Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 61 total)
  • B1 bombers are out and about from Fairford the last couple of days
  • IHN
    Full Member

    That’s got to be a good sign that all is geopolitically well and everything’s tickety-boo world peace wise 😯

    Time to dig the bunker.

    MrWoppit
    Free Member

    I daresay Navy Seal team 1 are rehearsing even as we speak.

    The Crazy Fat Kid is better protected than their last successful target, but it’s not impossible.

    legend
    Free Member

    Probably my favourite bringer of death

    stewartc
    Free Member

    There’s a big Russian military exercise soon near border with the Baltic States, probably better to have something to hand in case it stops being just an exercise.

    richardk
    Free Member

    Isn’t Korea outside the range of these? Maybe the UK gov have borrowed them to get serious about Brexit negotiations…

    ElShalimo
    Full Member

    I quite like the TU-160 but I’m not taking sides in this 😯

    I wouldn’t like to see either of them in my rear view mirror

    Speeder
    Full Member

    I thought I’ve heard some very very noisy things in the air above the clouds covering Cheltenham over the last few days. This would explain it.

    aP
    Free Member
    enfht
    Free Member

    From CNN

    Hahaha.

    allymcmurdo
    Free Member

    I definitely didn’t see one depart from a small island off Oman whilst stood at the end of the runway of an airfield that I wasn’t working at during the initial stages of Afghan scuffle and it definitely wasn’t the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Honestly.

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    and it definitely wasn’t the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Honestly.

    That’s only cos you weren’t at RAF Finningley in September 1977 when a 4 x Vulcan scramble was displayed.

    Ahhh, the good old days of airshows.

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    I hate that I say this but it is a stunning bit of kit. It has a crappy purpose but as pure engineering and design very impressive.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    That’s only cos you weren’t at RAF Finningley in September 1977 when a 4 x Vulcan scramble was displayed.

    Ahhh, the good old days of airshows.

    Lived at Finningley. Twice. Had rather excellent access to the shows! The Vulcans got told off and asked to stop their low pass/full gas climb party trick as they were ripping the runway to shreds.

    And yes, there is nothing, but nothing as powerful as the noise of a Vulcan/Vulcans giving it the beans.

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    That (1977) was the year the Tornado was 1st shown to the public in the UK at least IIR, were you there then Flashy?
    Wish Id’e had a cine camera that day!

    creakingdoor
    Free Member

    5:36 onwards

    CountZero
    Full Member

    The Crazy Fat Kid is better protected than their last successful target, but it’s not impossible.

    Pretty much the ultimate ‘wee in his shoes and pwn him with bombers’, though…

    And yes, there is nothing, but nothing as powerful as the noise of a Vulcan/Vulcans giving it the beans.

    Fortunate enough to have seen one Vulcan do it, never fortunate enough to see four, sadly.
    To see a plane of that size come cruising slowly along the runway ‘dirty’, everything down and open, nose up slightly, then everything suddenly close up, the nose lift right up, and the reheats come on as a truly spine-tingling experience!

    ChrisL
    Full Member

    2 QRA Phantoms interrupting the Leuchars air show to say hello to a Bear was pretty loud too, IIRC.

    allthegear
    Free Member

    I’m sure seeing a Vulcan at full reheat would be a unbelievable experience, CZ… 😉

    Rachel

    Lionheart
    Free Member

    esselgruntfuttock
    Free Member

    2 QRA Phantoms interrupting the Leuchars air show

    Was at Leuchars Battle of Britain show in 1975/6? IIR The Vikings ( x2 104’s) went over the crowdline at 100/200ft, fast. Or it may have been a Jaguar.
    Fast, low & noisy whatever.

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    ’77? I’m not THAT old…!

    Lionheart
    Free Member

    Bet it feels short when on finals in a B1, few on he deck so all well.

    johnnystorm
    Full Member

    Back to the OP….and reported as flying over Thetford and dropping into Lakenheath.

    alwillis
    Full Member

    Working a couple of miles off the end of the runway at Fairford is great for plane spotting. Cant hold any kind of conversation for a minute or two while they go over though which dampens productivity somewhat!!

    renton
    Free Member

    To see a plane of that size come cruising slowly along the runway ‘dirty’, everything down and open, nose up slightly, then everything suddenly close up, the nose lift right up, and the reheats come on as a truly spine-tingling experience!

    Vulcan doesn’t / didn’t have reheat ??

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    No reheat/afterburner on vulcans. Just raw unadulterated dry thrust. They were impressive as were the nimrods. Both put on very impressive displays back in the day.

    andytherocketeer
    Full Member

    Probably my favourite bringer of death

    Dunno. A10 would be mine. “The sound of death”. Although in reality, you’ll be dead before you hear the sound. And if you do hear the sound you survived.

    dirtydog
    Free Member

    Currently 1xU2, 2xB1 and 2xB52 at Fairford,one of the B52s flew in this morning,allegedly part of an exercise.

    onlysteel
    Free Member

    Essel, also remember Starfighters at Leuchers around that time or perhaps a bit earlier. Extremely loud and very smoky I seem to recall. Also EE Lightnings. Nothing nowadays to match the thrill of those days – tho maybe it’s an age thing, through rose tinted specs.

    dannyh
    Free Member

    I’m not old enough to remember anything pre-Tornado and A10, which were the two I remember seeing flying over our house the most.

    A few years back I was stood in the car park of a very dull Dutch DIY store, about to be shown around it as it was part of our group and we were over there doing the ‘yearly pep-talk thing’. We’d had a decent piss-up the night before and the last thing I wanted to do was be shown around the Dutch equivalent of Wilkos, but a loud sound got my attention and over flew a F4 Phantom. Loud, big and smoky. And awesome!

    dannyh
    Free Member

    atlaz
    Free Member

    I went to Mildenhall one year and they had some Korean war era fighter, probably an F86. Made my insides rattle when it did a pass with the afterburners on.

    dannyh
    Free Member

    Don’t think the Sabre had an afterburner(?)

    forzafkawi
    Free Member

    I went to various airshows in the 60s and 70s the Vulcan was always the star of the show but I remember the EE Lightning being particularly loud as well.

    Many years later I was playing cricket to the West of London and Concorde came in to land very low over the ground. I felt the earth move that day and plane stopped play!

    LadyGresley
    Free Member

    The best bits of RIAT were standing at the end of the runway as the planes landed – including Concorde one year, so low you felt you could almost touch them. I think my favourite plane is the B2, just a ridiculous shape for an aeroplane. I also used to camp quite often in a field right next to Mildenhall, the earth definitely moved when the Galaxys took off or landed.

    allthegear
    Free Member

    I grew up 20 m (that’s metres!) from Leeds Bradford Airport boundary fence. Local airshows like the one at Church Fenton were always fun. Lots to see.

    Rather fun as a child when Concorde used to come in on chartered flights. Some slightly frazzled French Captain used to try and shake the runway apart with it!! 😆

    My mum did once get the pilots of a RAF Hercules come round the house to apologise once for being just a tiny bit *too* close to taking out the roof, though. They had used the alternative, much shorter, runway that was still being used for light aircraft at the time and kind of cut it a bit fine. Think they kind of won her over with their charm 😉

    Rachel

    andytherocketeer
    Full Member

    Used to work at Filton, and lived about 1km from the runway, right on the final approach.
    That was freakin’ ace on the rare occasions when Concorde paid a visit 🙂

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    Airshows are rubbish now with no Vulcan and severe limits on what anything else can do.

    I’ve sadly never seen multi-Vulcan scrambles but I do remember super-low Phantom and Jaguar passes. Buccaneers were also good for cutting the grass!

    Something a bit different like a B1-B is a nice sight.

    nuke
    Full Member

    Love the B1, always been one of my favourite…finally got to see one at RIAT this year albeit static (but at least it was on the day the B2 did a flyby with two F15s)

    jamj1974
    Full Member

    Regularly used to see EF11’s & F111’s over Oxfordshire in the 1980’s and into early 1990’s (IRCC). Coming over the A40 at very low, low level.

    Harriers used to fly very low in the borders – as far over as Malvern at the same time in the 1980’s. Nearly shat my pants once – treetop height was not an exaggeration!

    Still remember the sorry sight of a Lightning on the back of a low-loader and wingless.

    Used to go to Biggin Hill air show in the 1980’s. Just my grandad and me – we both loved it.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 61 total)

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