RAF Lakenheath

On the very last day of November 2004, I was fortunate enough to catch an hour of sunshine at Lakenheath airbase in England.

I was hoping to photograph some of the new F-15E Strike Eagles which had joined the 48th Fighter Wing in the last year or so.

Winds were from the East which meant the aircraft took off towards me allowing me to put my new 80-400mm VR lens to the test. I was pretty satisfied with the results although the Vibration Reduction takes some getting used to!

After seeing a few Eagles of the 492FS take-off, minutes later four F-15Es of the co-located 494FS returned from a mission. Then Lakenheath started to look like a trainingbase as the Eagles commenced their touch&go's and low approaches. Some stayed low and gave me a photo-opportunity not to be missed.

After ten minutes the party was over. All four landed and again thanks to my new lens I could photograph them while on the runway and taxiways. I had hoped for a few landingshots but in the end returned home with more exciting pictures. And I even caught a few of the brandnew Strike Eagles!