Heathrow – Planes, Sun, and a return to British Soil for 15! BIG post!

All great shots

Brilliant shots Adam:cool: Like the KLC F50 good to see a prop at LHR, Why have KLM sent in an A330?

James

thanks James, I believe they send in an A330 daily on one of the early morning flights. 🙂

Brilliant shots Adam:cool: Like the KLC F50 good to see a prop at LHR, Why have KLM sent in an A330?

James

Thanks for the comments guys, very much appreciated! 🙂

There are a few variants of the Seaking currently in service:

HU5=Helicopter Utility; SAR version in RN Service.

HAR=Helicopter Air Rescue; SAR version in RAF Service.

HC=Helicopter Commando; Commando version in Service with the RN.

Mk7 ASAC= Airborne Surveillance and Area Control; AEW version in Service with the RN.

There is also a Commando version in Service with the RN which is a converted HAS6 (Helicopter Anti Submarine) which has been converted by having the ASW kit stripped out, making it a lot lighter. Also more seats, new radio equipment fitted, a troop step and new counter measures equipment fitted. It is know as the HAS(CR) CR standing for Commando Role.

The aircraft at LHR yesterday were HC versions from the mighty 848 Naval Air Squadron.

hope this helps

Si

As we say in the Fleet Air Arm: Royal Navy by Choice…Fleet Air Arm by the Grace of God.

Thanks Si, So basically those were Westland Commandos at LHR then yesterday… 😉

Adam,
Have to agree with Paul, that is one great shot. I was at LHR yesterday also and if I had taken any shot close to what you have produced I would be very happy.

Well done.

Si

I dont know much at all about helos, but Ive always called a helicopter that looked like that, a Sea King.

Ive just looked on airliners.net and on there the type of helicopter that I saw is classed as a Westland Sea King HC4. So other than that, I dont know.

There are a few variants of the Seaking currently in service:

HU5=Helicopter Utility; SAR version in RN Service.

HAR=Helicopter Air Rescue; SAR version in RAF Service.

HC=Helicopter Commando; Commando version in Service with the RN.

Mk7 ASAC= Airborne Surveillance and Area Control; AEW version in Service with the RN.

There is also a Commando version in Service with the RN which is a converted HAS6 (Helicopter Anti Submarine) which has been converted by having the ASW kit stripped out, making it a lot lighter. Also more seats, new radio equipment fitted, a troop step and new counter measures equipment fitted. It is know as the HAS(CR) CR standing for Commando Role.

The aircraft at LHR yesterday were HC versions from the mighty 848 Naval Air Squadron.

hope this helps

Si

As we say in the Fleet Air Arm: Royal Navy by Choice…Fleet Air Arm by the Grace of God.

the day didnt end too well, I have to say.

I know people always have different ideas of what was and wasn’t a good day, but if I’d have taken that shot I’d be one very, very happy photographer. Stunning, Adam. That’s instantly one of my favourites on this forum from LHR. I can’t remember the last time I saw a shot that captured the essense of the place so perfectly. Love it!

Paul

The line up of BA jumbos is a cracker !!

Stunning work as ever, Adam, well done! 🙂

Great shots Adam!

I like them so much that they’ve inspired me to make a Heathrow visit first thing tomorrow morning.

Hope I get as good weather as you did.

thanks for the comments guys; here are some more!

the day didnt end too well, I have to say. There I was, on the underground train returning to London (and before you ask, lol, I was on the overground section of the underground); I look out and see a 747 on approach. It was red and white and belonged to Malaysian Airlines and its nickname began with an ‘H’. I was not happy. At all. Ah, you win some you lose some I guess.

I tried all metering modes yesterday, and did notice different results for each. I decided to stick with what I have always used though – Digital ESP metering. I tried centre weighted averaging metering and spot. I couldnt for the life of me work out which was best – so I stuck with what I knew. What should I use?

I shoot in JPEG – I have given RAW a go, but RAW severely limits me in the field – I can only take about 150 RAW photos using my 3gb capacity. Considering I took nearly 1000 yesterday, that isnt good for me. RAW files on the E-400 are 21Mb – ouch. I dont have a good RAW converter/editer. If I had the capacity to take 1000 RAW files, I think would jump right in.

21 meg?! That’s twice the size of the average RAW file from my 30D! See… Lots of pixels, not always a good thing. :p

I generally stick to evaluate metering on the 350D and 30D. I just find it gives the most balanced exposure for aviation. If you can get a few of those wonderful cheap cards from 7DayShop I’d recommend shooting RAW all the time. I’ve been able to correct lots of slightly blown highlights on the RAW file. Unfortunately once you blow data in JPEG, it isn’t recoverable! RAW all the way for me now!

Paul

Belive it or not most of the SAR Sea kings used to be commandos Infact the two we have RAF Boulmer are Falklands vets.

The commando is just a version of the Sea King.

Just a question are two regarding those navy personnel and the aircraft involved…?

Watching BBC News 24 yesterday and their live coverage, they reported that the crew were returning from Tehran on BA (can’t recall flight number) and that it was a British Airways flight. Now surely G-MEDL belongs to B-Med and is now BMI owned, I am correct ? So is it technically a BA flight or like other BA franchisees, is it a “B-Med flight operated on behalf of BA” ?

And the other thing… my military aviation knowledge isn’t what it once was, but shouldn’t those helos be described as ‘Commandos’ as opposed to ‘Sea Kings’ ? I thought the Sea King designation applied to the SAR variant with floatation sponsons housing the main gear and a rear or nose mounted radar dome ?

Whereas the ‘Commando’ was more of a personnel carrier, or does this designation only apply to the army version…?

I dont know much at all about helos, but Ive always called a helicopter that looked like that, a Sea King.

Ive just looked on airliners.net and on there the type of helicopter that I saw is classed as a Westland Sea King HC4. So other than that, I dont know.

Just a question are two regarding those navy personnel and the aircraft involved…?

Watching BBC News 24 yesterday and their live coverage, they reported that the crew were returning from Tehran on BA (can’t recall flight number) and that it was a British Airways flight. Now surely G-MEDL belongs to B-Med and is now BMI owned, I am correct ? So is it technically a BA flight or like other BA franchisees, is it a “B-Med flight operated on behalf of BA” ?

And the other thing… my military aviation knowledge isn’t what it once was, but shouldn’t those helos be described as ‘Commandos’ as opposed to ‘Sea Kings’ ? I thought the Sea King designation applied to the SAR variant with floatation sponsons housing the main gear and a rear or nose mounted radar dome ?

Whereas the ‘Commando’ was more of a personnel carrier, or does this designation only apply to the army version…?

Excellent shots, Adam. Superb work!

With regards to the slight blowing of highlights, which metering mode are you using? Also are you shooting RAW or JPEG?

Paul

I tried all metering modes yesterday, and did notice different results for each. I decided to stick with what I have always used though – Digital ESP metering. I tried centre weighted averaging metering and spot. I couldnt for the life of me work out which was best – so I stuck with what I knew. What should I use?

I shoot in JPEG – I have given RAW a go, but RAW severely limits me in the field – I can only take about 150 RAW photos using my 3gb capacity. Considering I took nearly 1000 yesterday, that isnt good for me. RAW files on the E-400 are 21Mb – ouch. I dont have a good RAW converter/editer. If I had the capacity to take 1000 RAW files, I think would jump right in.

Excellent shots, Adam. Superb work!

With regards to the slight blowing of highlights, which metering mode are you using? Also are you shooting RAW or JPEG?

Paul

Wow. Very kool shots Adam, I really like the Singapore B747 approach shot 🙂

Also reminded me to buy a train ticket to Heathrow for next week 😀

Very good stuff.

Recent photo threads from LHR have made me very tempted to make my first visit to LHR on Sunday.:)