Monthly Archives: November 2013

Low flying was something I loved to do. I was fortunate to fly as an instructor with the German and Dutch Air Forces at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas because we flew a German syllabus that included a lot of “low flying,” low being defined as a thousand feet. Then I went to Great Britain as a Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI) in the RAF where we flew many low level sorties at two hundred fifty feet. Much more fun.

Here are a few videos I selected to give the uninitiated some idea of what low flying entailed and to give the old-timers out there a rush.

This video is for the serious student of low flying, a forty-six minute television program of RAF pilots transitioning into the Tornado at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland…great low level!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX-_1EZzl3M

This video incorporates flying the Jet Provost, the aircraft I flew whilst with the Royal Air Force with a nice tour of rural Wales…flown a tad high for my liking…

 

Also in the Jet Provost…a bit of a bomber pattern…good radio chat. One of my toughest problems to overcome in Britain was understanding the radios.

http://www.goodfidelity.com/artistas.php?idvideo=pU_7ohzHQis

Great scenes of NATO jets down in the dirt in Wales!

Here’s a three ship of Mirage 2000s flitting along the beaches and over water…really low!

http://www.goodfidelity.com/artistas.php?idvideo=pU_7ohzHQis

Not to ignore the Navy…here’s an F-18 ripping down the Russian River.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=17e_1346455094

You can low fly almost anywhere…here’s a Puma in Chad for you rotorheads…

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxsjg_wild-chopper-puma-low-level-in-chad_sport

A Norwegian Air Force F-16 four ship low level compilation…

http://www.military.com/video/forces/air-force/rnoaf-low-level-flying/660723094001/

This looks like a great way to spend an afternoon. Pretty cool!

http://biggeekdad.Com/2014/04/flying-corinth-canal/#.Uz_cM-ieTnA.email

Let’s not forget the big guys…gotta be tough to fly the heavies! Here’s a C-130 low flying in Japan…

http://www.aviationguy.com/2013/01/22/c-130-hercules-flying-low-level-through-the-mountains/

Civilians like it low as well…good Jimmy Buffett cover

http://www.aviationchatter.com/2011/06/classic-low-level-flying-treetop-flyer-video/

Here are several insane low flights—especially the one across the water—done in an Antonov-2 Colt, the world’s largest biplane. This is a shameless plug for my soon-to-be-published novel, which features a Colt.

http://theaviationist.com/2013/06/12/heres-an-insane-video-of-what-you-can-do-with-an-old-russian-an-2-biplane/

And, of course, our fathers and grandfathers loved a bit of low flying as well

http://www.military.com/video/aircraft/military-aircraft/super-low-spitfire-flyby/658467325001/