COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Photos of operational aircraft from bases, airports and "spotter" outings
Post Reply
User avatar
Ledhead27
UKAR Staff
Posts: 2210
Joined: Tue 20 Dec 2011, 6:49 pm
Location: Inverness (and occasionally 20,000ft - if the aircraft can make it that high)

COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by Ledhead27 »

As usual I've done a brilliant job of being behind the drag curve in getting my photos up quickly, but better late than never!

So as was widely publicised in the media, November saw dozens of delegations from across the globe descent on Scotland to take part in discussions as part of COP26. Whilst I did find some of the flights somewhat questionable, given that it was a climate conference, the likes of most of these movements are likely to never be seen in Scotland for quite some time. On top of all the military movements were a smattering of biz jets, but I'll put those in a separate post at some point.

Unfortunately the time of year precluded seeing some of the movements, notably the likes of the Australian Air Force KC-30A and the Indian Air Force 777-300ER, and work prevented me from seeing Air Force One (and C-32A) make a much anticipated visit to Edinburgh Airport. But regardless of this, it has to be one of the most enjoyable couple of days spotting I've had for a good couple of years. Hope you enjoy (these are also the first photos I've posted on here with my 'new' Canon EOS 70D so please do shred me to pieces).

1) A couple of weeks prior to COP26 kicking off in earnest, the JASDF sent one of their two 777-3SBERs on a proving flight direct from Tokyo. This involved a whistle-stop tour of Edinburgh, Prestwick and Glasgow before heading back to Japan in the evening.
ImageJapanese Air Self Defence Force Boeing 777-3SBER 80-1112 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

2) The USAF also sent an almost ridiculous number of C-17s to several airports in Scotland in anticipation of President Biden's visit, including one in absolutely minging weather at Edinburgh a couple of days before COP26 kicked off.
ImageUSAF Boeing C-17A Globemaster III - 03-3126 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

3) Sunday 31st October saw a large wave of arrivals across all three of the main airports in the Central Belt. I decided to plump for Edinburgh due to the pretty foul forecast, but it remained largely ok (apart from when I absolutely stacked whilst walking down the mound).
ImageGovernment of Nambia Dassault Falcon 7X V5-GON by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

4) ImageGovernment of Serbia Embraer ERJ-135BJ Legacy 600 YU-SRB by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

5) ImageGovernment of Niger Boeing 737-75U(BBJ) 5U-GRN by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

6) ImageRossiya Special Flight Squadron Dassault Falcon 7X RA-09007 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

7) For me this had to be the stand-out movement over the entire period. No it doesn't smoke like an old Antonov, nor does it make a biblical amount of noise, but it is exceptionally rare to see a -148 in the UK. (I also think it looks pretty hideous, but that's just my humble opinion).
ImageUkraine Government Antonov An-148-100B UR-UKR by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

8) ImageUkraine Government Antonov An-148-100B UR-UKR 2 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

9) I can't imagine travelling from Vilnius to Edinburgh in the back of a C-27J Spartan was a particular relaxing experience for the Prime Minister of Lithuania.
ImageLithuanian Air Force Alenia C-27J Spartan - 07 Blue by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

10) The following day I decided to have a stab at Prestwick, due to the far more favourable weather and to also catch some of the exotica that was parked on the Northern Apron.
ImageHonduran Air Force Embraer ERJ-135BJ Legacy 600 - FAH-001 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

11) ImageJapanese Air Self Defence Force Boeing 777-3SBER - 80-1111 2 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

12) ImageJapanese Air Self Defence Force Boeing 777-3SBER - 80-1111 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

13) Dropping in for a quick splash n' dash was Alleycat3, which had spent the morning shadowing President Biden and his motorcade as they travelled from Edinburgh to Glasgow.
ImageRoyal Air Force Aerospatiale Puma SA.330 HC.2 - ZJ954 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

14) As a bit of a spur of the movement decision, it was decided to hop in the car and blast up the road to Glasgow Airport in order to get the 'other' Air Force One. I was quite keen on getting the Korean Air Force 747, as this was rumoured to be the aircraft's last international mission.
ImageRepublic of Korea Air Force Boeing 747-4B5 - 10001 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

15) The rest of the Puma detachment was also found to be residing on the Gama apron, nice to see 4 of them up here (although I'm pretty sure one of them was absolutely buggered).
ImageRoyal Air Force Aerospatiale Puma SA.330 HC.2 - XW213 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

16) ImageCzech Air Force Airbus A319-115X(CJ) - 3085 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

17) Everybody loves a classic A340. Even better when it's a dinky -200 series as well.
ImageGovernment of Egypt Airbus A340-212 SU-GGG by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

18) ImageRoyal Danish Air Force Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604 - C-172 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

19) ImageSlovenian Air Force Dassault Falcon 2000EX - L1-01 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

20) ImageHungarian Air Force Airbus A319-112 - 604 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

21) There's a Thunderbirds pun in there somewhere.
ImageGovernment of Bolivia Dassault Falcon 900EX EASy FAB-001 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

22) ImageAlbanian Government Airbus A319-115X(CJ) TC-ANA by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

23) I appreciate this is really pushing it in terms of 'modern military'
ImageNational Police Air Service Vulcanair P.68R Victor G-POLV by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

24) Back to Edinburgh for the last handful of photos, with these caught towards the end of the COP26 summit.
ImageUSAF Boeing C-40C - 02-0201 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

25) ImageUSAF Boeing C-40C - 02-0202 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

26) ImageUSAF Boeing C-40C - 05-4613 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr

27) And whilst these two had absolutely nothing to do with COP26, it was great to see a pair of Lossiemouth-based Typhoons blast over Murrayfield Stadium a couple of weeks ago for Scotland's final Autumn International match of 2021.
ImageRAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 - ZK374 & ZK435 by ledwooddaniel, on Flickr
"PostMan, FuelMan, SpamCan, NoPlan, CivviMan, Dan"

UKAR Party Plane Captain

4 out of 5 baguettes

User avatar
Alpha Delta 210
Posts: 442
Joined: Sun 12 Aug 2012, 3:57 am

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by Alpha Delta 210 »

Absolutely fantastic selection. Thanks very much for sharing.

User avatar
Blackbird
UKAR Supporter
Posts: 3604
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 3:36 pm
Contact:

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by Blackbird »

What a great set - you clearly had a brilliant couple of days.

Is it me, or does the An-148 have more than a passing resemblance to a BAe 146?

Andy

Spiny Norman
Posts: 3520
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 10:17 am

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by Spiny Norman »

Great to see, thanks for posting. Not just good spots but some great photos.

My two spots that weekend were the Niger 737 that flew over the house and AF1 (oh and it's accompanying 757) at Edinburgh.

User avatar
jalfrezi
UKAR Staff
Posts: 2289
Joined: Sat 16 Jun 2012, 2:23 pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by jalfrezi »

Good stuff Dan, and you even got some sunshine!

User avatar
CJS
Posts: 8866
Joined: Thu 15 Jul 2010, 3:30 pm
Location: Hogwarts

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by CJS »

These are awesome. Not everyday you see military stuff from Ecuador is it?! 😲🙂🙃
"There's only one way of life, and that's your own"

User avatar
capercaillie
Posts: 9336
Joined: Mon 01 Sep 2008, 3:04 pm
Location: Leominster

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by capercaillie »

CJS wrote:
Thu 16 Dec 2021, 10:39 pm
These are awesome. Not everyday you see military stuff from Ecuador is it?! 😲🙂🙃
What am I missing?

Fabulous selection Dan, I dare say you made an excellent Korea move. Lovely shots all round.
"The surrogate voice of st24"

My flickr photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/146673712@N06/

User avatar
Robin
Posts: 704
Joined: Tue 02 Sep 2008, 4:19 pm
Location: Maidstone, Kent.

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by Robin »

Hi Dan.
thank you for a wonderful selection of pictures from the COP26 conference, also a big thank you for providing details of the aircraft concerned, as many of us are not as good as we should be in recognizing these modern aircraft.
Per Ardua ad Astra

User avatar
Ledhead27
UKAR Staff
Posts: 2210
Joined: Tue 20 Dec 2011, 6:49 pm
Location: Inverness (and occasionally 20,000ft - if the aircraft can make it that high)

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by Ledhead27 »

Thanks for all the kind words folks, much appreciated!!!
"PostMan, FuelMan, SpamCan, NoPlan, CivviMan, Dan"

UKAR Party Plane Captain

4 out of 5 baguettes

User avatar
LN Strike Eagle
UKAR Staff
Posts: 11191
Joined: Mon 21 Jul 2008, 3:29 pm

Re: COP26 a Load of This! (PICTURE HEAVY)

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

These are great, Dan. There are some really smart liveries; US C-40s are very tidy, as is the Niger BBJ but the Korean 757 is brilliant.
"You really are an oafish philistine at times!"

Post Reply