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German Mig-29

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USAF B1-B ( ironic number on that sign, not noticed it before!!!! )

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USAF Galaxy:-

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Then the real goodies:-

F-117:-

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And the wierd and wonderful B2:-

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Those were the days, this pics show a very small part of what actually flew and took part that day, I'll go and look for that programme again.

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The one you're not sure of looks like an F-16 Fighting Falcon to me , could be wrong though!!

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I think that you're 100% right, it just hasn't got that metal jet pipe, which threw me, I found the programme, but not the list of participants, so I can't say what air force it came from, Dutch, I reckon.

Looking at those pics again, I reckon that the sign shown on the landing B-1B picture is really creepy.

Air Fete programmes were the best produced for any airshow:-

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A very smart glossy production that after all the airshow preambles contained an unusual 18 month calendar, complete with appropriate holes to hang it on your wall, we miss it:-

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You got a sheet inside that contained the basic flying and static programme, look at some of the stuff there, including an SR-71 Blackbird, mouthwatering isn't it:-

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Then you could buy another sheet that listed everything on the base:-

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As I said, nothing compared to Air Fete, it was like being in the USA the minute you went through the gates, everything about it was incredible, RIAT is great, but it isn't quite the same, sadly missed and quite frankly, I don't really see why it shouldn't be ressurected. One excuse I've heard is that the airshow organisers used to overlap their responsibilities from one year to the next and that all the expertise has been lost, I don't think so, they're just paranoid about security, but then again, they have a massive Independance Day do just up the road at their Feltwell radar base, which is open to the general public, same difference, just lacks the aircraft, shame.

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O.k. off we jolly well go

I arrived just after 10.30 am after a train from Crewe to Wolverhampton (Empty), I managed to get a discount ticket at Wolverhampton (£15), then a packed (Standing room only) train on to Cosford.

I didn't have time to view much of the static display ,( suffice to say there were at least 6 Jaguars and 5 Provosts, a plastic Typhoon and Harrier ) as I was meeting one of the Apache display pilots, unfortunately he got called away sharply so it was just a quick hand shake and a promise to meet at Waddo or Riat !!(I'll get a flight one way or another!!)

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Jaguar

First up , "The Falcons"

Here they come !!

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Their Chinook

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Unfortunately I was at the right (Or wrong) end of the runway and all the days action was at the left!! So a lot of my shots at straining to be seen.

More to follow

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Next up were the "Team Guinot " wing walkers, formerly known as "Utterly Butterly" and "Cadburys Crunchie" team.

Flying Boeing Stearman.

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The inevitable "Big head" stands up to spoil a good shot!!! ignorant B45t4rd5

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They were followed by a Vampire and a P-40 "Kittyhawk"

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The underside is actually painted to look 'Battle scarred' as it has just finished filming in the new George Lucas film about the "Tuscagee airmen"

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On wards and upwards

Next up was the "Turbulent Team"

Very slow but quite good (A mixture of formation aerobatics and good old fashioned 'Barnstorming')

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A model Lancaster

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A few more of the others whilst I download some more to Photo bucket!!

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Nice pictures Ian, we've been waiting all week for them and I for one am not disappointed, you seem to be getting better with that new lens every time you take it out, have you put any on the "on target" site lately? be nice to see how they compare or have you been accepted now?

Cheers for now

Rog

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I think I've been accepted by them now. The real stroppy git that was a moderator on there has been given the push and everbody seems to have loosened up a bit and come down to my level .......LOL I have recieved plenty of good coaching from them and this has helped tremendously.

My only problem from Sunday is that it was too bright and a lot of the time I was shooting (Almost ) into the sun, next time I shall step up from F8 to F9 or 10 and take the iso down to 100!! (Sounds like I know what I'm talking about now.

When we are at Waddo I shall have my laptop and therefore I'll be able to check results on the spot and be able to make any adjustments neccessary

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I'm counting the days as I type this, I'm away the week leading upto Waddo but will be back on the Friday or Saturday so will check my emails asap for further instructions.

Have you thought of putting a filter on your lens? just a thought.

Rog

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Nice pics as usual Ian, I'm looking forward to the rest.

Rog, do you mean a UV or Skylight filter on the lens, it's a good idea if you've not got one on there Beefsteak, not only does it cut out a lot of glare but it protects the expensive stuff on the actual lens. In the old days it was easy to get carried away with filters though, UV for colour, Yellow filters for black and white, then there were star filters, soft focus filters, red filters, I just stuck to UV in the end, I've got a skylight filter on my little digi, not expensive and worth having.

The trouble is, most airshows have a crowd line that faces into the sun, Waddo isn't too bad as the sun tends to be on the right and not directly in front, Duxford is a real problem for it, as was Mildenhall, you'll be ok at Fairford though as the crowd line faces north.

I gather that there was a big traffic problem at Cosford and the gates had to be closed with many people not getting in. I recall going to Mildenhall once, meeting my brother as usual out in the Fens, but he'd been delayed by traffic on the way down. I drove in the gate first then the USAF personel stopped him and started to shut the gate, explaining that the place was full. When my brother explained that he was with me and had driven down from Nottingham, there was nothing that those lovely Yanks wouldn't do for us, they stopped me, got my brother in and went out their way to find a spot for us to park next to each other, in amongst their Humvees, cool, imagine our UK jobsworths being as helpfull as that, no way.

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T-28 Fennec (Trojan)

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King Air . I was roasting by now and went for a beer whilst he was on so not that many shots (He did a brilliant 'Kay son' landing too!!

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2 seat 'Spit'

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"Black Cats" Lynx

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Loads more (Still ain't got to 'The Vulcan' yet !!)

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A few of the 'Reds'

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Kamakazi Buzzard !!

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One day I'll get this shot !!

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And there's more

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Like I said , "One day I'll get this shot"

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As I said "One day.........."

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Tomorrow, The hurricane and the Sabre.

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I haven't seen the Reds yet this year, only heard them in the distance, you've certainly managed to capture their peformance well.

Please don't take this the wrong way, it's something I've done myself, but, now that you've got your superb camera, are you going to airshows to enjoy the display, or just to take pictures.

In the old days, it was a crappy camera and a roll film, and you could only afford to take a few at that. Then in later years, I had a nice camera and lens, but even so, it was 35mm and yes, I could afford to reel off a few films, but wer'e only talking of probably a hundred or so shots even so, now you're talking about going to an airshow and taking 10 times as many as that with a digital camera.

Things got worse when I aquired a camcorder back in 1990, I was filming everything and trying to get in the odd still shot at the same time, on top of that, in those days I used to take my young son and his mates with me and was having to deal with them as well. One day, the camcorder broke down and I had to go to Legends without it, do you know what, it was the best thing that happened, it made me realise that I was spending all my time looking down a lens and not enjoying the show, at the end of it, I bought the official video instead.

I thoroughly enjoyed the last DX airshow when all I had with me was my incapable digi camera, my brother was cursing away with a combination of digi and film cameras, and I decided it wasn't worth it, though I got twitchy at what I was missing, but, so what.

I'm going to Legends in a few weeks and I can borrow father in laws digi camcorder, but I don't think I'll bother, I'll stick to what I have got, and that probably won't include the nice Pentax film camera I took on the Aviation Day.

I appreciate that you want to get more into photography with a view to taking that in a proffesional direction, so I can understand why you want to take it far more seriously than I do. You did mention though that you were going to take your laptop to Waddo, I wouldn't bother, surely you can't be thinking about editing while everything is going on around you. It's obvious that you have a great love of aircraft as well as photography, you have to get the balance right though, but then it depends on what you want to get out of it.

This isn't meant as a criticism, it's more of a reflection on what happened to me, I ended up going to airshows in order to get the ultimate shot, and looking back, I missed out on a lot of things because of it, but then again I wasn't seeing it as a career as you possibly are, good luck to you mate, you deserve it, you take some great pictures.

Incidentally, I hear that the Sabre is about to leave us, I know it's the oldest example flying on the planet and I'm sure that the Yanks are jealous of us owning it, do your forum contacts know anymore.

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The Sabre needs about £2.5 million spending on it and the owner just doesn't have it , so he is selling up . It could stay here if the funds are found.

Typical I get a good sharp image and I cropped it!!

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The Belgian Sea king next

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Smokey old sod isn't it, I remember when they had the Mig 15bis at DX and they used to do a routine together, the smoke coming out of the Mig was even worse, I gather that's how the Sabre pilots used to identify them in the Korean War, if it was a 'Smokey Joe', shoot it down.

Mariag

I'm sure that Beefsteak will agree with me, 'Top Gun' was a great film for watching those rarities over here called F-14 Tomcats, a truly magnificent aircraft that I've been lucky enough to see not only at a few airshows but also do a flypast in numbers over the Normandy beaches. As for the screenplay, script, dialogue and acting, it was an embarresment, what a wasted opportunity for a good film, pity Tom Cruise didn't fall off his motorbike and put us out of our misery.

James Mays TV programme on BBC2/4 about his flight in a USAF U-2 last night was so full of humour and sincerity that you tended to forget about abominations such as Top Gun, my missus thought it was great, that says a lot about it, she's cool about most things.

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As promised , Belgian Sea King

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That Buzzard want's to get in on the action again!!

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Next up Typhoon!!!

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I left this first one in as I got a 'strobe'.!!!

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Great display again , climb out to 8000 feet and depart

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And to follow BBMF

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Beefsteak can't go, is anyone up for it, if you've never been, it's unforgettable.

'Fraid not - have a VERY important wedding to attend to down in Cornwall that week and then camping in France the week after.

Like Duxford a lot though, We are down in Fen Stanton this weekend and Cambridge on Saturday.

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Frank

Fenstanton, do you have relatives down here then. If you've got a minute could you nip up the road to Swavesey and let me know how that abortion of a concrete bus route is coming along, ripping up an existing railway line and replacing it with 100,000 tons of reinforced concrete to run buses through the middle of nowhere has not been a very popular descision with the locals, in fact it's all gone very quiet on the publicity front.

Sorry Beefsteak, gone off thread, perhaps we could persuade Frank to go to Madingley American Cemetery, it's an awesome place if you've never been Frank, the best anti-war establishment I've ever seen, on your side of Cambridge too, take a hanky with you.

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Ian

I gather that Sally B is poorly again and won't be attending any up and coming airshows, their website doesn't tell you anything, perhaps some of your pals know otherwise.

I knew that something was wrong when I saw brown smoke coming out of the replacement engine at the DX May airshow, and when she taxied in, the smell of burining oil was overpowering, but these so called knowledgable people on some of these aviation forums just tend to take the p@ss out of something that their brain cell did'nt pick up on, they hate to be questioned, what do you know as I can't get any sense out of anyone, bloody sad if she can't make Legends for a second year running, which is what I'm hearing at the moment.

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She pulled out of Waddo this morning with engine problems , that's all the info I could glean.

Waddo has also lost the "Venom " "Meteor " and "Vampire" trio , stupid they can get them at 'little' shows like Kemble last weekend but they can't get to the major RAF show of the year!! (No Tornados either, neither flying or static!!)

Just heard that Torado F3 from 111 Sqdrn has been added to the statics

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