Trip Report July 2022

An eleven‑day vacation of aviation photography started with a weekend in the Norwich area visiting two air museums.

Saturday 9th - City of Norwich Aviation Museum, located on the northern edge of Norwich International Airport.
Sunday 10th - Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, located near the former RAF Bungay airfield, Flixton, Suffolk.
Photographs will be uploaded in the coming weeks.

The following week was spent in the Lake District Low Flying Area 17 (LFA17), during one of the hottest summers the country has experienced for years.

Monday 11th - Place Fell, Patterdale. A quiet day with the only pass being a Grob G.115E Tutor T.1, G‑BYUD at 14:34, which approached from Kirkstone Pass, but routed past on the far side of the valley making it quite distant. Heavy crops will be required for presenting the photographs. The benefit of using the new Canon R5 mirrorless camera is that a heavy crop can be used in the presentation, while still retaining detail due to the 45‑megapixel CMOS image sensor.

Tuesday 12th - Dunmail Raise (west side). Another relatively quiet day with a midday pass at 12:31 by an AugustaWestland AW.159 Wildcat Army Air Corps helicopter, ZZ383, which like yesterdays pass kept to the far side of the valley. Due to the windy conditions and the need for a slow shutter speed to get blur in the rotor blades, no keepable photos were captured. An afternoon pass at 13:11 by a RAF Airbus A400 Atlas C.1, ZM407, made up for the loss.

Wednesday 13th - Low Birk Fell, Ullswater. The 13th turned out to be a lucky day, with a total of six passes. A morning pass by an RAF Hercules C.4, ZH867 at 11:28, was followed in the afternoon by two Grob Tutor G.115E T.1's, G‑BYXJ and B‑BYYB at 15:05, an Airbus A400 Atlas C.1, ZM403 at 15:07, USAF Bell Boeing CV‑22B Osprey, BuNo. 08‑0047 at 15:39 and the icing on the cake, a RAF Hawk T.1A, XX202 of the Red Arrows at 16:13. The first Red Arrow aircraft I've captured low flying since starting the hobby.

Thursday 14th - Dunmail Raise (east side). I tried the location above the AA box at the entrance to the pass. (I normally locate further north towards Thirlmere Reservoir). Another productive day with four passes. The first pass was by a Juno HT.1 training helicopter, ZM515 at 11:45, followed at 11:57 by a Typhoon FGR.4, ZK341, flown by an American exchange pilot, which approached from Coniston Water (rather than the normal approach from Lake Windermere).

RAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4, ZK341, piloted by an American, routing through the Lake District, LFA17.

In the afternoon at 15:51 I was treated to passes by a formation of three Royal Navy Merlin HC.4 helicopters routing to the ranges at Spadeadam. Only one Merlin, ZJ137 was low enough to get landlocked. Final pass of the day at 16:03 was by a Joint RAF & Qatar Emiri Air Force Training Squadron Hawk Mk. 167, ZB135 from RAF Leeming, which approached from Coniston Water.

Friday 15th and Saturday 16th - After finishing on Thursday, I made an overnight drive down to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, to spend the Friday and Saturday at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT). Reputed to be the biggest military airshow in the world, RIAT had been cancelled for the past two years due to the COVID‑19 pandemic. The theme for the 2022 airshow was “Training the Next Generation Air Force”, with also a focus on the 75th Anniversary of the United States Air Force. In keeping with this theme a USAF 48th Fighter Wing F‑15E Strike Eagle, BuNo. 92‑0364 on the static display had been painted to celebrate the Wings 70th year of flight operations.

RAF Red Arrows Synchro Pair, high‑speed crossover at RIAT 2022

This was my first attendance at RIAT and I was treated to some exciting and spectacular flying demonstrations by aircraft from many continents. The Republic of Korea ‘Black Eagles’ flying their eight KAI T‑50B jets in their trademark black, white and yellow paint scheme made a welcome return after ten years and were considered by many people to be the highlight of the show. The weather was ideal for the flying displays, but I considered it a drawback for photography of aircraft take off and landings, as the high temperatures created a heat haze off the runway.

The remaining two days of my trip in week two were spent in the Mach Loop, LFA7, Wales, and the Lake District, LFA17.

Monday 18th - Cad East, Mach Loop. A day in the Mach Loop in the hope of catching any departing aircraft from RIAT which might decide to make a visit. The first aircraft seen at 13:36, were two Texan T.1's, ZM326 and ZM329 from RAF Valley. There were rumours of Belgium F‑16's making an appearance, but nothing materialised. The day was made worthwhile when at 14:48 the RIAT static display USAF F‑35A Lightning II, BuNo. 19‑5475, accompanied by the Heritage F‑15E Strike Eagle, BuNo. 92‑0364 routed through on their way back to their home base at Lakenheath.

USAF Heritage F‑15E Strike Eagle, BuNo. 92‑0364, routing through the Mach Loop.

Tuesday 19th - Silver Point, Lake Ullswater, Lake District, LFA17. A very warm and quiet day at Ullswater, with the only movement of the day being a Texan T.1 from RAF Valley. The aircraft approached my location from the east, which is not the normal direction of approach and being hidden from my view caught me totally off‑guard, so no photographs were captured.
Photographs from my trip can be viewed at: 2022 ‑ UK Military Low Flying.