FighterControl

With 24hrs in Narita I decided to pop up to Hyakuri for the morning with the intention of catching a few of the newly resident 301 Hikotai. However, on arrival at approx. 0745 I couldn't get over how many Japanese Spotters were there. That got me wondering whether the 'Aggressors' were in Town. Without a scanner and the fact that the previous Day's weather had been severe with high winds it seemed that my luck was in with the arrival of 7 F-15's with I presume their support C-130 and a lone T-4. To top off the Day the resident Sqns launched 11 F-4's & a pleasant surprise was the ski equipped UH-60JA.





















UH-60JA JG-43104


Even the Police made an appearance with BK117B JA-6651

Nice post, thanks for sharing.

Out of interest, how did you travel from Narita to Hyakuri?

I tried something similar last year and trying to get transport at a reasonable cost was a nightmare.

TIA

Atech

That,s what i call a good day,s spotting

Stunning selection of shots ..very nice to see an F4 still in service .Regards Tim

Very nice shots

atech wrote:Nice post, thanks for sharing.

Out of interest, how did you travel from Narita to Hyakuri?

I tried something similar last year and trying to get transport at a reasonable cost was a nightmare.

TIA

Atech

Hi, I normally hire a car from Times Car Rental at the Airport, normally works out at approx £75 per day which includes SatNav and 'Super' Insurance. You'll need an IDP (International Driving Permit) which you can obtain from the AA, and the best way to navigate is by using telephone numbers. Hyakuri will take you approx 1:30hr from Narita and you may expect £20 or so for tolls depending on your route. There are far more seasoned Spotters/Photographers on this forum which may be able to recommend better/cheaper deals, I work for an Airline so my Hotel's free and I only ever spend 24hrs there so I take the hit on slightly more expensive car rental, works for me. A good round trip from Narita is Hyakuri-45mins to Kasumigaura(Army)-Shimofusa(Navy P-3) which is again 45mins from Kasumigaura but very quiet, but Hyakuri is obviously a big draw by itself. Regards Taff.

Thanks for the reply, its something I will consider next time.

have been to Hyakuri several times and as you say its a big draw.

Hi Taph

Great shots, buddy

Phanks phor posting

Paddyboy

Glad to see the Aggressors have arrived again this year although a week later than last!

As for travelling as Taff says car hire from Narita and a about 1 1/2 hour drive up,remembering to stop and pick up a set of stepladders on the way.
Kasumigaura is well worth checking out on the way,it can be quiet but then again you can get lucky and have a Cobra,Apache,Huey and Chinook all operating in the circuit at the same time,shooting with a 100-400 being more than enough for nice
shots.
I have always used Nissan Car Rental when i`ve been over and its worked out about £170 for 4 days rental including your sat nav etc ( I opt to use the japanese Map Code system for navigating) and as Taff mentioned its worth getting an ETC card
which automatically gets charged for toll roads and you pay the money due when you return the car rental.

Very nice set!

Hi Taff,

I assume these are all taken from the southern approach? Just on my way home after spending the week there. Hadn't planned to spend all week but after the AGRs arrived Tuesday things quietened down quickly, with everything packed up by mid afternoon. The locals were then night flying Wed/Thu which made for quiet mornings. Thursday was a bust weather wise everywhere and it wasn't till Friday that things really picked up on both fronts. Lots of locals present all week, though the towers were surprisingly quiet (was in there Mon through Wed in the mornings). When we met the owner on Monday morning the "small gift" of hand warmers was a clue as to what most the week would need...


Paul.

Great post, what a good days spotting that must have been.
Andy

p6025 wrote:Hi Taff,

I assume these are all taken from the southern approach? Just on my way home after spending the week there. Hadn't planned to spend all week but after the AGRs arrived Tuesday things quietened down quickly, with everything packed up by mid afternoon. The locals were then night flying Wed/Thu which made for quiet mornings. Thursday was a bust weather wise everywhere and it wasn't till Friday that things really picked up on both fronts. Lots of locals present all week, though the towers were surprisingly quiet (was in there Mon through Wed in the mornings). When we met the owner on Monday morning the "small gift" of hand warmers was a clue as to what most the week would need...


Paul.

Hi Paul, yes I was at the Southern approach in the rice field! After arriving in NRT on Monday evening I asked the Car Rental Staff to ring the Old Lady at the Peace Farm but they had no joy, so I first went to the North end for the first '501 departures and then down to the southern end. I literally left after the SAR '125 landed. Photography as you probably saw was challenging with either bright sunshine or direct shade! As you mentioned the weather on the Monday was sporty! Landing a '777 was interesting! I'm trying to get back next month but with the Cherry Blossom due to bloom it's looking a bit dodgy! Regards Taff.