Aviation Mach Loop, Wales

[esheato]

Anyone live near the Mach Loop and need a friend? It’s been on my list for years…

 

[Tim Mayo]

I'm a couple of hours away but haven't been for years. If I was coming here for a holiday and wanting to shoot some low flying jets I'd recommend visiting the Lake District instead, they seem to have more action up there than the Mach Loop these days. There's a nice guide here: https://www.andrewhawkes.co.uk/blog...n-the-lake-district-lfa-17-for-the-first-time

 

[JCBigler]

There’s also the Rainbow “Star Wars” Canyon in California. And supposedly a canyon in Arkansas here C-130s do low level flight training also.

Anyone been to those? Is the Rainbow Canyon easily accessible to the public?

 

[esheato]

Nothing close enough to me that I can sit and wait it out, which is unfortunate. It would be wild to SHOOT DOWN on fighters as they’re navigating a canyon!

 

[Dave Williams]

I'm about 70 miles away from the Mach Loop but I have never been to attempt photography but have experienced driving the road over the very top of the pass only to see a fighter jet heading straight towards me at eye level. It was an unreal moment which took me completely by surprise as it takes a moment to realise what's happening. You could easily lose control of your car in panic!
That however that was many years ago and from what I'm told there have been restrictions put in place , particularly from Tom Cruise wannabes from the US Air Force who the photographers love because the pilots show off, wave for the photo and can't wait to see them on the web site that evening. RAF pilots I'm told are more reserved!
A friend of mine did go on one occasion though and he had limited success. He had done as much research as he could find before he went but got the distinct impression that it was a bit of a clique with knowledge shared between members and not given out to anyone else. Contacts in the know would tip off what might be happening in advance etc.
Parking at the top of the pass is extremely limited to a small pull in that takes just a handful of cars. Parking on the road is a definite no and the local police have started taking action against those that do. You need to be there early then!
The weather in Snowdonia can be very iffy too and change with little warning. Obviously poor visibility will mean flights are cancelled so you might need to go many times before seeing anything. Not the sort of event you want to travel a long way to witness just in case it's a no show.
One thing you can do though is get good access to RAF Valley , the training base for fighter pilots. It's also where foreign fighter planes come for training too. You can stand very close to the runway for take off and landing shots but I guess that's not what you are looking for!

You asking the question has though left me thinking, again, of where I'd love to go to satisfy my wishes for photography. It could make an interesting thread to find out where others want to go and why!

 

[esheato]

Dave,

Thanks for sharing. I kinda had a feeling you had to be a retired guy with lots of time on his hands to play the waiting game. I'm not that guy, yet.