On 12 July 2008, the Airbus A380 - F-WWDD performed a flypast at Liverpool in recognition of it's European Capital of Culture status - and in appreciation of the local expertise involved in building the wings for this technological marvel. It drew huge crowds to the airport and made for a most impressive site.
A VFR flight from Liverpool to Breighton in August 2006 revealed many delights from the Real Aeroplane Collection - here are the highlights. Thanks for the ride to Tommy Mc and 'JF. Thanks are also due to the staff at Breighton for allowing us full access to their priceless collection of historic aircraft.
I explored a new vantage point to shoot 09 arrivals today - a long trek across fields - but worth the effort - just that the quality of the visitors was a little disappointing
A nice variety of charter traffic left Liverpool, taking the Red Army to Athens - and brought them home the next day. By no means an exhaustive coverage - but most of the highlights are here.
Glorious weather and some good flying. Usual Biggin problem when the sun comes around in the afternoon and display aircraft appear as silhouettes - makes for challenging shooting.
A debt of thanks is owed to Kermit Weeks for putting this memorable collection together. This wonderful collection of veteran aircraft is all the more remarkable because most are maintaned in flying condition. Restoration work goes on as new types are acquired. I was pleased to see some visiting WW2 veterans were treated with the respect and dignity they richly deserve.
A mixture of sunshine and thunderstorms made for challenging conditions. But the rich variety of aircraft made getting soaked, all worthwhile. Although my travelling companions, Tommy and Billy might disagree!
I was lucky enough to be in Perth for the final leg of the 2007 season - and quite a wonderful spectacle it was too. Set against the towering Perth skyline and the Swan River - a few cold ones in the cool box - life doesn't get much better than this.
Welcome to my website - Planet Aircraft - which is dedicated to aviation photography. My 'local' is Liverpool and I get to Manchester when I can. Please note that most of the shots on the site are low-res images. Most images are available in high-res, on request and subject to agreement.
I've also set up a site at http://davesplanes.fotopic.net/
It features photos taken by my good friend Dave Bayliff. Dave died after a short illness in December 2002. This is his photo collection - it features lot's of aircraft from the eighties and early nineties and fills a lot of the gaps in my own collection from that time. Please take a look.
I hope you enjoy these photos - old and new - feel free to e-mail me with your comments.
I got interested in aviation around 1968. I started by visiting my local airport - Liverpool - but soon my dad was being persuaded into trips further afield - Manchester, Heathrow. I realised fairly early on that spotting and photography are incompatible - you can't do both, well. So choices were made and I decided to concentrate on photography. My interest waned during the late seventies and eighties as'life' intervened.
These days my family is quite tollerant of this hobby which they regard as slightly eccentric. Foreign trips usually come in the shape of family holidays when , if I behave myself, I get the odd day off to go and indulge myself. Family and friends have often invited me to explain this fascination with all things aeronautical. I have never yet been able to explain it - even to myself. The fact that you have visited my site suggests that you probably share my interest - if you have ever arrived at an explanation beyond an addiction to Jet A, please share it with me!
Hope you like the site. I know some of the older images aren't great by today's standards but I've scanned them and put them on here anyway for the simple reason that they were the best I could do at the time. Besides - Canon hadn't invented their magnificent IS lenses back then! Don't forget to leave your comments by email at
alancookson@blueyonder.co.uk
Thanks,
Alan
Location:
Maghull, Mesrseyside, UK
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