Pictures Of The Week
Week 5, January 2017
Clockwise from top left:
Who doesn't love the MiG-21? Pointy, angular and bedecked in proper military camouflage, it's exactly what an 'old school' fighter jet should look like. The guys from 'Sharp Eye Media' were lucky enough to fly alongside a pair of Romanian examples in Czech skies, during the NATO days in Ostrava 2016.
Image © Sascha Linkemeyer
The MiG-29 is equally as attractive, and nobody makes them look better than Slawek Krajniewski! Warm light and good use of the surroundings made this one our image of choice, but as ever, his thread contains a fine set of images well worth your time to peruse.
Image © Slawek Krajniewski
The Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) exercise held in Gando AB in Gran Canaria was clearly productive for POTW regular Mark Rourke. The fantastically weathered and beaten looking F-18s of the Spanish Air Force were joined by rather more clean Typhoons of both the Spanish and Italian Air Forces. Some eye catching air-to-air images aside though, it was this classic combination of sunset and fighter jet the won our hearts. So sharp you could nearly cut yourself on it, it's a great aviation photograph.
Image © Mark Rourke
The Air Livery hangar at Norwich continues to deliver for the local photographers, and one of the recent highlights was this Fokker 100 of the Slovak Government Flying Service. Painted in a smart new livery, Matt caught it under the floodlights just prior to departure.
Image © Matt Varley
Another Timeline Events shoot allowed photographers to get up close with East Kirkby's 'Just Jane' in a state of undress. The strip down this winter is a significant step towards getting this fantastic aircraft back in the air, allowing the engineers to carry out survey and maintenance work to various components, as well as the aluminium skin.
Image © Stephen Blee
The Avro Shackleton at Coventry has had a troubled time recently, but Cameron was on-hand when WR963 stretched her legs for the first time in a few months. Rain puddles from the showers offered potential to photographers and Cameron made great use of the standing water in a series of interesting images.
Image © Cameron Sys
This great 'in your face' shot of a US Navy F-18F Super Hornet was captured on finals to NAS Lemoore by UKAR Staff member Andy Evans on a base tour back in September of 2015, and rounds out our selections for this week.
Image © Andy Evans
Pictures Of The Week
Week 4, January 2017
Clockwise from top left:
Søren Augustesen's 2016 was put to good use, as he spent time working closely with the Royal Danish Air Force on a number of photo shoots. His powers of persuasion are obviously not to be underestimated, as he convinced the F-16 pilots at FW Skydstrup to keep their departures low and fast, resulting in a number of textbook topsides, and he nabbed himself some time on-board a KC-135 sortie from Mildenhall to bag some great air-to-air images, but the standout image for us was this side-on image at night. The reflections in the wet surface turn a relatively simple image into something quite striking.
Image © Søren Augustesen
The air policing mission at the annual World Economic Forum brings the picturesque snow-covered mountains of Sion Air Base to UKAR. Add in the clean lines of the F-5, as pictured here in Hans' image of a special-marked 19 Staffel example, and this is a winning combination.
Image © Hans Heemskerk
Philippe Rey was also in the Rhone Valley with the Centre of Aviation Photography (COAP). Sadly, the Swiss Air Force will only retain Sion as an alternative location beyond 2017, so the beautiful images we've become accustomed to seeing may soon be a thing of the past. That won't stop us enjoying them whilst we can though, and the gorgeous lighting on this F-18 fully deserves a POTW slot.
Image © Philippe Rey
UKAR staffer Sam Wise has recently been catching-up with his un-posted 2016 backlog, and in amongst the fine machines on display in his thread from the Moth Rally at Old Warden was this shot of the Shuttleworth Collection's Spitfire Mk.Vc in the restoration hangar. Seen painted up and with the wings fitted, progress since this image was captured has been good and last we heard, the engine has been installed and gear retraction tests have been carried out. With any luck, AR501 might be back with us at some point during the upcoming airshow season, and we can't wait!
Image © Sam Wise
Calum was on hand to watch 'Coastguard 999' on a visit to Arbroath, conducting exercises with the local Lifeboats from Arbroath, Montrose and Broughty Ferry. Fickle coastal weather made for changeable conditions and tricky photography, but this study of the bulky Sikorsky S-92A certainly gives an impression of the size of the beast.
Image © Calum Linnen
Unlike many warbird operators, North Weald's Hangar 11 Collection are active all year round and their PR Mk.XI Spitfire returned to Essex skies following roughly 18 months in the hangar on a crisp January day. The following week, UKAR staffer Dan was present to blow away the winter cob webs and although he missed the departure, he was present to capture this image as Peter Teichman returned in lovely late afternoon light.
Image © Dan Butcher
Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 70-300mm IS lensThe Timeline Events night shoots at RAF Cosford have yielded a number of impressive images, and Wallace's backlit black and white photo of Jaguar GR.3 XX725 is certainly that. The unique and creative use of the dark hangar interior on the right creates a bold outline of the jet to which the eye is drawn. Kudos.
Image © Wallace Shackleton
Pictures Of The Week
Week 3, January 2017
Clockwise from top left:
The days of European (and, indeed global) F-4 Phantom operations are numbered indeed. Savvas took this impeccable image from the recent Fighter Weapons School at Larissa, which also played host to the Hellenic Air Force's recce RF-4E Phantoms for the final time before they are retired this Spring. Whilst the F-4E machines are due to soldier on for some time longer, it's a painful reminder that we must make the most of these beautiful jets whilst we can.
Image © Savvas Savvaidis
From old to new, next. Dave regularly posts threads from lesser-seen continental US operations, especially in the southern parts of the country. This week we caught our first glimpses of ZM142, a newly built F-35B on flight test at Fort Worth, in Texas. Despite the fact that the machines will be common as muck in a few years, it is still really interesting to see the new machines especially one of "ours" in full-on STOVL configuration!
Image © Dave Chng
We were struck by this clean composition of Kuwait Airways' 777-300 sporting new, and much more modern livery posted this week. A rare airline of itself, the organisation's 777-300 models are rarer still, with just four currently in service.
Image © 'SPA'
Perhaps one of the rarest movements so far this year is this excellent Israeli KC-707 "Ra'em" tanker caught by Kevin flying into RAF Brize Norton. Time is ticking for these aged tankers, and as recently as May 2016, the Israeli Air Force fielded an immediate request for two Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tankers, presumably with options for further models in due course.
Image © Kevin Daws
We love Sergei's on-going "Russian Air Force" thread on the forum, and his high quality has not dimmed since the thread started. In one of his latest iterations that caught our eye was this Su-27SM, which represents an upgraded legacy Flanker-B model. The Russians, it seems, are still not afraid of bold camouflage on their machines, and we loved the clean composition contrasting the machine's colours with the dark and moody sky brewing overhead.
Image © Sergey Chaikovskiy
Also featuring this week is a fine study from David of the well-known US Navy C-117 (C-47) wreck at Sólheimasandur beach. The desolate and lifeless landscape in its surrounds add to the gritty composition of the photo, and despite being well covered before, David's composition of it is one of the best we've seen for some time, and as we've said before, making the ordinary exceptional is the mark of a true photographer.
Image © David Jones
It really wouldn't be UKAR without our fantastic "Golden Oldie" contributions. This week, we loved Graham's post of some Canberras at RAF Wyton during its heyday in the early 80s. Of particular note is the very rare West German Canberra, resplendent in its unique and rather loud orange scheme. West Germany were delivered 3 Canberras from the RAF in the 60s, and the machines served on until the early 90s. Thankfully, all three of the West German machines still survive today.
Image © Graham Hutchinson
Pictures Of The Week
Week 2, January 2017
Clockwise from top left:
How can we say no to another Phantom, this time closer to home...well, the same continent at least. The Greeks are still operating their Phantoms and last summer, as we know, they brought a pair to RIAT alongside their F-16 display "Zeus" - in fact, the amount they promoted the journey on social media suggests it was as big a deal for them as it was for us. Philippe was one of the lucky few who took part in the air-to-air shoots of the participatnts before and after the show - this one in particular made our jaws drop. Sadly, their RF-4s don't have long left in this world, with retirement being planned for May - best get over there quick.
Image © Philippe Rey
Ross had a real lucky catch when this Royal Australian Air Force Spartan was forced to divert into Edinburgh on its way to the US. Spartans are great to see full stop, but when they come from as far as away as this, they're especially welcome - the Aussie ones look great in that blue-grey scheme. Interestingly, Ross took these shots on his iPhone - and while the quality is maybe not quite that of a DLSR, it's a testament to the quality of the cameras that go in phones these days that he's got some high-quality shots. In fact, many photographers are finding iPhone photography to be a useful new tool these days.
Image © Ross Forsyth
With its brakes out and flaps down, from this angle the Tornado looks almost insectoid and quite menacing. Only a few months after the event (!), Stephen posted a set from the Coningsby nightshoot from March 2016; actually it's nice seeing some fresh images some time afterwards, as it's a great reminder of what a superbly put together event it was, with many excellent results coming out of it. Here's hoping for another!
Image © Steven Harrison-Green
Celebrating the type's 40th year of operations in Belgium last year, RS05's 25th anniversary scheme is, perhaps, getting a bit long in the tooth. Plans for a repaint were sadly put on hold prior to the event, but nonetheless the International Search and Rescue Meet held at Koksijde last year saw a great celebration of the Sea King's sterling service to the country, alongside the 45th anniversary of the Alouette III. SAR demos were put on by both the Sea King and NH90 - though the show was stolen somewhat by the demo from the Belgian Police, of all things!
Image © Iain Thomson
Best get used to it folks - P-8s at Lossie is going to become a very familiar sight indeed in a few years time. Steve caught this stunning sunset photo of a USN P-8 early on this year, with the type becoming a more regular appearance even now. Ours are a good few years off yet, with their entry into service not expected until the next decade at least - a sadly long period of time for the MPA capability gap that the UK has had.
Image © Steve Barnett
Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar is a bit of a treasure trove in this country, with many stunning restorations taking place there. Of particular note is the Bf 109E White 14 currently undergoing the long process of return to flight. Memories of UKARians eagerly excited for its 2015 season debut spring to mind...sadly in this field things often take longer than expected - but it certainly looks in great nick judging by Matthew's photograph from his tour of the Hangar. Maybe just around the corner...
Image © Matthew Nightingale
Finishing off this week is UKAR's Brian from his much-loved Duxford Bimbles thread - this absolutely breathtaking shot of the Fighter Collection's P-40F undertaking an engine run after winter hibernation. With a few months to go until the season, there's plenty of time for preparation and ironing out the kinks before it's time to take to the air. It's worth checking out the rest of Brian's set from that day: the F was run alongside her stablemate, the P-40C, and both looks cracking on a crisp winter's day.
Image © Brian Marshall
Pictures Of The Week
Week 1, January 2017
Clockwise from top left:
Does it get any better than this?! It's a rule of aviation that everyone loves the phabulous Phantom, and this is an absolutely stonking shot of one of the USAF's QF-4 Phantoms going through the Star Wars Valley - though, by the time you've read this they've been retired, with a ceremony being held in December at Holloman AFB to mark the occasion. After serving the US military in one form or another for over 55 years, it now leaves its original operators to be replaced by the QF-16.
Image © Ross Forsyth
Dan had a superb 2016, travelling both east and west in pursuit of his hobby, and has produced some cracking sets for us over the last 12 months - this one from the Blue Angels Homecoming at NAS Pensacola is no exception. Though the home team were the main event, of course, we couldn't help but admire this shot of an extremely rare beast these days, a privately-owned MiG-17 belching out flame in reheat. Hard to imagine such a sight in private hands over here...
Image © Daniel Reeves
Jersey International Airshow routinely puts on an enthusiast's dream lineup, often featuring gems than don't make it onto the mainland. One such item is the CAC Boomerang "Phooey", the only example of the type flying in the northern hemisphere - albeit a replica made with parts of an original airframe, currently owned by Classic Wings in the Netherlands.
Image © James Hancock
This beautiful golden Eagle was caught by UKAR's Big Cheese Mk.II himself at the very end of last year. He had absolutely perfect conditions for the winter sunset here, and the extremely photogenic subjects show why Lakenheath is a favourite for UK spotters, and indeed visitors from abroad.
Image © Dan Butcher
Now that's a lot of Spitfires! This phenomenal formation was one of Shaun's highlights of the year, from the Meet the Fighters show at Duxford in September. It takes a great deal of effort and planning to organise a formation of this scale, but it's easy to agree that the end result is worth it. The noise must have been something else.
Image © Shaun Schofield
We get some good shots from TLPs these days, but it's hard to imagine a better possible time to grab them than the 80s - when types were varied and everyone flew "proper" planes. This is just one photo from a whole set that's worth drooling over, a real bygone age. Jags in particular are a much missed type, especially as 2016 even saw the retirement of the ground-running examples at RAF Cosford.
Image © 'BigClick67'
There's something special about floatplanes, a certain flair that we can't quite describe, and even a relatively mundane Cessna 182 becomes exciting with floats underneath (apologies to 182 owners out there!). Richard snapped this plane at Lee on Solent Airfield, which sees a nice variety of GA types judging by the rest of his set - we like the smart scheme G-ESSL is wearing as well.
Image © Richard Davies