Pictures Of The Week
Week 44, October 2017
Clockwise from top left:
Poland are still one of the few operators of the Sukhoi Su-22 and what better way to start the week with a photo thread dedicated to just that machine? Most of the Polish fleet have now been repainted in two-tone grey, but this Tiger schemed aircraft has escaped the sprayer's gun and we couldnt be happier!
Image © Karol Kakietek
As with last week, nightshoots dominate our selections. Navy Wings had their fleet of aircraft wheeled out in front of the floodlights recently and Ian Garfield beautifully captured this F-4K Phantom as part of possibly the most unique and best photography events of 2017.
Image © Ian Garfield
We stick with the Navy Wings shoot and one of their two Sea Furies. There were no engine runs taking place during the event, but Phil Jones did capture single seat VR930's wings folding during a long exposure.
Image © Philip Jones
One of the surprise static participants of this years RAF Cosford airshow was this Westland Wessex, which was rolled out again for a recent Timeline Events photoshoot, attended by Westlight Bushell at the Midlands RAF base. All being well, we should have a Wessex back in the air next summer, with the restoration of Navy Wings' example progressing nicely towards that goal.
Image © Westleigh Bushell
The last of our after dark offerings this week is a special one. Now a regular on the nightshoot event calendar, MaPS Avro Vulcan XM655 was the star of the show at a recent Wellesbourne event. Captured in stunning evening light, the reenactors add depth to an image Jakub Zurek can be rightly proud of.
Image © Jakub Zurek
Anything from the southern hemisphere is a rarity on our forums and Erik recenty visited Ohakea RNZAF to bag himself some Singapore F-16Ds, which in themselves are a welcome addition to our boards, but this study of an NH-90 is what really caught our eye.
Image © Erik Roelofs
Is there a better camouflage scheme applied to any C-130s worldwide than the striking three-tone desert camo carried by the Israeli Hercs? We'd like to think not, and this example caught by Alistair Zammit in gorgeous Maltese sunshine makes a strong case.
Image © Alistair Zammit
Pictures Of The Week
Week 43, October 2017
Clockwise from top left:
As the airshow season fades into memory and the nights draw in, attention turns to the ever increasing number of nightshoots that polulate the winter months. Trend-setters in this field were RAF Northolt, as we now rapidly approach a decade since their first. Last week's shoot was the 23rd event to be held in London, and Jonathan Hughes' capture of the soon-to-be-retired Lynx AH.9 headlines our selections this week on what may well turn out to be well be the final public event before the 2018 demise of the type.
Image © Jonathan Hughes
Phil and the team at RAF Northolt seem to have many links to many air arms throughout Europe and these can produce some very rare attendees. The Belgian State Police Air Support Unit sending one of their MD520 helicopters is a great example of the left-field rarities that have made these events popular in recent times. Falling on the same date as the Hindu Festival of light 'Diwali', fireworks provided some interesting backdrops as in this image, captured by UKAR Staff member Dominic Vickery.
Image © Dominic Vickery
Our third and final Northolt offering is the Army Air Corps' menacing AH-64D Apache. One of the surprise attendees dropping in for a short visit, Gary Beale's photo shows the purposeful lines of the aircraft perfectly.
Image © Gary Beale
Axalp in Switzerland provides the opportunity to capture aircraft in some spectacular mountainous backdrops, however it was this cracking image taken by Daniele Ghisolfi of the rarely seen interior of a participant that caught our eye. A shallow depth of field study of the pilot's notes in his thigh pocket, set against the digital cockpit instrumentation in the background is a unique abstract take on his flight to the top of the mountains.
Image © Daniele Ghisolfi
Jersey Air Display has a reputation for attracting some quality items from the continent, and this year boasted the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight bringing its full contingent of aircraft along with the Latvian based Baltic Bees. Perhaps the most noteworthy attendee was the Breguet Br.1050 Alize from nearby France, captured here by James Hancock during its arrival at Jersey airport. Hopefully we'll also see it at airshows on the UK mainland in years to come.
Image © James Hancock
October saw RAF Lossiemouth host two exercises, with the United States Navy and Air Force each sending aircraft which to take part alongside aircraft from Canada and our very own RAF. Paul Harvey's image of an Aviano F-16 getting airbourne is noteworthy not only for its aesthetics, but also for the interesting loadout; the outer left pylon carries an AQM-37 Jayhawk air-launched supersonic target drone, which can be used to simulate ICBMs to be shot down by the fleet.
Image © Paul Harvey
What can be better than shooting a Yak-3 topside in stunning autumn sunshine? Shooting two Yak-3s in stunning autumn sunshine of course! Rounding out Week 43 and indeed the airshow season for 2017 is Martin Eames with this pairing of the Russian aircraft flown at Duxford's Battle of Britain Airshow.
Image © Martin Eames
Pictures Of The Week
Week 42, October 2017
Clockwise from top left:
The French Air Force Rafale was one of the standout fat jet displays of the 2017 display season, with one a suitably stunning paint scheme for the aircraft to match the quality of its display. Kevin's round up of his season included some great images from shows all over Europe, including the Sion airshow in Switzerland which provides some stunning backgrounds for photographers, as seen in this capture of the Armee De L'Air fighter.
Image © Kelvin Sullivan
The airshow season may be over in the UK, but the Romanian Air Force held the Borcea Open Day on the 14th October, with a four hour flying display featuring many types from the force's inventory. The Romanian's Mig-21s are often at the top of airshow wish lists appearing on our forums, and the dynamic angle of this image gives a great sense of the aircraft's prowess.
Image © 'dcm737'
Spitfire and warbird operations often continue beyond the airshow season these days with various events to fly alongside these aircraft taking place. It was at one of these events, organised by Aero Legends at Headcorn, that Ian was fortunate enough to watch numerous flights of TD314 in some superb autumnal light at the Kent airfield.
Image © Ian Amis
Our fourth image this week comes from Meiringen in Switzerland. Peter Steehouwer's visit coincided with a demo practice for the annual Axalp live firing exercise. Meiringen boasts some of the most picturesque scenery as his set can testify. However it was not one of those Alpine backdrops, but this Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter that really stood out for us.
Image © Peter Steehouwer
Fifth generation fighters are becoming a more frequent sight at RAF Lakenheath, with deployments to Suffolk certainly proving popular with enthusiasts with large gatherings forming around base whenever the F-22s or F-35s visit. Such popularity can lead to sets of images posted on the forums becoming rather repetitive sometimes, however, Jayson found some great and unusual angles while at Lakenheath which led to his work being chosen this week.
Image © Jayson Cork
UKAR's very own Tom Jones, headed into the Mach Loop this week with the primary objective of capturing the RAF's Tornado fleet before retirement; it is always hit and miss on the amount of action in the loop, but Tom got very lucky on his visit. As well as Tornados he enjoyed some great variety in types with Merlins, Hawks and Strike Eagles all to keep him entertained.
Image © Tom Jones
It's into the airliner world for our final image of the week, with this Tupolev TU-204-300, owned by Business Aero, the aircraft has a rather interesting paint scheme with the black and white lines feeling somewhat reminiscent to a scheme worn by the Belgain F-16 display aircraft.
Image © 'Bestlasham'
Pictures Of The Week
Week 41, October 2017
Clockwise from top left:
First up is this cracking photo of this Grumman S-2T Tracker, in fact the last in service with the ROC Air Force in Taiwan. Mark Rourke was fortunate enough to be spending time in the region and this is the pick of a great bunch of images from his trip.
Image © Mark Rourke
We flip back to a location nearer home for this second image of this particular POTW selection. Martin Kelly caught a pair of A-29 Super Tucano's as the transited through Prestwick Airport last month on their way to become part of the new training set-up for the Lebanese Air Force.
Image © Martin Kelly
One of a pair of recent arrivals at Norwich on the basis of this catch by Matt Varley. Two Grob G-120TP of Qinetic were delivered in for a new paint job ahead of their transfer to Boscombe Down and new roles within the Empire Test Pilot School. Thankfully the great shark mouth design on the nose of both arrivals has been kept and now forms part of the very striking new ETPS livery. Intrigued? Well, you can find photos of the finished aircraft on the General Aviation Photos thread in the forums if you want to see more.
Image © Matt Varley
We venture internationally once again with a great shot by Philip Preindl of the Belgian F16 Solo Display aircraft at the Sion Airshow in Switzerland. A good variety of aircraft were performing at the show and the stunning backdrop of wooded hillsides and snow-topped mountains makes this a dream photography location. As Philip himself noted “the mountainous surroundings combined with flying fighter jets make for a great acoustic experience!'.
Image © Philip Preindl
I guess Hollywood movies make us all fairly familiar with the concept of the 'bad guys' often being portrayed by US aircraft in a different colour scheme, but seeing a Marine Corp F-5N such as this one captured by Dan Reeves on a visit to visited MCAS Yuma still always leaves slightly conflicted as to why the 'baddies' get the best colour schemes!
Image © Dan Reeves
Kevin Wills bring us back to home shores with his image of this Royal Navy Commando Merlin undertaking some precision flying training in Devon earlier this year. Not just one set of landing gear on the outcrop but one wheel of one set of the gear! Judging from the positioning Kevin managed to get this shot we can only imagine how turbulent it must have been from his vantage point.
Image © Kevin Wills
Cards on the table from me curating this weeks selection but I have a real soft spot for the VC-10. Brian Marshall was fortunate enough to be at Duxford recently when the Duxford Aviation Society VC-10 was re-positioned for filming for a forthcoming British Airways advert. Add in period vehicles from Brooklands Museum for a bit of set dressing and a small part of the Cambridgeshire countryside was transported back to the late 1960's and early 1970. The angle shows off the unique BOAC Cunard livery the aircraft wore for a short period and really evokes some memories from the past.
Image © Brian Marshall
Pictures Of The Week
Week 40, October 2017
Clockwise from top left:
Swiftly but surely the season draws to a close, and we're already into October. Nevertheless, we're still enjoying some of the quality photography posted of the Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow at the end of September, and Arthur's shot of Air Leasing's gorgeous Seafire III struck us. Full of colour, motion and detail, sometimes the basics are the best, and Arthur has captured it all.
Image © Arthur Griffin
Keeping us at Duxford, Jakub also caught our eye with his well-framed study of Historic Aircraft Collection's Hurricane Mk XIIa, currently painted as P3700 in commemoration of the famed Polish 303Sqn, and its commitment to fighting in the Battle of Britain. The shot is expertly framed, and the cleanliness of the background (which can sometimes go against a photo) draws the eye to the subject.
Image © Jakub Zurek
If the previous photo was a lesson in how cleanliness can enhance a photo, then "FlatEric999" has given a lesson in how the very opposite can work well. A great many try and a great many fail at giving photos a historic wartime look, but these are as good as we've seen on the forums for some time, helped in some part by the Great War Display Team subjects. It's always great to be creative, bend or even break rules, and push the boat out in photography - often, "creative" attempts wont work, but when they do, they can be outstanding.
Image © 'FlatEric999'
The classic jet scene in the UK is going through what can only be described with optimism as a trough at the moment. After the Shoreham accident, appetite to see UK-based classic jet aircraft has waned, and rising costs have put the scene on its knees. Sadly, all we're left with is images of these venerable birds taken from other shores, and Dan provided our fix this week. Taken at NAS Oceana Airshow, Vampire WR016 is operated by Vampire Aviation LLC, who have two Vampires, are rumoured to be working on bringing an ex-Swiss Air Force Venom and Sea Venom to display at airshows in the US next year.
Image © Dan Reeves
Mildenhall and Lakenheath have been a hive of activity recently, with plenty of interesting movements. Two of which are P-3C Orions belonging to VP-46 "Grey Knights" passing through RAF Mildenhall. Interestingly enough, VP-46 are the second oldest aircraft squadron in the US Navy, and are ordinarily based out of NAS Whitby Island, Washington, and have been flying different variants of the now-rare P-3 Orion since 1963.
Image © Matt Varley
One of the consolations of the onset of winter is the absolutely mesmerising deep-orange winter lighting conditions on offer when the weather gods play ball, as they should, in Greece, where Vassilis took this outstanding shot of a Hellenic Air Force F-16C, of the much loved "Zeus" demo at the recent Athens Flying Week.
Image © Vassilis Kosteres
We love "golden oldies" on UKAR, even when some of them remind us how old we are all getting. Whilst the Luftwaffe retired the last of their F-4 Phantoms in a retirement event that put most other retirement events to shame at Wittmund in 2013, JG74 traded-in their Phantoms for EF2000s half a decade earlier, in 2008, and it is their "phly-out" specially-marked jet that Chris presents us with. Outstanding composition, characterful subject, clean and picturesque background - what's not to love?
Image © 'BigClick67'