RAF Northolt Nightshoot XXIII held on the 19th October 2017
This Nightshoot, once again organised by Phil Dawe, was number 23 in the series.
RAF Northolt Nightshoot XXIII attracted around 200 photographers, security again, was very much in evidence,
with those attending having to notify the organisers of their wish to attend by the end of September
& with security checks being carried out before the photographers were allowed onto the pan.
RAF Northolt Nightshoot XXIII certainly attracted some interesting visitors, not all the invited participants were able to attend,
but those that did were very welcome & the 2 surprise items certainly made up for any aircraft that were unable to make it for whatever reason.
The highlights of the event had to be the Army Air Corps Agusta Westland AH.1 Apache, ZJ225 (WAH059), from No.3 Regiment,
662 Squadron, based at RAF Wattisham, the aircraft arriving just before the event started at around 6PM & looked stunning under floodlights.
The aircraft departed shortly after 7PM, it was great to see an Apache, once again, at a Northolt Nightshoot.
The other surprise participant was a Westland Lynx AH.9A, ZG885, from 657 Squadron, Army Air Corps,
Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing, based at RAF Odiham, the Lynx is soon to be withdrawn from service & is to be replaced by the
AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat or Lynx Wildcat, so this was a very welcome visitor.
The French Air Force, Armée de l'Air, were at Nightshoot XXIII in numbers, bringing 2 x Embraer EMB-121AA Xingus from de l'E´cole de l'Aviation de Transport,
(EAT) 00.319, based at Avord Air Base, serials 090-ZF & 078-YE together with a Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet E, E-26, 705-ND, 'Special Scheme'
from Ecole de l'aviation de chasse (EAC) 00.314, based at Tours Air Base.
Other visitors included an RAF BAe Hawk T.2, ZK027/R from 4 Squadron & based at RAF Valley in Wales. From 72 Squadron based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse,
a Shorts Tucano T.1, ZF377 & from the Belgian State Police Air Support Unit an MD-520N, G-15 from Brussels - Melsbroek.
This section contains 69 images taken during the event :
RAF 4 Squadron BAe Hawk T.2 ZK027/R
RAF 4 Squadron BAe Hawk T.2 ZK027/R
MD Helicopters MD-520N G-15
RAF 72 Squadron Shorts Tucano T.1 ZF377
RAF 72 Squadron Shorts Tucano T.1 ZF377
MD Helicopters MD-520N G-15
RAF 72 Squadron Shorts Tucano T.1 ZF377
French Air Force Dassault Dornier Alpha Jet E 705-ND
FAF Dassault Dornier Alpha Jet E 705-ND
FAF Dassault Dornier Alpha Jet E 705-ND
French Air Force Dassault Dornier Alpha Jet E 705-ND
