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Pictures Of The Week
Week 26, June 2011
Clockwise from top left:
Neil Darby found this beautiful image of XX889 on his hard drive from an event that he was involved with held at Kemble back in 2008. Apparently at the time suffering from an excess of 'evening entertainment' Neil has managed to capture an image enjoying the wonderful light at the end of a sunny day. This 'Granby' Buccaneer has since moved to Bruntingthorpe, having previously been at Staverton.
Image © Neil Darby
Canon EOS 20D + Sigma 18-125mm lensIt seems that if you want to see more exiting display items and enjoy better weather at airshows nowadays then heading to foreign climes is the only option. Kevin Martin did just that by taking in the French Army show at Le Luc in the South of France. The ALAT Tigre is a fearsome looking beast, and puts on a lively display, as shown in Kevin's shot.
Image © Kevin Martin
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensTaken on the spotter's day, 18th June, before the Nordic Airshow at F21 wing, Lulea, Sweden, Bjorn's image of Saab Draken 10/56 - the last Draken flying - shows yet again the advantages of a trip to the Continent. The Nordic Airshow is the Swedish Armed Force's main airshow of the year and is filled with items we would love to see in the UK. That weather would be welcome too!
Image © Björn Hellenius
Canon EOS 5D MkII + Canon EF 400mm f5.6 L lensBartosz has made great use of the stunning backdrop of the Tatra Mountains towering above Poprad Airport - Slovakia - during the Aero Moto Vikend 2011 event. The images of the Slovak MiG-29 in his thread are a sight to behold but we chose this one as a particularly special example of the location making the image.
Image © Bartosz Nowak
Nikon D90 + Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm VR lensFrom yet another continental airshow enjoying better weather and appealing aircraft comes this image of the smart looking Avenger once owned by Tony Haig-Thomas - then operating out of North Weald - but now Swiss based and painted in a stunning French Navy scheme, which is apt for this choice being from its appearance at La Ferte-Alais. Martin took the ferry across for a weekend at this charismatic venue.
Image © Martin Eames
Mark caught this 'Open Skies' Tu-154M making a brief visit to Brize for a quick gas and go on 26 June. The titling of the aircraft gives it away as one of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center aircraft based at Chkalovsky, Russia. The Russian Air Force tri-jet makes regular visits to the west, snooping around as per the rules of the treaty.
Image © Mark Rouse
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 35-350mm L lens
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Pictures Of The Week
Week 25, June 2011
Clockwise from top left:
With such timeless, classic lines, it's hard to believe that 2011 marks the 60th anniversary of Sydney Camm's masterpiece, the Hawker Hunter. This year's Cotswold Airshow at the former RAF Kemble - an airfield long associated with the type, featured a mass gathering of airworthy examples. While the "civvy" paintscheme on G-VETA might not be to our tastes here at UKAR Towers, there's no denying that Terry Beales has played a blinder here - the wet tarmac and the brooding skies coming together to give us an image full of impact.
Image © Terry Beales
Nikon D300s + Nikon 16-85mm lensNigel Blake's work often showcases some of the best outside-the-box thinking and creativity, and once again he's come up trumps, this time on a visit to RAF Lakenheath. Rather than go for the conventional landing close-up, Nigel's dared to be different, and we love the result.
Image © Nigel Blake
EOS 1Ds MkIII + Canon EF 20mm lensOur Polish friends continue to set incredibly high standards of photography on our forums - and given the juicy hardware their air force boasts, long may that continue. Compared to their MiGs and Sukhois the CASA CN-295 might seem a little, well, mundane, but shot here in low light, next to an PZL-built An-2 Colt, Bartosz Bera has produced a really atmospheric photograph and a worthy inclusion in this week's digest.
Image © Bartosz Bera
Canon 5D MkII + Canon EF 24-105mm L IS lensAnother old-and-new combination, this time from somewhat closer to home. We're still not entirely convinced by this year's Hawk display paintscheme, but Shaun Schofield has more than done it justice here, capturing Flt Lt Jules Fleming's jet about to be "overtaken" by an aircraft of a much older vintage - a Douglas C-47 Skytrain, again at the Cotswold Air Show.
Image © Shaun Schofield
Canon EOS 40D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensWe toyed with the idea of making this week's POTW a Hunter special, such was the sheer volume of high-class photographs from Kemble. In the end we decided to go for just two Hunter images, with Martin Needham's capture, from the UKAR Enclosure no less, showing a good eye and a willingness to be creative.
Image © Martin Needham
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensLast but by no means least, comes another POTW regular. Rick Ingham seems to spend plenty of time on Salisbury Plain, and here his persistence was more than rewarded at Deptford Down, as he was on hand to record a rarity - a Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) Tp.84, or a Charlie-130 to the rest of us, using the grass strip. And what's more, he lucked-out with not only glorious golden evening light, but a rainbow too! Grrr, some people have ALL the luck!
Image © Rick Ingham
Canon 400D + Canon 300mm f4 L IS lens
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Pictures Of The Week
Week 24, June 2011
Clockwise from top left:
Skå-Edeby maybe not a location familiar to many. Its a small grass aerodrome west of Stockholm in Sweden that hosted what appears to be an excellent Veteran and old timers day. Björn Hellenius' image of a Dakota being escorted by a Spitfire provides a good impression of the day and the worthy accolade of UKAR's 'Picture of the Week'.
Image © Björn Hellenius
Canon EOS 5D MkII + Canon EF 400mm f5.6 L lensAn exclusive photo shoot was put to good use by 'Virus Aviation' photographers Steve Volanthen and Nicolas Blanc, who posted this image of Swiss demo pilot "DEASY" posing in front of his mount - an F-18 Hornet.
Image © Vonlanthen Steve / Nicolas Blanc / Swiss Air Force
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 70-200mm L IS lensUKAR's very own Phil Whalley was at Duxford to witness the roll-out of the TFC's newly restored P-47. The quality of the finish has been well captured thanks to some splendid light and good use of the much derided step ladder.
Image © Phil Whalley
Nikon D7000 + Nikon 18-105mm VR lensKevin Dawes photo of the "Solo Turk" F-16 at Cigli is enough to make its appearance at Fairford even more eagerly anticipated by those that didn't venture to Turkey for the recent 100th anniversary celebrations of the Turkish Air Force. All that's needed now is some of that glorious RIAT weather.
Image © Kevin Daws
The purposeful appearance of a Greek F-4 is enough to make most hardened photographers go weak at the knees. Kostantinos Giarimis was lucky enough to visit Andravida AB to photograph some well used examples.
Image © Kostantinos Giarimis
Mick Balter is no stranger to UKAR 'Picture of the Week' followers. His night shots of the A-219 at Köln-Wahn called for a bigger puddle and some extra lighting but I'm sure you'll agree the extra effort was worthwhile.
Image © Mick Balter (MBAviationImages)
Canon EOS 1D MkIII + Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 EX lens
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Pictures Of The Week
Week 23, June 2011
Clockwise from top left:
The "Fitter" is still operated in small numbers by the Polish Air Force in the ground attack role, and is the only NATO country to operate the type. Here an Su-22M-4K is beautifully caught getting airborne from its base at Swidwin in the north of the country. The type is expected to soldier on until 2016 - catch them while you can!
Image © Hans Heemskerk
James Cox visited Duxford's first major event of the year, and produced a very artist set of images, including this simple but imaginative shot of a pair of RAF Hawk T1s at rest on the Duxford ramp.
Image © James Cox
Another who visited Duxford's Spring Airshow was Geoff Spinks who produced a stunning set of images, including this gorgeous topside shot of Europe's only airworthy F-86A Sabre, currently adorned with special tiger markings as part of the NATO Tiger Association's 50th Anniversary celebrations.
Image © Geoff Spinks
This dramatic shot of a British Airways Boeing 777 touching down on Heathrow's Runway 27R was captured recently by Darryl Morrell in some lovely early evening sunshine. Not always easy to shoot moving objects through a fence!
Image © Darryl Morrell
Canon EOS 5D MkII + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensThe big draw for many a well-travelled aviation enthusiast last weekend was the Turkish Air Force's 100th Anniversary Airshow at Izmir/Cigli. As well as the countless European display teams, many of the Turkish Air Force's types were on show, including this beautiful RF-4E Phantom, resplendent in its two-tone grey camouflage.
Image © Richard Pittman
An iconic duo of Supermarine Spitfire LF.XVI and Cavalier F-51D Mustang nicely caught during their display routine at the Eslöv Airshow in Sweden. This particular Cavalier conversion once saw service with the El Salvador Air Force in the 1960s, whilst the Spitfire's history is slightly less exotic, it once having guarded the gate at RAF Halton. The Swedish-registered aircraft are both owned by the Biltema Company.
Image © Daniel Nilsson
Nikon D300S + Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 lens
