Another day in paradise (Kirkwall Airport)

The kick in the backside I needed

I was standing in Tesco's today and Gwenda, mentioned in previous posts told me she had recently had a look at the blog and loved it.  It's nice to be appreciated so I thought it was time for the final part of Leuchars.

Starting with this F50 which I think is one of the most graceful turboprops.

And and F4 Phantom in Leuchars livery

This aircraft was beautiful, a Sea Hawk from the Royal Navy Historic flight

This Gnat arrived and passed in front of us but did not demo

The Blades in their Extras did an unbelieveable display and then I understood why when I discovered the pilots are ex Red Arrows.

This Merlin arrived but took part in the static display

Team Guinot arrived

A better view of the Boeing Stearman.  Incidentally Team Guinot is the worlds only formation wing walking display team.

XX185 in the static display

Enter the mighty meteor

ZD704 arrived with the VIP's

A picture of the Blades lined up ready to perform

And the Red Arrows ready for their slot

Then there was no mistake with the approaching sound of the RAF Battle of Britain Flight

And then they were on the ground, they need no introduction and one of the highlights of the day was the Lancaster parking right in front of me and revving up all four engines, Music to my ears.

And then it was time for the Red Arrows, they could not do their performance last year but not so this year.  26 degrees and clear skies.  Do you spot the odd man out, the one in the middle is obviously a Eurofighter, I love this pic.  Sadly at this size it does not do them justice.

I felt like ducking

And I thought I would end this blog note with an aircraft that I surprised the RAF did not consider but every aircraft from every AirForce put on a fantastic display.  The F16 is awesome. but the Typhoon is a beast

It would be wrong of me not to thank the Royal Air Force for an absolutely fantastic couple of days and for the hospitality they gave.  Everything from start to finish was polished and professional and I loved every minute of it.

Finally I would like to thank my long suffering wife, Shona, my kids and my parents who clubbed in to give me this day for my birthday.  I couldn't think of anything better.

Not forgetting anyone who takes the time to read this

Take care and Happy New Year

Neil

Back to Kirkwall

I realised my last entries are based on other airports so I thought before I did any more I would give a few more pics from Kirkwall.

So I will start with a question-  What does John Wayne, Orange County Choppers and Kirkwall Airport have in common.  This next two pictures will show you.  WE had a visit from G-MRAJ, a Hughes 500, in the summer.  This particular one came from the Orange County Sheriffs department and the motif on the side is outstanding.

This Cessna 340 came to visit us recently G-CCXJ

And the inside

This Islander came in from Hebridean who normally come in with their bright yellow aircraft

A couple of weeks ago, we had one of our busiest days, 4 Saab 340's, a Saab 2000, 3 helos, 2 Islanders and a terminal full of peoples

I was trying out a new camera and caught this  X'air taking off on

We are in the middle of a military exercise and I have taken a few pics, long distance but recognisable

First a pair of hawks

And the a first for me, not just for Kirkwall, anywhere.  ZA148 VC10.  I went up to the main road at the end of the 27 threshold and was well chuffed as I arrived 30 seconds before it flew over my head.

And over the 27 threshold

Finally, a couple of Citations to finish off this entry first G-WAIN

and finally D-IETZ which flew in from Mannheim on friday

That's all folks

Neil

Part 2

Well, I have found another half an hour to write some more news.  This next aircraft, A Douglas Skyraider was the aircraft that would have won the best sounding aircraft of the weekend.  2500hp of pistons.  Unbelievable is the only word I can think of.  It was also much larger than the likes of a Spitfire or a Hurricane.

Then came the Yaks

Then the unmistakeable sound of a Spitfire, this particular aircraft being fitted with a second seat

I am not sure it was part of the show but the next aircraft was a PA46

A Harrier landed around the same time but no VTOL sadly

The artwork on this F16 was fantastic

I then had a wander across to the statics starting with this Casa

And a Royal Navy Jetstream

The Czech Antonov was back

A previous display winner

Then the big guy

And a couple of close ups

The artwork on a number of these aircraft was exceptional, This German Tornado is no exception

Run out of time again, part 3 soon, thanks for your patience

More to come....................................

Leuchars 2009

I have narrowed down my Leuchars visit from 600 to 70 odd photos.  As there are so many, I won't write a blurb for each but if you would like any more info, don't hesitate to get in touch.

This year I had an enthusiasts pass which allowed me better access to the aircraft and photo opportunities.  I was hosted by the RAF for the two days I was there and I have to say their hospitality and food were outstanding.  Many thanks to all for their excellent care.

Anyway to the photos starting off with a Belgian Air Force Embraer

The first of the typhoons

And a few moments later, this is my favourite pic of the weekend

Saab Gripen

Polish Air Force MIG 29 before and after display

Then it was time for a dream come true.  Due to the weather, the Vulcan could not fly.  Not so this year.  All of a sudden I heard the Vulcan contact the tower in my earpiece, then in the distance she appeared with a Typhoon escort.

And here it is, just before parking right in front of me.

And here are a couple of close-ups and obviously a picture of yours truly showing just how closed we were allowed to go.  It is such a big aircraft as the final picture shows where the guys in the air intake give an idea of perspective.

Then it was time for the F16's

And an F15

The Golden oldies started arriving, first of all a Jet Provost

A Hunter

And a number of Strikemasters

Then came the Venom, on the ground it looked like an oversized tadpole, in the air it looked seriously mean

The next aircraft to land was a German Breguet which was immaculate and had the most amazing livery as you will see

More to come..............................................

Hanging my head in shame

It seems that I never have time to update here and I made a commitment when I started it to give regular updates whether people were interested or not.  I checked my statistics and discovered the average number of readers is down 50% on last year.  There can only be 2 reasons for that:

1.  People have lost interest in aviation

2.  Updates are too few and far between

Impossible for number 1 to happen so it must be the second so time to catch up.  I have a few photos from Kirkwall.  Shortly I will have a Leuchars special as the airshow was outstanding this year and I took around 600 pictures.

I have just thought maybe there is a third option, maybe my writings and rantings are boring  Oh well, if I end up the only reader, I won't have to fight for bandwidth.

Anyway back to Kirkwall starting off with EZ700 which came in on a training mission, always nice to see a 146 at Kirkwall.

Next we have F-GZTL, a Mooney which left the day I came back off holiday

On that day there was the unmistakeable sound of a 1000hp + single turbine doing a high speed fly past.  Sure enough, shortly after 2 x Tucanos landed and parked up at the small apron.  ZF347 and 409.

And the inside. I already have photos of the cockpit on file but here are others for those who have not seen them.  Front followed by rear.

We had a visit from G-DPHN, a beautiful Dauphin, the photo does not do it justice as it is quite a big helicopter.  Certainly luxurious.

And the inside

G-GMAA , a Learjet 45, came in for a short visit with the Scottish Ambulance Service

G-ZZSA passed through on an oil rig crew change

And I just about missed this one.  Andrew Brown came to Orkney with his family in the summer and on the nice days took his family flying around the noth isles.  You can just see a face in the passenger seat of the aircraft.  This is Andrew's wife Alison, who does not like flying and when you look closely at the photo, her eyes are tight shut

In fact I could not resist it, here is the proof

Not too bad a pic for something at 500ft doing 100 knots, hope you don't mind Alison

Finally the big boy arrives, XV229 came past on a low pass and impressed all who watched particularly me.

Thats it for now, lots of photos to come, thanks for taking the time to look.

Regards

Neil

Kinloss in July

A good friend of mine told me that he was fed up of bits and bobs so I thought it was time to get some pictures together and type a new entry.  I have so many pictures from Orkney I need to sort, I decided to post a few of the photos I took at the start of my summer holiday.

My wife is from Forres in Morayshire which is just a stones throw from RAF Kinloss, home of 120 Sqn · 201 Sqn · 42(R).

We had a couple of days prior to heading down south so when I had a couple of hours spare, I got dropped off at the end of the runway hoping to get some pictures.  2 hours elapsed and nothing happened other than the weather became worse and I thought about giving up when there was the sound of a number of jet engines.

The next 20 minutes or so, varied from bright sunshine to torrential rain as the photos will show but I am well happy with some of the pictures so I thought I would share  a few with you.  It is perfectly obvious what the aircraft are and I have listed all the numbers, so if you want more info, just type the number into google.

Hope you like them.

Starting off with Typhoon ZJ803

Typhoon ZJ814

Typhoon ZJ833

Typhoon ZJ941

Then came the big boys, first of all XV231 doing a touch and go followed by a better close up, then ZH102 an E3 sentry going over my head

To be continued........

Finally got back to the computer, my photos are piling up so thought I would try and finish this bit off. Next we had ZJ690, a Sentinel R1

The next 4 are are Cobham Falcons

Then it was time for the Hawks XX339, 255 and 332

Back to the Typhoons, first ZJ815

Twins?

ZG500 Harrier

ZG507

More twins

ZG835 Typhoon sneaked in

Harriers galore ZG862, ZH661, ZD468, ZG558, ZH663 and ZG510

The last 4 Typhoons of the day ZJ912, ZJ830, ZJ914 and ZJ941

And this one wasn't playing, lined up, revved up and returned to base broken ZH661

Thats it for now, back to Kirkwall for the next lot and off to Leuchars

Till next time

Neil

Bits and Bobs

Well its that time again when I try and think what to write next in this blog.  We have had a lot of traffic lately and I have not managed to photograph everything but I hope you like some of these.

The first unusual aircraft is a pressurised Cessna 210 with a turbine up front, N54CC from Canada

And the inside

WE had a musical interlude while we had visiting Ministers from Malawi.  They were piped into the terminal by Stephen Cooper and Eddie Nicolson

WE have had many German visitors over the last few weeks, the first is D-EDKY, DA40

And D-EEDL, a BE35

And the inside

Then it was off to Stornoway where I snapped this Hawker 400, F-HITM

And on the way through Inverness, G-JECU Q400

Then it was back to Kirkwall where I snapped these Seneca's D-GDWL and D-GWMF

And I do not have a scooby what this is but I snapped it anyway, here is D-MIEL

Then it was a winged bird of a different variety.  As I was walking back to my car at the end of the day, I was aware of being watched.  Here is the guilty party, a friendly Pied Wagtail.

But back to aircraft, the next day we had a low pass by XV260, Nimrod

Another aircraft with a parachute, G-ZOGT, Cirrus SR20

Our friends from Blink popped in again, here is G-FLBK, Citation Mustang

And the inside

Foul weather brought in G-REDO, Rescue Super Puma

The next group of photos were taken last thursday night when we had a short visit from a charity flight group aiming to raise awareness and money for Flying for the disabled.  They left Jersey Airport at 0430 and arrived withus around 1830 still to fly to Sumburgh and back to Inverness.

First Piper Aztec G-BBRA

N646C0 Cessna 210

And the aircraft that Liz Harcus from Security wants for christmas G-LIZZ

Incidentally, Liz tells me that her sons are regular readers of this blog so, Hi Guys, thanks for taking the time, much appreciated.

Then the next Cessna 210 G-BSGT

Here are the bold heros, knackered but happy

The penultimate shot is of the aircraft fired up and ready to go

And finally, the formation fly past, thanks for the visit, hope your trip was a success.

Thats it for just now.  As always thanks for taking the time to pop past.  Till next time

Neil

What has a Dragon and a Yaks rear got in common?

I photographed them both over the last week.  It has been a busy time at the airport with last friday the 28th of May being the 75th anniversary of Ted Fressons inaugural mail flight to Orkney.  This was commemorated by the issue of special first day covers from the Fresson Trust being flown to Kirkwall in a DH84 piloted by Henry LaBouchere.

Before he arrived with his guests we had a fly past by our old friend Ariadne piloted by Mark Preston

And a first for me, Peter Shearer in a low pass with his G-BMFY Grob 109

Then it was time for G-ECAN, DH84 Dragon

The handover of the first day covers took place on the main apron and on the left of the picture is Charlie Allway, Royal Mail Delivery Manager and Henry LaBouchere on the right.

This next picture is of Richard Fresson, on the left, who is the son of Ted Fresson and local man David Rendall whose career started with Ted Fresson and Scottish Airways in 1939.

Then it was time for a fantastic buffet lunch in the terminal provided by the airport manager.  In the evening I was invited to the official opening of the Fresson Exhibition in the Tankerness House Museum followed by drinks and a tal in the Town Hall.

It's a hard life being Terminal Manager sometimes

Monday came and it was time for Prince Charles and his wife Camilla aka The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay to visit Orkney.  Normally we have a 146 from the Royal Flight in but this time it was G-KALS, a beautiful Bombardier Challenger 300 operated by London Executive Aviation and piloted by Paul and Karl being looked after by Claire.

The guests meet their greeting party

Tuesday morning came and I was stunned with what I saw as I was driving to work.  Parked at the small apron was G-BTUB, A Yak 11C on its way from Iceland to its new owner across Hadrians Wall.

And my attempt at an artistic shot

And the inside

The Yak's rear I previously mentioned

Then it was time for the pilot to leave for Inverness, not before performing a low fly past at extreme speed.  The noise of a Yak engine is unbelievable, sheer power, and its take off distance is extremely long but once in the air, fantastic.

Then it was time for SD-DLP to return to pick up its pax.  This time it was a nice day and I got some better shots.

The access to the cabin is amazing as this shot shows

And the inside

Early this morning saw the departure of 2 gentleman Jabiru owners to Plockton via Cape Wrath

First G-BZUH

And the inside

Next is G-CDSH

And the inside

Then it was time for the inaugural flight to Bergen by G-LGNA

And just before I finished, D-EDKY, DA40 landed on Runway 33, sadly I missed the accompanying BE35 but will get that tomorrow along with a very special Cessna 210 with an An Allison turbo-prop engine.

Thats it for now, thanks for reading

Neil

Top Gear

Did I ever say how much I missed readin Mclaudio and ruimiguels blog, they were a huge loss to spottersblog.  I am sincerely hoping they return at some point.  I can't complain though between the blog and the webcams I have had well over 50,000 hits over the last year so thank you for taking the time to have a look and see what is going on at Kirkwall.

Now the better weather is here (haha) we are starting to see different types of aircraft coming in and I have a few pictures from last week starting with G-TIGV, Super puma

We had a baby Citation in and it was a beauty, G-FBLK is a Citation Mustang

G-EMDM, Diamond Star, what was unusual about this one is it is petrol not diesel.

Another Super Puma G-PUMS

And another G-CHCG

We had a surprise visit from Hamish Mitchell in G-DRAM "Spirit of Scotland" an FR172.  Find more about this aircraft at www.scotlandonfloats.com

Another Super Puma G-REDN

And another vist from G-OMRH on its way to Farnborough and then onto Nice

Then we come to the title.  The popular programme Top Gear were having a race against a letter from the Scilly Isles to the Brough of Birsay in Orkney.  The first picture is the aircraft bringing the film crew.  G-POBW is a King Air 350 operated by Titan Air and it was stunning.

And finally we have 2 of the Top Gear presenting team on the slightly quicker return home by air.  The poor guys were knackered but kin dly gave their time to all and sundry.  many thanks.  Obviously Richard Hammond on the left and James May on the right.

Thats it for just now, more at the end of the week.  Take care and thanks for reading

Neil

Norman the gnome visits Kirkwall

Hello All

Well I have paid my fees for another year of blogging so you will have to put with me I'm afraid.  Things have started coming into Kirkwall now the weather is better and the temperature is reaching double figures.  I have a few pictures this week starting with OY-PBV arriving at Kirkwall after I saw it for the first time in Inverness

At the beginning of the week we had a vist from Norman the Gnomw who is based at RAF Cosford Flying Club.  Here he is with his 2 minders and the next photo is a close up.  Apparently Norman has been all over the world and this was his first time at Kirkwall.  After a short visit he left for Stornoway in G-BFNI, PA28.

Just as they left another PA28 arrived from Sweden via Denmark.  The occupants were on a whisky tour of Scotland and, of course, had to begin with the best whisky in the world, Highland Park!  This PA28 is different as it is the R model or the Cherokee Arrow meaning it has retractable undercarriage unlike the previous PA28.

nd for the first time in ages  we had a low approach from a Nimrod, which usually shakes the building.  Here is XV244.

And finally just before I finished work today, G-ATLA, C182 arrived for a visit.

Thats it for just now and the first note of the next year.  Thanks for taking the time to read.

Best wishes

Neil

PS I discovered a fascinating historical site in Orkney www.crashsiteorkney.com Go and have a look.