For the aviation geek, 2020 has been a barren year with smaller airfields shut for much of the time, civilian air movements minimal, and airshows concealed en masse. But there's one group of aircraft that have had to keep flying: the military aircraft.
One morning last week, I headed off to RAF Lakenheath, where there was a readiness exercise on. This entailed squadrons of the 48th Fighter Wing sending up their aircraft for short sorties, followed by landing, minimal servicing, and getting back up again.
Four Eagles (three C types and a D). Three are being serviced on the pan, and one has completed servicing, and is taxying back down to take off again. Panorama stitch of four overlapping raw files in Lightroom CC: click to see it larger. (I’d love to know what drips the man with the bucket is catching!) D500, 500mm f/5.6E PF
F-15C 86-0160 taxying after a sortie. D500, 500mm f/5.6E PF
I had seen online that there were hordes of #avgeeks at Lakenheath, so I arrived early hoping to get a good viewing point. I arrived at the forest entrance at about 7.15 am, to discover that there were already photographers everywhere. (One group I spoke to had reached Lakenheath from Yorkshire at 3 am!) I was parking up just as two F-15 aircraft roared overhead. Rats! Missed them. But no sooner had I got my camera out than two more went up - and another two. And so it went all morning: pairs of F-15C/F-15D aircraft of the 493rd Fighter Squadron going up for short sorties, coming back down, taxying up the runway to a pan where they were quickly serviced, and then back to the runway to take off again.
USAF F-15C Eagle 86-0164 LN. The aircraft banks hard as it departs Lakenheath, and turns onto an easterly course. D810, 70-200mm f/2.8E + TC-20E III
USAF F-15C Eagle 86-0178 LN. D500, 500mm f/5.6E PF
The pilot of 86-0178 in their office. D500, 500mm f/5.6E PF
F-15C 86-0163. D810, 70-200mm f/2.8E + TC-20E III
From my perspective, the best thing was that the wind direction required them to operate off runway 06. This meant they took off towards where all the photographers were standing around the forest entrance, dipping their starboard wings as they headed off on an easterly course presenting us with a perfect topside view. The morning sun was behind me as I faced the aircraft, meaning they were beautifully lit.
By 9 am, I'd pretty much got the pictures I was after. The morning was cloudless; even at 8 am it was positively warm. By 11 am it was about 33°, and after a shadeless three and a half hours, I'd pretty much had enough. The Strike Eagles of the 492nd and 494th Squadrons were going up, which I'd like to have watched, but with the strong heat-haze softening the pictures I packed up and left.
A wonderful morning: the weather may have been hot, but so was the flying.
F-15E 91-0331 departs Lakenheath. D500, 70-200mm f/2.8E + TC-20E III