Today I made my very first visit to GLV-5, together with Anno, Alex and Sander. Hoping for some choppers "in the wild", we spent there from about 09.30 - 15.30 hrs.
The day started off dull and grey, with an overcast at less than 1000 feet. On the scanner we listened how the German Bo105 mishap unfolded. Alex and Sander drove off for a hit and run, to see the two Bölkows near the High Tech Campus. Anno and me stayed behind in GLV-5 and we had our first visitor: "Wildcat 03", AS532 S-441. This chopper flew all over the place, but it did not end up where we hoped it would. Nevertheless the pilot did make a nice pass to say hello, which was highly appreciated.
While the Cougar was flying here and there, a Sjoek joined the party. D-101 made three recce circles overhead before landing about 300 meters away. This may sound like a nice distance, but the "inhospitable surface" of GLV-5 did not allow us to reach the CH-47D in time for a good shot. After about 3 minutes it left the area without looking back.
Just after the Cougar and Chinook had left, Alex and Sander returned from their Bo-hunting mission. Just a few minutes too late for the GLV-action, but after all they hadn't missed much because of the bad weather and poor opportunities. Around lunch the overcast broke up and we enjoyed some sunny spells. It took a few hours, but then another Cougar showed up overhead. Unfortunately it didn't come down this time. Nevertheless Chinook D-101 did drop by again and made some nice passes. Just like in the morning it landed at the same spot, and we had to run to get some photos. Alex made it all the way there, while Anno, Sander and me had to settle for different angles. At the and the pilot made a nice pass towards Alex, which obscured him in a cloud of sand.
Bad weather and some unfortunate angles allowed only for a few decent shots today. Some of these even had to be pimped with photoshop to make them look good. below are two of my results: S-441 dropping by to say hello, and D-101 doing a short stop at an unexpected location.
Hope you like them.
Cheers,
Iwan
