Abingdon Sunset Shoot

On Friday 19th May at around 5.30pm I jumped in the car to make the short trip down the A34 to Abingdon Airfield, also know as Dalton Barracks, to once again join Threshold Aero for their annual ‘Abingdon Sunset Shoot’ prior to the 2023 Air & Country show taking place on the Saturday after.

Being brutally honest, I’d not long got back from an away event with work so I definitely wasn’t feeling 100%. However the weather was looking glorious and I was also especially excited for this trip as it was the first with a new camera bag.

A quick note on that – doing this kind of photography often requires long days out in the elements. Previous bags I’ve owned have been dedicated equipment bags, with little room for anything other than camera gear. My recent update, the Vanguard Veo Active 53, has all the room I need for my camera gear plus additional space for non-camera related gear like spare clothes, food and water. I’ll be putting together a full review on this once I’ve used it more but first impressions are very positive!

I arrived at the airfield at around 6.30pm, parked up and waited for the organisers to give us the nod for the safety briefing. Main attractions at this shoot were the newly restored Lynx operated by Project Lynx XZ179; The OV-10B Bronco operated by the Bronco Demo Team; 2 Mustangs, Miss Helen & Contrary Mary and a static C-130 from Brize which was a great addition seeing as these aircraft are due to shortly leave RAF Service.

As I’ve found from previous shoots with Threshold, planning the time in terms of what are your absolute must haves and what’s nice to have, is key to make sure you see everything. This particular shoot was fairly spread out, with the C-130 at the South of the airfield, the Lynx in the middle and the rest of the aircraft parked on the disused runway.

I started the evening down at the C-130 before heading up the field to get some images of the newly restored Lynx – these images of XZ179 are my favourite of the year so far. The light was lovely and soft with some nice cloud formations building in the west making for some great composition opportunities.

The Portuguese-painted Chipmunk looked excellent with the setting sun. Have always had a soft spot for these aircraft, the Chipmunk was the first aircraft I ever flew aerobatics in. It was piloted by none other than George Black, a legendary English Electric Lightning pilot – and yes it was simply amazing!

The Bronco put on a fantastic engine run, with the smoke system running at various points and a nice combination of the aircraft’s lights. This was the first time I’ve been able to properly photograph this aircraft and it was a privilege to get up close to it.

Soon after the Bronco, P-51D Mustang ‘Contrary Mary’ operated by Fighter Aviation fired into life for its engine run. In my opinion, very few things beat the site and sound of a warbird so this was a personal highlight for me. Shortly after the Mustang a Yak-52 roared into life before it was time to head back out to the airfield for the Lynx run which was impressive.

Rounding off the shoot as the night crept closer was a Bulldog and a DH Hornet Moth which I thought looked excellent sat with the Westland Wasp.

View fullsize

View fullsize

All in all another great event put on by the Team at Threshold Aero. Great to get up close to some interesting aircraft and even better when they fire into life which presents some really interesting photo opportunities which is what it’s all about!

Here’s a few useful links to some of the aircraft operators if you find yourself curious to learn more…

• Project Lynx XZ179

• Fighter Aviation

• Bronco Demo Team

…and us photographers love camera gear – here's a link to my current kit for 2023.

 Until next time…

Jack

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