With a rumour of F15s likely to be low-level the next day popping up on e-mail at 11:45p.m. I dropped everything and dashed off to Wales, 2 hours kip in a lay-by refreshed me enough to continue to Corris corner and the hard slog up the hill overlooking Tal-Y-Llyn lake, and blimey it was cold up there!First jet through was a Typhoon, a great pass in not very good light and a fair amount of fine snow, the sight of the "Tiffy" warmed me up; at least it wasn't a "blank" day.The Hawks from RAF Valley kept me on my toes, several of them came down the valley from Cad..... but as the time for F15Es got closer the fine snow turned to a raging blizzard and we heard the guys RTB on the scanner, disappointing, I've still not had Strike Eagle's at Corris.The snow got heavier and wetter and it seemed like a sensible option to head back down to the car; with all my kit packed in the rucksack and comfy on my back 2 Tucanos rumbled past, a really good photo-pass too........ oh well, all good reason to go back there again.On the way home an excited Mike Astles shouted down my phone that I had a Harrier image on the cover of AFM, and sure enough I do, one from Wittering taken Cad west, cheers Mike.
With forecasts of snow, frost and high winds it was perhaps foolhardy to venture to the top of a Welsh mountain, but the day turned out to be like a mid March spring day with no wind and wam sunshire, not quite shorts and T-shirt, but a fine day and some even finer passes by a good variety of jets.As always the Hawks from RAF Valley made up the majority, but the new Boscombe based Alpha jet in it's black and white paint-job stole the show, great passes from a Wittering based T12 Harrier and a GR4 from RAF Marham, and a slightly eccentric pass behind the hilltop from a herc too, I can't wait to go back.
2 Boeing North American B-1B Lancers 86-0124 "Penetrator" and 86-0109 "Spectre" 28th Bomb Squadron, based at Dyess AFB depart Mildenhall in Suffolk after a brief stopover, a great sight on a grey day.
A few hours of sunshine at Lakenheath when everywhere else was shrouded in mist made for a good days photography.
OK I accept that perhaps there is a bit of madness involved, but if your properly equiped it's quite spectacular in the Welsh hills, I did enjoy the hailstorms and snow, it was amazing to see the weather sweep across the landscape and leave it white.! Amazing light and great backdrops for the aircraft that show up, some GR4's and F15E at Cad west and Bwlch.
It was some months ago that I was at the forest gate at Lakenheath photographing F15E's launching out of the zero six end, always a treat for those of us who photograph planes, when an American accent announced "Man there's no better way to see F15's"......... "weellll actually" I said (without trying to appear too smug) "you ain't seen F15's properly until you've seen 'em in the loop!""oh man, I have to see that" was the reply that came after some explaination of what the Mach loop is all about.Now that James' wife is safely home from serving as a nurse abroad and he's not tied to looking after the family we headed for the hills. There were some long waits between aircraft, but we saw Harrier's, Tonka's, a couple of Hercules, the Boscombe down Alpha jet, Typhoons and Hawks........ sadly no F15Es, but that can be next time, we have another Low-fly addict; a new "rock rat" has joined the fold.
