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2022 Page 1 - Latest News and Photography Trip Reports

All the latest news and trip reports from my photography adventures around the U.K and abroad.


Latest News

June 2022. U.S. Navy Hornet Crash. It was announced by the U.S. Navy that a F/A‑18E Super Hornet of Strike Fighter Squadron 113 (VFA‑113) “Stingers” crashed on Friday 3rd June at approximately 2:30pm Pacific Standard Time (PST). The aircraft which was on a routine training flight from N.A.S. Lemoore went down in a remote unpopulated area near Trona, California, an unincorporated Mojave Desert community in San Bernardino County. No one on the ground was injured, but tragically the pilot, Navy Lt. Richard Mackenzie “Kuato” Bullock was killed. The Navy is presently investigating the cause of the crash.

By coincidence the aircraft involved in the crash: Boeing F/A‑18E Super Hornet BuNo. 168881 ‘NE‑204’ was photographed by myself the previous Friday (May 27th) when along with another Hornet routed past my location in the Kern River Valley, a part of the Sidewinder military low flying route. (2022 ‑ Sidewinder Trip 1)

F/A-18E Super Hornet #168881/NE-204 F/A-18E Super Hornet (168881 ‘NE-204’) of VFA‑113 caught low-level through the Kern River Valley, California.

Though the recent Hollywood sequel, Top Gun: Maverick portrays the glamorous gung‑ho attitude of the films aircrews, this recent tragedy is a stark reminder of how dangerous a profession real aircrew deal with day‑to‑day. My condolences go to Lt. Bullock's family, friends and fellow colleagues at VFA‑113 “Stingers”.

Trip Report May 2022

On Friday 20th May after more than a two‑year hiatus due to the COVID‑19 pandemic I finally boarded an international flight to California, USA, in the anticipation of some military low flying photography.

Due to the F/A‑18E Super Hornet crash on the 31st July 2019 at Rainbow Canyon in which Navy pilot Lieutenant Commander Charles Z. Walker was killed, the Jedi Transition route and more specifically the canyon has an enforced height restriction of 2000ft AGL which has more‑or‑less scuttled the opportunity of photographing any aircraft low‑level in that area. The Jedi Transition is only a part of the much larger Sidewinder military low flying route, so the aim was to explore and try out new locations.

Monday 23rd - Marble Canyon, Inyo County, which is located within the northern section of the Sidewinder between Waypoints E to F. The canyon is located in a remote hot desert area, with the last six miles accessed by a unpaved gravel road. There is no phone reception and the journey should only be attempted ideally with a 4x4 vehicle. I did the journey in a normal hire car, something in retrospect I would not attempt again. It took one hour both ways to drive the six miles, taking great care not to damage or puncture the tyres. Luck was on my side ‘This Time’ so I only visited for the one day.

Marble Canyon, Inyo County, California Marble Canyon looking west towards the direction of aircraft approach.

A local photographer I know through social media has tried the canyon a number of times with mixed results. The canyon is not deep, like Rainbow Canyon, so aircraft can tend to be high (not landlocked) if you are not in a suitable location. For myself this visit was more exploratory to see if it had potential, so I did not push my luck by venturing too far down the canyon, due to the high temperatures and road conditions. Throughout the day there was approximately fifteen to twenty aircraft passes, with the majority of the aircraft passing overhead or routing past to the north of my location. Possible vantage points were noted which could be explored another time in the cooler months with a more suitable vehicle.

Tuesday 24th to Friday 27th - Kern River Valley. A valley and region of the Southern Sierra Nevada and the start of the Sidewinder low flying route (Waypoints A to B). Several locations were tried over the four days with mixed results.
The Kern River Valley runs north to south with the locations I tried on the east side of the river off the Mountain Highway 99. The sun can be an issue after midday as you will be facing into the light, which is not ideal for photography. Changing over to the west side of the river in the afternoon is not an option, as the river can be deep and fast flowing, with only one footbridge located fourteen miles north of the town of Kernville. Several possible photography locations were identified by studying topographic maps and Google Earth, but only two to three were suitable. The climb at these locations was a lot harder than anticipated, partly due to the high temperatures (+90°F by early afternoon), but also the ground conditions, where hard compact dry sand gave no grip on the relatively steep slopes. In some areas thick vegetation also hindered access. Future possible vantage points were noted on both sides of the river for exploration on another trip.

U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II routing low-level through the Kern River Valley, California.

In the Kern River Valley I was treated to several aircraft passes, with a 50/50 ratio of high passes to low‑level passes where they were landlocked. Notable captures: four‑ship of F‑35A Lightning II's from Luke A.F.B. Arizona, F‑35C Lightning II's from N.A.W.S. China Lake, numerous Super Hornets from N.A.S. Leemore and a privately owned T‑38A Talon flying from Mojave.
Photographs from my trip can be viewed at: 2022 ‑ Sidewinder Trip 1.

Trip Report April 2022

In April I had my second trip of the year with four days in the Lake District, LFA17, in the hope of capturing low flying military aircraft and an opportunity to try out my new Canon R5 mirrorless camera attached to my existing Canon EF 500m f/4 lens, via an EF to RF Control Ring Mount Adaptor.

The weekend preceding my low flying photography trip I visited two air museums.
Saturday 9th - Jet Age Museum at Gloucester Airport, which is a relatively small museum in comparison to the RAF museums at Cosford and Hendon, but still worth a visit, as it has a wide range of aircraft, engines and restoration projects on display. Photographs can be viewed at: Jet Age Museum, Gloucester Airport.

Sunday 10th - East Midlands Aeropark, which is located within the grounds of the East Midlands Airport, near to the village of Castle Donington. The Aeropark has an impressive list of exhibits, notably an Avro Vulcan, BAe Hawker Siddeley Nimrod and BAC Lightning to name a few. In addition, the museum has a large viewing mound positioned adjacent to the airport's main runway, where one can observe and photograph aircraft unobstructed by the airfield perimeter fence.
Photographs will be added to the Aviation Museums ‑ United Kingdom web page in due course.

If one has an interest in the aviation heritage of the U.K. I thoroughly recommend a visit to both museums.

My visit to the Lake District, LFA17, resulted in a couple of firsts for my U.K. low flying photography hobby.
Monday 11th ‑ Oxford Crag, Patterdale. A dry weather day, but a very tiring day trying to shelter from the strong wind. I was rewarded at 14:17 by two Texan T.1 training aircraft, ZM330 and ZM329 from RAF Valley, routing down Pasture Bottom and past my location.

Tuesday 12th ‑ Great How, overlooking Thirlmere Reservoir. The visibility and weather was far from ideal, but my perseverance was rewarded at 11:08 with my first Juno HT.1 training helicopter, ZM529, from RAF Shawbury.

Wednesday 13th ‑ Great How. No aircraft seen and I left the hill after lunchtime due to the deteriorating weather.

RAF F-35B Lightning RAF F-35B Lightning, routing low-level through the Lake District, LFA17.

Thursday 14th ‑ Place Fell, Patterdale. Not the easiest location to access, due to the steepness of the climb and parts of the hill covered in a large boulder scree. It was a quiet day and looked as though it was going to be another blank (no aircraft seen). At 14:04 this thought was quickly dispelled when I observed multiple aircraft entering Kirkstone Pass. At first I thought they were American F‑15's from Lakenheath, but quickly realised they were four RAF F-35B Lightning's. They were serials: ZM145, ZM142, ZM419 and ZM139 of No. 207 Squadron based at Marham. I have captured low-level images of the F-35 in the States, but this was my first opportunity to capture them in the U.K. Low Flying System.
Photographs from my trip can be viewed at: 2022 ‑ UK Military Low Flying.

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.

South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum 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.

Gwesty Minfford Hotel 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.

Gwesty Minfford Hotel 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.

Trip Reports:   2023/2,   2023/1,   2022/2,   2022/1,   2021


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