SU 27s over Norfolk??

[Earthbound Missfit]

Hello there..

Please can someone help me out before I go nuts.?
I know this sounds far fetched, but I an convinced that I saw an F-15 and an SU-27 having a helluva ding dong dog fight roughly over the village of Guist in Norfolk. This was last week (Wed 10th Aug).

It was far more dramatic than a "Normal" F-15 dog fight, with some very un F-15 type manoeuvres, and some definate thrust vectoring going on.

The sheer noise was something to behold when they came down well below 1000ft...It was all very exiting with lots of fog on the trailing edges in the high G turns, and even a momentary inverted hover from what I am sure was the SU-27 (I have never seen an F-15 do that..!)

All I know is that it looked like an SU-27 to me..?
I am fairly familliar with the shape as I often fly a scale rc model Flanker, and this was definatly a LARGE aircraft.

I think there were some Ukrainian SU-27s in the country in June or July for the Fairford Tattoo, and as far as I know the USAF have two for "Aggressor" dog fight training, but they are based in the U.S.A.

So could I have seen an SU-27 over Norfolk, or am I truely bewildered!!?

I would be grateful if anyone can save me a trip to the trick cyclist..

Cheers

Earthbound missfit

[Dave Clarke Fife]

Might be well wide of the mark with regards whether or not it was these particular airframes but it would appear that these are used by aggressor units.....


The United States has bought two Su-27 Flanker fighter jets (http://en.rian.ru/photolents/20070822/73215769_5.html)to help train U.S. pilots to cope with the growing number of Russian 4th-generation aircraft sold around the globe, a U.S. online magazine said. The two planes have been bought from a private Ukrainian company by the Reno-based Tac Air, which provides training and test support for the military.
The aircraft will also be used to test the effectiveness of new U.S. radars and electronic warfare equipment, the Strategy Page reported.
The 33-ton Su-27 is similar to the U.S. F-15 (http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20080804/115622033.html), but costs some 30% less, the source said.
Su-27 fighters have been produced in Russia since 1982. They are still widely used in the Russian Air Force and are gradually undergoing maintenance repairs to extend their service life.
The Su-27 Flanker and its variant, the Su-30 Flanker C, account for a major share of Russia's arms exports. In the past, Russia's Sukhoi aircraft maker sold Su-27 and Su-30 fighters to China, India, Malaysia, Venezuela and Algeria.
In 2007, Sukhoi exported 50 of these aircraft, accounting for 50% of Rosoboronexport's export revenues.
According to U.S. sources, the two aircraft, which have been acquired in a commercial variant, stripped of weaponry, are being overhauled and modified by the U.S. Pride Air company.

[captain_flynn]

The only thing im aware of operating out of Lakenheath at the moment is the A-10's. Doesnt sound like you saw one of them though. :}

[JEM60]

If this was really the case, then it would be all over enthusiasts' web sigjhts, but.........nothing. I fear it's a mis-identification, I'm afraid.

[ConstantFlyer]

I saw something odd over Cromer twice last week that might have been what you saw too, EM. However I thought I saw two A-10s, with one in "Russian" Air Force livery. I've often seen A-10s in the area, but this one was different. Assumed it was an air show thing.

[TEEEJ]

ConstantFlyer,

As Jem60 has stated it would be all over the aircraft enthusiast websites. None of the A-10s in the UK recently have been operating in "Russian" markings.

Have a look through the images of Spangdahlem (SP on the tail) based A-10s. The aircraft deployed at Lakenheath have been operating in the standard grey scheme.

Photo Search Results | Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraft_genericsearch=Fairchild+A-10+Thunderbolt+II&sort_order=photo_id+desc&page=4&page_limit=15&sid=813b914910787f6dc2a2fec0f7da6c31)

TJ

[SpringHeeledJack]

It sounds like to me that you might have seen an F-22. Large, thrust-vectoring, LOUD! Yes I know that they were grounded a while back, but...... :suspect:


SHJ

[TEEEJ]

SHJ wrote,

It sounds like to me that you might have seen an F-22

Yet again an F-22 deployment would be all over the enthusiast websites. Bases such as Lakenheath and Mildenhall have busy aircraft viewing areas and and F-22 would not go unnoticed. It will be a simple mis-identification of F-15 variants operating out of Lakenheath. F-15C/D/Es operate in the UK.

The F-15s sometimes operate without external fuel tanks under the wings. It could lead to confusion at height over shape of two similar types conducting air combat training? For example an F-15E vs F-15C with the F-15C carrying no fuel tanks. Some F-15s can also look bulkier as they carry the FAST packs on the sides of the fuselage. The F-15s also operate in different colour schemes with the C/Ds in light grey and the Es in dark grey. Such differences between types can lead to mis-identification.

FAST Packs image.

File:McDonnell Douglas F-15C with the conformal FAST PACK fuel tanks 060905-F-1234S-017.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:McDonnell_Douglas_F-15C_with_the_conformal_FAST_PACK_fuel_tanks_060905-F-1234S-017.jpg)

Photo Search Results | Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?placesearch=Lakenheath+%28LKZ+%2F+EGUL%29&distinct_entry=true&sort_order=photo_id+desc&page=1&page_limit=15&sid=67944baab0b4919cbaf76672fa477d0c)

TJ