With Nay at work it was a solo trip for Buster. They were due in around 7pm and so a battle with traffic ensued. Leaving Luton at five on the dot I made it as far as the main gate at Lakenheath when I saw F-15's turning for finals.
Luckily they were some based aircraft and I arrived at a busy enclosure just as the Saudi's flew over and started to peel off. Happy days :-)
Lakenheath 14-8-17
United States Air Force
48FW
492FS
91-0303/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
97-0222/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
493FS
84-0044/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15D Eagle
86-0163/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15C Eagle
494FS
91-0603/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
00-3002/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
56RQS
89-26212/LN Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk
91-26353/LN Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk
USAF(FMS) to Royal Saudi Air Force
12-1007 McDonnell-Douglas F-15SA Strike Eagle
12-1011 McDonnell-Douglas F-15SA Strike Eagle
12-1016 McDonnell-Douglas F-15SA Strike Eagle
12-1031 McDonnell-Douglas F-15SA Strike Eagle
12-1037 McDonnell-Douglas F-15SA Strike Eagle
12-1038 McDonnell-Douglas F-15SA Strike Eagle
More than pleased with that lot I sped over to Mildenhall before the darkness caught up. Five visitors noted, and the new 100ARW resident.
Mildenhall 14-8-17
22ARW "McConnell"
59-1508 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
55WG "Offutt"
62-4138/OF Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint
60AMW "Travis"
87-0119 McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender
100ARW
57-1493/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
58-0054/D Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker
58-0069/D Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker
58-0118/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
59-1471/D Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker
60-0324/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
60-0333 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker - still wearing AMC marks.
61-0299/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
61-0321/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
62-3559/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
63-8871/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
305AMW "McGuire"
79-0433 McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender
459ARW "Andrews"
57-1512 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
Time to head home, nothing to trouble the log at the local.
The following month it was Coningsby for a change, the Germans had arrived with Tonka's and Tiffer's!
Combined with a visit to Ma and Pa's in Wyberton it was a log full of fighters and a roast dinner to boot. Even the future son in law came with us to see them, we may convert him yet! So a four ball headed off for the 20 minute drive to Coningsby, Nay, Buster, Chas and Chris!
Coningsby 10-9-17
Royal Air Force
29(R)OCU
ZK352/BV Eurofighter Typhoon
ZK354/BY Eurofighter Typhoon
German Air Force
TLG51
44+21 Panavia Tornado IDS
45+59 Panavia Tornado IDS
46+46 Panavia Tornado ECR
46+51 Panavia Tornado ECR
46+57 Panavia Tornado ECR
TLG73
30+45 Eurofighter EF2000
30+47 Eurofighter EF2000
30+49 Eurofighter EF2000
30+51 Eurofighter EF2000
30+62 Eurofighter EF2000
31+20 Eurofighter EF2000
Another good log, time for that roast dinner...
A second delivery of Eagle's for the Saudi's went begging a few weeks later. No time to get there with work commitments etc...
And so October arrived, the 1st day and we were off again. Once again Nay was at work, but I'd managed to swing up to Wyberton to grab the 'Old boy'. So Chas and Buster headed off for Lakenheath.
This time it was Seymour Johnson's 4FW. Eighteen aircraft headed out to sandier climbs to relieve the 48FW.
Four Eagle's had already arrived the previous day, two had gone tech on route. Another six due today, but another two for the tech pool saw only four arrive. But as a Brucie bonus two of the Saudi jets were still here!
We headed for Mildenhall first, there was plenty of time until the SJ's arrived.
Mildenhall 1-10-17
United States Air Force
55WG "Offutt"
62-4132/OF Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint
62-4138/OF Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint
64-14846/OF Boeing RC-135V Rivet Joint
60AMW "Travis"
83-0080 McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender
100ARW
57-1493/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
58-0069/D Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker
58-0118/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
60-0324/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
63-7999/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
63-8871/D Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
105AW "Stewart"
00-0177 McDonnell-Douglas C-17A Globemaster III
134ARW "Tennesse"
57-2597 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
151ARW "Utah"
63-8026 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
352SOG
7SOS
08-0051 Bell-Boeing CV-22B Osprey
11-0057 Bell-Boeing CV-22B Osprey
12-0063 Bell-Boeing CV-22B Osprey
12-0064 Bell-Boeing CV-22B Osprey
67SOS
10-5714 Lockheed MC-130J Commando II
11-5731 Lockheed MC-130J Commando II
12-5759 Lockheed MC-130J Commando II
13-5778 Lockheed MC-130J Commando II
13-5786 Lockheed MC-130J Commando II
916ARW "First in Flight"
61-0313 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
Time to head over to the Heath, a walk through the field to find the existing SJ's and Saudi's was in order. Then off to the enclosure for the wait! Among the Eagle's were some Tonka's from Marham.
Lakenheath 1-10-17
United States Air Force
4FW
336FS
86-0187/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
87-0176/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
88-1688/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
88-1706/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
89-0488/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle - "336FS"
89-0492/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle - "4OG"
89-0495/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
89-0501/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
48FW
492FS
91-0312/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
494FS
91-0329/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
91-0334/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
91-0603/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
91-0604/LN McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
USAF(FMS) to Royal Saudi Air Force
12-1017 McDonnell-Douglas F-15SA Strike Eagle
12-1030 McDonnell-Douglas F-15SA Strike Eagle
Royal Air Force
31SQN
ZA370/004 Panavia Tornado GR.4A
ZA472/031 Panavia Tornado GR.4
ZA550/042 Panavia Tornado GR.4
That was all for now, the following weekend however we were back for more SJ's on the Saturday. Nay had finally caught a break in his shift pattern and so the two of us headed back to the Heath.
Six more Eagle's were due from the 4th Fighter Wing, but not surprisingly one went tech! Still five is better than none. A late afternoon launch from Luton saw us arrive with around 20 minutes to spare.
The weather was light rain so we didn't bother with walking the field to see what was about.
Lakenheath 7-10-17
4FW
336FS
87-0177/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
87-0181/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
88-1675/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
89-0474/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
89-0505/SJ McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
A quick run over to Mildenhall to see if any visitors were in, no lengthy log today, just one hit the book.
Mildenhall 7-10-17
452AMW "March"
57-1459 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
With the light virtually gone we headed home. Who knows when we'll be back...
Actually it was less than 24 hours before we were back on the road. More Eagle's I hear you say!
Not quite, seems the flavour of the day is Raptors!
Nay was once again on board, however he had work starting at 6pm. Back on the dreaded nights!
Turns out he had "car trouble" and was a few hours late in :-)
Arriving at Mildenhall first, it was another quick visitor check, no based stuff noted. Only a lone KC-10 was in, the other visitors were seen on approach from Lakenheath.
Mildenhall 8-10-17
60AMW "Travis"
82-0192 McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender
92ARW "Fairchild"
58-0001 Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker
305AMW "McGuire"
85-0032 McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender
87-0124 McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender
Back over to Lakenheath, we had trouble finding a place to park. Not seen it that busy for a long time. But we managed to find half a space in the car park, luckily I only have half a car!(Pug107)
Lakenheath 8-10-17
Civilian
N351AX Boeing 767-33A(ER) Omni
United States Air Force
1FW / 192FW
27FS / 149FS
08-4154/FF Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor
08-4155/FF Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor
08-4171/FF Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor
09-4172/FF Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor - "27FS"
09-4175/FF Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor
10-4192/FF Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor - "192FW"
According to USAFE, two squadrons have deployed in the Raptor. With one being marked 27FS, and one as 192FW, I'd wager that the two squadrons are as listed above. But being as both of the fighter wings draw from the Langley pool, it's tough to differentiate.
That was the days spotting over with, after dropping Nay to work I caught up with a few liners at Heathrow, but I won't bore you with a log :-)
The fighters will have to wait a bit, unless they're Migs as we're off to Romania/Bulgaria for the next few weekends. Hopefully some more F-15/22's for the last week in October. Stay tuned...
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