This month there is a squadron of Italian based USAF F-16s on exercises at Lakenheath. I was waiting for a Runway 06 wind day and when the wind started coming in from the Northeast for a few days I set off down there leaving at 0500, Got there at 0830 to an almost full carpark! (too many bloody idle people on furlough) and Nothing flew till 1030 when a few F-15s went out (and Runway 24 was in use doh! forecasts! pfft!) a lot of heat haze so generally crappy photography was to be had...a few of these follow:
No F-16s flew by the time I left at 1500..it was a long day, I stopped at Marham on the way back hoping to catch some USMC F-35s, but drew a blank there as well. Then midweek reports came out that the F-16s started flying lowlevel through the Lakes district, it just so happened we had planned an overnighter thursday / friday so I was going to try my luck. Vantage points in the lakes are many but few..the area is huge, the vantage points remote and usually require strenuous trekking also the valleys are broad with few "pinch" points where you can get a close up looking down on the aircraft. One such point is Dunmail Raise between grasmere and thirlmere. So we got there climbed the western wall waited saw bugger all, climbed back down crossed the highway and climbed the eastern wall (well half way anyway.. I was discouraged) waited saw bugger all and left to do other stuff. (my camera back pack weighs a bloody ton I will have to reduce what I carry around in it for these exercises, besides the effort of carting it while scrambling up hills and (sliding down them) the load puts you off balance while stumbling along increasing chances of tripping and falling. About an hour after we left a number of F-16s flew by!
So we then did the usual lakes stuff, more walking, afternoon tea etc. Friday's plan was a non aviation day, we went to Honister to walk to Great Gable and back, on the way back whilst taking some landscapes a pair of Hawks photobombed me as they flew up the Ennerdale valley, over Hay Stacks, Fleetwith Pike and through the pass. I only had my small camera and 45mm lens! Crap! As we went further down a pair of F-16s did the same! Double crap! We got back to the car at the Honister slate works and another pair of F-16s flew over! Triple crap! my heavy photographic "artillery" was inches away unassembled in the bag with the car boot open.
The joys of the hobby! It requires dedication but you know it is fun..of sorts, one day, one day I will I WILL get "THAT" shot!
