20210727-MMPI0086
Sopwith Pup (replica) N8649.
On Tuesday 27th July I was invited to photograph a beautiful aircraft in flight, my first air-to-air shoot. And what an amazing privilege it was to shoot Paddy Martin's lovely Sopwith Pup replica named "Rosie". Paddy has hand-built the aircraft from the original Sopwith plans, spending four years and 5,500 hours on the build. He says while he used modern materials, original wood and fabric methods similar to the original were used. A modern nine cylinder Rotec 150hp radial engine has been used to power Rosie, and she certainly climbed nicely. Paddy explained that "Rosie" was chosen as the name of the aircraft by his wife. He wanted to find a name that hadn't been used by any wartime pilot, as his build was not to represent any particular aircraft or pilot, but as a tribute to all those less well-known aviators who flew the type. He also mentioned that the red wheel covers are to honour the nurses who cared for the airmen, sailors and soldiers of the great war, the nurses wearing a red cape on their uniform.
After we landed from that shoot, SuperSTOL owner Phill Hargreaves wanted to get some shots of his aircraft so we set off with Paddy's Cessna 150 and toured over the rural Somerset region including Somerset Dam. The SuperSTOL is impressive in its short takeoff and landing ability, I've seen Phill performing at some events in the past and he recently took second place in the 2021 Oz-STOL competition at Luskintyre Airfield. He pulled a few turns so I could capture him banking, that wing area sure looked huge when the aircraft banked away. So what a wonderful day it was with a couple of circuits around the airfield in absolutely perfect flying conditions and nice morning light, a perfect first time doing an air-to-air shoot for me. Many thanks form me go out to Paddy for giving me the opportunity, also to Phill Hargreaves who flew his SuperSTOL as the photoship, and to Don Watson who helped set up the shoot and assists Paddy with maintaining and operating the aircraft. A great bunch of blokes who I really enjoyed spending time having a good chat about planes with.
Read MoreOn Tuesday 27th July I was invited to photograph a beautiful aircraft in flight, my first air-to-air shoot. And what an amazing privilege it was to shoot Paddy Martin's lovely Sopwith Pup replica named "Rosie". Paddy has hand-built the aircraft from the original Sopwith plans, spending four years and 5,500 hours on the build. He says while he used modern materials, original wood and fabric methods similar to the original were used. A modern nine cylinder Rotec 150hp radial engine has been used to power Rosie, and she certainly climbed nicely. Paddy explained that "Rosie" was chosen as the name of the aircraft by his wife. He wanted to find a name that hadn't been used by any wartime pilot, as his build was not to represent any particular aircraft or pilot, but as a tribute to all those less well-known aviators who flew the type. He also mentioned that the red wheel covers are to honour the nurses who cared for the airmen, sailors and soldiers of the great war, the nurses wearing a red cape on their uniform.
After we landed from that shoot, SuperSTOL owner Phill Hargreaves wanted to get some shots of his aircraft so we set off with Paddy's Cessna 150 and toured over the rural Somerset region including Somerset Dam. The SuperSTOL is impressive in its short takeoff and landing ability, I've seen Phill performing at some events in the past and he recently took second place in the 2021 Oz-STOL competition at Luskintyre Airfield. He pulled a few turns so I could capture him banking, that wing area sure looked huge when the aircraft banked away. So what a wonderful day it was with a couple of circuits around the airfield in absolutely perfect flying conditions and nice morning light, a perfect first time doing an air-to-air shoot for me. Many thanks form me go out to Paddy for giving me the opportunity, also to Phill Hargreaves who flew his SuperSTOL as the photoship, and to Don Watson who helped set up the shoot and assists Paddy with maintaining and operating the aircraft. A great bunch of blokes who I really enjoyed spending time having a good chat about planes with.
