RAF Tornado Final Flight

[Dos_Box]

For those of you who didn't know, the RAF are to be retiring their remaining Tornado fleet next week, but to celebrate the life of this very long lived plane they are doing three days of flybys of locations and airfields associated with the Tornado.

It starts on Tuesday (the 19th Feb) and you can find out more here - https://www.forces.net/news/tornado-flypast-dates-revealed

Exact timings have yet to be published, but it will be a three plane flight so should be quite impressive.

BAE Warton is 10 mins form my house so I'll be camping out there.

[tg12]

Sad about this. Grew up loving the Tornado, the Jaguar and the Harrier. Feels like the end of an era.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the Eurofighter Typhoon, but there will always been something special about these three.

[XiJ]

The tornado became my new favourite after I realised the lightning wasn’t a front line fighter any more (I first heard the lightning screaming overhead at finningley air show. What a noice!)

 

It’s most successful moments - and they really showed it off - was the first gulf war.

[tg12]

And I’ve just remembered that my uncle once worked on the Tornado, I still remember him getting me the chance to look in the cockpit of one at Cottesmore.

[Techykev]

Sad day for me (having worked on Tornado's for 15yrs of my RAF career). I remember when they came in to service and were regarded as "new fangled swing wing things".

[Paul_L]

Sad about this. Grew up loving the Tornado, the Jaguar and the Harrier. Feels like the end of an era.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the Eurofighter Typhoon, but there will always been something special about these three.

 

Would add Phantom, but that would be showing my age!!

[Dos_Box]

Where I grew up I lived under the circuit from BAe Warton and Salmesbury (back when they were flying from there).

The skies were full of Tornadoes, Jags, Canberras, Lightnings, Buccaneers, Hawks and Strikemasters.

Sadly, we never got to see Harriers and Phantoms etc. as they were either built or based elsewhere.

[tg12]

Would add Phantom, but that would be showing my age!!

 

Remember seeing one on the ground at an airshow with my Dad once upon a time and thinking "Wow, this thing is massive!". Kind of went against everything I thought about fast jets!

[36Degrees]

Sad day for me (having worked on Tornado's for 15yrs of my RAF career)

 

RCOV to ENG!

[jonnykewell1]

Thank you for sharing this, I’ll do my best to get along to one of the flybys.

[36Degrees]

BAE Warton is 10 mins form my house so I'll be camping out there.

 

From the plan they'll be very clear to see from my house. Unfortunately I'll be at work...

[bald_pig]

Nothing near me unfortunately! I was lucky enough to be able to get to the flightpath for the Vulcan's final flight and the Queens Birthday flypast.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bald_pig_cool/albums/72157664601555351

[aerospacemangoQPR]

The retirement of the Tornado saddens me a lot! Having joined the RAF in 1986, it was right up there in my list of favourite aircraft.

 

I was very lucky to spend a day on the Tornado flight simulator at RAF Coningsby and I can still visualise it 30 years later!

[unixman_again]

Antiques shop selling piece of Tornado aircraft

[jthompson]

Tornado was one of my first Airfix models. It was during the Gulf War, so I painted it in Desert Storm colours.

 

There's something really pleasing about the shape of the Tornado. It kinda looks great from every angle.