As part of my visit to MAKS 2017 and Monino Central Air Force Museum, the group I was with arranged a visit to the repair plant at Chernoye. At this location, they overhaul and repair Mil Mi-2’s, Mil Mi-8’s and Antonov An-2’s. There is a … Continue readingChernoye – Moscow Aviation Repair Plant Rosto
No visit to Moscow (as I did for MAKS 2017) would be complete without a trip to the infamous Central Air Force Museum at Monino. Often berated for how difficult it is to photograph the exhibits and the condition of some of the aircraft, it … Continue readingMonino – Central Air Force Museum
It’s been a long time ambition for me to attend the biennial international air and trade show held at Zhukovsky Airfield (also known as Ramenskoye Airport), some 40km southeast of central Moscow. Normally held in mid-August, the date for 2017 was moved forward to July, … Continue readingMAKS 2017
RIAT 2017 returned to the upper levels of excellence, with participation by a number of special performers, including the USAF Thunderbirds as part of the USAF Celebration of 70 years existence and the return of the Ukraine Air Force, with its Su-27 Flanker. Sadly I … Continue readingRIAT Fairford 2017
The 2017 NATO Tiger Meet was held at Landivisiau in Brittany, France, home of 11F, flying the Dassault Rafale M. There were two spotters days organised and I was able to attend the second one, where glorious sunshine was in abundance. The host squadron, together … Continue readingNATO Tiger Meet 2017 – Landivisiau
Due to a last minute change in plans, I was still in San Francisco for Fleet Week 2016. As ever the proceedings are dominated by the Blue Angels but there are other regular acts each year, such as the US Coast Guard, United Airlines with … Continue readingSan Francisco Fleet Week 2016
Once again I was fortunate enough to be able to get to Nellis AFB, NV during a Red Flag exercise. Participants for Red flag 16-4 had not been widely publicised in advance due to the sensitive nature of the air forces involved. There was a … Continue readingRed Flag 16-4
It’s that time of year again! The Royal International Air Tattoo is one of the largest military air shows in the world (if not the largest). Once again the weather was less than perfect, particularly on the Saturday when I was there – a lot … Continue readingRIAT Fairford 2016
This year’s Nato Tiger Meet was held in May at Base Aérea Zaragoza in Northern Spain. Blessed with good weather, the participants managed to provide some exceptional paint schemes. Once again the NATO Tigers Organisation arranged for a spotters day to be held during the … Continue readingNATO Tiger Meet 2016 – Zaragoza
In mid April 2016, 12 F-22 Raptor’s F-22s deployed from the 95th Fighter Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., to RAF Lakenheath. I ventured up to RAF Lakenheath in mid May, just before their departure back to the USA and captured some images of … Continue readingF22 Raptors at RAF Lakenheath