Incredible moment US Air Force jet spotted flying Top Gun-style over UK beauty spot
US Air Force F15 Eagles and RAF Typhoons have been captured on camera in the beautiful Lake District - flying like the fighter jets in the Top Gun movies
The F-15 is not as close to these buildings as it looks
(Image: SWNS)A photographer has captured jaw-dropping scenes of Top Gun-style flying in the Lake District.
Iain Knox pictured US Air Force F15 Eagle fighter jets as they practised high-speed manoeuvres on Thursday. He also pictured an RAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.Mk 4 aircraft from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
He said: "These were taken from a hillside near Keswick in the Lake District, within one of the UK's Low Flying Areas.
"They show USAF F15 Eagles, based at Lakenheath, conducting one of their regular training exercises against a backdrop of stunning heather-covered hills."
Iain commented: "I'd made a last-minute decision to take a trip to the Lakes, and was even rewarded with some patches of sunshine between Storm Lilian's frequent showers."
He was keen to reassure readers that the warplanes were not as close as they looked to the buildings below.
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Iain said: "The very long lens focal length (600mm) compresses perspective a lot, especially noticeable in the shot where the aircraft looks as though it's almost overhead the farm (See top image).
In fact, the aircraft was over the lake and the farm was about 1km beyond it."
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The F-15 jets - which cost around $30m each and have been in service since 1976 - did not feature in the original Top Gun film, which featured F-18 Super Hornets.
However, the F-15, built by McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing, is reputed to be the most successful modern fighter - with more than 100 victories and zero losses in aerial combat.
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Despite its success, when the F-15 was first launched, there were concerns that it was too large and heavy to be a dogfighter.
Nevertheless, around 125 US F-15s have been lost over the past 50 years in accidents - mostly due to pilot error in reduced visibility situations.
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