Typhoon - RNAS Yeovilton 13.07.19

[tarantonight]

Cracking display, enjoyed every second of it, but the majority was directly over a farmers field I was standing in and not over the airfield (and fantastically low at times).

Maybe I missed something re perspective/depth perception, but regardless, thanks to Typhoon Display Man. That was brilliant.

TN.

[Alchad]

Since Shoreham the display lines have gotten further from the airfields, I suspect you were a lot closer than those in the airfield proper. I was at Cosford and
found a location to take photographs which must have been 1/2 mile or more west of the runway, the display line was to the west of my location!! I got some good photographs but I pity anyone who was trying to get photos from inside Cosford.

Alchad

[tarantonight]

Originally Posted by Alchad

Since Shoreham the display lines have gotten further from the airfields, I suspect you were a lot closer than those in the airfield proper. I was at Cosford and
found a location to take photographs which must have been 1/2 mile or more west of the runway, the display line was to the west of my location!! I got some good photographs but I pity anyone who was trying to get photos from inside Cosford.

Alchad

Thanks Alchad, seems like the Fun Police rule again, you may well be right, but not sure of their logic. Great for the likes of you and I though!. Thoroughly enjoyable day - probably the closest I have ever been to an airborne Lancaster. Beautiful.

[Stu666]

You can't do it anymore, but standing at Rhymes Farm next door to Fairford achieved a similar thing. Watching a low-level Tiffy stand on the burners into the vertical, right above your head is something to behold and an experience I'll never forget!

[Blossy]

An environmental protester was arrested after cycling on to a naval airbase runway to highlight an "immoral celebration of military might".

Extinction Rebellion member Christopher Maunder broke into the grounds during RNAS Yeovilton's Air Day on Saturday.

"Flying planes is a damaging thing to do anyway, flying them just for entertainment is immoral at this time," he said.

Avon and Somerset Police said he was arrested for aggravated trespass.[h2=left]'Death and destruction'[/h2]He was reported for summons to magistrates court at a date yet to be fixed, the force added.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment as "legal proceedings are ongoing".

The annual air day event attracts 40,000 people to the naval base to see flying displays from military aircraft from around the world.

Mr Maunder, from Norton-sub-Hamdon near Yeovil, said: "We shouldn't be flying across the world to travel anywhere and we really shouldn't be flying military aircraft which is used to kill people.

"They are used to bring death and destruction and by their mere use they are damaging the atmosphere within which we live.

"Really, what is there to celebrate or find entertaining?"

[BEagle]

Cracking display, enjoyed every second of it, but the majority was directly over a farmers field I was standing in and not over the airfield (and fantastically low at times).

Why did you not choose to view the display from the air display site?

People who hide in farmers' fields to avoid paying air show entrance fees will surely cause the death of military air shows - on spurious elf 'n safety grounds....

I remember the Yeovilton Air Displays of many, many years ago. The first I can recall included the Avro 707C; then came shows with formations of Sea Hawks, Sea Venoms plus odds and sods like Meteors and Wyverns...

Then there was the show which featured the 'forthcoming' Sea Vixen and Scimitar prototypes. I can still remember exactly what the Scimitar's impressive arrival and max rate turn around the airfield sounded like!

The show with 'Vixens doing an airfield attack - and another doing a simulated tactical nuclear weapon 'over-the-shoulder' attack. Good flash, bang and petrol mushroom cloud followed!

The shows with the 'new' Phantoms......and Simon's Circus.....and the Blue Herons....

I think that there might have been some helicopters in some of them. Don't remember as they were of frankly very little interest compared to the fast jet thunder of the proper FAA! As is the case today.

[Alchad]

Originally Posted by BEagle

Why did you not choose to view the display from the air display site?

People who hide in farmers' fields to avoid paying air show entrance fees will surely cause the death of military air shows - on spurious elf 'n safety grounds....

Not sure if you've got your tongue in your cheek with the question - don't think he mentioned hiding in the field - for my part I took advantage of a sport club near Cosford who were using its location as a good fund raising opportunity to boost its coffers to try and get some decent air show photos. Despite having some pretty decent camera gear, there's no way you can get decent photos at air shows post Shoreham. Photographers needs don't get considered, the rules seem to dictate that passes near to the crowd line have to be such that you only get boring (very boring) undersides shots as opposed to the more photogenic topside shots. I assume this is to do with the kinetics (?) of the flight path in an emergency - but don't shoot me I'm not a physicist, but it's the only reason I can think of to explain why of say 20 passes down the crowd line, perhaps one - if you're lucky - shows the planes topside. Note to any air show organisers if you're reading this, if this is the case then why not do a few very slow passes which would allow topside shots with presumably much reduced kinetic risk?

Personally, I dream of the old days where you took responsibility for your own actions and if the ticket said "motor sport" ( or air displays) are dangerous and you enter at your own risk" then ambulance chasers need not apply. Pigs might fly, but excuse me for taking my life in my hands while I can, however selfish it might be.

Alchad

[chinook240]

Thank goodness someone actually pays for and goes into the air show, otherwise there would be no air show. As the military involvement in display flying and organising diminishes, every paying customer is vital.

Air show organisers don’t dictate the display routine in general. Certainly military display outlines are tightly controlled and supervised.

[Alchad]

Originally Posted by chinook240

Thank goodness someone actually pays for and goes into the air show, otherwise there would be no air show. As the military involvement in display flying and organising diminishes, every paying customer is vital.

Air show organisers don’t dictate the display routine in general. Certainly military display outlines are tightly controlled and supervised.

next time your at an air show, have a look at how many cameras are being used to photograph the displays, then - rheotorical question- ask yourself if the show organisers ever asked themselves what they could do to make the displays better for the photographers. I doubt it very much.

Alchad

[tarantonight]

As has been said in my defence, at no time have I said or suggested I was hiding - quite a difficult thing to do in a field I’m sure.

As to the suggestion people like me will be the death of airshows, total nonesene. For what it’s worth I have paid and gone to many over the years.

TN.

[sandiego89]

Originally Posted by Alchad

next time your at an air show, have a look at how many cameras are being used to photograph the displays, then - rheotorical question- ask yourself if the show organisers ever asked themselves what they could do to make the displays better for the photographers. I doubt it very much.

Alchad

In your view what would make displays "better" for photographers? Differing flight profile/ bank angles are nice for regular viewers and photographers alike. Serious question, curious.

Some shows in the US have special photography areas, but sometimes the big lens crowd can be hard to please. Could get into problematic areas if you are asking for special seating, spacing, sun angle/lighting, closer access, etc. And don't get me started on the photog crowd here in the US that complains incessantly about the low lighting at the USAF museum in Dayton....

[reds & greens]

Hate to suggest this, but post Shoreham, the days of the very local Airshows are RIP.
Re the statement above about Cosford, a good mate suggested it be renamed as the 'Telford Airshow', - as that was the location which provided his best viewing, and at special cost...

[Alchad]

Originally Posted by sandiego89

In your view what would make displays "better" for photographers? Differing flight profile/ bank angles are nice for regular viewers and photographers alike. Serious question, curious.

Some shows in the US have special photography areas, but sometimes the big lens crowd can be hard to please. Could get into problematic areas if you are asking for special seating, spacing, sun angle/lighting, closer access, etc. And don't get me started on the photog crowd here in the US that complains incessantly about the low lighting at the USAF museum in Dayton....

What would make displays better? Well don't profess to speak for all photographers as I'm very much an amateur, but in simple terms give me/us the "money shots", by which I mean the ones that bring a smile to your face when you look at the back of the camera. A few examples - as I said in a previous post - a simple parallel to the flight pass which shows a topside angle and you can see the cockpit. Problem is (I think) that this means the plane has to be turning in towards the crowd line. A similar desired shot would be a head on which again does happen at shows but the pilot is forced to peel away to keep outside the forbidden zone, so even with big lenses you lose detail.

I know it seems very basic, but I honestly do wonder if anyone who is responsible for setting display parameters has thought about getting hold of an aviation photographer and discussed how safety and photographers needs could be merged. A simple query, there is a separation distance between the crowd and the flight display line. Presumably this is calculated to minimise damage should there be an accident when a fast jet is doing a high speed pass, but couldn't there be a closer display line which could be used for slow speed photographer friendly passes. Only has to be the one pass so wouldn't take away from the main display.

Re your other point about seating etc, that's not an issue for me. I've done both options, queued at the crack of dawn to get a position on the ropes adjacent to the runway and paid a fortune for special access, neither option gives much advantage.

Alchad

[Georg1na]

"I think that there might have been some helicopters in some of them. Don't remember as they were of frankly very little interest compared to the fast jet thunder of the proper FAA! As is the case today."

Beags - you are a silly boy!! F35 A $89million - F35B $115 million and half the range and a quarter the payload.....................Get real old chap!!

[Finningley Boy]

Originally Posted by Blossy

An environmental protester was arrested after cycling on to a naval airbase runway to highlight an "immoral celebration of military might".

Extinction Rebellion member Christopher Maunder broke into the grounds during RNAS Yeovilton's Air Day on Saturday.

"Flying planes is a damaging thing to do anyway, flying them just for entertainment is immoral at this time," he said.

Avon and Somerset Police said he was arrested for aggravated trespass.

'Death and destruction'

He was reported for summons to magistrates court at a date yet to be fixed, the force added.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment as "legal proceedings are ongoing".

The annual air day event attracts 40,000 people to the naval base to see flying displays from military aircraft from around the world.

Mr Maunder, from Norton-sub-Hamdon near Yeovil, said: "We shouldn't be flying across the world to travel anywhere and we really shouldn't be flying military aircraft which is used to kill people.

"They are used to bring death and destruction and by their mere use they are damaging the atmosphere within which we live.

"Really, what is there to celebrate or find entertaining?"

I worry that the Extinction Rebellion people will increasingly turn their attention and their intolerance toward air shows, but a few questions arise about both their sincerity and wider political aims? Also, what is happening elsewhere across Europe? At Volkel, I may have missed it, but don't recall anything? I do recall bearing witness to radical left wing Green Party hippies etc being removed by MPs and German Police from Ramstein in 1983 having got onto the active side of the crowd line. There was a big cheer from the largely German crowd as they were mini-bussed away. But to today in the UK, while CND etc have from time to time turned up at military air shows predominantly, usually to hand out flyers etc, and going back as far as 1959, they haven't caused any serious trouble as yet. However, given the add up, with the tragedy of Shoreham implanted in the public consciousness and the way Extinction Rebellion seem to be writing the script and influencing the media and public mood at present, we might be in for some trouble ahead. I'm not reassured by the new appointment as CAS that he's going to be wholly anxious to make a counter-case? As can be seen from the above comments of Christopher Maunder, wider politics plays a disproportionate part in what drives such people.

FB

[NutLoose]

As I keep saying, Shoreham was a turning point as those killed were not attending so hadn't accepted the waiver re accident liability in the terms on the tickets.
To protect people the CAA shifted the display lines which resulted in those accepting the risk by attending now having an air show miles away from the crowd and those that the Shoreham inquiry set up to protect are now at greater risk....... Go figure!!

[Martin the Martian]

The pilot of the RCAF CC-130J at Yeovilton certainly gave us photographers a top side pass worthy of the name.

[Warmtoast]

Don't forget as a result of the poor attendance of the public at the 2018 show and lack of participation my some exhibitors and (partially) as a result of the Shoreham crash the Saturday and Sunday public days will no longer take place at Farnborough in 2020. Cost may have had an effect too - £50 a ticket ISTR.