as possible to avoid interrupting civilian traffic. They do it in a spectacular way.

Enjoyed this thread, and wonderful contributions to it for a long time.

Cheers!

Chosun Juan · Jan 29, 2019

Elvis has left the building !

Well, not Elvis, ....... but his skydance partner "Christine".

These Erickson Skycranes are an integral part of firefighting now, and for some reason 'Christine' decided to go for a cool swim while on the job ! :-C

The 6 other Skycranes are now grounded pending investigations
https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2019...-helicopter-crashes-in-gippsland-dam/10757292

Chosun :gh:

Andy Adcock · Jan 29, 2019

Helicopter pilots have a saying, 'there are those helicopter pilots who have had a crash and those that will'.

Definitely the least safe mode of air travel.

PYRTLE · Jan 29, 2019

I used to prefer the light aircraft from Penzance to the Scillies, rather than the helicopter. Probably cause one of my birding mates thought it prudent to talk about the one that went down ( 1980s ), whilst in the departure lounge after seeing the memorial plaque in the old heliport. Still, stats. suggest we're still safer flying than on the roads.

KenM · Jan 29, 2019

For those that might be interested, reading the DT. today. An article concerning the planned 75th anniversary on June 6th '19, airborne re-enactment of the 1944 Paratrooper drop by allied aircraft. Involving- 30 Dakotas (taking off from Duxford...might be worth taking the camera

) the greatest number in one location since WW2,) with 300 parachutists over Normandy into the dropping zone at Ranville, promises to be an amazing spectacle.

Cheers

Euan Buchan · Jan 31, 2019

When I was at the airport in WHSmith I noticed a 50th anniversary magazine of The Corncorde. I didn't have time to buy it but you can get it here https://shop.keypublishing.com/product/View/productCode/SPECCONC/Concorde

Ps British Airways are launching their 100th anniversary tomorrow.

Farnboro John · Jan 31, 2019

Pictures from the Tornado Farewell last Wednesday.

John

Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 X 2

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning

Three Panavia Tornado GR4: camo top, IX(B) Squadron centre, 31 Squadron bottom

IX(B) (=9) Squadron special tail Tornado GR4

Farnboro John · Jan 31, 2019

Part 2:

31 Squadron special tail Tornado GR4

Wraparound camo Tornado GR4 (star of the whole show)

Modern standard light grey Tornado GR4

McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle taking off from RAF Lakenheath X 2

PYRTLE · Jan 31, 2019

:t:
Camo "Tonka" brought a tear to my eye. Unrestricted vertical climb from Typhoon take off just speechless.
USAF Lakenheath painting 3 x F15 Eagles to commemorate 75 years - first one has black and white stripes on wings and rear fuselage.
Glad you had a full day.
P

Farnboro John · Jan 31, 2019

PYRTLE said:
:t:
Camo "Tonka" brought a tear to my eye. Unrestricted vertical climb from Typhoon take off just speechless.
USAF Lakenheath painting 3 x F15 Eagles to commemorate 75 years - first one has black and white stripes on wings and rear fuselage.
Glad you had a full day.
P

Yeah, I've seen the first Eagle scheme - can't wait to photograph it myself, and looking forward to the other two..... :t:

We had a great day out. Hope you did too!

Cheers

John

Jabberwocky · Feb 20, 2019

I got these from the garden this afternoon, probably the last time I'll see them from home.

Anyone else like Birds AND planes? (7 Viewers)

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