FLYPAST (Merged)
 

Thank you, thank you, thank you boys and girls of the RAF for the splendid flypast over my home near Watton not ten minutes ago. The first elements flew right over me and the last a little to the south.

Typhoons, Jaguars, Tonkas (both mud moving and fighters) C-17, Sentry, VC10, Nimrod and a Hawk taking the pictures.

I don't believe it was purely for my benefit, so what's the occasion please.

looked wonderful

Doc C.

Practise for the Queens Birthday Flypast.

...also fools spies into thinking we've got nothing better to do with the jets.

We haven't, have we?

Practice for Queens 80th Birthday flypast. Notams say each day now until pukka flypast on Saturday Each practice winds up at Brize Norton - those that have enough fuel that is! :)
Aviate 1138

The practice was over Marham about 30 minutes ago. Didn't realise we had that many in the fleet let alone airworthy! Means a working weekend for several Sqn's, but time for the big boss is a pleasure!!

Queens Birthday Flypast
 

47 Aircraft, 15 Types and in 9 elements will fly over Buckingham palace at 1300 hrs on Sat.

Lead Element - BBMF

Followed by:

4 Typhoon

1 x C17

1 x Tristar with 2 Typhoons and 2 Jags

1 x Nimrod with 4 GR4

1 x E3D with 4 F3

1 x VC10 with 4 x Jag

9 x GR4 from Marham

RAFAT with 1 x Canberra

There will be TV coverage on BBC with a camera on the Lanc

I have the misfortune of being hauled along to this years Trooping of the Colour, the highlight for me will be the weather (hopefully) and the flypast.

Anyone tell me what time it starts? the flypast that is.

MTIA

Trooping the Colour, 17 June 2006
The Queen's official birthday will be marked by the annual Trooping the Colour parade at 11am on 17 June 2006.
The event consists of a military parade and march-past by Household Troops on Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall. The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, will ride in a carriage during the parade and will take the salutes from a dais (a temporary stage) on Horseguards Parade.
To mark The Queen's 80th birthday there will be a number of additional elements to this year's official birthday celebrations.
Following the parade, The Queen and other members of the family will gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to view a special 80th birthday flypast from the RAF, which will be lead by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and will include the Red Arrows. :)
Enjoy the hour - she has never let us down. Not so the rest of the bunch! Just follow her back to Buck House and wait for the curtains to part and the RAF will do the rest.
Aviate 1138

Very cool!

WOT! no Alberts!!
 

:(
Apart from the obvious -----(Busy-or-Broke)-----any other reason?
XFT

...and no Harriers either? Oh, sorry, it'll be an endurance thing.

No rotary either:(

Perhaps they're too busy working for a living!

Rotary?!
 

SAR Bloke,
They may have had a pretty tough time keeping up! We were at about 280 knots ground speed! About as slow as we dared!
Airwolf would have coped of course.
BV:ok:

Hoping desperately that all the units will NOT step down excessively like what they did in my time when the 'arrers finished up inspecting TV aerials in High Wycombe - and the late Frank Hoare had to slide the 'Big 9' out using rudder as we were too low to bank it...............:eek:

What were you in, Bob? Be careful here as I shall be checking your station-keeping on Saturday.

That reminds me of a mega-Gnat/Hunter formation that I photographed decades ago. My instructor was No 2 and was way out of position, which meant that one whole side of the formation was way out. The photos appeared in Flight Magazine, to his eternal embarrassment. Are you listening, Bob?

Who's paying the fuel bill for this farce? The Queen? Jesus Wept!

I don't want to hear about over-stretch or stretch from the RAF again. :=

If war fighting interferes with ceremonial duties then I would suggest a very nice Birthday Card should suffice!:ugh:

SASless
I shouldn't worry. They're all so close together that it'll be over in a trice. But I'm with peppermint on this one, and the fact that it IS done for the Big Boss and NOT done for Bliar that makes it even more meaningful and enjoyable. And it is, of course, essential CT.

Zoom
 

You know the type, but I'm not saying which one!
Not until Monday at least!
BV:}

After you've seen the piccies, right? Well, good luck to you all and make it look good - I really am envious.

Wow Airbourne, thanks for that.

SASless, I'm with you I'm afraid, Queen or not. In these days of thrift I think we're painting the wrong picture, particularly using the strat airlift. This whole event will tie-up valuable assets (crew and jet) for both the practice(s) and real event and will undoubtedly be backed-up by a similar number of jets on ground reserve.

Send more pointies by all means, but the AT fleet is at capacity.

BOAC - sounds like the day when the wx forecasts were....conflicting:ugh:

Yep, I agree. Soz everyone, but send the BBMF, the reds and all the pointees we can get in the air, but sending the truckies is adding insult to injury.

Should any have been available, any slow movers from Lyneham, and the world of rotary, could have formated with the BBMF aircraft regarding speed.

A shame that our hardest working aircraft should be denied their chance to be part of such an event if solely because of the inability of some numb-nuts to find a way of fitting them in to a multi-speed flypast.

If they were busy doing their 'day' jobs, as they so often are at weekends, I hope, but doubt, mention of that is made by the BBC; the trouble is I have no faith in journalists whatsoever.

'Big up' for the Herc mates :ok:

She could've had her official birthday on a Friday of course!

I'd rather spend time with my family, frankly, since I no longer have the option of flexible hours as provided by the various Lyneham squadrons in my past. The 9to5 B-S at waddo is a real drag sometimes.

Yup! Cloud base lowering as we flew west. Learnt a lot about TV aerials that day:)

The Battle of Britain Flight and Red Arrows would be fine...and to me would be much more meaningful. I might even bow to occasion should a Coronation be involved but just for a Birthday....gimmee a break here.

You reckon one could get a flyby of the BoB or Red Arrows at the funeral of your son killed in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan?:(

Probably gonna get slaughtered but what track will the flypast take after going over HM's small London pad ?

I am out Heathrow way - any chance i will see it ?

If its like after the RAF's 75th, they'll just keep going north. On that occasion they routed over the top of Bentley Priory. And very nice from the balcony it was too..... :O

Had to stay on the ground during the TRA, so no flight training for half an hour at our school, but well worth it for the view! The actual event is on the 17th June for HMs 80th birthday celebrations.
KK

Peppermint, you make working a weekend sound like a novelty. You should wake up and smell the coffee, served regularly on Saturday and Sunday mornings at oh my god o'clock by many stewards and loadies on the AT fleet. Why should the boss's birthday bash raise any eyebrows? :rolleyes:

Oh crap now my Geography is getting dodgy.

I thought they went East to West

I have to agree with many posts here. How can the RAF possible stand up and complain they are over-streched, under-manned and overworked when they have the assets, manpower and equipment to arrange this. I think the Airships have called their own bluff here. They should seriously rethink this one.

Vec
 

Do you seriously think their Airships were given the option of saying no? And what would the RN have done if "requested" to mount a sail-past up the Thames? And no doubt, despite real overstretch in the Army, there will be plenty of troops on parade for Trooping the Colour. Come on, live in the real world. We all have the same job to do for the same Master. Let's not waste our breathe on this inter-Service rivalry cr*p, even in jest.

Regards

Ginseng

vecvechookattack, are you a fish head, old boy? Well you chaps do a good show in the wardroom I have to say :)
To the others complaining about working the weekend - Don't leave! :) :E :}

Evanelpus,
We're going to the QBP on the 17th. Seats A4K 15,16,17. Actually like watching the soldier boys do their stuff (ex REME/Artillery as well as RAF).
HTF it isn't as warm as last weekend.
Still trying to find out where & when the RHA are cookin' the cordite.
Edited to add: It's on Green Park at 1252 (BST I presume)

Certainley the past 4 or 5 years has seen them track out in a north westerly direction heading out close to or even possibly overhead RAF Northolt. Pretty much fly past my window.........:D

Any conformation of post BH route chaps?

Flypast !
 

Bob Viking

I seem to recall that in 1991 the SH managed to do the flypast over The Mansion House in London when the fixed wing flypast had to be called off, bad weather apparently. However it was a little slower because we had to accommodate those Sea King chaps !!!:rolleyes:

I know where it's going, it probably won't be popular, but I'm not sure I'm allowed to say.

Let's just say that the cheap option - of all a/c rtb asap - isn't necessarily the option that will be followed.

Still, as long as some to55er gets promoted what's the problem? :rolleyes:

Just revel in the pageantry chaps, revel in the pageantry. (Does M.H., who knows W.A.M.F., post hereabouts? I guess he'll be on leave for the footy)

Are you sure that it's not just a government stock take!

Had a GR4 fly in and out of Farnborough yesterday any idea why?, kept the kids happy in the garden.

No I'm not.....and Fishhead is one word.......and isn't it called "The Officers Mess" ????