Yeovilton 7.7.09 - Air Show Preview Day

Sea Vixen XP924 arrives on Tuesday 7th July 2009 at Yeovilton, Somerset as part of the Press Preview event held as a warm up for the Air Show planned for Saturday 11th July 2009.


A small static display was arranged and a couple of practice displays were flown too. The static included the above Royal Marine Lynx AH7 from 847 NAS alongside a Royal Navy Lynx HMA8 - look at how the basic design has evolved when comparing the two airframes.




The based Royal Navy Sea King HC4 helicopters were busy preparing for the impressive mass helicopter aerial assault demo that is the finale of the Yeovilton Air Show each year.





The only airworthy Sea Vixen XP924 arrived at Yeovilton from its home base at Bournemouth Hurn airport. This truly magnificent aircraft is now operated as jet warbird registered as G-CVIX and painted in the colours of 899 Sqd when operating from HMS Eagle.



This year the Sea Vixen has a new display pilot, Lt Cdr Matt Whitfield of the Royal Navy. Lt Cdr Whitfield is based at Yeovilton and usually flies Hawk T1 aircraft.




With this year marking 100 years of Naval Aviation the show organisers were keen to attract historic Royal Navy aircraft - one of the stars is the Seafire F Mk XVII SX336 ( G-KASX ) owned by Tim Manna - this machine was built in 1946 by Westlands at nearby Yeovil. A total of 232 Seafire MK XVII were built.

The aircraft is powered by a Rolls Royce Griffon VI engine with a four bladed propeller. The derelict airframe was rescued from a scrap yard in 1973 - after many years of storage a full restoration project started in about 2000 with first flight post restoration in May 2006.



SX336 is the only airworthy Seafire in the UK - Seafire MK 47 VP441 flies in the USA registered as N47SF - two very rare aircraft.




Also present was Douglas AD-4N Skyraider G-RADR - this large single enginned aircraft was built in 1948. The Skyraider did see service with the Royal Navy in the 1950s & 60s but not this particular airframe ( you can see a Royal Navy Skyraider in the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton ) . This aircraft was delivered to the US Navy as Bu 126922 in about 1952. It was later sold to the French AF in 1960 as serial "42" before passing onto the the Gabon AF in the mid 1970s.

It arrived back in France as a civilian warbird in the mid 1980s being registered as F-AZED - I saw this at Duxford in 1992 & 1993 painted in a dark blue US Navy c/s as 126922 coded "JS-937 ". It was registered in the UK as G-RAID in 1993 and painted in its current US Navy colours as 126922 coded "AK-402" of VA-176 operating from USS Intrepid. After a sale it was re-registered as G-RADR in 2003 - it certainly is a beast of a design.


Parked in the static area was one of the Black Cat team aircraft, Lynx HAS 3 XZ250 coded "631" - the Black Cats operate as a pair with one Lynx HAS 3 and one Lynx HMA 8 operated by 702 NAS based at Yeovilton.



Also shown was G-BYXK Grob 115E Tutor owned by VT Aerospace but operated by 727 NAS based at Yeovilton - these basic trainers assess the skills of potential pilots prior to moving onto the Slingsby T67.

The Air Show will be held on Saturday 11th July and among the aircraft expected to attend are the Frecce Tricolori team, the Royal Jordanian Falcons, plus displays from a French AF Rafale ( UK debut display ) and F-16s from Belgium and the Netherlands.

Among the static aircraft due are a French Navy E-2 Hawkeye, German Navy Atlantic, Spanish Navy EAV-8, French Super Etendards and Lynxs from Portugal and France - all good stuff lets hope they arrive.

A variety of Sea King helicopters will be present to celebrate 40 years of service with the Royal Navy.

The show will also feature the Fly Navy 100 mass formation flypast plus of course the dynamic Commando helicopter air assault demonstration - I hope you enjoy the show.

For full details of the latest aircraft due to appear please click here


With thanks to the Yeovilton PRO team.

XZ697 Royal Navy Lynx HMA 8 visits Wells Somerset 25.2.09

I often work from home and my morning peace and quiet was interrupted by the sound and welcome sight of a RN Lynx passing very low over my house in the descent.

A quick dash upstairs allowed me to follow the Lynx as it descended towards the Wells Cathedral School grounds.

The Lynx was on a visit the the schools student Combined Cadet Force ( CCF ). I managed to get down to the school in time to have a quick look at the Lynx before it departed back to its home base at RNAS Yeovilton.

The Lynx was serial XZ697 coded "641" of the training unit 702 NAS. It has been modified to HMA 8 standard. This Lynx was built by Westlands at Yeovil as construction number WA 145 and first fly back in January 1980 - so it's now 29 years old.

It appeared in the static park at the Farnborough aviation trade show in September 1988 as a mark HAS 3 coded "602" of 829 NAS. By 1998 it had been converted to HMA 8 standard and was seen operating with 815 NAS coded "308"

This original Lynx will be replaced by the new "Future Lynx" in the next few years.

The crew allowed the school students the opportunity to climb aboard and ask plenty of questions - good PR for the Royal Navy and a good opportunity for the students to learn too.

With thanks to Wells Cathedral School and Royal Navy 702 NAS.

Yeovilton - Wed 14.3.07

Yeovilton is my local base - 22 miles from home. Usually plenty of activity although many of the based helicopters have been resident here for over 20 years so many of these airframes are very old friends indeed !

All the photos below were taken near Yeovilton viallge church which is approx midway along the runway on the south side.

Visitors - 6 RAF Tucano T1 trainers visited from their home base at Linton On Ouse in Yorkshire. All were in the black colour scheme with one example wearing squadron marks from 207 sqd.

Above - ZF137 Tucano T1 departs as c/s CORDITE wearing 207 sqd markings of 1FTS

Above - ZF491 Tucano T1 departs as c/s LOP 63 wearing generic 1FTS marks

Among the resident Lynx helicopters were active examples of both the HAS3 and the HMA8 - compare the major differences to the nose and extra lumps and bumps

Above - XZ732 Lynx HMA8DSP "673" of 702 sqd departs from RWY 22 heading South

Above - ZD264 Lynx HAS3GM "306" of 815 sqd departs as SKUA 27

Recent new residents at Yeovilton are 727 sqd with their fleet of Grob G115E Tutors - these were previously based down at Plymouth and transferred to Yeovilton in December 2006.

The Royal Navy website describes 727 sqds role as...

""727 Squadron's primary role is to grade young Naval and Royal Marine officers to assess their suitability for further training with the Fleet Air Arm. This takes place throughout the year and each student is with the Squadron for three weeks. During those weeks, he or she will fly twelve hours with an instructor before flying a Final Handling Test with the Commanding Officer""


Seen here today were G-BYVF, G-BYWM, G-BYXK and G-BYXS

727 sqd Grob Tutor G-BYVF at Yeovilton using c/s TAMAR 11 with Sea King "ZA" behind

727 sqd Grob Tutor G-BYXK at Yeovilton with just "X" on tail rather than "XK" used c/s TAMAR 15

The Royal Navy use a small number of Jetstream T3 aircraft as HMS Heron hacks based at Yeovilton.

Above - Jetstream T3 c/n 647 ZE438 "76" takes off as c/s NAVY 751

Yeovilton also plays host to a small detachment of Royal Navy FRADU Hawk up from their own home base at RNAS Culdrose. The only one seen today was XX160 devoid of any Royal Navy titles - it arrived and departed as BLUE 1.

Royal Navy Hawk XX160 was delivered to the RAF back in May 1982

For me this Hawk photo was my picture of the day - low and fast.