My year in review - a pic from each event

Airshow Photography from the UK and around the world
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jalfrezi
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Joined: Sat 16 Jun 2012, 2:23 pm
Location: Cambridge

My year in review - a pic from each event

Post by jalfrezi »

I thought I'd share with you this years trips and visits, though not all airshows this is probably the best place for this thread.

My aviation year started in April - it would have been March but Northolt was postponed - with a Timeline Events organised shoot held at RAF Cosford, although a little pricey they are always well run and typically last a good 4-5 hours. The main draw for this event was to get a chance to shoot the two Harriers, an FA2 and an arctic camo GR3.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskTHwzYA


Next up Abingdon Air and Country Show in May. This turned out to a be a little gem of a show with some types not often seen, including the Army Historic Aircraft Flight and the Trojan (G-TROY) in it's newly painted USAF scheme. We also saw a Pratt and Whitney engined Yak-3 replica over from France. Unfortunately the weather had other plans and the conditions throughout the day were very mixed, however with the new crowd orientation the heavy cloud was a bit of a mixed blessing, as we weren't shooting into the sun all day.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskWVE94K


The next May airshow I attended was the Duxford Air Festival. The weather conditions for this were great, if a little windy - which was the problem with a lot of shows this year. We were treated to some real highlights, of which the Rafale, Sea Vixen, and the Norseman were the pick of the bunch.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskWQ3CqP


June was a busy month with 5 events attended, the first of which was the rescheduled Northolt Shoot XXII. Now no longer a nightshoot, it became more of a afternoon/early evening shoot, whilst it certainly wasn't a classic Northolt it was good to see the French Xingu's and the US Huron, and we even got a sunset!

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskX2Gu7d


Following on 3 days later I was at Shuttleworth for the (now annual?) Navy Wings show. After last years spectacular show there were high hopes for this year, unfortunately Mother Nature threw a spanner in the works and we were treated to a very overcast show, and with a few notable absentees. Even so, though the light was tricky at times I think I still managed to grab some good shots, though more post processing was needed than normal.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsm2YiyMF


Cosford Airshow was next, and the organisers did a fantastic job at booking some varied display acts, and even managed to get a B-1 and B-52 flypast! It's just a shame the weather (again) conspired against the show, fortunately it cleared in just in time for the B-17 and B-52.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskYTNKKK


My UK airshow of the year had to be the Shuttleworth evening show. Weather conditions were pretty much perfect, and the evening light lit the aircraft beautifully. If you're into vintage aircraft then there really is no other place to be.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskY6sN5w


Duxford Flying Legends is always a treat, though they can be a bit samey - particularly over the last few years. However, there isn't really anywhere else on this side of the Atlantic where you will see this many warbirds. It's just a shame that the US based Mustang 'Berlin Express' didn't get to perform it's display after the Malcolm Hood disintegrated on it's first fast pass.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskZLXvtX


And then we come to RIAT. I've always enjoyed RIAT, but it is a bit of a monster of a show with so much to see, and so little time to do it! I only attended on the Friday and Saturday, and so missed the B-2 :-( The weather didn't play ball either; Friday was blighted by heat haze, and Saturday was restricted by heavy low cloud and drizzle. So on the whole not a classic for me this year....

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsm7s5hAK


MAKS more than made up for the minor disappointment of RIAT, and if you get the chance to go then do it! It was the first of my two trips to Russia this year, both of which were organised trips with Ian Allen Tours, these were well run if a little pricey. As for the show, if you get the chance to view from outside Zhukovsky across the river, then you will witness something special with the aircraft literally displaying overhead.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsm1SGLz5


Only one show in August and it was back again to Russia for the Army 2017 Expo. I'm not sure I'd really class this as a proper airshow, as it's more of a trade show with a few displays. The event is held at three different areas; Kubinka Airbase, Patriot Park Expo Centre, and Alabino firing range, these are linked by a free bus service. There were some great exhibits on static, with a frontline MiG-31 being my highlight, oh and seeing an Il-20 ELINT aircraft take off while we were there was another!

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsm8mTapt


September brought the return of the night shoots, this time at Gatwick Aviation Museum, which was well run by Threshold Aero. The star of the shoot was the ex Saudi Lightning F.53, which looked great under the lights (or should it be over?!).

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskqxK5PC


The last airshow of my calendar year was at Duxford, this was for the Battle of Britain Airshow, reasonably good weather conditions helped to make this an enjoyable finale. The six Hurricane display was very special, though it would have been nice to have had this later in the day when the light wasn't so harsh, but all in all an enjoyable show.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsma8SLED


My four final events were all night shoots, starting with a return to RAF Northolt for the 23rd night shoot. Again not a classic due to cancellations, but some nice types never the less, with the Lynx AH9A making a very welcome appearance, especially so close to retirement.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsm81zte8


RAF Coningsby was the location of my next event, the RAF's Air Combat Power Visit. Storm Brian (nothing to do with PenPusher I might add!) did it's best to ruin the event altogether, and it was certainly a first for me to try and photograph in 50mph+ winds, luckily the rain held off!

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHskrRPsTd


Then off West (for me) next to RNAS Yeovilton for the Navy Wings shoot. This was a well run shoot organised by Threshold Aero. It was great to the see the Sea Vixen again, even if a little worse for wear, but the star for me was the Phantom FG1 which really looked special at night under/over the lights.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsm7tynQS


My last event of the year was the Vulcan shoot at Wellesbourne Airfield, this was organised by Timeline Events and was fully booked a year in advance! We were really lucky with the weather, and the golden hour light was amazing.

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Full set here - https://flic.kr/s/aHsmbegCoC


If you made it to the end then I'd like to thank you for taking the time to look. Happy New Year!

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D90Man
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Joined: Thu 28 May 2009, 12:54 pm
Location: Holland-on-Sea, 3.87m SSE of CLN VOR

Re: My year in review - a pic from each event

Post by D90Man »

Great selection and excellent quality images - whether they are the best you shot at each event would take me too long to check through all your posts :grin:

Leon
"Sharpness is in the eye of the holder"
More at http://www.planephotos.org.uk

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Tommy
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Joined: Mon 14 Mar 2011, 11:39 pm

Re: My year in review - a pic from each event

Post by Tommy »

Winner, winner, chicken etc

Top thread, mate. AB910 and Su-30SM topsides are peachy. Final shot is a belter, too. Hope to see more of this from you in 2018! :worship:

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jalfrezi
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Joined: Sat 16 Jun 2012, 2:23 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: My year in review - a pic from each event

Post by jalfrezi »

Cheers for the comments guys! :up:

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