Aviation News - May 2016

The exchange ran from April 25 for ten

days and when I visited the weather was

poor. All eight jets were parked outside on

the main aircraft servicing pan and could

be easily seen. Also visiting that day was

a Canadian Forces CT-133 Silver Star from

the same unit. While at Coningsby, three

Belgian Air Force F-16s arrived including FA-

49 in 45th anniversary markings for 349 Sqn.

These jets night-stopped and undertook a

photo sortie with a Spit re of the Battle of

Britain Memorial Flight the following day.

I returned home via RAF Cottesmore

in Rutland and saw numerous RAF, Italian

and West German air forces’ Tornados

assigned to the Tri-National Tornado Training

Establishment (TTTE) that was resident

at the base. Visiting was a West German

Air Force Tornado, 44+33 from JaBoG 31

at Nörvenich and a West German Navy

example, 43+75 from MFG 1 at Jagel.

My spotting did not always entail charging

around the UK as RAF Brampton (which

didn’t have a runway) received a fair number

of rotary visitors. On May 13 Sea King HC4

ZF115 from the Royal Aircraft Establishment

visited and was a new sighting for me.

On Saturday, May 14, I was on a group

tour of the British Aerospace plant at

Warton, Lancashire. At the time, Tornado

ADV construction was at its mid-point,

while the last few BAC.167 Strikemasters

were being built. Of the four noted, three

were acquired by the air force of Ecuador

and the other Botswana. Sultan of Oman

Air Force (SOAF) Jaguars were also

undergoing a mid-life upgrade and three

were present. Photography inside the plant

was not permitted although test  ying was

often undertaken on a Saturday morning,

so if you were lucky something could be

photographed outside.

LOCAL BASE

On May 17, I saw an F-4G and F-16C from

the 81stTFS/52nd TFW at Spangdahlem AB

in West Germany at my local base of RAF

Alconbury.

This US installation was the nearest base

to my home, though RAF Wyton with its

Canberra squadrons and Nimrod R1s of 51

Sqn was only a few miles away.

Alconbury was always of interest and

I would often nip up there for a few hours.

The base regularly hosted USAFE  ghters

to  y dissimilar air combat training (DACT)

with the F-5E Tiger IIs of the 527th

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 79

Tornado F.3 ZE760 ‘CF’ of 5 Squadron landing at RAF Coningsby on May 4. The

squadron had only stood up on the F3 on January 1 that year and received this

factory-fresh aircraft in April.

A line-up of Canadian Hornets at RAF Coningsby while on a squadron exchange with 229 OCU/65(R) Sqn.

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