Trip Report March 2022

In March, I had my first military low flying photography trip of the year. I had two days in North Wales at the Mach Loop, Low Flying Area 7 (LFA7) and three days in the Lake District, Low Flying Area 17 (LFA17).

Saturday 5th ‑ I started my trip with a visit to the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum (SYAM), located at Lakeside in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

View inside the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum main hangar.

Sunday 6th ‑ After staying overnight at a hotel in Lakeside Village, I made an early start to drive to Caernarfon, North Wales, to visit the Airworld Aviation Museum, which is located on the site of the former RAF Llandwrog.
Photographs can be seen at: Airworld Aviation Museum, Caernarfon.

After visiting the museum, I made the scenic drive through the Snowdonia National Park towards Dolgellau and my accommodation, the Gwesty Minfford Hotel, located in the heart of the Mach Loop. I thoroughly recommend this small quaint hotel which is located at the foot of the Cadair Idris mountain. Apart from being located within the Mach Loop where all the vantage points for low flying photography are within a fifteen‑minute drive, the hotel has a good restaurant and warm cosy bar, where one can relax after a long day on the hills.

The Gwesty Minfford Hotel, located in the heart of the Mach Loop, North Wales.

Monday 7th ‑ Bluebell, Mach Loop. Located close to a bend in the valley, one has to be alert, as aircraft can appear without little or no warning. A scanner can give warning of an approaching aircraft, but they can still appear with no radio transmission being heard.
My first day on the hills for 2022 was a most productive day with the following aircraft seen:
At 10:14 a pair of Hawk T.2's from RAF Valley, ZK037 leading ZK025. At 11:24 two F‑15E Strike Eagles, BuNo. 91‑0311 leading BuNo. 00‑3001 of the USAF 494th Fighter Squadron ‘Panthers’ from Lakenheath. Both aircraft did a circuit of the Mach loop and appeared three minutes later at 11:27. Another pair of Strike Eagles from the 494th Fighter Squadron ‘Panthers’ appeared at 11:33, with BuNo. 91‑0603 leading BuNo. 01‑2001. After a lull, the next aircraft to appear were: Texan T.1, ZM324 at 14:22, Hawk T.2, ZK021 at 14:54, which appeared again at 14:57 after a circuit of the Mach Loop. Next was a two‑ship of Hawk T.2's at 15:31, with ZK027 leading ZK018. A high pass by a Texan T.1, ZM326 at 16:59 finished the day and I left the hill at 17:00.

Tuesday 8th ‑ Cad East. A quiet day, with only one pass by a Hawk T.2, ZK017 at 12:54.

After leaving the hill at 15:45, I headed north to spend the rest of the week in the Lake District, as USAF F‑16's of the 31st Fighter Wing/510th Fighter Squadron, ‘Buzzards’, based at Aviana, Italy, were visiting Lakenheath and they were planning on using LFA17 for training sorties.

Wednesday 9th ‑ Smaithwaite Banks Crag, Thirlmere Reservoir. The weather was dry with low cloud. I had passes by the following aircraft: Hawk T.1, XX191 at 09:31, F‑16D, BuNo. 90‑0800 at 11:23, Hawk T.1, XX191 at 12:08, Grob Prefect T.1, ZM321 at 14:46 which decided to route down St John's in the Vale and finally a Hawk T.2, ZK019 at 15:47.

F‑16D, BuNo. 90‑0800 of 510th Fighter Squadron, ‘Buzzards’, routing low‑level though the Lake District, LFA17.

Thursday 10th ‑ Oxford Crag, Patterdale. The first aircraft seen was a Hawk T.1, XX348 at 12:10 which routed down from Kirkstone Pass. The weather started to deteriorate, so I decided to relocate to Thirlmere. At 12:51 while packing my camera away I missed an F‑16D, BuNo. 90‑0800 which routed past in the rain.
At Thirlmere, I located to Smaithwaite Banks Crag. The visibility was marginal, but at least it was not raining. At 16:14 just before I planned to leave the hill, I had a pass by a Typhoon FGR.4, ZK319 which appeared out of the murk.

Thursday 10th ‑ Dunmail Raise (west side). A brighter morning, with a strong breeze and intermittent rain showers. The only aircraft seen today was an F‑16D, BuNo. 90‑0800 at 10:47, which passed overhead my location and dropped down to low‑level over Thirlmere Reservoir. Four minutes later it returned heading south at approximately 1000ft, where I observed it turn to the east and route into Kirkstone Pass. With the weather deteriorating, I left the hill just before lunchtime and made an early start for the long drive home.
Photographs from my trip can be viewed at: 2022 ‑ UK Military Low Flying.