Low Flying Pics
Discussion
Moons ago I requested some help about getting a zoom lens for my Nikon and concluded on buying a Nikkor 70-300mm VR for motorsport/airshows etc. Having had it for about 4 months and been to trackdays and airshows with it and a breif time photographing low level, I decided to give a whole day a go. I'm no plane spotter but am just fascinated when you see fighter jets flying at 500mph at the same height or below you.
So on a slightly chilly cloudless Worcestershire I picked up a friend and headed for the Bwlch at the top of a very steep road hill where the car park was already full with about 12 people at the top. Climbing up at around 9.15am a C-130 Hercules came through (the first i've seen in the loop)
Then after much watching of F-15s flying over head and waiting in the beautiful sunshine but a cold wind an F-15 banked round and heaed straight for us, pulling several G's and making lots of ribbons and vapour off the wings, only to turn unusally right towards the coast and not go past us
Between then and 12 we saw a Harrier heading towards Dolgellau from Bala, too far away for a decent photo
Were we going to see anything decent?
We decided to head for Cad West, just round the corner. The car park was almost full of 25 cars and we climbed to the top and in the end there were around 40 of us up there! With cameras from a point and shoot to a Nikon D3 with a fixed 600m f4 there was everything. A RAF training plane came out of the Bwlch so slow nobody knew what it was at first. It came closer and was identified as a Grob Tutor... Slow....!
Half an hour later 2 USAF F-15 Eagles appeared out of the Bwlch and banked straight towards us. Hopefully they'd not bottle it and come low. One headed higher and went over the top of Cad West whilst the other nailed it straight through the valley, very low for the USAF.
High Eagle
Low Eagle :-)
A chap came up saying they were due again at around 6.20pm so pretty much everyone said they were going to wait around.
In the meantime some 2 hours later a GR4 tornado popped out of the Bwlch and came our way with no warning. Everyone was up like a shot!
as it was going through the valley (i've rotated this 90 degrees)
Getting cold i went to get a jacket from the car and met a lady at the bottom who said she'd driven all the way from Manchester to see her son fly a Hawk around from RAF Valley. at 5.31pm he came out of the Bwlch, put it low and wingwobbled the length of the valley before dropping lower and banking around Corris. Then he did it again!
20 minutes later came the news over the peoples scanners that the F-15s were up and asked where the photogrpahers were! We thought we'd get two passes, 3 at most but what occured was simply incredible the got lower and lower each time, one flying higher each time than other and meeting back up over the lake.
The ribbons coming off the wings were enormous and with the sun slowly setting over the back of Cader cast a beautiful golden light over the jets. They did abour 3 or 4 passes then my mate was cold so decided to head back to the car. just before the approach goes out of sight they come again, ripping through the Welsh valley and again and again. thats it we think. No they come round again so I run back to try and get a bit higher and inline. then silence.
We got to the car to be greeted by old fella with his daughter photographing them and videoing them from the car park. He said in the 10 years he's been coming to Wales. the same week every year on holiday he's never seen them and what a way to start.
We show him some photos when they tear the peace and quiet up yet again! and countless more. Finally just seeing a F-15 Eagle inverted over the valley so low was just amazing no noise then when the noise caught up it just abliterates any hearing you have left. Better than any display at RIAT/Farnborough/Waddington.
I honestly can't tell you how good it was and thats the worst part.
please see my flickr for more photos..
www.flickr.com/photos/davidellins
Sorry for the long post and lots of photos.
thanks
So on a slightly chilly cloudless Worcestershire I picked up a friend and headed for the Bwlch at the top of a very steep road hill where the car park was already full with about 12 people at the top. Climbing up at around 9.15am a C-130 Hercules came through (the first i've seen in the loop)
Then after much watching of F-15s flying over head and waiting in the beautiful sunshine but a cold wind an F-15 banked round and heaed straight for us, pulling several G's and making lots of ribbons and vapour off the wings, only to turn unusally right towards the coast and not go past us
Between then and 12 we saw a Harrier heading towards Dolgellau from Bala, too far away for a decent photo
Were we going to see anything decent?
We decided to head for Cad West, just round the corner. The car park was almost full of 25 cars and we climbed to the top and in the end there were around 40 of us up there! With cameras from a point and shoot to a Nikon D3 with a fixed 600m f4 there was everything. A RAF training plane came out of the Bwlch so slow nobody knew what it was at first. It came closer and was identified as a Grob Tutor... Slow....!
Half an hour later 2 USAF F-15 Eagles appeared out of the Bwlch and banked straight towards us. Hopefully they'd not bottle it and come low. One headed higher and went over the top of Cad West whilst the other nailed it straight through the valley, very low for the USAF.
High Eagle
Low Eagle :-)
A chap came up saying they were due again at around 6.20pm so pretty much everyone said they were going to wait around.
In the meantime some 2 hours later a GR4 tornado popped out of the Bwlch and came our way with no warning. Everyone was up like a shot!
as it was going through the valley (i've rotated this 90 degrees)
Getting cold i went to get a jacket from the car and met a lady at the bottom who said she'd driven all the way from Manchester to see her son fly a Hawk around from RAF Valley. at 5.31pm he came out of the Bwlch, put it low and wingwobbled the length of the valley before dropping lower and banking around Corris. Then he did it again!
20 minutes later came the news over the peoples scanners that the F-15s were up and asked where the photogrpahers were! We thought we'd get two passes, 3 at most but what occured was simply incredible the got lower and lower each time, one flying higher each time than other and meeting back up over the lake.
The ribbons coming off the wings were enormous and with the sun slowly setting over the back of Cader cast a beautiful golden light over the jets. They did abour 3 or 4 passes then my mate was cold so decided to head back to the car. just before the approach goes out of sight they come again, ripping through the Welsh valley and again and again. thats it we think. No they come round again so I run back to try and get a bit higher and inline. then silence.
We got to the car to be greeted by old fella with his daughter photographing them and videoing them from the car park. He said in the 10 years he's been coming to Wales. the same week every year on holiday he's never seen them and what a way to start.
We show him some photos when they tear the peace and quiet up yet again! and countless more. Finally just seeing a F-15 Eagle inverted over the valley so low was just amazing no noise then when the noise caught up it just abliterates any hearing you have left. Better than any display at RIAT/Farnborough/Waddington.
I honestly can't tell you how good it was and thats the worst part.
please see my flickr for more photos..
www.flickr.com/photos/davidellins
Sorry for the long post and lots of photos.
thanks
Cad West, so that's why this cracking video is entitled cadwestweb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQcvjV7AOZU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQcvjV7AOZU
Thats where I went two weeks ago - Cad West.
Cracking shots. Those eagles don't half scare the bejesus out of you when you're in the car park and can't see them coming. Did they kick in the after burners as they went over ?
Looks like the weather was much better. Seemingly on the hill opposite you can almost drive right up the hill from the farm looking north (seemingly up the cycle trail) as long as you close the gates.
I must go back up - but I'll take one of those small popup tents just to save me from the elements.
Cracking shots. Those eagles don't half scare the bejesus out of you when you're in the car park and can't see them coming. Did they kick in the after burners as they went over ?
Looks like the weather was much better. Seemingly on the hill opposite you can almost drive right up the hill from the farm looking north (seemingly up the cycle trail) as long as you close the gates.
I must go back up - but I'll take one of those small popup tents just to save me from the elements.
crmcatee said:
Thats where I went two weeks ago - Cad West.
Cracking shots. Those eagles don't half scare the bejesus out of you when you're in the car park and can't see them coming. Did they kick in the after burners as they went over ?
Looks like the weather was much better. Seemingly on the hill opposite you can almost drive right up the hill from the farm looking north (seemingly up the cycle trail) as long as you close the gates.
I must go back up - but I'll take one of those small popup tents just to save me from the elements.
No afterburners unfortunately Cracking shots. Those eagles don't half scare the bejesus out of you when you're in the car park and can't see them coming. Did they kick in the after burners as they went over ?
Looks like the weather was much better. Seemingly on the hill opposite you can almost drive right up the hill from the farm looking north (seemingly up the cycle trail) as long as you close the gates.
I must go back up - but I'll take one of those small popup tents just to save me from the elements.
Cad West definately bulks up your calf muscles!! Thanks for the comments guys 
jeevescat said:
Cad West, so that's why this cracking video is entitled cadwestweb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQcvjV7AOZU
The guy who did this video and some other HD vids was up there with 40 other people. He had a nikon d3 with a nikkor 600mm f/4!!! looks like a grenade launcher!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQcvjV7AOZU
14-7 said:
Anyone know why the USAF seem to fly so high through the valleys compared to the RAF?
The Tornado has Terrain Following Radar, whereas the F-15 doesn't.The USAF have always tended to fly more high-level sorties than the RAF.
First Gulf War being a prime example; initially the Tornados were flying around 50-150ft off the deck under radar, whereas the Americans typically flew at 15,000-25,000+ ft for their sorties.
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