RAF Lakenheath: Quick Climb Friday

By Alan Bland

Having been a frequent (does 5 or 6 times a year count?) visitor to Lakenheath over the last 40 years, I decided it was high time to check out the day dubbed ‘quick climb Friday’ It took a while for the planets to align, (able to get time off work, the weather, runway 06 departure and avoidance of school holidays) but I finally got round to it on Friday 9th June.

Lakenheath is only a 45 minute drive for me but I knew I would have to get there early as I was aware of how popular it has become and I ideally wanted to park in the ‘forest entrance’ at the end of runway 06. I’d prepared all my kit the night before, camera batteries charged, SD cards formatted, lenses and camera sensors cleaned. Food was in the fridge ready to go too (standard spotters snacks of pasties, cereal bars, bananas and crisps along with a cold drink of whatever comes first) Setting off at 05:45, with no need to set an alarm thanks to my 14 month old Cocker Spaniel puppy who wakes up at the same time as the birds, I figured I’d be able to park where I wanted to. How wrong was I !! As I approached the forest entrance ot06:30 it became apparent that some people had had an earlier start than me as the parking area was almost full. I managed to park in what I consider to be the last safe spot on the side of the road where you can open the car door without fear of it being ripped off by a 44 tonne HGV. Other people, however, soon pulled up behind me and I thought “rather you than me mate but each to their own” A lot has been written about parking at Lakenheath and I did witness a few manoeuvres which made me and others shake their heads in disbelief, followed by a loud blast on a car horn. One particular gentleman seemed surprised to receive an earful of abuse from an HGV driver after he had driven on the wrong side of the road and into oncoming traffic. There were a few ironic cheers as he squeezed into a space but failed to see the big drop from the road onto the gravel resulting in a loud crunching sound as bodywork became detached from his car.

Anyway, back to the real reason for this blog, the flying. The day started off with a pair of Alpha Jets from ‘Top Aces’ taxiing via the runway 24 end to get to runway 06. These aircraft act as aggressors for air to air engagements. I missed getting the taxi shots as I was busy changing the scanner batteries that died within 30 seconds of me turning it on (rookie error, always change rechargeables before setting off for the day) These departed a few minutes later presumably to set up somewhere over the North Sea and wait for their prey to appear. The next aircraft to depart were a pair of F-35A’s. With camera settings checked and double checked I waited with eager anticipation for a ‘quick climb’ I was not disappointed as the first aircraft kept fairly low and quickly pulled its nose up. It’s a truly spectacular sight to see these aircraft in full afterburner with all sorts of vapour or ‘spluff/fluff pouring from the wings and control surfaces. I get the feeling that the pilots relish the chance to do this. Surrounded by fellow enthusiasts, I wondered how many photos had just been taken. I’d taken 40 alone. With the camera buffer rapidly clearing and with the noise of the previous departure still rumbling overhead, another aircraft leapt into the clear blue sky in similar fashion, followed by another and another. A brief lull followed which allowed everyone to stare at the back of their camera screens followed by murmurs of “oh yeah” and “wow” Next up was a 4 ship of F-15E Strike Eagles from the 492fs ‘Bolars’ or ‘Madhatters’ if you prefer. These seemed to be fairly sedate departures in comparison to the F-35’s but their was still some nice vapour coming off the wings.

It all goes quiet, so it’s time to cram some food down my neck as we wait for the return of the first sorties. The returns are just as jaw dropping as the departures with the aircraft staying low before pulling up and overbanking to the downwind base leg. In the distance you could clearly see them dropping from an great height, almost like a ‘Khe San’ approach. My ears strained to listen to the scanner hoping to hear those magic words of “cleared low approach” This was pretty much the pattern for the next 30-45 minutes as each aircraft returned and put on a mini airshow highlighting the incredible agility of these aircraft. The Strike Eagles returned but follow a slightly different pattern and pull up halfway? down the runway although one did make it all the way down the runway and presented us with a nice topside pass. the Alpha Jets returned, allowing me to get my taxi shots, albeit somewhat spoiled by the heat haze that had built up during the morning. Everything went quiet and people started drifting away, but those in the know stayed to catch some aircraft returning from a deployment overseas. I thoroughly enjoyed my first quick climb Friday and when the planets align again I’ll definitely be back

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