CBY 07 / Mar

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Almost certainly my last trip to "Fightertown UK" - Not enough lens to get a shot of the Belgian F-16B that left, quite sedately, before this lot trundled-out. I think seven in total launched between 1510 and 1525, with at least four joining the circuit above. Have to admit I lost track as my camera demanded to be fed fresh batteries at a crucial moment !!.































As you can see the lighting conditions ranged from dreadful to awful... poor camera had to cope with all of that and the idiot at the back of the lens pressing the buttons... apologies for the lousy quality !!

AFN

Ian

[PR19_Kit]

Interesting how smoky the exhaust from that vent at mid-chord is, on an otherwise pristine aircraft. Whatever it is that's leaving the airframe is pretty dirty!

Good job on the pics Ian, it did look a terrible day for sure.

[rickshaw]

Do they still use cartridge or AVPIN starters?  Or could it be an APU?

[PR19_Kit]

AFAIK Typhoons use an on-board electric starter. I saw a couple start up at at Odiham Families Day and they didn't seem to need any sort of external power, neither did they have big jets of smoke shooting out all over the place.

The smoky exhaust could be almost anything, the Tornado has LOADS of vents all over it that disgorge smoke and fumes all the time the engines are running. The Typhoon engines are of similar parentage so could need similar vents.

[AeroplaneDriver]

The sooty exhaust is for the APU.  Even if external power is available the EJ2000 uses a pneumatic starter IIRC, and the APU provides that air for that.  

Cool pics Ian!  When/where are you relocating to?

[Captain Canada]

Nice ! Great job Ian. I love shots like that in low light, reminds me of photos from the old days....