Loose_Grip/Pete's photos with the keyword: aircraft

When we hit the beach these 3 biplanes (you have to look closely!) were formation flying along the coast. We had stumbled on the first day of the Le Touquet Air Show.

A shot from my Mosquito Experience day visit at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre last year. De Havilland Mosquito HJ711, preserved as a night fighter variant, has just been fired up for its second taxi around the site. The Wooden Wonder and its twin RR Merlins looked & sounded great.

A German post-war classic the Porsche 718 Boxster poses in front of an English WWII icon, Avro Lancaster NX611 at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre.

Our De Haviland Twin Otter takes off from Aden airport (ex-RAF Khormaksar) en route to Sana'a with Crater in the distance. This view is looking south.

Airborne over Wadi Hadramaut in eastern Yemen. Because of the dramatic relief (up to 300m) between wadi & jebel we used helicopters on the seismic acquisition crew and all equipment was flown out to the line. This is the view as the aircraft tops the jebel. We had one ex-Vietnam vet pilot who used to delight in giving visiting newcomers a gentle take off from the jebel, fly slowly across the edge of the cliff & then immediately drop vertically down 500ft into the wadi. An exhilarating experience to say the least. Unfortunately he was later in an accident when the engines cut-out at about 100ft when he was long-lining & the helicopter fell to the ground. Amazingly he kept the aircraft upright & survived with minor cuts & bruises but shortly after he decided enough was enough & took retirement.

The 'Thank You NHS' Spitfire PR.XI PL983 flew over Leicester Royal Infirmary today to thank all the frontline healthcare staff who have worked so hard throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The star of the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre's flying programme for me was the display by Duxford's rebuilt Bristol Blenheim F1 L6739. The aircraft was first restored in 1987 as a Mark IV aircraft but unfortunately, the Blenheim crash-landed in August 2003 at Duxford. While the aircraft suffered considerable damage, she wasn’t broken beyond repair and as a Mark 1 nose had been acquired already it was decided to rebuild it as the early version. It made it's maiden flight in this guise in November 2014.

VIP Event in Hangar 3 RAF Finningley (now Robin Hood airport) with Avro Vulcan XH558.

Iconic Vulcan B2 XH588 overflying Bruntingthorpe Airfield. XH558 is in its final year of heritage flying, and touring the UK to give as many people as possible a chance to see this aircraft in the skies.

Handley Page Victor K2 tanker XM715 Teasin’ Tina on the main runway so it looked the part as Vulcan XH588 flew over.

Avro Vulcan XH588, the last flying V-bomber in the world seen over Nottinghamshire en route back to its Doncaster base after a northern circuit.

The only flying Vulcan in the world banks away from RAF Finningley (now Robin Hood Airport) on the first leg of its Cold War Tour.

Taking off from RAF Finningley (now Robin Hood Airport) is XH558, the only flying Vulcan in the world.

Waiting to board a Pilatus in the Sahara desert south of Hassi Massouad. We were en route to a seismic crew shooting a survey in the Lasmo-operated El Ouar drilling permit, Algeria. It was pretty cramped for the first stage of the journey from Hassi with a full complement of passengers in the small aircraft but after dropping off most of them at this wellsite the two of us flying on to El Ouar could spread out. It was said that El Ouar meant "the worst" in Arabic referring to the the sand dunes being the most impassable. They had a relief of up to 1000ft and were so dense that it was impossible to drive/walk around them. This meant some serious climbing was needed to progress through the area. While the dunes gradually increase in size & density from the north to the south the dune belt stops very abruptly along a southwest-northeast line. I have flown over the area since on the way to West Africa & from 30,000ft this change from sand to rocky desert is very clear & hence it is easy to locate yourself.

RAF Finningley Air Display, September 1972. Lightning formation flying.

Holland - flying to Ameland with Bert in his Cessna 182. About to take off to return to Rotterdam airport.