Having heard horror stories regarding the parking at the Loop, I wanted to ensure that my first time on the Cads went without a hitch. A decent amount of prep the night before led to 0330 AM start which got me to the Loop for a bit before 0800. I decided to head for one of the two Cads for my first time and picked out a good parking location on the map. Thankfully, when I arrived there were plenty of spaces left, I wasn't the last and certainly wasn't the first to arrive. Everyone else seemed to be heading in the same direction, so I suppose it was Cad West that had been decided for me!

The weather was largely overcast with a few spots of sunshine and a touch of light drizzle, nothing to ruin a day though. The main annoyance was the wind but that is to be expected on a Welsh mountain top.

At 0952 came the first of the days passes - two Hawks keeping it high and fast. Loop veterans said it was significantly faster than they'd usually come through, so I wasn't too put off by the fact most of my shots were out of frame. Sadly they were against the backlit white sky so a decent shot was a bit tricky.

I thought at first they were all destined for the bin, but on closer review, a couple were saveable. Both nice and sharp, one of the entry to the loop and the other on an overbank looking directly at us.

They whizzed round for a second pass a couple of minutes later at 0955.

I received a heads up that Marham F-35Bs were looping on their way to Valley. Bang on time, came the first pair of two looping at 1034 with the second at 1036 - keeping it low. My first attempt at a proper pass was a bit of shock, needless to say most ended up out of frame but come the second aircraft of the flight, my technique had improved and most were usable.

Next came a veryyyyyyy long break until I received another heads up that JIGSAW96 would be looping. Bang on time, it started to head over in our direction at 6000ft. Sadly it did not descend. After working Morcambe Bay for a little while, it came back in our direction - this time on the descent.

At 1610 came through ZM408 keeping it low and slow. It was a bit of a debate whether to change lenses from my 150-600 to my 24-105. I decided to keep the telephoto on despite having a feeling I wouldn't get the full aircraft in frame. From experience, the smaller lens is not that great at moving subjects, so decided to play it safe for this pass. very happy with the results to say the least.

Upon reviewing my photos, you can the backseater giving us the 🤘🏻

While waiting the the 4x F-35Bs to return through the loop, came a surprise Texan which was great practice keeping a steady hand on smaller subjects.

After some close-call alarms on others scanners, we were all on high alert for the Lightnings. They swung it round from the left in the distance like a drift car. The first came in high and fast - buzzed the tower Top Gun style. The second keeping it low.

A couple of minutes passed, and in came the second pair. The first fluffing the wings on a steep overbank keeping it a little higher than the others making for a nice split of the hillside and sky as a backdrop. One of the pairs decided to have a second run at the loop as a last goodbye for the day - both maintaining a flatter roll through the Loop.

Overall, I completed what I had set out to do this year - do something Low Level. I learned a great deal from others. One of the best bits of advice I have ever received was from a lovely gentleman I met on Cad West. It goes as follows:

Pick your shot. So many people want to get every shot on a pass. Head on, banking into the turn, topside and a couple of it heading off over the lake. They end up getting none of them in frame because they have to zoom in between each shot. When an aircraft has come and gone within 2 seconds, you don't have time to zoom. You have to pick the shot you want, be it zoomed out for the full aircraft in frame on a topside pass. You have to accept that you will not get a nice tight crop on the aircraft when it comes head on, but you got the shot you wanted.

That was the advice which got me the majority of shots I am proud of today, especially with the faster passes - and it will be the advice I pass on to others on their first trip up the Loop next time I am here.