Hi Everyone
Following on from the Waddington Airshow post, I thought I would share the results from what turned out to be a fantastic few days with mixed weather, thankfully the weather for airshow itself turned out ok , I will post a video later to show how bad it was for arrivals the day before!!!!
A very spirited display by the RAF Typhoon
More Typhoon...
Chris, my Mum and I went to the Airshow this year, unfortunately Stuart was unable to make it. We stayed at the Totterdownhill Campsite in the caravan, the weather was extreme to say the least, high winds, lashing rain everyday except airshow day. We were there Wednesday through Sunday and had a great time. The Campsite offers one of the best views of an airshow I have ever seen, it actually looks down across the airfield and is bang in the centre of the display area for the aircraft.
We saw some aircraft not normally seen in the UK including the latest US aircraft the F22 Raptor, this display was astonishing, nearly every surface on the plane moves as well as the jet nozzles to keep the plane in the air, it can turn in the opposite direction in almost its own length whilst airborne. The latest troop carrier and C130 Hercules replacement was also displayed, the A400M Airbus.
Business end of the RNAF F16
We had an American C17 display who flew so low over the Campsite we actually felt the draft from it, someone on the airfield recently commented on how low it looked from their perspective and thought it was going to crash. Sadly on that note, an American C17 was lost earlier this week in Alaska whilst practicing for a display, all four crew were lost. Going to show that whilst this hobby is entertaining it certainly has its own dangers attached, the crash could quite easily have been at Fairford. My thoughts are with the lost C17 Crew and their colleagues and families, some of whom were watching the practice.
American C17 on extreme low flyby over the campsite
Anyway with that somber thought, it is with pride that I show my results from the weekend. Ray earlier in the year termed our's and other countries pilots / aircrew as the true professionals, a comment that I wholeheartedly agree with.
On with the show.....
The wonderful Red Arrows
The F22 Raptor
The Belgian F16, love this shot, you can see the dials in the cockpit...
RNAF F16 Display
Belgian F16 again
Royal New Zealand 757
Airbus A400M
RAF Tornado GR4 Ground Attack Aircraft on a run at over 500mph over the campsite
The F22 Raptor on a fast turn over the campsite
The F22 Raptor, yes the sky was that grey...
The mighty, yet technically flawed and poorly managed Vulcan
The French Display Team
All these shots were taken using a Canon 450d with the Sigma 50-500mm (non IS) lens and were hand held. There is no doubt that the Sigma is up there with the bigger players in the game, some of the detail that this lens has managed to resolve at the speeds the aircraft are flying at is amazing. The second picture down is testament to this. Feel free to click on the images for a larger view, following a recommendation from Keith, I have copyrighted them for other visitors to our blog, I have no issues with anyone from the society seeing unbroken images if they wish.
Image theft is becoming a real problem lately across the internet, these are all lowered res too.
Thanks for looking, comments and crit always welcomed
Kev
