Coningsby Enthusiasts Day

RAF Coningsby organised an Enthusiasts day on the 11th June 2010 which took place the day before the stations Families Day

500 tickets had been sold prior to the event which was aimed squarely at the photographer or so one was lead to believe.

On arrival in the area the weather was far from ideal but promised to get better as the day went on.

Gates opened @1130 which gave us a chance to have a brew in the spotters car park at the end of 07 which was already full to bursting.

From the car park a view over 29Sqns pan was afforded which didn't show anything out of the ordinary to be honest

Arrival at the Old Boston Road crash gate security checked us in and then we waited for buses to shuttle us down to the main area.

29Sqns hanger was open and various displays were set-up showing some of the units involved in supporting the flying activities, Closer inspection was allowed of a 41Sqn Harrier and a 29Sqn Typhoon. The Typhoon also had access steps to allow closer inspection of the cockpit.

Unfortunately half the hanger was fenced off with rather large shelving type units which made photography of the other hanger residents almost impossible. One item in particular I was really wanting to photograph was the Lightning 29Sqn are doing up as a gate guard. Already stripped down to bare metal and with the belly tank modifications in place work seems to be progressing all be it slowly, just a shame it wasn't in a position to be photographed properly...

So on with the photographs of the aircraft outside.....

Coningsby Squadrons

Coningsby is home to 5 Flying Squadrons

3 Sqn - Typhoon F2 + FGR4 - The first operational front line RAF Typhoon Squadron, operates as Air Defensive Squadrons

11 Sqn - Typhoon FGR4 - The first multi role RAF Typhoon Squadron

17 (Reserve) Sqn - Typhoon FGR4 - The Typhoon Operational Evaluation Unit. Develops tactics for operational squadrons

29 (Reserve) Sqn - Typhoon T1/A + T3 + FGR4 - The Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit. All new Typhoon pilots pass through this squadron

41 Sqn - Tornado GR4 + Harrier GR9 - development of operational tactics for both Tornado and Harrier

BBMF - Spitfire LF IXC MK356

Up close and personal on the flightline, work being carried out on the engine

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

BBMF - Battle of Britain Memorial Flight operate 5 Spitires, 2 Hurricanes, The Lancaster, A Dakota and a Chipmunk

Sadly today only two Spitfires, a Hurricane and the Dakota where visible. The Lancaster was once again u/s

F-15C Eagle, RAF Lakenheath

The only front line visitors were a brace of F-15C's. One is noted as having shot down an SU22

Hawker Hunter Mk58 - Hawker Hunter Aviation

Always a pleasure to see a hunter and even more so one that has been reregistered on the Military lists. This example is an ex Swiss Airforce aircraft but operates as a 'threat aircraft' for the Royal Navy amongst other things

Bits & Pieces

On the whole the day was worth the trip up to Lincolnshire but that was partly due to the fact I was visiting my parents that night locally and didn't have to turn round and drive all the way home again the same day. Had I had to do the round trip in a day I would to be honest have been a little disappointed with the amount on offer to view and photograph, nearly all flying by the stations squadrons stopped when we arrived on station. After the event it turned out that the station had been running tours of the HAS complex along with the chance to photograph the station main gate guards something that I and a large proportion of the attendees didn't know about.

So was the entrance fee value for money ? Not in my opinion, had there been more visitors and more flying then yes it would have been worth it, in all honesty I would have got better results from being outside the fence. Having said all that all proceeds were going to charity so maybe that's my charitable deed done for the year !!

But what must also be added is that all the stations personnel that were dealing with the public were all very friendly and approachable and the provision of access steps near the static aircraft was much appreciated by everyone I spoke too.

Thanks for taking the time to view the images and read my ramblings.