Brize Norton 8 March 2022

[plug]

All was quiet at Fairford, so I spent the afternoon at Brize, mostly on the paved public footpath on the south side near the 07 threshold. A small ladder was needed for most of the photos. The only unusual sighting was an Australian C-17. Five A400s are stored close to the path with props/engines missing.

Left to right: ZM405, 410, 416, 418 and 408 Atlas C1 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZM408 Brize Norton by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZH872 Hercules C4 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZH867 Hercules C4 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZJ955 Puma HC2 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZH889 Hercules C5 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

G-VYGL A330-243 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZM404 Atlas C1 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZZ338 Voyager KC3 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZZ338 Voyager KC3 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

G-BNRG PA-28-161 Warrior II by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZM419 Atlas C1 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZZ174 C-17A by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

ZH889 Hercules C5 by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

A41-213 C-17A by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

RAF Hercules by Dan Sprague, on Flickr

[ian531]

Nice shots Dan

Why are the A400’s in storage - seems strange for relatively new planes

Ian

[plug]

Thanks Ian. I asked one of the local spotters and he says it's a gearbox problem and they are waiting for new ones from the manufacturer. I've looked on the internet and it's clear that Airbus encountered engine problems during development but they should have been sorted by now. I couldn't find anything specific about these five airframes. The design is unusual in that the propellers rotate in opposite directions on each wing, but I can't see how that would affect the gearboxes apart from making some of the parts wing-specific. The MOD must be confident that the problem will be resolved because they've announced they intend to order more A400s.

[viscount]

Perhaps with the end of the need for flights supporting the Army in Afghanistan, there is no great rush to have all the fleet airworthy in the short-term.

[ronturner]

That's good news. Obviously the MOD sees no need for them in Europe any time soon.

[ian531]

Thanks Dan,
I did a Google search but couldn’t find anything

I’m down that way in a few weeks so hopefully they are still there

Thanks
Ian

[jetdragon]

The Aussie C17 may be there in relation to the Ukraine conflict as Australia is providing support

cheers

JD

[plug]

From the observations logged in the Fighter Control forum, it appears that this is one of three Aussie C-17s currently in the NATO area doing transatlantic lifting.