https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d3f911ed84.jpg
Just missed this passing my house

I wonder who drew the short straw and had to fly in the Xingu rather than the Falcon ?

Two USAF KC135 tankers flew over my house a minute apart at 3000'

Based on the previously-published waypoints:


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....4f8c8bd748.jpg

A little higher than I'd have preferred:


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....350c282528.jpg

And the Reds not quite so compact:


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....91d9e6faf4.jpg

Nice social distancing!

I remember the two solo Magisters inverted in line astern - would two feet apart be an exaggeration?

I watched them fly in a double V echelon formation as they crossed the Thames, which was pretty impressive, but sadly they didn't turn on the smoke for another minute. Shame that that spectacle wasn't available for the plebs :-)

Red Arrows and Patrouille de France 18th June 2020 over Richmond
 

Red Arrows and Patrouille de France 18th June 2020 over Richmond - 80th
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5d20e664c5.jpg
Just pre smoke , nice weather Richmond compared to other flight locations today

Flybe Dash-8 G-ECOA

Recently departed Ext and over SOU.

Reportedly went to Saarbrücken.

Apparently the beautiful BOAC 747 of BA is leaving LHR for the last time today for storage/whatever. I know it's just metal, but I feel a bit sad about this. Perhaps one of our correspondents living west of LHR could take a photo of the departure.

That might be a bit of a challenge if it emulates the last 747 departure to Cardiff two weeks ago. :O

G-CIVF (off 27R, as today's will be) was at 5000' by the time it was over Horton and at 13000' when abeam here.

By my arithmetic, today's departure will leave 9 more BA 747s at LHR, of which all but one have been grounded since April.

That is sad... 50 years of 747 ops coming to a premature end? (1970?)

Pair of RAF F-35s at play over the North Sea, oone is ZM136, the other is rather more coy...

I'm sure that I read something in the last week to the effect that all Sim training etc has been stopped, thus putting the final nail in the coffin for the 747 at BA.

Yes, mentioned today in the R&N "BA restructuring" thread:

Thanks DRUK, I hadn't read it on pprune (for a change). I should have looked on R&N as they have most things before elsewhere.

SAd sad to see the last BA 74 head west , so many hours spent on them in my pax 'carer' taking me safely to literally the four corners of the world , I flew to every continent on them. A lot of years my first flight on one was Nov 1971 and last BA 747 trip was ORD LHR in 2017 . Looking back I flew on 74s belonging to AF, BA (and BOAC), CX, LH, MH (Malaysian) PA, QF, SQ,TW, UA . First and last on BA ( and more trips than all the others combined) , Jo'burg and back on the same plane , (luckily in F). best trip AF Beijing to CDG also in F in a -100 but AF knew how to do F class back then.

Being west of LHR then if they were on easterlies and heavy and a lot of inbounds I might have had a chance for a photo or westerlies the Cape Town departure barely made 6000 by Camberley if it was heavy . But today- no load no traffic and as DR says they will be at 5000 just a couple of miles from the airport and with no climb restriction above 6000 ft they will be a small spec by the time they are 20 miles west. Shame I would like to have bid it Adieu to the Queen of the skies, we will never see such an iconic airliner again

​​​​​​....apart from the 9 more remaining at LHR, perhaps? "Rumours of their demise are premature" as the saying goes

The BOAC flight didn't seem to get much above 13,000ft and was lowish over Bristol, perhaps a Bristolian Ppruner got a nice view of it before it passed the Severn Estuary.