Latest Articles
RAF100 Centenary Celebrations
With April 1, 2018 marking the 100 year result of the amalgamation of the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps, Jamie Ewan looks at what the Royal Air Force has planned to commemorate, in this their centenary year, under the banner RAF100. Three words - Commemorate. Celebrate. Inspire. These are the basis of the Royal Air Force’s celebrations across the country, and the wider world from April through to November. Formed on April 1, 1918, the Royal Air Force has been involved in near constant operations of all kinds around the world. With that in mind, 2018 and the RAF100 campaign gives the junior [...]
Lightning Preservation Group Nightshoot
February. Bruntingthorpe. Lightnings. Yes, it is that time of the year again at which the Lightning Preservation Group opens their season with a dedicated photoshoot of their world-renowned English Electric Lightnings. Jamie Ewan was there and took time to chat with the Group’s Secretary, Scott McPhee. With the Lightning Preservation Group (LPG) being one of the stalwart acts during the ‘offseason’ it was a delight to yet again be heading up the road to Bruntingthorpe - door to door, it is just seven miles for me. Heading up the hill (not that there are many around here!) I had the same old query in my head – [...]
Spanhoe Photocall
Found in rural Northamptonshire, Spanhoe Airfield was once called home by both the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force. Now, some 70 years after the airfield was returned to the farmers it was requisitioned from, its remnants house a near-unknown type, the Reid and Sigrist R.S.4 'Bobsleigh'. Making its first post-restoration public appearance at the recent Spanhoe day/night photocall held by Threshold.aero, AeroResource’s Jamie Ewan was there. With types from the stables of Cessna, Piper, Taylorcraft and Boeing calling the hangars home, Spanhoe Airfield seems like another typical GA (General Aviation) airfield. Join them with the [...]
Baltic Bees Jet Team
Lying in the west of the Baltic State Latvia, the newly refurbished Jurmala Airport resides near the small historical town of Tukums. Since their inception in 2008, the Baltic Bees Jet Team have based themselves and their six immaculate and brightly coloured yellow and blue Aero Vodochody L-39Cs at this quiet ex-Soviet airfield. Duncan Monk visited their Headquarters at Jurmala Airport to find out more about the team and their aircraft. The Baltic Bees Jet Team have existed since 2008 and are now part of the Wing4Sky Group, to create the first professional aerobatic team in the Baltic States. The [...]
Jurmala Airport Air Zoo
Just 40 miles west of the Latvian capital Riga in the small sleepy town of Tukums sits Jurmala Airport. Once a Soviet air base, the site is now home to an interesting yet largely unknown museum concept known as the Jurmala Airport Air Zoo. Conceived initially by KSAvia, Duncan Monk visited for AeroResource to find out more. The former Soviet air base at Tukums – built in 1939 - was occupied by ‘red stars’ for most of its military use. Falling to the Germans under Nazi occupation in June 1941, it would not be September 1944 that the Russians took [...]
Lightning Preservation Group – ORP Scramble
With the 2017 ‘offseason’ in full swing, November 4th saw the turn of the Lightning Preservation Group and their English Electric icons to provide an aviation solace with their annual Twilight run. Billed this year as an ‘ORP Scramble’, Jamie Ewan made his way up to their home at Bruntingthorpe for an ear-shattering night and takes a look back at the event. The story of how an airfield in rural Leicestershire and the LPG became home to not just one live Lightning but two is that of legend in the world of aircraft preservation - both in the United Kingdom [...]
Italian Air Force Flying Training
The Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI) is significantly modernising its flying training. In 2015, Alenia Aermacchi’s T-346A advanced jet trainer entered service and 2016 will see the recently announced introduction of Tecnam’s P2006T for basic multi-engined [...]
Luchtmachtdagen 2016
After a year of absence in 2015, the annual Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) Luchtmachtdagen returned this year to Vliegerbasis Leeuwarden, in the North of the Netherlands. Whilst the theme of the show was once [...]
First F-35 Lightning IIs arrive in United Kingdom
Wednesday 29th June 2016 saw a significant milestone for the F-35 program, as the first deployment of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II to the United Kingdom commenced with three aircraft landing at RAF Fairford, including [...]
Anatolian Eagle 2016
Large multi-national air exercises where combined air operations can be executed against strategic and tactical targets provide excellent training opportunities for all participants, but the requirements to host this type of exercise are such that [...]
Exercise Tac Blaze 16 – Carlisle
With the sleepy airfield at Carlisle converted into a forward operating base for some serious helicopter hardware, AeroResources’ Kevin Paterson decided it was time to dust off the cameras, charge the radios and head for the [...]
Hangar 11 P-51D ‘Tall In The Saddle’ Unveiling
It had long been rumoured that Peter Tiechman, owner of the Hangar 11 Collection based at North Weald, would repaint his P-51D into a new and authentic scheme. It was already known that the Mustang [...]
Shuttleworth Fly Navy Air Show 2016
When the Shuttleworth Fly Navy show was first announced, anticipation for what could form the display lineup was high. In fact, almost before the first display item was announced, some were pegging it as a [...]
Ex BALTOPS / Saber Strike 2016
RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire has regularly seen United States Air Force (USAF) long-range bombers deployed to support ongoing multinational exercises in Europe, namely BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) and Saber Strike, over the last couple of years. [...]
Duxford American Air Show 2016
As the 2016 airshow season gets underway, the American Air Show held at Duxford’s Imperial War Museum represented the first of the major shows held under the new Civilian Aviation Authority regulations. Celebrating American and [...]
Exercise Joint Warrior 16-1
Running from April 11-22, Exercise Joint Warrior 16-1 was the latest installment of the long running "wargame" held in the UK. With just 30 ships being involved from 15 nations, this edition of the bi-annual [...]
The Jet Provost Display Team
In a time where the UK’s classic jet scene is adjusting to the post Shoreham era, many in the aviation community have asked what the future will hold for it. That said, 2015 saw the [...]
RAF Marham Enthusiasts Event
As a military aviation enthusiast, getting a chance to access a frontline fast jet base is certainly not an everyday occurrence. Therefore, it’s no surprise that when the RAF Marham Enthusiasts Event was announced in [...]
