Salisbury Plain and MoD Boscombe Down; 22 Oct 08

The day started out with Karl and I driving around SPTA in the hope of catching some exercise traffic. After shooting a Merlin picking up some troops by the side of the road, it became clear that it was going to be a frustrating day on "the Plain"!

We made the decision to move to Boscombe Down, in the hope of catching some interesting types from QinetiQ's test fleet and the Empire Test Pilots School. Boscombe was reasonable busy, with plenty of Hawk and Alpha Jet movements throughout the day. One or the ETPS Tucanos also flew, and a Merlin visited late in the day to practice instrument approaches.

Highlight of the day was a two-seat Harrier T.11A, operated by QinetiQ on trials work, and featuring black and white photo calibration markings.

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