How can it be a 747SP…its only a twin engine, 747SP’s have got 4 engines don’t they?

In terms of what it is used for…could it be used to transport the space shuttle on the top of it by any chance?

Engines have been known to have been removed from wings before and wings cut down 😉

6 F-16C Block 40’s and 2 KC-135R’s have visited Lakenheath while en route to Alaska for Red Flag 2007.

http://www.hvkk.tsk.mil.tr/Turkce/Faaliyetler/uatatbikat/RedFlag/RedFlag_2007.html

3 KC-135Rs and a C-130 as well as the 6 F-16s

And try and get round the An-2 repair field at Chernoye on the NE side of Moscow (near Monino)

For SB105/106 pictures, 35 shows the c/ns and the question is which part of the aircraft is this. Is this in the wheel bay or the reverse of the main wheel bay cover?

For SB042 the painted c/n would have been visible on a location in pictures 6 and 43 but that might be specific to the Irkutsk a/c.

Given that the UK visitors were probably repainted it would be interesting to know if the two HAL built a/c carried anything on the outside of the airframe. As always, hard information always come too late to be useful.

Hmm Here is a shot of a similar number 10MK23405 – http://media.bharat-rakshak.com/aero/AeroIndia2007/Walkarounds/SuMKIWalk/Sukhoi-30MKI+Walkaround+35.jpg.html I think this is SB105 .. not sure though. The only two ac there were SB105 and SB106, both HAL built MKIs. This is the main wheel bay cover Port Side

So, let me run this one past you lot and see what you think.

The HAL built MKIs actually carry four sets of identifying marks

1) an IAF serial
2) an Irkutsk c/n sequence 10MK234?? painted on the fuselage port side
3) a HAL c/n sequence also painted on the fuselage port side
4) an Irkutsk licence number 30L??? carried on the cast plate in the nose wheel bay.

whereas the Irkutsk built MKIs only carry two sets of identifying marks

1) an IAF serial
2) an Irkutsk c/n sequence 10MK23?? carried on the cast plate in the nose wheel bay and also painted on the port side of the fuselage.

obsessively yours…

I have seen one picture (at least) in the airshow pictures thread here http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=72374 of SB044 during its display but on the Saturday at least it was extremely brief (or so I’m told as I turned my head away to look at something else and apparently I missed it completely)

Anyway, the flotilla left Waddington this morning for home. It was wonderful having them here and I hope they come back soon.

Su-30MKK – 502w – MKK2

The MKK was the one which needed all that paintscratching. Only to get to that most unsatisfying c/n-plate.

Yes, MKK-2 was irritating especially after all the effort to get it, there it was painted on the side of the ejection seat.

And just getting back onto the topic, it was interesting to note that SB042 carried a number on the side of the front ejection seat which ended in 09 whilst SB041 carried a number which ended in 10. What was that about then?