El Tigre at Albacete.

[Scorch998]

Apologies for 9 shots of the same helicopter but this is quite a rare beast and it was a real highlight of our trip. In the company of Mark, Graham, Adrian, Tom & Richard we were treated to something quite spectacular as the pilot made a non standard departure from Airbus Helicopters facility at Albacete straight over our heads clearing the 8-10 foot fence by 5-6 feet at the very most. We did all duck thinking at first he'd got it horribly wrong; it is without doubt the closest I have ever been to a military aircraft in flight!. Despite being blurred I have included the last photo as it does give a true reflection of how low he was; I just couldn't focus the camera in time!.

1. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

2. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

3. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

4. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

5. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

6. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

7. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

8. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

9. Tiger HA.28-07 10008 ET-707 by Scorch998, on Flickr

Cheers ... Ian.

[billydog]

Thats a hell of a catch mate!
I cant say i've ever seen any shots of that frame on here before- what a beast!

[Scorch998]

We think it was a brand new one that may have come in with a minor fault; saw it depart from the other end of the base then return 30 minutes later. We shot round to the Airbus Helicopters site and there it was right in front of us, waited 20 minutes while they messed about with it then the crew got aboard, ran it up and then hovered around for about 10-15 minutes. Whilst facing us and fully aware of the cameras he then shot straight up, pointed the nose straight down and dived towards us clearing the fence by a matter of feet. The downwash was something else, I seriously thought it was about to end badly!.

[paddyboy]

Now that is up close and personal

Great shots

Cheers

Paddyboy

[Scorch998]

Now that is up close and personal

Great shots

Cheers

Paddyboy

Cheers Patrick, it really was something else and one of those moments I will always grin about. If you look at the last shot the right hand side is actually in focus, gives you some idea that the camera couldn't focus on it all as it was so close!.

Ian

[POL]

The fact that you zoomed in somewhat didn't help, I'd imagine! Shot 6 is nice, really nice scheme on Spanish helicopters.

[lardyboy999]

Cracking set, and just confirms how f'ugly the Tigre is compared to the Apache. Even the Mangusta is better looking.....

[Scorch998]

The fact that you zoomed in somewhat didn't help, I'd imagine! Shot 6 is nice, really nice scheme on Spanish helicopters.

Whether I'd zoomed in or not it still would of been near impossible to focus on something that's fast moving and 10 feet away; I posted it to demonstrate just how close it got!.

Ian.