Video: Scotsman reporter Lyndsay Moss flew with the RAF as the Calcutta Cup match began in real style

Published on Sunday 14 March 2010 21:54

AROUND the airfield at RAF Kinloss in Moray, Nimrod spyplanes stand majestic, yet somehow forlorn.

Some are awaiting their next mission, but others have already been stripped of any useful parts before being scrapped. The lucky ones are destined for air museums around the country.

But the Nimrod MR2 fleet, which is being taken out of service from the end of this month, refuses to go quietly.

On Saturday, the crowds at Murrayfield in Edinburgh for the Calcutta Cup rugby clash between Scotland and England were given a glimpse of just what the plane known as the Mighty Hunter can do, with a perfectly timed flypast to start the game.

Weeks in the planning, the flight was an emotional experience for many crew involved, some of whom have been flying in Nimrods for decades. Master aircrew Neil Campbell is among them, having flown Nimrods for 20 years. "It is sad. It has been around a long time," he says.

I have arrived at RAF Kinloss to be part of the flight over Murrayfield to raise awareness of the Royal Air Forces Association. Like most people, much of what I know about the plane is due to the devastating Nimrod crash during a mission in Afghanistan in 2006, which killed 14 people.

"If we didn't think they were safe we wouldn't fly them," said Master aircrew Campbell

"We're not stupid people. The aircraft has never been as safe as it is at the moment."

With these reassuring words echoing in my head, we head for the plane.

The first Nimrods, the MR1s, entered service in 1969 before being replaced in the early 1980s by the current MR2. Then last December, a bombshell for the Nimrod crews – the MR2 fleet of 11 planes would be taken out of service a year earlier than planned as part of MoD money-saving measures. A question mark still hangs over the arrival of their replacement, the new Nimrod MRA4, which may not be in full service for some time.

On board, the Nimrod is crammed with the equipment that makes it such an asset to the RAF in its search and rescue duties, with dinghies and survival packs ready to be deployed. There are also shelves packed with grey metal sonobuoys for use in surveillance missions. I am shown to my seat, near the Nimrod's kitchen area.

Strapped in and ready to go, I listen through headphones as the crew go through all their checks. Hydraulics, generators, flying controls. Master aircrew Campbell says: "Don't worry about all the noises. It does make some very funny sounds."

As it is, any funny sounds are more than drowned out by the roar of the engines as we speed past the grass-covered hangars and into the sky.

Master aircrew Keith Treece is operating the plane's camera, which will capture images as we roar over Murrayfield.

He pans around the scene below, zooming in on an unsuspecting white car driving over the Forth Road Bridge. We follow it, imagining how useful this could be when tracking enemy vehicles in a warzone such as Afghanistan, rather than a motorist just heading back to Fife with his shopping.

It's not long before the carefully timed operation comes to a head. We are approaching Murrayfield. Standing behind pilot Squadron Leader Gary Laing, I watch as the plane drops down to about 1,000ft and swoops over the Scottish Parliament and The Scotsman offices in Holyrood Road. The sun bounces off the top of the metal structure of the stadium as we surge towards it.

Crouching to look through the surprisingly small window on the flight deck, I see the stadium now full of fans, with several tiny camera flashes capturing the plane.

Of course, it is over in a matter of seconds. Before I have time to register what we have just seen, we suddenly swing left and up in one quick movement. The G-force sees my lower limbs buckling beneath me and tensing as I attempt to not fall over and knock any of the hundreds of dials and buttons surrounding me.

The visual treats are not over yet. We fly incredibly low over the Moray Firth, where we pass by the Ark Royal, the Royal Navy's flagship which is coming to the end of operational testing there. As an airborne icon passes a seabound one, I realise why the crews become so attached to these great metal beasts.

While they await news of the next generation of Nimrods and what the future holds for RAF Kinloss, the current fleet are busy making the most of their long goodbye. "That was cracking," Captain Laing says as he steps off the plane after its Murrayfield trip, the final 15-all scoreline slightly less exciting than the airborne spectacular that kicked it off.