Seamus Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Afternoon all, After a busy fortnight attending both Yeovilton and RIAT for the duration, I'm finally getting round to catching up with the editing and thought I'd share some images from an excellent five days at the local. A fine show that I thought was well balanced, with a little something for everyone in the flying, and some rare gems on the ground that VLAD has become so good at attracting in recent years. Absolute highlight was of course the Harriers, and it was superb to see the Alizé make it over at long last, even if its display was a disappointingly distant. Apologies for the amount of images to follow, I always struggle to condense five days into a small number of images... Thursday Arrivals AgustaWestland Wildcat HMA2 ZZ381 Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 11/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 ZH857 Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 11/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A7-MAB Qatar Emiri air Force RNAS Yeovilton 11/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II ZM143 Royal Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 11/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules A7-MAH/211 Qatar Emiri Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 11/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Friday Arrivals McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II Plus VA.1B-37/01-925 Spanish Navy RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II Plus VA.1B-24/01-914 Spanish Navy RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Leonardo P-72A MM62298/41-03 Italian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Beechcraft T-6A Texan II 036 Hellenic Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Breguet Br.1050 Alizé 59/F-AZYI Alizé Marine Association RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Morane Saulnier MS760 Paris 32/F-AZLT Armor Aero Passion RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II Plus VA.1B-37/01-925 Spanish Navy RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Breguet Br.1050 Alizé 59/F-AZYI Alizé Marine Association RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Saturday Showday McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II Plus VA.1B-37/01-925 Spanish Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Breguet Br.1050 Alizé 59/F-AZYI Alizé Marine Association RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr AgustaWestland Merlin HC4 ZJ124/H Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II Plus VA.1B-37/01-925 Spanish Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr AgustaWestland Merlin HC4 ZJ125/J Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Wessex HUS XT761/G-WSEX Historic Helicopters RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed Martin CC-130J-30 Hercules 130612 Royal Canadian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr AgustaWestland Wildcat HMA2 ZZ381 Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II Plus VA.1B-37/01-925 Spanish Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II ZM146 Royal Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II Plus VA.1B-37/01-925 Spanish Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Morane Saulnier MS760 Paris 32/F-AZLT Armor Aero Passion RNAS Yeovilton 12/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr General Dynamics F-16AM Fighting Falcon FA-101 Belgian Air Component RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr AgustaWestland Merlin HC4 ZJ124/H Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr AgustaWestland Wildcat HMA2 ZZ375 Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland WAH-64D Apache ZJ??? Army Air Corps RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Westland Wessex HUS XT761/G-WSEX Historic Helicopters RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Breguet Br.1050 Alizé 59/F-AZYI Alizé Marine Association RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr AgustaWestland Merlin HC4 ZJ124/H Royal Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II Plus VA.1B-37/01-925 Spanish Navy RNAS Yeovilton 13/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Sunday Departures Piaggio P.180 Avanti MM62211 Italian Navy RNAS Yeovilton 14/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Leonardo P-72A MM62298/41-03 Italian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 14/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed CP-140 Aurora 140117 Royal Canadian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 14/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Alenia C-27J Spartan 07 Lithuanian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 14/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed CP-140 Aurora 140117 Royal Canadian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 14/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Leonardo P-72A MM62298/41-03 Italian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 14/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Piaggio P.180 Avanti MM62211 Italian Navy RNAS Yeovilton 14/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Boeing C-17A Globemaster III 99-0062US Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 14/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Monday Departures Boeing C-17A Globemaster III A7-MAB Qatar Emiri air Force RNAS Yeovilton 15/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed Martin CC-130J-30 Hercules 130612 Royal Canadian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 15/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr General Dynamics F-16AM Fighting Falcon FA-101 Belgian Air Component RNAS Yeovilton 15/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed Martin CC-130J-30 Hercules 130612 Royal Canadian Air Force RNAS Yeovilton 15/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Lockheed P-3C Orion 60+01 German Navy RNAS Yeovilton 15/07/19 by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Thanks for looking, hopefully they were of interest. Comments welcomed as ever. Shaun 12 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Lovely! Especially the shots of the Alize and Wessex. Thanks for sharing, Shaun! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberraman Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 A lovely set of images Shaun and it looks like you had the best of the weather at both events. I too would like to have been at VL to see the Alize and Wessex - marvellous! Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Outstanding photos and selection! Thank you so much for sharing them! Too bad there isn't a flyable Harrier of any version for UK airshows- the RAF should give serious consideration to creating an RAF/RN jet heritage flight while most of the types are still available. I guess the spares and prohibitive maintenance costs as well as safety regulations precludes it. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) @72modeler Sadly the Royal Navy Historic Flight has just disbanded, Mike! Edited July 27, 2019 by RidgeRunner 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 I know the USAF and USN Heritage Flight demos have really been cut back here, as well. A shame, as they were always very popular with airshow fans and veterans alike. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificmustang Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Excellent Shaun. I follow you on flickr, so will zoom across there to have a look @RidgeRunner what was the reason for disbanding the RN flight, cost? and @72modeler have the number of demo's or the aircraft participating been cut back? Again, is this a cost factor. I see the USAF displayed a 4 ship heritage flight at Oshkosh. My interest in this is, the Royal Australian Navy disbanded their historic flight some time ago due to being risk adverse, and with the RAAF centenary approaching, the RAAF has been loaned the Temora Aviation Spitfire, Sabre, Meteor etc to run. A lot of people are quite concerned about that too, given our Air Force's previous lack of interest in heritage. Shaun, sorry to hijack the thread of your lovely photos. Bruce 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 To be honest, Bruce, I don't know and I was surprised to hear it at the Yeovilton show. Ben Dunnell, the commentator, mentioned it in his ramblings. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Great top shot angle on that Merlin Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Great photos. My favourited the Italain Avanti, Alize RCAF Herc, Merlins... well all of them. Its a show I was going to go to but an issue with car stopped that. The RCAF Aurora has an interesting patchwork scheme.... repair paint jobs maybe ?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitewolf Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 3 hours ago, RidgeRunner said: To be honest, Bruce, I don't know and I was surprised to hear it at the Yeovilton show. Ben Dunnell, the commentator, mentioned it in his ramblings. Martin It was announced last year that the RN Historc flight would be disbanded. I would assume due to costings, I'm not sure how many aircraft they actually had flyable? Or what has happened to them? The two managers that ran the museum(been there for a good few years) were made redundant at least 3-4 years ago and it's now managed centrally from Portsmouth. Very sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 Thanks all, much appreciated. Regarding the RNHF, the flight itself is being disbanded as mentioned as the aircraft are being transferred from the military to the civil register to be operated under the Navy Wings banner. I can't recall the exact reason why off the top of my head but money is surely a factor.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Thank you Shaun for those tremendous photos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) Bruce, Regarding the USAF and USN Heritage Flight aircraft, I think all but the current military inventory aircraft are owned and operated by private individuals. In the "old" days, aircraft participating would receive a stipend and fuel would be provided by the host air base. That being said, since there haven't been any military aircraft that require avgas since forever, the gift of free fuel and/or stipend in some cases, is no longer there, and with the high cost of fuel and maintenance for warbirds, probably very few aircraft owners have deep enough pockets and/or a generous corporate sponsor to allow them to participate at very many airshows. In addition, I'm sure the budget funds allocated for these flights have been severely cut back, so the Heritage Flight pilots and aircraft have to be selective as to which shows they attend. We have never had a BoB or RN historical flight supported by the military or government. Organizations like the Collings Foundation or Museums, like the Ontario Air Museum, Planes of Fame, Lewis Air Legends, do have a better financial situation, but they don't always have in their inventories the mixture of aircraft from the different eras to make up a flight. In addition, I think all pilots and aircraft used in Heritage Flights here across the pond have to be certified before being allowed to fly with current high performance aircraft. It's sad that money is always the determining factor; I have been most fortunate to have seen many different Heritage Flight combinations over the years, and they are always a stirring, joyful, yet sad experience each and every time. The F-22, F-4, F-86, and P-51 formation brings tears to these old Mk 1 eyes every time- what an experience to see and hear the dominant fighter aircraft of each generation in the air together. See the link below to a very memorable Heritage Flight demo at Nellis AB back in the day. I hope you enjoy it. Wish you all had the same, as a Spitfire, Sea Fury, Vampire/Meteor, Lightning, Tornado, and Eurofighter/Typhoon would be just as impressive! Mike https://vimeo.com/98664563 Edited July 29, 2019 by 72modeler corrected spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG058 Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Wow, excellent images, thanks for sharing your work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Stunning photos! Love the Harriers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted August 3, 2020 Share Posted August 3, 2020 Great collection of shots, I didn't make it to the show and have now moved from the area (was down the road in Andover), will hopefully get back there for 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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