Pictures Of The Week
Week 17, April 2015
Clockwise from top left:
One of the most dramatic images posted on our forum in the last week has to be that provided by Derek Heyes who was lucky enough to fly an air-to-air sortie with the Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornet demonstration jet sporting its commemorative Battle of Britain camouflage scheme. Derek describes the opportunity as an'honour' and says this was one of the'magic moments' of the flight. What makes this shot particularly stunning is the way the snowy mountain backdrop contrasts so vividly with the striking shape of the Hornet.
Image © Derek Heyes (Hazer's Flightline)
Nikon D750 + Nikkor 18-200mm lensAnother air-to-air shot we just had to include this week is Filip Modrzejewski's amazing capture of a Polish Air Force MiG-29 seen during a sunset sortie. He tells UKAR this was taken in February, during a Polish military deployment to Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania. As well as the super light conditions, the shot is particularly striking because of the visible wing vortices and exhaust gases as the MiG performs a gentle climb. However, Filip puts it best:'Dreams come true!'
Image © Filip Modrzejewski (Foto Poork)
Canon EOS 1Dx + Canon EF 70-200mm ƒ2.8 L IS Mk.II lensAirshows are the lifeblood of many enthusiasts and so, in the winter downtime, events like the recent Hangar 11 Nightshoot are a great way to keep the shutter clicking. Gary Beale's photo of P-51D Mustang'Jumpin Jacques' really stood out; not least as it includes a full, uninterrupted prop disc. There is talk of the aircraft being repainted into a more accurate'Red Tails' colour scheme at the end of the season, making Gary's shot all the more special.
Image © Gary Beale
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 24-105mm ƒ4 L IS lensEach week, UKAR gets an eclectic mix of fast-jet imagery from all corners of the globe, including this sharp and well-composed capture of a Belgian Air Component F-16AM seen taking off during a spotters day held at Malbork Air Base in Poland. Maciej Ramos says this was a'great' occasion, and his shots seem to prove it!
Image © Maciej Ramos
Canon 1dmk3 and Sigma 100-300 ƒ4 with tc 1.42015 seems to have been the year the RAF got commemorative colour schemes right once more, and the quality of many of the schemes we have been seeing is outstanding. One of these tails is that seen on Tornado GR4 ZA456, celebrating the centenary of the historic IX Squadron. Mark's capture shows the sheer power of this ageing workhorse, whilst also providing UKAR members with one of the first opportunities to see this'special tail' in the air.
Image © Mark Ranger
Nikon D7100 + Nikkor 300m ƒ4 lensWhilst on the subject of special schemes, for the second time on POTW we include the RAF's Typhoon adorned in a camouflage scheme for airshow appearances in conjunction with a BBMF Spitfire. RAF Coningsby's recent PDA day provided an opportunity to see it in the air at last, and Geoff quickly provided our members with some of the first shots of the aircraft outside of the hangar. We very much look forward to seeing her out and about in 2015.
Image © Geoff Stockle
Nikon D300 + Nikkor 70-200mm & 1.7x TCFinally, all of us at UKAR were saddened to hear of the tragic death of David Jenkins, a member of Wildcat Aerobatics, during a recent display at Old Buckenham. It served as a harrowing reminder that pilots risk their lives for our entertainment, and this should not be overlooked. Jayson's shot is an action-packed one of David doing what he did best, and the inclusion of this image in POTW will ensure UKAR members of the future never forget David's significant contribution to aviation.
Image © Jayson Cork
Pictures Of The Week
Week 16, April 2015
Clockwise from top left:
The Hardwick Warbirds collection hosted a charity photocall/nightshoot last weekend. Maurice Hammond's Mustangs Marinell and Janie were both on display, along with the based Auster, Harvard and Stearman, and numerous re-enactors. A highlight for many was Marinell's twilight engine run, and Tim captured the moment perfectly. Even more impressive was his improvised use of a Coke bottle as a substitute for a tripod! A truly excellent composition, with some rather vibrant colours such as this is certainly one to be proud of, and well-deserving of its place in POTW this week.
Image © Tim Urry
Canon EOS 5D Mk.III + Canon EF 24-105mm ƒ4 L IS lensA shot from a truly magnificent offering of air-to-airs taken from an RAF Mildehnall-based KC-135 is next in our highlights this week. Aboard the tanker, callsign "QUID 76", Søren had the chance to shoot a brace of Lakenheath F-15Es, and an RC-135 as they received fuel. Some truly excellent compositions, stunning light and fantastic backgrounds all combine to form an outstanding set.
Image © Søren Augustesen
Canon EOS 7D Mk.II + Canon EF 24-105mm ƒ4 L IS lensThere may be a lot of fuss (rightly so) over the recently unveiled RAF Typhoon special scheme this year, but we would all be wrong to forget the Canadian Air Force's offering. Long-time UKARian Rod has been amongst the first to capture the machine in the air, and boy, does that scheme look majestic. Alas, there are so far no plans for the CF-188 solo display to make the tip across the pond in this 75th anniversary year of the Battle of Britain, which makes us even more obliged to Rod for providing shots like this for those of us in the UK.
Image © Rod McDonough
Pentax K-3 + Sigma 50-500mm lensAs the airshow season draws nearer, there is one warbird that we at UKAR are particularly eager to see in the air in the summer months. Formally in the colours of "Old Crow", this P-51 is now resplendent in RAF 112 Squadron markings as "KH774". 112 Squadron, of which the famous fighter ace and test pilot Neville Duke was a member, flew Mustang IVs in Italy during the latter stages of WWII. It's great to see an RAF-schemed Mustang in the UK again, and POTW-regular Harry has provided an interesting composition of an aircraft that we're all looking forward to seeing.
Image © Harry Measures
Canon EOS 7D Mk.II + Canon EF 300mm ƒ4 L lens & Canon 1.4x TCWe've featured several of Mark's offerings from Malaysia in recent weeks, but he's not done yet, and this week we would be remiss not to note this fine study of a CL-415 doing what it was designed to. This aircraft is one of just two operated by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and a rare beast indeed. The charismatic water-bomber was flying as part of the maritime demonstration at Langkawi.
Image © Mark Rourke
The RAF really seem to be on point with their special schemes this year. A perfect example of this is XV (Reserve) Squadron's centenary tail on their Tornado GR4. With the Squadron now acting as the Operational Conversion Unit for the Tornado in RAF service, Mike caught the aircraft returning to its home base of RAF Lossiemouth as he was there during Exercise Joint Warrior 15-1.
Image © Michael Hall
Canon EOS 1D Mk.IV + Canon EF 100-400mm Mk.II L IS lensWe end this week with another outstanding set of air-to-airs. Former UKAR Staffer Russ was lucky enough to be able to shoot RAF Typhoons taking fuel from aboard a 10 Squadron Voyager, flying out of Brize Norton with the callsign "TARTAN 51" over the North Sea. Part of the brace of "Tiffies" taking fuel was this one from 6 Squadron, still wearing its centenary scheme from 2014.
Image © Russell Collins
Canon EOS 30D + Canon 17-40mm lens
Pictures Of The Week
Week 15, April 2015
Clockwise from top left:
In keeping with their traditions, the Belgian F-16 Demo Team has unveiled it's new scheme for the 2015 season. Andy was present for the unveiling of the new scheme at Kleine Brogel, and with hints of the fantastic "Vortex" scheme worn a few years ago, we really look forward to seeing this one out and about at UK shows this year.
Image © Andy Patzelt
Nikon 7100 + Nikkor 18-105 ƒ5.6 lensPOTW is a feature we've done for over half a decade featuring the best and most newsworthy photographs on the forum each week and Kevin's image is most certainly the latter, as it revealed (ought that be "leaked"?) the RAF Typhoon wearing the Battle of Britian special scheme at RAF Coningsby. RAF schemes have been lacking the flair and boldness of other European Air Arms in recent years, but finally seem to have hit the bullseye with this one. In the dying light of the day, Kevin was on hand to record the moment immediately before the hangar doors were hastily shut again. We look forward to the jet's official unveiling.
Image © Kevin Martin
Speaking of interesting schemes, POTW regular Mark wowed us with his offering from Malaysia, particularly this gorgeous Malaysian Army Aviation A109 "Hirundo" LOH (Light Observation Helicopter) of 881 Squadron. The Royal Malaysian Army reportedly has 11 of the type on strength, three of which were on display at LIMA in 2015.
Image © Mark Rourke
Canon EOS 7D Mk.II + Canon EF 300mm ƒ4 L lensIt's fair to say that the AN-225 Mriya, as the largest flying aircraft in the world and the only one of it's type, turns heads wherever it goes. Tasked with super-heavy or oversized cargo duties, the charismatic "Cossack" is no stranger to European (and further afield) airports. In this instance, Łukasz was on hand at Ostrava to capture some wonderful shots of the mighty machine lumber into the Czech base to pick up 4 T-72 tanks.
Image © Łukasz Wiśniewski
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 300mm ƒ4 L lensRAF Shawbury doesn't come to the forefront of the mind when one thinks about the likelihood of catching some foreign aircraft at UK airbases. It's great, then, that Joe managed to catch the Royal Netherlands Air Force C-130H dropping off a team to compete in a football tournament, being hosted at RAF Cosford. The RNLAF's fleet of four aircraft are based at Eindhoven, and it's a shame we don't see "legacy" model Herks in the UK as much as we would like these days.
Image © Joe Ruscoe
Canon EOS 70D + Canon EF 70-200mm ƒ4 L IS lensYeovil is one of those places that is full of interesting bells and whistles if you're lucky. Visiting the home of the AgustaWestland facility, and the final assembly and test location of their charismatic range of Lynx, Wildcat, Merlin A109 and many others, Kev was lucky enough to catch this Super Lynx, being prepared for delivery to the Algerian Navy.
Image © Kevin Wills
Canon EOS 1D Mk.II + Canon EF 70-200mm L IS lensRounding us off this week is Karol's shot of this Swidwin-based Su-22 "Fitter" of the Polish Air Force. It goes without saying that Soviet hardware shots always go down a treat, and with the Fitters' appearance at Fairford last July, they've become a firm favourite European display act. We also like the use of some creative editing to separate the images from the rest. The method might be a bit marmite to some, but a keen eye and ambition to stand out from the crowd is always a winning photography trait in our book.
Image © Karol "Carlito" Kakietek
Sony Alpha SLT-A77 + Minolta 400 ƒ4.5 HS APO lens
Pictures Of The Week
Week 14, April 2015
Clockwise from top left:
POTW-regular Mark takes the top spot this week for a beautifully composed shot of one of the F-16Cs of the Royal Singaporean Air Force's "Black Knights" display team. As part of the press-launch for the biennial LIMA show held as ever at Langkawi, Mark was allowed access to the control tower, where he was rewarded with a sublime angle of an aircraft wearing one of the prettier F-16 schemes we have seen recently.
Image © Mark Rourke
Speaking of great angles, we'd be remiss not to feature this brilliant shot of the Blue Angels' support ship, affectionately known as "Fat Albert". Taken at the MCAS Miramar Airshow, the ageing C-130 appears from this image (and the rest of the ones in Simon's thread) to be giving the Blue Angels a run for their money in terms of a jaw-dropping display. Unusually, though the Blue Angels are a US Navy demonstration team, their C-130 support ship is a US Marine Corps machine, and operated by a USMC crew.
Image © Simon Schibli
We've featured a few shots from Death Valley recently, and it's easy to see why. Once again, it was difficult to pick from a thread full of winners, but the slightly different angle (and subject) than we've been used to seeing from the United State's answer to the Mach Loop eventually won our approval over the rest. It's also great to see an F-15C away from Lakenheath, with this one belonging to the 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard, based at Fresno Air National Guard Base.
Image © Nick Collins
Barrie features this week once again, with his excellent (and rare, it must be said) topside shot of the BBMF's spitfire, TE311. Restored to flight at the very end of 2012, the has certainly made her mark on the display circuit and, despite the clipped wings, is very easy on the eye. It's great to see her back in the air after her winter maintenance and in fine fettle, it seems.
Image © Barrie May
We're obliged once again to see shots from Brazil from Marcelo on the forum. Recently, Florianopolis AFB hosted Exercise KAPOFF, which saw a lot of rotary assets based there as the exercise took place. This fine-looking Super Puma (locally designated as the H-34) belongs to the Brazilian Air Force's Third Squadron of the Eighth Aviation Group (3º/8º GAv), based at Afonsos AFB, RIO de Janerio, and is soon to be replaced by the EC-725 Caracal (locally designated as the H-36).
Image © Marcelo Lobo da Silva
Canon SX-40HSBringing things back much closer to home is a POTW and forum début from Joe. Hailing from Shawbury, he's lucky enough to catch some of the more exciting goings on at the Shropshire base, including this RAF Chinook HC3. Made to look a much more meaty machine than its Odiham stable mate HC2s or HC4s, this "Wokka" was taking troops from nearby RAF Ternhill up to the Peak District in November of last year.
Image © Joe Ruscoe
Canon EOS 70D + Canon EF 70-200mm ƒ4 L IS lensLong time UKARian Geoff's shot rounds us off this week. Taken from his thread of the French Mirage F1 Retirement event at Mont de Marsan, originally held last summer, it was actually one of the Ramex Delta pair that we were most taken with. Caught in some rather gorgeous lighting conditions, we may miss the old F1, but it's at least conciliatory to know that the old Mirage lineage is kept alive for a while longer yet in the form of the "deux mille" variant. Farewell dear old friend, indeed.
Image © Geoff Stockle