RAF COTTESMORE – Photographer’s Guide
Harrier Storage
On or around 1st August the Harriers in store at RAF Cottesmore will have their engines run up to keep them in a serviceable condition. These anti-det runs allow the Harriers to be stored at RAF Cottesmore for an almost unlimited amount of time but don’t think this means the Harrier will be returning to service. The amount of time that has now passed would make it extremely hard to reverse. The pilots and ground crews have now been posted to new roles or have left the armed services, BAE Systems have closed their Harrier operations and the staff have also moved on. Before you could start up Harrier operations again you would need to get all these people back and setup up the support contracts with both BAE and Rolls Royce. After then you would need to build up pilot currency and skills again which I would guess would take a year and longer before there would be enough combat capable pilots to undertake operations. A sad but more likely outcome is the Harrier will undergo the same fate as the Tornado F3 where the airframes are stripped down to parts which could be sold onto other air forces who operate the Harrier. What would have any metals removed from it to be recycled and then the rest scrapped.
RAF COTTESMORE CLOSURE
There has been a lot in the press recently about the closure of RAF Cottesmore, I’ve summarised the main points to date click here . – UPDATED 16/12/10
RAF Cottesmore Guide
Background
RAF Cottesmore is located in Rutland and is the home to two Harrier squadrons. One squadron from the RAF; Number 1(F) Squadron and the Naval Strike Wing (formed from 800 NAS and 801 NAS) from the Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Together with RAF Number 4(R) Squadron based at RAF Wittering they form Joint Force Harrier (JFH).
Those of you who are familiar with Cottesmore will know there use to be three Squadrons at Cottesmore. At the end of March 2010 this changed to the three listed above. Number 20(R) Sqn at Wittering was disbanded and IV(AC) Sqn disbanded and reformed the same day as 4(R) Sqn to carry on the training (OCU) role at Wittering.
Betwenn 2004 and 2009 Joint Force Harrier was at the forefront of Op HERRICK, the British contribution to the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan, where they provided close air support (CAS) to NATO ground forces. Flying 8,500 sorties (22,000 hours) and providing over 2,000 CAS missions.
Both single seat and twin seat Harriers are operated from RAF Cottesmore. The majority of the single seat jets have been upgraded from GR7/A to GR9/A standard by the BAE in the JUMP program hanger. All of the Cottesmore based twin seat Harriers are now T12 standard.
The Layout
RAF Cottesmore Map
Point 1
GPS reference: 52.73737 -0.639964
Point 1 doubles as a photography point and also a place to park. It’s a crash gate so make sure you don’t block access to the gate. From this point you can photograph planes using both runway 22 and 04 with a 300 to 400mm lens on a 1.6 crop camera (Canon xxD series camera). At this point the planes will be airborne and will have the gear up. You will be limited to side on shots.
From this point you can see the paint shop and the engine tie down (both marked on the map). Be warned the noise of a Harrier performing an engine test is very loud and you’ll want a pair of ear plugs.
Engine tie down at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Take off from Runway 04 at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Point 2
GPS Reference: 52.741095 -0.634841
Leaving from Point 1 head past the engine tie down and along with fence to get to Point 2. The fence at this point is low enough to shoot over without having to use a ladder. You will be directly alongside both the Northern taxi way and Runway 22 allowing for taxiing shots, take off shots and landing shots. For taxi shots 150mm on a 1.6x crop camera will provide a full frame shot, for take off and landing shots you will need 350mm to 400mm.
Taxi on the Northern taxiway from Point 2 at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Landing on Runway 22 from Point 2 at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Point 3
GPS Reference: 52.743589 -0.633323
From Point 2 carry on along the fence, past the tree and along the hedge. You will be able to look down the Northern taxiway and shoot one of the classic RAF Cottesmore photos, head on photo of a Harrier taxiing. You won’t want to spend long here as this is the only shot you can get from here.
Taxi on the Northern taxiway from Point 3 at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Point 4
GPS Reference: 52.743589 -0.633323
From Point 3 carry on along the fence until you reach the threshold of Runway 22. This is possibly the best point at RAF Cottesmore. You can shoot taxiing, take offs and touch downs. The only downside to this location is the sun. As the day goes on the sun moves around until you are shooting into it because of this the location is best visited in the morning and early afternoon. By late afternoon you will be limited to shooting approach shots.
For taxi shots you will need between 75 and 100mm on a 1.6x crop camera. For side on landing shots you will need 100mm. For approach shots anything up to 400mm will work.
Landing on Runway 22 from Point 4 at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Taxi on the Northern taxiway from Point 4 at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Point 5
GPS Reference: 52.745603 -0.635335
Point 5 is the final point and is the opposite side of the threshold. For side on landing shots you will need 100mm. For approach shots anything up to 400mm will work.
Landing on Runway 22 from Point 5 at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Taxi on the Northern taxiway from Point 5 at RAF Cottesmore – © Gordon Jones
Items To Check Before A Visit
NOTAMS
The first thing to check are for any NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen) these are used to inform pilots of relvent information about an airfield. They are useful to a photographer as they will list when an airfield is shut or if an event is planned such as a flypast. These aren’t always posted for military airfields but RAF Cottesmore is better than most for publishing information. They tend to post airfield opening hours on a regular basis; whilst this doesn’t mean you will see flyign it does let you work out if the squadrons are night flying. If they are there is a very good chance you won’t see much flying until mid afternoon.
You can register on www.ais.org.uk to find NOTAMS, you will need to use RAF Cottesmore airfield code which is EGXJ.
Weather
As well as checking the usual weather forecast you should check the wind direction. As you can see from the map RAF Cottesmore has two runways 22 and 04. These numbers are a short version of the compass bearing of the runway with 0 degrees being North and 180 degrees being South. 22 is short for 220 degrees and 04 is 40 degrees. If the wind is blowing 220 degrees or South-West then Runway 22 will be in use as the aircraft will take off into the wind to aid lift.
The options for photography when 04 is in use are very limited with Point 1 being the only real place, because of this I would recommend you only visit when Runway 22 is in use.
Weather information for the airfield can be viewed here:
http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/data/observations/metar/decoded/EGXJ.TXT
For an advanced forecast look here:
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/03453.html
Fast Air – Air Force pictures of military aircraft including both air shows and low flying
- May 22nd, 2009
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