28th and 29th April at Lakenheath/Mildenhall

[pgcomputing]

After the French arrived at Lakenheath and given a high probability the AC-130's were arriving at Mildenhall I ventured down for a couple of days off work. Weather was less than ideal, lots of grey on grey action but well worth it.

Boeing C-135FR 740/31-CL of the French Air Force burning rubber arriving back at RAF Lakenheath after it's only sortie of exercise Point Blank by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Dassault Rafale 116/30-IU of the French Air Force taxiing back at RAF Lakenheath from its only sortie of exercise Point Blank by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Dassault Rafale 134/30-GM departing RAF Lakenheath for exercise Point Blank by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Boeing C-135FR 740/31-CL of the French Air Force climbing out from runway 06 at RAF Lakenheath by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Lockheed Martin AC-130J Ghostrider 18-5905 on finals for RAF Mildenhall, it was a grim day and backlit but had to get the guns in. by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Lockheed Martin AC-130J Ghostrider 18-5905 on finals for RAF Mildenhall, it was a grim day and backlit but had to get the guns in. by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Lockheed Martin AC-130W Stinger II 90-1058 on finals for RAF Mildenhall, it was a grim day and backlit but had to get the guns in. by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II 19-5473 taxiing back at RAF Lakenheath. by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Boeing E-3C Sentry 80-0139 on finals for runway 10 at RAF Mildenhall. by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

Boeing KC-135R with a side of Nachos. TDY KC-135R 62-3553 taxiing out to runway 10 at RAF Mildenhall in golden hour with a trio of KC-10 in the distance. by Paul Gerry, on Flickr

[Plane enthuiast]

Nice set Paul

[dragonchaser]

Very nice set, I really like the airborne shot of the French tanker.

[Thunderbolt II]

Really nice work on those. Think you did the right thing with the ACs.

[matt e]

Very nice especially the AC130 and Sentry shots

[paddyboy]

That’s a great set, Paul

Well done and thanks for posting

Paddyboy

[umea4]

Terrific set - really well done!

[raptor9]

Loved the soft toy on the coaming of the F.35. Nice human touch. [he needs a bone dome tho']

[Supra]

Excellent shots & well chosen viewpoints. For me the C-135FR shots are stand-out, but I like 'em all.
FYI Geoffrey the Giraffe is possibly the highest 'G-rated' critter in the USAF. & does seem to tolerate these flights well without AFE! (Aircrew Flight Equipment) One does however hope his butt is velcroed to the coaming though, as loose objects in the cockpit can cause control issues as raptor9 will know well from his PPL briefings. The irony of a matter of fact Flight Safety Report stating that a "Giraffe on the loose in an F-35 cockpit caused a departure from controlled flight during a low pass in the Lakes" could not be avoided!

[Knife 04]

FYI Geoffrey the Giraffe is possibly the highest 'G-rated' critter in the USAF. & does seem to tolerate these flights well without AFE! (Aircrew Flight Equipment)

He certainly is

Loved the soft toy on the coaming of the F.35. Nice human touch. [he needs a bone dome tho']

Here you go

https://www.giraffesontour.co.uk/geoffreysplanes

https://www.giraffesontour.co.uk/495th

[Punkrunner62]

Very nice set Paul, some outstanding shots.
Cheers.

[pgcomputing]

Thank you all for the comments.