First thing's first, thanks to all of those who I have been accompanied by or helped this year. A lot of excellent banter and laughs to kill the waiting time. Really appreciate it all!
It started at the tail end of January, a couple of sunny days at the local in which one of them ended up with a stunning sunset. Quite a lot of activity on that day too, so I braved the cold and shot through sunset.
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Burning blue by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Sunset gradient by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Last man landing by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Sunset shimmers by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
A frosty morning was as close to my desired snow shot, maybe next year..
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Ice Tornado by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Metallic by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Lift off by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
Spent a day at Dyce with Mark with great weather.
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We have lift off! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Worn out by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Golden shuttle by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
Next up in April was Joint Warrior, not a lot in terms of fighters however we caught the first P-8A to ever visit the UK, a fair amount of other MPAs and a trio of Pavehawks ramped up the base activity and made for a hectic fortnight!
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First JW mission by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Flightline! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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P-8A Poseidon by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Pavehawk up close by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Lifting by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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360 degrees! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Golden Orion by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Pioneering Poseidon by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Backtracking the active by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Poseidon power by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
In May, the Tornado role demo worked up and we had five Danish F-16s in for a couple of days. The best aspect of role demonstration practices were that I got so many opportunities to work out the best spot, found it pretty much straight away, they would do two practices at a time so twice the opportunity. The best day was definitely when the axis was slightly altered.
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Plug in the burners by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Danish Viking by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Energy by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
June started with a trip to Oban airport's flyin, a superb day out in the Jabiru. A superbly scenic airport with a fair few nice visitors! The second and third are from Glenforsa and on the way back to Easterton respectively.
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Short finals into Oban Airport by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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G-BXDA - DHC-1 Chipmunk - Glenforsa Airfield by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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G-ELUN passing Ben Nevis by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
Trips to Lossie and Dyce catching live bomb equipped Typhoons, a C-130K and a C-17 which was unexpected!
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The old workhorse by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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ZZ177 - C-17 Globemaster III - Royal Air Force by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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F-HBXE - Embraer ERJ-170 - Air France by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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N404AC - Gulfstream IV-SP - Apache Aviation by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
A trip to Leuchars and Coningsby for a Typhoon fix, before on to Waddington for the show. Some ridiculous storms at Coningsby which stopped flying and had Typhoons diverting.
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Typhoon panorama by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Storms over Coningsby by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Soaked Typhoon by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Turning onto the runway by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
Waddington was a surprisingly strong line up, especially in the flying with the Swiss Hornet, Austrian SAAB, E-3D solo and Black Eagles. Really enjoyable four days!
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Iconic shape by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Watercolour sky by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Puma pair by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Orange overhead by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Stitch's steed by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Falling by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Smoke is in the air by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Eyes in the sky! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Vapour monster by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Waving goodbye! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Phast and phurious! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
RIAT was up next, what a show, the Polish MiG and Black Eagles were easy highlights.
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The drummers' arrival by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Smokey masterpiece by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Osprey by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Evening Fulcrums by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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White transall! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Kempsford campsite by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Runway blowdryer by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Aerodynamic braking by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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High alpha by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Bomber beauty by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Low and fast! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Vapour trails by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Lift off! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Helicopter row by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Glinting with success by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Byrd's bird by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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En francais by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Coal and vapour by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Bringing the fire! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Typhoon warning by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Interest in the spirit by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Watching me, watching you by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Goodbye VC-10s by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
In August, a mixture of Lossie and Leuchars to try and catch a 1sqn jet.
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Yankee by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Don't look back into the sun.. by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
Live bombing and straffing at Tain with Niall, John and Tom was a great evening out! Followed by the VC-10 fairwell flypast around the country.
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Bombs away! by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
QWIC/JW in October brought a lot of fast jet activity to RAF Lossiemouth with Typhoons and Gripens in the sky three times a day! Another excellent enthusiast's day aswell!
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Operations: Behind the wire by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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At last light by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Mission accomplished by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Sky protector by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Seeking shelter by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Tornado line by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
Then came one of the best afternoons at the local, fantastic conditions and plenty of action.
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Burning blue by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Burn, burn by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
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Back before nightfall by
Maccphoto.co.uk, on Flickr
Till next year!