Some Of The Pilots

avatar

cobra2-44.jpg
Belgian Air Force F16

I have a bit of a love/hate with aviation photography. Not actually the photography aspect, but some of the people it seems to attract. I've seen people plonk a six foot step ladder in front of a three foot fence, I've had people literally stand two feet in front of me, in spite of there being a thirty foot area round me with nobody there. During this year's "Cobra Warrior Exercise" I've seen people strut out into the road with their ladders, in front of cars, and people leave their trash behind. Some of these "photographers" are such a special breed. So this exercise, for my first visit I went up with my good friend Rich and thought "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" and stood for a lot of my time on Rich's step platform.

cobra-467.jpg
Belgian Air Force F16

It did give me the opportunity to get some nice close ups of some of the cockpits and pilots, Most of the pilots, in spite of their total professionalism gave the 100's of spectators a wave, a nod or a salute. A nice touch.

cobra-259.jpg
Finnish Air Force F18

Most of the "sorties" lasted around two hours, sometimes longer if the planes refuelled over the North Sea. It got me thinking just how cramped it must be in those cockpits, and probably not the most comfortable place to be hemmed in for a few hours, especially when hitting speeds and doing manoeuvres. So even more respect to those pilots.

cobra-308.jpg
Indian Air Force Dassault Mirage

You may notice that all of the signage is in English. Also listening to conversations on the scanners all of the pilots converse in English, with other pilots or air control. So as well as spending years learning how to fly these hi tech machines, they also have to learn a second language, and put up with being sat in cramped, claustrophobic conditions for hours at a time. Respect.

cobra-395.jpg
Belgian Air Force F16

divider-black.png

About me:

I can mostly be found shooting models, aviation, motorsports and, when I can, wildlife. But I enjoy most aspects of photography. You can find more of my work on the links below.

divider-black.png

Social Media
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

divider-black.png

Website
https://brianbroganphotography.com/

Logo-header-v2.jpg

photofeed photography teamuk aviation
0
0
0.000
14 comments
avatar

This is gold for me as I've only seen these planes from close in the movies. It's not like you can just walk in an take some photos, so thanks for posting these photos in Photography Lovers.

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

@erikah many thanks, I guess sometimes I don't realise how lucky I am living so close to so manyairfields.

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Looking forward to reading about your next adventure :)

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Congratulations @bbphotography! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)

You made more than 400 comments.
Your next target is to reach 500 comments.

You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

To support your work, I also upvoted your post!

Check out our last posts:

The Hive Gamification Proposal
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

That's at Waddington right? Did anybody at the WAVE tell you about the phantom pooper they had for a while?

0
0
0.000
Reply
avatar

Dear @bbphotography
I can relate to all the hard work and time that goes into capturing moments like these.
You are investing your life, time and energy into this wonderful craft hats off to you.
When you take a break from your photography schedule perhaps you could take some time off relax and browse through the leo threads daily prompts here

I invite you to join the $10000 Leo threads quest that opens for all hive users.
You can join it here
Once you do join think about what all you could be doing with the extra $10000

image.png
You can read about the steps involved to join the quest here
Do let me know in case you need any assistance in this regard

0
0
0.000
Reply