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Calling at all Bases (by Chris Smith)

Day One

A family wedding provided me with my best spotting opportunity to date around some of the more aviation-rich parts of the Country. The event was taking place in the Sandringham / King's Lynn area, which gave me numerous options both on the way there, during & on the way home in terms of visiting airports & airfields.

The first call was to be at RAF Leeming, however I changed my mind at the last minute thinking there would be nothing to see (nothing whatsoever to do with missing the turn off on the A1 - honest!!).

A massive thanks must go out to Dave Anderson who advised me on which airfields would be best to visit along my route & the best spotting spots at those airfields. Without his help the trip wouldn't have been possible - thanks Dave!!

I'd heard good things about Gamston but I don't think I had it on my original list, so I was quite pleased when I realised I had the opportunity to visit. There's plenty based here but I couldn't find any decent spots in or around the actual airfield buildings, perhaps I just didn't have the balls to wander into some of the more restricted areas? It didn't matter too much anyway because there's a road goes to an industrial estate & it passes right by the end of the main runway, you can oversee the ramp & into the hangars providing they're open. The road itself looks like it might be on the actual airfield, but there is a boundary fence (if you can call it that!).

Retford Gamston Airport
03-08-2010 0855 - 0936

Gamston photos.

Waddo was next on the list & I was aware of the viewing car park that's there. When I got there I couldn't resist going into the cafe for a big dirty double cheeseburger, this made spotting somewhat difficult though as I spent most of the next 15 minutes fending off hungry wasps!

RAF Waddington
03-08-2010 1027 - 1131

Waddington photos.

First thing I saw at Cranwell? Bloody G-FPLD! (Later in the day at Coningsby there was an Eastern JS41 too) - I'm sure they send them on purpose to annoy me! Cranwell is a pleasant little place though, despite being one of the quieter airfields I visited, I feel I could spend many a happy hour there.

RAF Cranwell
03-08-2010 1147 - 1231

Barkston Heath is pretty boring, just Grob's based here, but since I needed them all & given it's proximity to Cranwell it's worth the visit. The only way to spot here as far as I could tell is to pull over on the side of the road & peer through the trees.

RAF Barkston Heath
03-08-2010 1240 - 1251

Cranwell & Barkston Heath photos.

Coningsby was definitely the highlight of the first day. I love the new Typhoons & there's plenty of spotting spots & a car park along near the BBMF hangar where everything on the main ramp can be read off & a few pictures can be obtained too. This area attracts as many of the general public as it does spotters. The best location is a crash gate though which is comparable to the one at East Midlands next to that airports Museum. From here landing & departure shots can be got & the aircraft taxi right past you providing they're on the main ramp & not across the far side.

RAF Coningsby
03-08-2010 1328 - 1545

Coningsby photos.

Just as I thought I done spotting for the day, noted in a pub car park on the way to my final destination was the following:

Other
03-06-2010

Day Two

Couldn't decide what to do on the second day, I had Marham on the list which was only a stones throw away from where I was staying & I'd also been recommended Holbeach bombing range. But given there was no guarantee of seeing anything at the bombing range, I chose to go to Norwich & come back via Marham.

Norwich International Airport
04-08-2010 1758 - 1909

Norwich International Airport Museum

Norwich photos.

Marham was probably the most disappointing place I visited, despite finding a road that overlooked the airfield, there was a large field separating the two so nothing could be read off. It's from here that I could see the three light aircraft. I then went into RAF Marham itself, and approached the two armed guards and enquired about spotting spots, but they had about five brain cells between them & didn't have a clue, so I noted the two visible gate guards & moved on. After driving around for a while looking for a decent spot, I gave it up as a bad job & returned to base.

RAF Marham
04-08-2010 2000 - 2032

No photos were obtained at Marham.

Day Three

I had high hopes for the two USAF airfields, Lakenheath has an excellent spotters car park which overlooks the end of the runway, stuff can be read off from here & photographed too with the right lens, but nothing much moved in the time I was there & with a lot of places to visit throughout the day, I had to move on to the next location.

USAF Lakenheath
06-08-2010 0827 - 0917

Lakenheath photos.

Mildenhall is about five minutes drive from Lakenheath, when I got here, I found myself almost as frustrated as at Marham. I could see plenty but couldn't read most of it off for various different reasons. I bagged a few things but after driving around for ages I once again had to give it up as a bad job.

USAF Mildenhall
06-08-2010 0927 - 1028

No photos were obtained at Mildenhall.

Had a bit more luck at Stansted!! Having been told there wasn't much to see around the terminal areas, I headed straight for their North side, where I started ducking & diving into all nooks & crannies, logging what I could see, before bumping into some local spotters who told me I needn't be so discreet as the authorities don't bother spotters! DTVA take note! The locals then showed me to an excellent spot that overlooks the runway & terminal areas, a small grassy area which you have to go through a wooded area to get to after leaving your car on the roadside. It's a superb spot for photos & you can read off traffic on the runway & a portion of the traffic on the main ramp too.

London Stansted Airport
06-08-2010 1115 - 1239

Stansted photos.

I'd been wanting to visit Luton for the biz for quite some time & now I had my chance! This was the highlight for me - you're literally surrounded 360 degrees by aircraft (from the car park) as the runway is behind you, the main ramp in front & the various biz ramps to the back & sides! Thanks to Dave's advice, I was able to negotiate my way around all the different biz ramps with ease, logging 41 of the 55-60 biz that was in. It's a strange airport to drive into - I found myself going up a mountain side!!!

London Luton Airport
06-08-2010 1335 - 1511

Luton photos.

East Mids was the one airport I was already familiar with & given it's location to the motorway you can't not call in. I'd only intended having a quick drive round to log everything that was in as tiredness was setting in, yet the visit still managed to exceed an hour!

East Midlands Airport
06-08-2010 1704 - 1808

East Midlands photos.

All in all an excellent trip! My biggest & best to date! Hope it's been an enjoyable read!

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