RAF Waddington Air Show - 06/07/13

This year's airshow at RAF Waddington over the weekend of July 6th/7th, took place in glorious hot sunshine and clear blue skies. Aircraft participation was down compared with previous years and civilian aircraft on display outnumbered their military counterparts by a long way but that said, there was enough going on to keep my camera from getting bored.


Dassault AlphaJet E163/7 of the French Air Force's 'Patrouille de France' display team is closely followed by a team mate as it descends on short finals to Waddington's runway 20.

The RAF marked the 70th anniversary of the 'Dambuster' raids with a flypast by Avro Lancaster PA474 in formation with Panavia Tornado GR4 ZA492 of 617 Squadron. A special commemorative colour scheme adorns the tail fin of the Tornado.







Another RAF aircraft to wear special markings this year is Shorts Tucano T1 Zf239, resplendent in a wartime desert camouflage scheme.



Royal Navy AgustaWestland HM1 ZH850/80 of 824 Naval Air Squadron gave a polished performance.





The RAF's No.5(AC) Squadron celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. One of its Bombardier Sentinel R1, ZJ692, leads a formation of BAe Hawks of the Red Arrows.

It is 35 years since the Lockheed F16 first entered service, but its agility and power ensures that it still remains a favourite on the airshow display circuit. Turkish Air Force F16CG 91-0011 of 141 Filo, and Royal Netherlands Air Force F16AM J-015 belonging to 312 Squadron, were both in action on Saturday afternoon.

The Czech Republic Air Force continue to be regular visitors to Waddington and provided two aircraft for the flying display, Aero L159A 6063 and Saab JAS39C Gripen 9240.

If you've ever been up close to a Chinook you'll know that they are rather large helicopters, which makes it all the more jaw-dropping when you see one being thrown around the sky. Here, ZA674 of the RAF's 27(R) Squadron is put through its paces.

Making the short flight from its base at nearby RAF Coningsby, Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 ZK344/BQ of 29(R) Squadron.







The Army Air Corps brought along Westland WAH64 Apache AH1 ZJ218. Speculation that a certain 'royal' pilot was at the controls was quickly squashed, doubtless to the chagrin of many ladies in the crowd.



Highlight of the show for me and, I suspect, many, many others was the appearance of the Flygvapnet Veteranflygdivisionen (Swedish Historic Flight), who brought along three aircraft, all from the SAAB stable.


SAAB Sk60 SE-DXG/60140 in the markings of  the Swedish Air Force's F5.

The display that nearly didn't happen...

The pilot reported that the Viggen had gone 'tech' when he was about to taxy out, which would have been hugely disappointing as it had been a long time since I'd seen a Viggen, one of my all-time favourite aeroplanes, in the air.

Happily, the snag was soon sorted and I got my fix of SAAB's mighty 'Thunderer'. SE-DXN/37098/52 is an example of the AJS37 version of the beast.

One of SAAB's earliest jet fighters is the J29F. Looking at it from the side, you can well understand why it was known affectionately as the 'Tunnan' (barrel). SE-DXB/29670/R yellow wears F10 markings.