Pictures Of The Week
Week 30, July 2015
Clockwise from top left:
Following from its wheels-up landing in France back in 2011, which executed as well as could have been hoped by Anna Walker, it's fantastic to see Kennet Aviation's Seafire SX336 return to display flying. The Griffon-engined machine certainly looks to be in fine fettle, illustrated by this excellent study of the aircraft, which was taken on the way to take part in RIAT's Battle of Britain commemoration earlier in July.
Image © 'Alpha Delta 210'
Talking of the classics, Philippe, who has provided us with some stunning air-to-air shots over the years, was lucky enough to shoot one of the Swiss de Havilland T55 Vampires over the beautiful Aletsch Glacier. A rare aircraft of itself, and one not often seen outside of Switzerland, this two seat variant of the venerable twin-boom aircraft is one of two T55s currently airworthy in the country. Interestingly enough, of the Vampires currently airworthy in Europe, the majority are ex-Swiss examples, notably the example operated by the Classic Air Force at Coventry, and the pair from the Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron which are all seen frequently at displays in the UK.
Image © Philippe Rey
Whilst we're on the topic of Norway; making a very rare appearance in the flying display at a UK airshow, was this Norwegian Air Force P-3 Orion operated by 333 Skvadron, which has just six of the type to hand. Flown from Andøya Air Base, the Squadron has rich history in the UK, formed as 333 Squadron operating Catalinas and Mosquitos from RAF Leuchars over the North Sea as part of RAF Coastal Command. Very appropriate, then, that the Squadron sought to return to East Fortune with their current mount, and Danny from his excellent vantage point captured the moment perfectly.
Image © Danny Bowie
Oft the mark of a truly exceptional photographer is the ability to generate interest in the most common and familiar of subjects. The Vulcan and Red Arrows flypast at RIAT was a nice touch, and one which many of us were fortunate enough to see and photograph. But few, however, came away with anything half as dynamic as this image from Chris. What with it being XH558's last year, it's great to see some creative simplicity in shots of the "Empress and her Praetorian Guards".
Image © Chris Milne
Nikon D600 + Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 lensIt wasn't the weather many of us had at the beginning of July, and Chris survived the onslaught of rain to find some creativity at RNAS Yeovilton's CHF Families Day, including this well-composed and uncluttered shot of the Royal Navy's new toy. Whilst the venerable Lynx is slowly enjoying the last few months of its service, it's younger and more beefed-up descendant is very clearly poised to take the stage.
Image © Chris Shaw
Nikon D610 + Nikkor 70-300mm VR lensOf course, if it's rarity you're looking for this week, then look no further than the excellent thread featuring none other than a smorgasbord of Ukrainian hardware, including the wonderfully charismatic Su-24 Fencers. Impossible to pick a favourite and, for reasons obvious, it's an air force the shots of which we're unlikely to see much of again any time soon, let alone with such fantastic composure and diversity, we couldn't be more whole-hearted in our endorsement of the rest of the thread if we tried.
Image © Chris Lofting
Last but of course by no means least, Mark once again features with his coverage of the A-10s at Lakenheath. Following a well-trodden tour across Europe, including, thankfully, several airshow appearances, the Davis-Monthan based machines have now flown home to U.S. soil, concluding the tour as quickly as it began. As part of their visit, the 'Hogs paid tribute to the 355th Fighter Group's birthplace at Steeple Moredon, in Cambridgeshire, and how wonderful it is to see the acclaimed "Steeple Moredon Strafers" living on as they began.
Image © Mark Rourke
Canon EOS 7D Mk.II + Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens
Pictures Of The Week
Week 29, July 2015
Clockwise from top left:
The Apache Role Demonstration has become infamous for its extensive array of pyrotechnics used throughout the routine, and this is well illustrated here by Kevin Wills with a shot from RIAT 2015. His highly dramatic image was taken on the Sunday afternoon of the show, and displays ‘Gunship 2’ to best effect. Not only is the ‘wall of fire’ a wonderful backdrop to this picture; the pin-sharp nature of the helicopter itself must also be complemented. Kev used a shutter speed of 1/320th as he wasn’t confident about going any lower - well this looks just fine to us!
Image © Kevin Wills
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 70-200mm L lensAnother offering for aviation enthusiasts over the RIAT weekend was the ‘Best of British’ evening airshow held at Old Warden. One of the stars of the show was a reproduction Albatros D.Va making its first UK public display. Despite light conditions being challenging due to the setting sun, Darrell has magnificently photographed this rarely seen German fighter in all its glory as it lifts off in the hands of Keith Skilling. His entire set is impressive; however this image particularly drew our attention due to its atmospheric quality.
Image © Darrell Thompson
Nikon D7100 + Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 lens & 1.7x TCKurt’s photo of the Kawasaki P-1 at this year’s RIAT is a fantastic demonstration that, when used sensibly, heavy crops of aircraft can be highly effective. The close-up view of this attractive maritime patrol aircraft (taken from Rhymes Farm), complete with all its ‘lumps and bumps’ is further enhanced by the inclusion of what appears to be treetops in the bottom right-hand corner of the image – highlighting the low-level nature of what was a short, yet impressive display routine. Let’s hope we get to see the P1 again in UK skies in the not-too-distant future.
Image © Kurt Fairhurst
Canon EOS 70D + Canon EF 300mm f2.8 L lensThe undoubted star act at this year’s Bray Airshow in Ireland was the appearance of the Swiss Air Force ‘Patrouille Suisse’ in their F-5 Tiger aircraft. Niall photographed this unique moment which saw the team form up with an Airbus A319 of the Irish national airline Aer Lingus prior to their display proper. The picture was taken from Bray Head which seems to offer a perspective certainly on a par, if not better than, the much-vaunted ‘Beachy Head’ at Eastbourne. This image is beautifully lit, and shows off both elements of this formation to great effect.
Image © Niall Grant
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS lens & 1.4x TCIt’s not too often that lighter than air flying makes its way into POTW, but we are very pleased to change that this week. UKAR member Rob Laker recently took an early morning balloon flight near Bath, where he was lucky enough to go ‘air-to-air’ with another balloon. Rob has managed to effectively demonstrate the grace and peace of this form of aviation, with the gentle skies and long morning shadows all acting as a stunning backdrop to the lifting balloon in the foreground.
Image © Rob Laker
Canon EOS 5D Mk.III + Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS lensMatt Varley captured what appears to be the first visit to the UK of the Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron’s recently-reflown MiG-15. The aircraft dropped into Norwich Airport for a fuel stop after running rather low during a transit flight from its Norway base to Shannon in Ireland. As well as capturing a historic moment; Matt’s bright, well-lit shot of the aircraft’s departure casts our minds back to the days when the Old Flying Machine Company owned their own MiG-15 at IWM Duxford.
Image © Matt Varley
Canon EOS 550D + Canon EF 28-135mm IS lensA US presidential visit to Europe is always a treat for aviation enthusiasts due to the rarely-seen wares flown over to provide transport, security and support for the President’s visit. Robin’s photograph shows one of four MV-22B Ospreys seen at Munich International Airport in June supporting Obama’s visit to the G7 summit. Ospreys are notoriously hard to photograph, mainly due to the sheer size of their rotors – however despite this, Robin has still managed to obtain a very sharp image.
Image © Robin Manhart
Canon EOS 60D + Tamron 150-600mm lens
Pictures Of The Week
Week 28, July 2015
Clockwise from top left:
A welcome return to European skies in recent months has been that of the USAF's A-10 Thunderbolt IIs following their deployment as part of a European security package. Maciej caught this striking angle of an A-10 taking off during a spotters' day held at Łask Airbase in Poland, where the outside air temperature reached over 30 degrees! Despite the tough shooting conditions, the sharp contrast of the aircraft against the bright blue background combined with what is a wonderful angle of the 'Hog makes this a worthy inclusion in this week's selection.
Image © Maciej Ramos
Canon EOS 1D Mk.III + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensOne of the most eagerly anticipated participants at this year's Flying Legends airshow was Seafire III PP972, making its debut airshow appearance. Barrie May's sets are always full of quality - and this topside picture of the aircraft from the much-disputed 'naughty field' is no exception - what a shot it is! As well as giving a fantastic account of this most famous elliptical fighter (albeit a lesser seen variant); Barrie's well-lit picture gives a sense of the speed and power the aircraft exudes as it participates in the annual Spitfire tailchase.
Image © Barrie May
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensDespite being 80% the size of the original aircraft, this air-to-air image of a Spitfire Mk26 replica taken by Richard is still very impressive. This particular airframe recently received a full permit to fly following a lengthy build; and, to celebrate, a sunny Friday morning saw this shot taken. The boat in the water beneath gives an astonishing sense of depth to the picture - which has a very appropriate setting. Why? The image was taken over the Solent en-route to the Isle of Wight - a stone's throw away from Southampton Airport, the location of the full-size version's maiden flight back in 1936.
Image © Richard Davies
Canon EOS 6D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensUKAR's Dan Butcher recently visited Headcorn to sample the Battle of Britain Airshow, of which the main centrepiece was an evening flying display. Dan's 'tail-end' capture of the BBMF's two Hurricane IICs taxiing out for their pairs display is a well-composed picture displaying the wide-track undercarriage of the Hurricane, which apparently makes it one of the easier vintage fighters to handle on the ground. Let's hope for similar events to this at Headcorn in the future because, as seen here, this grass airfield is a perfect setting for a vintage airshow.
Image © Dan Butcher
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensRNAS Yeovilton always conclude their annual Air Day with the impressive Commando Assault, and this year's show was no exception. Chris Shaw's dramatic image shows the first time a Merlin HC3 has appeared in the set piece whilst operated by the Royal Navy, following the recent transfer of the helicopters from the RAF. After no pyrotechnics were used to conclude last year's demonstration, Chris was dubious as to whether it would be a similar affair in 2015; however he tells UKAR he kept his camera trained on the Merlin just in case. Thankfully, it paid off!
Image © Chris Shaw
Nikon D610 + Nikkor 70-300mm lensA smaller event in July was the Baginton Air Pageant held at Coventry Airport. Despite being an intimate show, the crowd present were treated to what was the first opportunity to see the Classic Air Force's pair of Meteors - T7 and NF11 - in the air together. Stu Freer's shot of the aircraft breaking away from one another is both dynamic and graceful. As can be seen here; some are more fortunate than others as far as looks go in the Meteor family!
Image © Stu Freer (Touchdown Aviation)
This year's La Ferte Alais airshow in France resulted in a smorgasbord of potential images for inclusion in POTW - one we had to include was Leszek Kujawski's fantastic picture of a CL-215 amphibian releasing its cargo as part of the 'Securite Civil' demonstration held over the show weekend. Leszek's image displays the sheer firefighting capability of this ageing water-bomber - an aircraft which can offload a staggering payload of over 5,000 litres of water.
Image © Lezsek Kujawski
Canon EOS 5D Mk.III + Canon EF 200-400mm lens
Pictures Of The Week
Week 27, July 2015
Clockwise from top left:
Where else to start this week, than with probably one of the most unique shots of the magnificent TSR2 on static at the RAF Cosford Airshow this year. It's not all hard work, being on the organising team for an airshow, as UKAR's own Peter Reoch demonstrates. A golden opportunity indeed, and something we're not like to see again for some time.
Image © Peter Reoch
Canon EOS 7D + Sigma 10-20mm lensTo warmer climes, and Leon's very well-composed shot of this Turkish Phantom at the recent Anatolian Eagle. A much-loved exercise bringing together aircraft from all over Europe, it's surely got to be high on any enthusiast's check list, and shots like Leon's do nothing but tempt us further. It's great to see the venerable Phantoms strutting their stuff as they are well and truly into the twilight of their careers.
Image © Leon Loberman
Nikon D7100 + Nikon 18-300mm lensOur friend Bartek is back with, as ever, a tremendous set from Poland, this time of Hinds and Hoplites on deployment to Nowy Targ. This slow shutter speed shot caught our eye for being both well-composed and sharp as a pin. Not easy to do given the slow speed at which the venerable Mi-24's rotors spin. It's reported that there's not long left in these beasts, and circa 32 new attack helicopters are sought as a replacement.
Image © Bartosz Bera
Canon EOS 5D Mk.III + Canon EF 16-35mm L lensWe don't often see Swedish C-130s (or TP 84s to use their local designation), and it's no surprise with just six of the "E" and "H" models left in service. As always, we look forward to seeing Fredirk's shots on the forum, and this in-your-face shot of the Herk is truly a standout. You can almost feel the thrum of those proper legacy engines.
Image © Frederik Edvardsen
Canon EOS 7D + Canon EF 100-400mm L IS lensIt takes some talent to make the mundane look exciting. It takes even more to draw one's attention. Chris did just that which his excellent thread of his stomping ground up at RAF Lossiemouth, now home to 1 Squadron Typhoons, as is featured here. Note the subtle use of the jaunty angle to keep the subject a little different, and pin sharp, too.
Image © Chris Milne
Nikon D600 + Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lensThe Typhoon notwithstanding, we have to admit that the Rafale trumps its European cousin aesthetically from almost all angles, as is ably demonstrated by Kurt from his recent stop at Saint Dizier. Kurt's not been posting on the forum for that long, but already his threads are making a big impression, and it's easy to see why.
Image © Kurt Fairhurst
Canon EOS 70D + Canon EF 300mm f2.8 L IS lensLast but by no means least, UKAR's own Dan Butcher made the trip to Old Warden recently, and produced, as he does, a thread chock full of finely composed and edited images. One such was this fantastic composition of Kennet Aviation's Seafire, recently back in the air and how lovely it is to see her back, too.
Image © Dan Butcher
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 70-300mm IS lens