Photoshop experimenting.

Hi, I've been trying a bit of editing in Photoshop and wondered what people's thoughts were?

The first is obviously a WWII Spitfire flying away from the explosions on the runway.

This second one is the Vulcan bomber.

I'm not sure which looks better or indeed if either of them look any good?

Please let me know what your thoughts are on them via the comments section, thanks.

All the fun of the Fair.

A little while ago I bought you some of the photo's I took at the RAF Waddington Airshow.

I took my youngest daughter with me for the day and just to prove I didn't make her just sit and watch planes all day, here are some photos from the funfair.

We got there early so as you can see there were not many people at the stalls yet.

Harriet chose to go on the waltzers first. Trying to get a good photo whilst the waltzer whizzes by at great speed is great fun in itself. The colours really stand out and the blur shows the speed of the waltzer as it flashed past. 

 

We went back over to the fair later on in the day after the main air displays.

Its good to see smiling faces on the rides.

Crazy Critters, Waddington International Airshow 2010.

This weeks Camera Critters photo was taken amongst the noise and bustle of the Waddington International Airshow in Lincolnshire.

The bird flew down and landed on one of the lights at the edge of the taxi way during the middle of the air displays. He seemed completely oblivious to the crowds, noise and general commotion going on around him. It shows just what nature really thinks of our human endeavours. We as humans often think we are the centre of life on Earth, but, when we see creatures such as this bird completely ignoring us, it puts us back in our place well it certainly does to me. The world is ours to share not to dominate.

This was the fly past that this little bird chose to ignore, or maybe he didn't maybe he stopped to watch, who knows!

Head over to Camera Critters for more exciting animal pictures, just click on the Camera Critters Logo at the top of this post to link to the site.

The Red Arrows Display Team at RAF Waddington's International Airshow 2010.

 The Red Arrows are the Royal Air Force's premium display team. They are renowned throughout the world as ambassadors for both Britain and the RAF.

Founded in 1965 they have taken part in over 4,000 displays in 53 countries. 

The pilots are all fully trained RAF combat pilots with a minimum of 1,500 flying hours and have to have completed at least one front line tour.

The aeroplanes they use for their displays are the BAE Systems Hawk T1. This dual controlled trainer aircraft has been the aeroplane of choice for the Red Arrows since 1979. The high manoeuvrability of this aircraft allow the team to do the fantastic coordinated display flying they are world famous for.

On the day of the display one of the pilots had been taken ill with chronic food poisoning which meant the display had to be done with only eight planes.

 They use white, blue and red smoke which trails behind the aircraft adding an extra dimension to their display.

The planes screaming by at 400+ mph are only feet apart. The pilots don't use computers to keep the tight formations, instead they line up simple reference points using trigonometry to line up nose to wing, or wing to tail, thus keeping the planes a safe distance apart throughout the manoeuvres.

Sweeping in towards the crowd line.

Roaring past the crowd smoke trailing.

T-formation.

The bright red of the planes makes sure you can see them for the whole display.

You can't even notice one plane is missing as they have tweaked their positioning to compensate. Not an easy thing to do when you are flying so close together at high speeds.

Precision flying!

Red and Blue smoke trailing as they loop around one another whilst flying straight for the crowd line.

Climbing straight up!

Followed by one of the big fan breaks of the display high overhead on the way down.

The display by the Red Arrows at RAF Waddington was fantastic even with one plane missing. If you want to find out more details about this team then you can visit their web site at:

 http://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/

Chinook Display, RAF Waddington International Airshow 2010.

The RAF operates the largest fleet of Chinook helicopters after the US Army. They are used for troop carrying and internal and external slung loads. They are capable of carrying 55 troops or ten tonnes of freight at a time. This is their main role but they are also used for search and rescue and casualty evacuation roles too.

The Chinook in this display flew in with a Land Rover and trailer slung beneath it showing just some of its role.

Once it had dropped off the Land Rover and trailer it landed quickly and deposited two more Land Rovers stored inside it.

Then as it took off it dropped off the last of its troops via abseil onto the runway.

Then back in the air it was able to show off just some of the great manoeuvrability capabilities of this wonderful helicopter.

The twin engines operating the tandem rotor blades give the Chinook its versatility in the air and allow for its large cargo capacity.

The Chinook is currently used across the World in many front line operations.

Battle of Britain Scenario, Waddington International Airshow 2010.

RAF Waddington put on a Battle of Britain Scenario display that included Spitfires, Hurricanes, ground troops, vehicles, large guns and an Messerschmitt Me109 at their 2010 International Airshow.

All around the airfield there were people taking part in the action in some form or another.

Being on the runway line I got to see the aeroplane part of the display, but, I heard reports of action happening all over the base in one of their biggest displays yet.

We were introduced via a report from the control tower that a lone Messerschmitt Me109 had been spotted approaching the airfield.

The command to scramble was given and the Spitfires and Hurricanes took to the skies.

The Me109 veers off after strafing the runway.

 The Spitfires give chase and it retreats from the battle.

A call is put out that a high level bomber has been spotted over the airfield just before the runway explodes in a ball of fire as bombs rain down.

The runway seems to be engulfed in a curtain of flames. Did any of the Spitfires refuelling on the ground make it out in time?

The flames clear, the smoke rises...

and yes we see the spitfires all made it of the ground in time.

As they climb back into the sky above the airfield another Messerschmitt Me109 is spotted over head.

Three of the Spitfires give chase and a dogfight forms overhead.

The Messerschmitt is seen off and the Spitfires are clear to return back to the airfield.

The re-enactment was a spectacular display of  World War II engineering and expertise.

Thanks to the brave exploits of our pilots and ground support staff the aerial Battle of Britain was won.

A great display I'm sure you will agree!

Come back tomorrow for more fun from RAF Waddington's International Airshow 2010.

The Army Historic Aircraft Flight at the Waddington International Airshow 2010.

One of the displays at the Waddington 2010 International Airshow in Lincolnshire was provided by The Army Historic Aircraft Flight (AHAF).

The Army Historic flight, like its counterparts in the other services, is charged with maintaining the service's flying heritage.

Their aim as highlighted on their website at http://www.army.mod.uk/aviation/7089.aspx states: 

The aim is of AHAF to maintain out-of-service Army fixed and rotary wing aircraft in flying condition for publicity, posterity, the promotion of esprit de corps and recruiting purposes.

Unfortunately they were only able to bring three of their aircraft to RAF Waddington.

They were:

the Westland Scout AH Mk I - XT626

the The Alouette II - XR379

and the De Havilland Chipmunk T10 - WD325.

It was great to see the Chipmunk, as when I was in the Air Training Corps many years ago, I had the opportunity to fly one and it was great fun.

Vulcan XH558 at the Waddington Airshow 2010.

The Avro Vulcan XH558 is the only flying Vulcan currently in the world.

With this in mind it was an honour to see its fantastic flying display at RAF Waddington on Saturday 3rd July 2010.

The idea for the Vulcan was first conceived in 1946 by Avro's Chief Designer Roy Chadwick, who also designed the Lancaster bomber. Sadly he died a year later and the job of completing the design fell to Stuart Davies. After a few changes to the early prototype and production model were made, to stop a buffering effect on the outer wing, the B2 model entered service in the 1960's. The B2 became Britain's main nuclear deterrent working as part of NATO during the Cold War years.

The last operational Vulcan's flown by the RAF were disbanded in 1984.

The Vulcan XH558 was the only aircraft flown after that time and was used solely for display purposes until it too was sold off in 1993.

Since 2000, 14 years of effort and fund raising have been used to bring the Vulcan XH558 back to airworthiness, cumulating in its re-introduction at the Waddington Airshow in 2008. I was honoured to be there on that day and you can see my photos at Waddington Air Show.

As the Vulcan commenced its display the phenomenal power and sheer size of the aircraft is evident from the off. 

The Vulcan as it climbs into the sky.

The manoeuvrability of the Vulcan is outstanding. A comparison used on the day was an aircraft the size of an airliner which is able to be thrown around the sky like a Spitfire.

The pilot certainly proved this true.

I'm afraid these mere photos can not show the true poise and grace of this huge machine as it weaves across the sky. It was a true sight to behold!

The Delta wing in its full glory.

Part of the display was a re-enactment of the 'Black Buck' bombing raids that it carried out during the Falklands War in 1982.

Bomb doors nearly open as it sweeps in towards the crowd line.

Bomb doors fully open as it thunders past the crowd engines roaring!

The sleek lines of the aircraft make it stand out clearly for the crowd as it roars past.

  Quick wave at the pilot!

 Martin Withers DFC, the chief pilot for the 2010 season was also the pilot who completed that first successful 'Black Buck' bombing mission during the 1982 Falklands War.

For more information on the Vulcan XH558 or to make a donation you can visit the Vulcan to the Sky web site at: 

http://www.vulcantothesky.org/

More Photos of the Waddington Airshow 2010 to come.