So it’s been a while since I’ve rambled on about things and stuff, maybe it’s time for a recap ? grab a beverage, sit back and let me begin……
In a galaxy far far away, oh wait did that
At a glance, the last few months have seen the annual AVgeeksAssemble pilgrimage to the Mach Loop ,visit family ( and a base In Poland), RIAT23 !, couple local base visits as well as life being hectic, which will be part of this post eventually
So waaaaay back in May of this year it was time for the annual AvGeeksAssemble pilgrimage to Wales and the renowned Mach Loop. This week is becoming the stuff of legend within our group purely for the banter and shenanigans as well as the great action we are fortunate to witness… some of us
A slow start prompted myself and a few others to venture north to RAF Valley and have a day taking in the goings on at the RAF training school, great views and access provided many opportunities for some new shots.
The week was also going to be my last opportunity to see the RAF c130 Hercules in an action and hopes were high for a flight through the valleys and finally we were rewarded on our final day on the hills.
An almost surreal moment and odd to think i won’t se the RAF herc again for sure…does the a400 have the pedigree to fill the huge shoes the C130 left? I guess time will tell
So then it was racing into June and a brief visit to family in Poland gave a chance to visit Lask ( pronounced Wa-shk) this base is home one of the Polish air forces f16 Viper squadrons and with the ongoing tensions across the border in Ukraine, chances were I would see some Vipers…
The two tone camo on the Polish f16 is awesome.
Once we were home, all thoughts now focused solely on RIAT, the air tattoo weekend at RAF Fairford.
After last years fantastic show I couldn’t/didnt want to get my hopes up for this year too soon, but as the updates kept being announced it was clear that this years show was going to be a stunner.
For me it was purely down to the amount of Cold War heavy metal they had managed to secure, whisking me back to airshows of my childhood.
Greek f4, harriers (plural) tornadoes (again plural!) and an su22 were by far the show stoppers for me and the hype was real.
Until this year, I didnt even know Italy had Navy harriers… I’m so glad they do
Fabulous
Fit!
The arrivals days were a great mix of classic and modern machines for sure, camping down the road meant I didn’t need to be eager to queue up but excitement got the better of me each day and even Fridays down pours didn’t dampen my spirits, unlike my boots
What were your highlights of the weekend? for sure the Danish Air force F16 display put on a great show.
After RIAT had subsided and the thousands of shots reviewed, inevitably I felt a little saturated, similar to last year. I needed just a break from it all for a while…
I love this hobby, it’s such a miss mash of individuals with a common interest. However every now and then I feel the need, not for speed, but to just pause, almost reflect on where I’ve been, what I’ve done, what I’ve taken pictures of…. then there is social media.
The gram, Facebook, threads, TikTok… we are flooded with opportunities and avenues to portray our work and share with others instantly for our peers to bestow a thumbs up, like or heavens forbid a share lol if the algorithms permit.
This in turn I have found, and talking to others it seems it is also not just me, kind of takes the fun out of it all and I/we find ourselves almost trapped in a circle of editing and posting purely for the expectation not the desire, I prefer to feel the need not the obligation, so that’s when I realised I needed a bit of time away. I like to post my shots in a way to share where I’ve been, what I’ve seen as said, but also felt I was expected to be posting daily, rather than enjoying it, it almost felt like a second job, and my actual job, the one I get paid to do, takes up enough of my life already.
I don’t think any of us really are planning on this hobby being the breadwinning career wed all hope it could be, but then would I want to? would it then become a job and lose the appeal and the fun, the banter, the camaraderie etc……Unlikely, but then so is the possibility of that happening in itself lol
Take it easy folks, let me know where you’ve been this summer if you’ve managed to get to airshows etc….