We have been on plenty of walks recently and one of them took us through some woods that were heavily populated by sweet chestnut trees. The trees were full of them and there were plenty more on the ground. Unlike horse chestnuts, which are easy to pick up, the spines on the sweet chestnuts are few denser and sharper so picking them up without gloves is a bad plan. The density of them on the trees was quite impressive.
For as long as I have been going to air shows, the Italian Air Force’s display team, the Frecce Tricolori, has been flying the MB339. I knew that they used to fly the Fiat G91 but that was before my time. I have seen some G91s at museums marked up as Frecce jets but, whether they were actually previously in the team or just painted up in the same way that there are a ridiculous number of Hornets in Blue Angels colours, I didn’t know.
With the team getting ready to transition to the M346 before too long, it was an interesting comparison to have RIAT include a recently restored G91 display in Frecce colours. I think the original team jets has a pointed nose rather than the camera port on the majority of production aircraft, so I doubt this is an original team aircraft, but it is still something special to see. It did fly in formation with the M346 which is a nice before and after idea although not with the current team which would have been even better. Here is a selection of images of it from across the weekend of RIAT.
The second day of the charity bike ride I took part in took us from Huddersfield to Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast. The Edgcumbe family has a history in Scarborough but, while I drove past it once, I had never visited before. We arrived late in the afternoon having covered 94 miles – the longest one day ride I have ever done. That distance (and the pain one of my knees was feeling) meant I was doubly happy to reach the town and, when we turned on to the waterfront, I was in a great mood. The view along the north bay of the town was a very welcome sight. We then headed into the town centre overlooking the south bay. It was a very pretty looking spot.
The Abbotsford Air Show takes place on an airfield that is still open for business. At various times during the display, there will be a pause while a scheduled commercial flight arrives or departs. During the show a couple of years ago, WestJet had one of their 737-700s show up, drop off some passengers, pick up a new bunch and head out. I was thinking that a 700 would be off the ground pretty quickly so decided to get some shots of it.
I was mistaken. Instead of blasting up quickly and getting a nice shot with Mt Baker in the background, they appeared to use as much of the runway as they possibly could. Rotation was a long way down the field and the climb out seemed leisurely. Not so dramatic. I have been to a few shows over the years that have movements that break up the display and, while it is nice to get airliner shots from on the field, the amount of time it takes out of the display is probably not worth it.
One of the largest test facilities at the old Vickers plant at Weybridge is now part of the Brooklands Museum and that is the stratosphere chamber. This is a test facility that can simulate the altitudes and temperatures of all sorts of conditions. It was used for aviation programmes but also saw use in a range of other tests including of ships icing up.
One end of the chamber can be rolled aside to allow access to the test area so large test pieces can be added and then removed. There is a fuselage section in the test area on display. The other end also has a closure that can be rolled into place. The roller mechanisms are clearly seen on display. With both ends in place, the pressure can be reduced to simulate altitude.
Everything was controlled from a room just outside the chamber. The control panels are part of the display and have a real vintage feel about them. No computer-controlled machinery here! The access door not only shows the pressure design but also the insulation needed given the temperatures that could be created. The insulation was quite flammable so there is an extensive fire suppression system installed too.
I had heard about the chamber in the past but hadn’t really grasped what it was about. I had envisaged something more like a wind tunnel, but it is all about the conditions that items have to work in. It is on a grand scale and a most impressive piece of equipment.
Our day out in Windsor was not about photographing aircraft. However, the place is so close to the flightpath for Heathrow that I could hardly avoid the things. When in the town, we had a few pass very close by and it would have been churlish not to grab a shot or two. Later, as we walked through the Great Park, the jets on approach to Heathrow were visible above the castle as they were on final approach. Rather distant for a clear shot but still worth a pop.
Cycling around the Hampshire countryside as I have been since we moved back to the UK, I have seen some lovely scenes. One afternoon, I was riding along a road and came upon a field full of sunflowers. They looked stunning in the afternoon light, and I resolved to come back and take a photo. However, I did not realise how important the timing could be. A week later I was back and, while the heads of the flowers were still in place, the colour had really gone out of the flowers. They didn’t look terrible, but they were nowhere near as impressive as they had been the week before. Will I remember next year?
The JF-17 Thunder was one of the interesting aircraft to make it to RIAT in 2025. It had been before, but this was the first time I got to see it. The Pakistan Air Force brought a pair of them. I got to have a good look at one of them in the static park and something struck me about it. The engine installation. The plane is fitted with the Klimov RD93 engine which is a derivative of the engine for the MiG-29. The diameter of the nozzle for the engine seems to be very small compared to the rear fuselage size. Afterbody drag is a big deal on fighters and I wonder how bad the penalty is for this configuration. I understand that China is developing an engine to replace the RD93 and maybe the sizing of the fuselage is for this new engine. In the meantime, it does look like someone made do with the engine available.
This post is another on a bit of a theme at the moment. While walking through Windsor Great Park, we made a loop that brought us to the statue of George III at the end of the Long Walk. As we started to head back to our starting point, I realised the route we were taking was not really the best, so we retraced our steps and headed south down the hill. Almost immediately, we got a surprise.
Just a short distance away from the statue with the many visitors that were there on a sunny weekend afternoon was a large herd of deer. This included some quite chunky looking stags that seemed quite aware of our presence. We gave them a wide berth and, while a grabbed a few shots with the long lens, I didn’t fancy attracting any more of their attention than we already had.
Another of my early morning walks and I looked up at an aircraft contrailing across the sky above me. The low sun angle made the textures of the contrail look good, so I took a few shots. A short while later, I realised that its direction of travel was taking it towards another jet that was crossing its path. I was hoping for the relative positions of the two jets to look like a perfect cross from where I was standing but it wasn’t to be. Even so, they did look like they were crossing quite close.
