JeffreyK Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Hi guys, earlier this month I went on a trip to Hyakuri JASDF base in order not to miss the chance to see some of the last remaining active Phantoms in action. My friends had organised everything perfectly in advance - the land owner of the famous "peace towers" was informed prior to our arrival and we timed the trip from Saitama Pref. for a nearly dead-on arrival at 8am. Drove directly onto the land, right next to the towers, located in next to, or literally in the air base. We had planned to change location around mid-day due to movement of the sun, but we found this not to be necessary and stayed put until our departure around 3pm. The weather was perfect, sunny with the occasional clouds passing through. Location and light were so good I never had this many good shots!! Flying activity? You couldn't ask for more! Phantoms galore and a number of welcome visitors too. Komatsu F-15J's had been on deployment and were leaving on that morning. What a phantastic day!!!! Sorry, lots of pictures, I hope you're not getting bored... Cheers, Jeffrey Shouldn't your hand be on the throttle? A surprise visitor - just one pass along the runway and we almost missed it! The taxiway is VERY close: Another one-pass visitor: Underside detail? Oooooh, the blue one: 24 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Fantastic set of photos Jeffrey, very envious. We do not see many JASDF photos of Phantoms on Britmodeller so many thanks for sharing. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Great set of some lovely aircraft in varied schemes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Great set Jeffery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Lovely Stuff Jeffrey. It's interesting to see them taking off fro right to left. The times i have been there, it's always been the other way round. You need to get Akira to take you to Iruma too. The has lots of actuion as well Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev The Modeller Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Fabulous pictures, great to see the Phantoms in action 😎thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Wonderful, especially that blue schemed one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinback Posted September 15, 2018 Share Posted September 15, 2018 Thanks Jeffrey - made my day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 Thanks guy! Andy, I don't think Iruma yields anything that could fancy Akira's interest after all those years but I might go there on my own at some point, after all it's a lot more accessible than Hyakuri. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 ...forgot one: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglierating Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Fabulous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 orsum, much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackman Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Very good pics, especially the blue RF-4Es Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 6 hours ago, JeffreyK said: Thanks guy! Andy, I don't think Iruma yields anything that could fancy Akira's interest after all those years but I might go there on my own at some point, after all it's a lot more accessible than Hyakuri. J True enough but it does have some fantastic variety of colours and types as well as the Tokorozawa museum just down the road. Perhaps he needs to widen his knowledge 😉 Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creepy Pete Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Great stuff! I'll be in Japan late October/early November and I do want to visit Hyakuri too. I'll have to stick to public transport unfortunatly, so no spotting towers for me probably. I believe there's a shuttle bus to the civilian side of the airfield? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latinbear Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 You've got an absolutely superb set of shots there and thanks for sharing them. Wonderful to see so many Phantoms in action in such great schemes. The others are a bonus too. Glad you had a great day out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 3 hours ago, Creepy Pete said: Great stuff! I'll be in Japan late October/early November and I do want to visit Hyakuri too. I'll have to stick to public transport unfortunatly, so no spotting towers for me probably. I believe there's a shuttle bus to the civilian side of the airfield? There is a bus from Ishioka to Ibaraki airport. You could get a taxi round the air base if you took a googlemaps picture and pointed to where you wanted to go. Possibly draw a clockface with the pick-up time on it? The civvie side would be fine in the afternoon and you can easily walk a bit nearer too if you wanted to Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 8 hours ago, Creepy Pete said: Great stuff! I'll be in Japan late October/early November and I do want to visit Hyakuri too. I'll have to stick to public transport unfortunatly, so no spotting towers for me probably. I believe there's a shuttle bus to the civilian side of the airfield? This map may help with planning. http://www.oja.link/htmlfiles/airports/jp/rjah.htm I was told to avoid Fridays as there's no flying. Also, try to get there early. Flying can start from 8am, which is why we were there at that time. It turned out that apron activity didn't start until 8.30 that day (weapons and tanker movements, airframe checks, GPU's starting etc.) and the first take offs were around 9am. Should you try the south-east side, bring a good supply of food and water as counter to my expectation there's no vending machine anywhere near. There are porta-loos though. Entry fee to the towers is ¥1500 and the owner needs to be called if the gates are closed. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Great set of pictures, really like the F-4's and RF-4's. Thanks for sharing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted September 21, 2018 Share Posted September 21, 2018 Absolutely Phantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creepy Pete Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 On 9/16/2018 at 9:22 PM, Red Dot said: There is a bus from Ishioka to Ibaraki airport. You could get a taxi round the air base if you took a googlemaps picture and pointed to where you wanted to go. Possibly draw a clockface with the pick-up time on it? The civvie side would be fine in the afternoon and you can easily walk a bit nearer too if you wanted to Andy On 9/17/2018 at 2:18 AM, JeffreyK said: This map may help with planning. http://www.oja.link/htmlfiles/airports/jp/rjah.htm I was told to avoid Fridays as there's no flying. Also, try to get there early. Flying can start from 8am, which is why we were there at that time. It turned out that apron activity didn't start until 8.30 that day (weapons and tanker movements, airframe checks, GPU's starting etc.) and the first take offs were around 9am. Should you try the south-east side, bring a good supply of food and water as counter to my expectation there's no vending machine anywhere near. There are porta-loos though. Entry fee to the towers is ¥1500 and the owner needs to be called if the gates are closed. Forgot to thank you both. I went there on November 1 in the afternoon, using the shuttle bus from Ishioka station. I only stayed on the civilian side of the field, but like Andy said, this is perfectly fine in the afternoon. Unless there's some airliner parked on the ramp next to the terminal, you get a pretty clear view of the field. Now, if only I had some slightly better camera equipment. This is about as good as I could do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 Well done Pete. Better camera gear is always available at Yodabashi in Tokyo, in the Akihabara district, right next to Akihabara station. Everyone knows the shop and take your credit card!! the price you pay is -10% off the ticket price if you ask for duty free. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Thank You for sharing these. I'm not the only one restarting a love affair with this fantastic Lady of the Skies. I wonder how many are being flown by pilots that are older than the airframe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 You will have to be quick. The fighters are retiring soon and the recce ones won't be going for much longer too. all the pilots look younger than their planes! andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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