Lunch and a long wait
After lunch the only shout of interest was “Seagull!” as a pair flew below us in the valley.
I was surprised that despite there being lots of scanners being used we didn’t seem to get any warning of planes coming. This meant that we had to keep a watch on the valley below. This did mean when that when tent occupants were snoozing false shouts were called to get them up and awake.
Over the Internet we learnt that F15s at Lakenheath were asking about conditions at the Roundabout (their nick name for the Loop). They set off and our hopes were up about seeing Strike Eagles soon. Then we heard on the radio that one of them had had a problem and they were all diverting to RAF Brize Norton.
Then it we heard about Typhoon (a ‘Typpie’) flying past Coventry. This went off the radar for a while and our hopes were up again. But when it re-appeared it was heading back to Norfolk.
Steve had climbed up further on the hill hoping to get a shot of the Typhoon as it passed below us with as many of us in the foreground.
Two Hercules
Once Steve was back down with the everyone he turned and saw two Hercules had made the turn and were heading towards us. He was the only one on Top Ledge looking at that moment.
“Hercules!”
My camera was set up for fast jets and I dashed to the edge to start taking shots. Steve, on the other hand, was adjusting the speed so that the propellors wouldn’t be frozen. (Note to self – set up separate pre-sets next visit for jets and for propeller planes)
I followed the first Hercules ignoring the second one at first.
The second Hercules was by now starting its turn below us.
This Hercules had a specially painted tail and all we could hear were cheers and shouts once everyone around us realised it was a ‘special’.
The two Hercules passed below us and turned away from CAD West – the luck of the draw again.
We heard shouts as this second Hercules hadn’t been seen before by everyone around us. Plus amusement at the messages from folks on CAD who missed them.
Rain was forecast for around 4 pm and being on the hills with a steep descent would not be a good idea when it came. The group of friends had started to pack up and we watched the others taking down their tents. This soon became a contest to see how quickly they could be collapsed.
Then the shout went up again “Jet!!”