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    Military Low Flying in the UK: The Skill of Pilots and Photographers
    Military Low Flying in the UK: The Skill of Pilots and Photographers
    Military Low Flying in the UK: The Skill of Pilots and Photographers
    Ebook233 pages1 hour

    Military Low Flying in the UK: The Skill of Pilots and Photographers

    By Michael Leek and Robert Wright

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    About this ebook

    The UK has some of the most dramatic landscapes for NATO pilots to exercise the increasingly important military art of high-speed low flying. It also offers splendid opportunities for photography of close-up dramatic shots taken from the hillsides and mountains of Wales, Scotland and other steep terrain within the UK. Pilots training for operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other potential war zones, learn their skills flying through the valleys of the UK at near subsonic speed. For the legions of enthusiastic aviation photographers, thousands of whom can be seen at air shows, it provides ideal viewpoints.This book contains firsthand accounts from the pilots and expert advice for the photographer, together with stunning close-up color photos of the aircraft flying at eye-level and sometimes below the camera. It has the full support of the Royal Air Force and articles by the leading photographers in this field.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateMar 19, 2012
    ISBN9781783461127
    Military Low Flying in the UK: The Skill of Pilots and Photographers

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      Book preview

      Military Low Flying in the UK - Michael Leek

      Chapter 1

      Introduction and context

      The basic concept or principle of low flying photography is that you, the photographer, are above the aircraft and that all photographs show the aircraft to be landlocked. Therefore the fundamental difference between this type of aviation photography and what is more usually taken at air shows and the like is that low level shows the topsides of an aircraft or, at the very least, the aircraft on the same level as the photographer. The aim is to avoid the boring and often dull shots of silhouetted undersides against blue or cloudy skies! Furthermore, photographing low level is to photograph military aircraft being put through their paces for the sole purposes of training the aircrew. What you see low level is not a staged-managed event. It is seeing the aircraft at work, doing what they were designed to do, be it a humble Grob Tutor or a fully wing-swept Tornado GR4.

      This is the first book to be published exclusively on the subject of photographing low flying military aircraft. Considering the many years the Royal Air Force (RAF) and others have been training low level this may come as a surprise to many readers. However, whilst the prime low flying areas of the UK may be known to enthusiasts, the photographing of low flying aircraft in the days of film-based photography probably limited the number of individuals prepared to venture into the hills. Also, the maximum number of shots per film was 36, which again limited or restricted opportunities. The introduction of digital photography has changed this. The speed, flexibility and greater control of digital photography, in parallel with the widespread use of the Internet, has enabled more people to take advantage of the technology, take to hills and develop their skills in photographing low flying military aircraft.

      The above is not to suggest that low flying photography was not happening with film-based cameras. In places like mid Wales – and no doubt in Cumbria too – there were a few people who regularly climbed hills to record the many and varied RAF and NATO aircraft which used these skies to train. I have met some of these people and seen some of their photos. It is hoped that those who started this hobby in the heady days of the Cold War, shooting film, slides and cine, can be persuaded to convert their material into digital form, donating copies to the RAF Museum, Hendon. This will ensure that this unique record will survive as an important contribution to aviation history in the UK.

      The variety of aircraft in service during the Cold War, from English Electric Lightnings, McDonnell-Douglas Phantoms, General Dynamics FB1-11s to numerous Hawker Hunters, was extensive. Indeed, the number of aircraft passes, or movements, was considerably greater than today – on some days in excess of ninety movements have been recorded, with thirty or more movements often being considered the norm! This was because the RAF, and its NATO allies, were, in terms of the number of aircraft, much larger than today and, consequently, there were far more aircrew under training and serving in operational squadrons who needed to hone their skills on a regular and frequent basis.

      Even though I was obliged to study film-based photography when a student at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, I never took to it. To me it was the ‘easy option’ and took me away from what I considered to be the real creative skill: observation drawing, eventually leading to information or technical illustration. In other words, I wanted to be the one who generated the final image by using my own talent for drawing and illustration, rather than relying on creativity through a lens. I also did not enjoy developing and printing. Following graduation and jobs in publishing, and in and for the aircraft industries in the UK (which included work on Concorde and the very first Airbus), The Netherlands and Germany, photography was a useful and necessary tool for information and research purposes, and I approached it as such and not for any creative purposes. Even studying for and completing two postgraduate degrees film-based photography did little to inspire. This continued when I entered design education. For the many student projects I designed and managed for, amongst others, the Royal Air Force Vulcan Display Team at RAF Waddington, the Royal Air Force Museum, the Imperial War Museum at Duxford (and at their other sites), the Fleet Air Arm Museum, and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, photography was a mere means to an

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