Latinbear

Outstanding images! The Austrian Typhoons, Black Jack, the Finnish Hawk and the Frecce shots do it for me, absolutely top shots. I keep meaning to go to Totterdown but never get around to booking Saturday night's accommodation. Next year............!

Agreed! I guess the test of HMG's support for the Arrows will come in the run-up to the retirement of their Hawks in 2030.

Thank you for the kind words John, it was a nice ending to the display for the team to line up and salute. They did it a number of times, not only to satisfy us but also the Boscombe resident photographer and their own team photographer too! Not evident in the image is that the national flag unfurls as the canopy opens which I think is a really nice touch. I saw their display for the first time on Saturday at RIAT and was very impressed indeed. Not only a long display but also innovative too with the piece de resistance for me being the creation of the national flag by two of the team. The only thing that I have seen that comes close is the six pointed star created by the JASDF's Blue Impulse which is one of my favourite teams. Like you, I heard nothing but approval from the people around me and well deserved it was too. I don't know about the assists but perhaps somebody on BM might know?

Thank you Colin. Yes, it was very enjoyable indeed. Well organised and great access combined with the friendliness of the ROKAF personnel all came together to make a very memorable occasion.

Excellent second batch!

Thank you for the kind words John. The team seemed genuinely pleased to see us and very generously gave each of us two glorious posters of their aircraft displaying along with a postcard sized version and a lapel badge. We were incredibly fortunate with the weather and hope that the good run continues on through this week and next weekend for RIAT. Thank you Mark, it's very nice of you to say so. I felt very fortunate indeed to be able to be there.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing them at RIAT this Saturday. A friend of mine who saw them when they were last here reckons they are the best aerobatic team he has seen.

We must have been. I was wearing a high viz jacket 😁.

Very nice indeed! I like the human aspect as it brings the subject to life. It was a very enjoyable morning wasn't it?

Thanks Will. Yes it was enjoyable and as the team was last here in 2012 (I didn't see them then) a real treat, especially the access that we had.

This morning I was privileged to join a group of other photographers at Boscombe Down where the ROKAF Black Eagles team have been based since their arrival here a few weeks ago. We watched the pilots crew up, taxy out and return from their display at Southport. Next week they'll be displaying at RIAT and Farnborough before travelling to Poland and then flying home giving displays in various countries along the way. A huge thank you to Dougie and the rest of the team at Boscombe and Richard Cooper at the Centre for Aviation Photography for organising this event. Not least an equally huge thank you to the ROKAF air and ground personnel for giving us such a friendly welcome. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. That's it! Thanks for looking.

Perhaps he can be encouraged to write about his experiences on the Tornado and F18? If they are half as good as his book on the Phantom they will still be superb reads.

Gotta love the F1! Thanks for posting the extra shots.

Great shots of some more exotic kit there. Thanks for sharing these.

Wonderful set of images as ever! The weather certainly didn't detract from the quality of your shots.

Superb! Thanks very much for sharing these. Did you ever come across Tug Wilson? I have just finished reading his "Confessions of a Phantom Pilot" which is one of the best fast jet flying books I think I have ever read.

Super pictures! The M2000s and the Spanish F1s are a real treat. Thanks for sharing these.

Very unusual event to see and thanks for sharing these. I love the green and white on the Forestale helicopter.

Late last month I attended the St. Dizier open days including the arrival and departure days. The weather for the four days was mixed with a glorious Saturday offset by an initially very wet Sunday and wet and overcast Monday. In being billed as an open day rather than an airshow it seemed to be aimed at the local population to show them what the base is up to and, subject to registration, entry was free with off-base parking and buses provided. A smaller show than Cognac in May it was nevertheless very enjoyable and well attended despite the rain. The several hundred spotters who attended were able to park on base. We also had access to the flight line on both days up until 8.00am. This was my first visit to St. Dizier and for anybody planning to attend a future event at the base it ought be borne in mind that the central operational area including hangars, weather shelters and part of the taxiway is enclosed by a security fence and gates. This precludes any sort of crowd line parallel to the runway such as that found at Duxford or RIAT and means that take off and landing shots are pretty much impossible. In addition, a staff and vehicle track had been set up along the taxiway in parallel with the taxiway that most of the show's aircraft used. The consequence was that taxying shots had the barriers in front of the aircraft which obviously was not ideal for photography. Therefore, for any keen photographers attending the show days only I suspect it might have been a frustrating experience. In contrast, for the Friday and Monday we were positioned along a quarter of the runway which gave everybody plenty of space and at a distance that I estimated of around 100 feet from the runway. You couldn't have asked for better positioning. A huge thank you to FOSA for their very friendly and efficient organisation. 1. Belgian F16 in its new scheme. 2. 3. 4. Swiss F18. One of a pair that attended. One left on Monday while the second aircraft suffered a fault and was being worked on when we left the base. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. The Danish contribution. They sent two F16s. 11. 12. This was illustrating part of the nuclear deterrent. 13. Couteau Delta. 14. 15. Each of theses Rafales had a different load out. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. My French is extremely limited but if I understood the boards correctly this beauty is planned for restoration by a private owner. Happy to to be corrected on this though. On the other side of the airfield is a flying club which has a Mirage 4 outside the club house and, I think, a Mirage 3. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. These two Jaguars were located outside the BA113 building. 26. 27. 28. The maintenance hangar was open. 29. 30. That's it! Thanks for looking.

Looks like an excellent show! Hard to pick a favourite but the head on Gazelles and Sea King/Wessex combo are very nice to see.

Leuchars has played occasional host to the Typhoons since they moved to Lossiemouth. On one occasion I think it was prompted by the resurfacing of some of Lossie's runway. Similarly, the Typhoons have operated from Kinloss which is now an army base. Presumably the infrastructure is still there to allow operations but given the technical complexity of the F-35A then the investment would be substantial I guess.

I agree with many of the points raised above. Unfortunately, I think all hobbies and interests are subject to the oneupmanship (is that one word or separate words?) and greed crowds. But I think there are another couple of categories too: the obsessives and the competitors. I love being around aircraft and taking pictures of them but I find those who obsess about doing it to be quite hard work. Even more annoying are those for whom it's an unofficial competition. We all know the type. Whatever you've done, they've done it better, bigger or more frequently and go out of their way to tell you so. As a consequence I find myself restricting my aircraft photography social circle to a small group of people for whom it's a hobby that they derive pleasure from and happily share experiences in a matter of fact way rather than "You might have photographed a space shuttle but I've flown in one" way (unless they have of course in which case I'll buy the beer and let them talk because I'd love to hear all about it). It's obviously a personal view but for me a hobby or hobbies is/are good things to have that should be about enjoyment and relaxation.

Woodbridge is still used for exercises so presumably the infrastructure is still there? If Leeming is a possibility then bases such as Cottesmore and Wittering should also be in the frame.

Au contraire mon brave! Your close friends the Crabs provided the Falcons parachute team; I just didn't post any pictures of them but I'm amenable to special requests 😉. The Falcons' presence proved to be a result because following their jump they packed their 'chutes directly in front of our enclosure. Their escort/liaison officer turned out to be a former Mirage F1 pilot who is now the chief instructor on the PC21 with responsibility for standards evaluation as well. He had volunteered to be their liaison because he thought it would help improve his already excellent English. He stopped by the fence and we ended up talking to him for well over half an hour about the training structure and the advantages/ disadvantages of the PC21 versus the Alpha Jet as well as the issues that ground attack pilots have converting to the multi-role Rafale because of the challenges involved in air combat which is around 70% of the training against 30% for mud moving. It was very good of him to spend so much time talking to us and added to the enjoyment of the show.

Last weekend I attended the French Air and Space Force show at Cognac/Chateaubernard, home of the PC21s, Grobs and MQ9A Reapers. The show attracted a lot of press attention owing to the mid-air collision of two Rafales from Mont de Marsan during their tactical demonstration. The collision took place to the east of the airfield over a nearby village. Fortunately, both aircraft landed safely although some debris damaged a house in the village. Photos of the Tiger marked aircraft that had flown in from Greece on the Friday evening showed that it had lost the tip of its tail and RWR unit while the other aircraft suffered damage to its fuselage wing and a drop tank. Both aircraft landed after long approaches and were chased down the runway by the fire trucks. They taxied straight into the HAS area from the runway which is surrounded by large grassy berms and hence were out of public view. The weather for arrivals day was mixed with glorious sunny skies and 32C temperatures on the Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, the weather was appalling to start with for Monday's departures but as the storm passed through the aircraft began to move. From a photography perspective, Cognac is not great as the runway runs NE/SW and with the crowd line to the north then you are looking into the sun. A big thank you to FOSA for organising the show and Captain Julien and his colleagues for escorting us and making the whole occasion very enjoyable. 1. One of two Belgian F16s attending. 2. The German contribution. 3. 4. 5. 6. This Sabre is Canadair built. 7. 8. 9. 10. The home team. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Caracal. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. The Wings of Storm. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. Singaporean M346 based at Cazaux. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. That's it, thanks for looking!