Aviation in motion
Two B-1B Lancers thunder out of RAF Fairford to return back to Ellsworth AFB in the U.S. after a few weeks on UK soil.
Fortunately they switched runways halfway through the morning which meant they were launching towards my shooting location.
Nothing overloads the senses like a B-1 in full burner. Aviation in all it’s wondrous glory.
Shortly following the B-52 on the same day, and just after 6am on a chilly summers morning, the regular dawn chorus of rural Gloucestershire was accompanied by the sound of two B-1Bs (85-0084 BONE01 and 86-139 BONE02) out to a Baltops mission somewhere out in the Baltic Sea.
These aircraft come from the 34th BS United States Air Force at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota.
Rockwell B-1B Lancer (85-0089) returning to RAF Fairford on the 9th September 2016 under the call sign CROOK02.
This aircraft is from the 28th BS, part of the 7th OG Global Strike Command and was taking part in the International Sanicole airshow, Belgium (www.sanicole.com).
There was a fairly strong crosswind on this day, which caused the jets (and my camera) to be buffeted around a fair amount. You can see the commander skilfully working the jet through the wind for a gentle landing on runway 27.
Lovely to see these impressive jets in the UK skies again, and hopefully they’ll become a more familiar sight in the coming years.
Rockwell B-1B Lancer (86-0127) returning to RAF Fairford on the 9th September 2016 under the call sign CROOK01.
This aircraft is from the 28th BS, part of the 7th OG Global Strike Command and was taking part in Ample Strike ’16 in the Czech Republic.
There was a fairly strong crosswind on this day, which caused the jets (and my camera) to be buffeted around a fair amount.
Lovely to see these impressive jets in the UK skies again, and hopefully they’ll become a more familiar sight in the coming years.
Rockwell B-1B Lancer (85-0089) from Dyess AFB, Texas, roars out of RAF Fairford on September 9th 2016 under the call sign CROOK02. The jet was so loud my mic wasn’t really able to cope with the noise.
This aircraft is from the 28th BS, part of the 7th OG Global Strike Command and was deploying from RAF Fairford for the International Sanicole airshow, Belgium (www.sanicole.com).
Check out 0:51 as the jet passes through the clouds.
Rockwell B-1B Lancer 85-0089 from Dyess AFB, Texas, lands back into RAF Fairford on September 4th 2016 under the call sign CROOK01.
This aircraft is from the 28th BS, part of the 7th OG Global Strike Command and was taking part in a familiarisation flight in preparation for operation Ample Strike ’16 in the Czech Republic.