He may be travelling at 500mph in a £68 million fighter jet, but this RAF pilot still had time for a friendly wave.
These remarkable pictures were taken by aviation enthusiast Peter Bailey. The RAF Eurofighter Typhoon passed within just 100 yards from him in the Cadair Idris mountains in North-West Wales.
The MoD insisted that Mr Bailey's life, or that of the pilot, had not been in danger. The plane probably comes from RAF Valley, where Prince William works as an RAF search and rescue pilot.
The Eurofighter Typhoon was introduced in August 2003. The RAF and the Luftwaffe have each ordered 250 of the planes; the Italian Air Force has ordered 165 and the Spanish Air Force has ordered 100. The share of the production work was divided among the countries in proportion to their projected procurement - British Aerospace (33%), DASA (33%), Aeritalia (21%), and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) (13%).
Pictured: The 500mph pilot with time for a friendly wave
By Andrew Levy
14th February 2011
Daily Mail
Skimming low over the ground at 500mph in a £68million jet fighter would seem to be a good time to keep both hands on the controls.
But not this RAF pilot. As he banked during a low-level training exercise, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to showboat a little.
Passing just 100 yards from aviation enthusiast Peter Bailey in his Typhoon, he gave a little wave through the roof of his cockpit before powering away.
Wave: The brave RAF pilot finds time to salute the snapper in North-West Wales
The photo was taken from a hill in the Cadair Idris mountains in North-West Wales.
Mr Bailey said the pilot returned for a second pass at even greater speed but the MoD insisted the ‘light-hearted incident’ had not endangered man or machine.
Fly by: The £68million jet was travelling at 500mph during the low-level training exercise
dailymail.co.uk
These remarkable pictures were taken by aviation enthusiast Peter Bailey. The RAF Eurofighter Typhoon passed within just 100 yards from him in the Cadair Idris mountains in North-West Wales.
The MoD insisted that Mr Bailey's life, or that of the pilot, had not been in danger. The plane probably comes from RAF Valley, where Prince William works as an RAF search and rescue pilot.
The Eurofighter Typhoon was introduced in August 2003. The RAF and the Luftwaffe have each ordered 250 of the planes; the Italian Air Force has ordered 165 and the Spanish Air Force has ordered 100. The share of the production work was divided among the countries in proportion to their projected procurement - British Aerospace (33%), DASA (33%), Aeritalia (21%), and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) (13%).
Pictured: The 500mph pilot with time for a friendly wave
By Andrew Levy
14th February 2011
Daily Mail
Skimming low over the ground at 500mph in a £68million jet fighter would seem to be a good time to keep both hands on the controls.
But not this RAF pilot. As he banked during a low-level training exercise, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to showboat a little.
Passing just 100 yards from aviation enthusiast Peter Bailey in his Typhoon, he gave a little wave through the roof of his cockpit before powering away.
Wave: The brave RAF pilot finds time to salute the snapper in North-West Wales
The photo was taken from a hill in the Cadair Idris mountains in North-West Wales.
Mr Bailey said the pilot returned for a second pass at even greater speed but the MoD insisted the ‘light-hearted incident’ had not endangered man or machine.
Fly by: The £68million jet was travelling at 500mph during the low-level training exercise
dailymail.co.uk
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