Royal navy bid fairwell to the Westland Lynx-End of an Era

Today was the official fairwell of the Westland Lynx after it first entered service in 1979, a formation of 4 mk8 lynx's did a tour of places associated with the lynx service and production.

The Royal Navy is bidding farewell to the Lynx helicopter with a flypast over southern England. It is a chance for fans to say goodbye to the maritime aircraft, which is being decommissioned after 41 years. Four Mark 8 Lynxes are taking a tour of military sites associated with the helicopter after departing from their Yeovilton base. They will fly over locations including Weston-super-Mare, Lyme Regis and Navy Command Headquarters in Portsmouth. The LynxImage copyrightLPHOT DAN ROSENBAUM Image caption The Lynx was based at RNAS Portland in Dorset for over half of its service life Media captionThe helicopter is being retired from the Navy fleet after 41 years The Lynx, which will be decommissioned at the end of the month, was based at RNAS Portland in Dorset for over half of its service before moving to RNAS Yeovilton. The British-made aircraft remains popular, with a Lynx Community celebrating the flypast in Weymouth and Portland. The Mark 8s are flying over Glastonbury Tor, Rolls Royce Filton, Weston-Super-Mare helicopter museum, Devonport and Britannia Royal Naval College before following the coast to Lyme Regis. After 12:00 the Lynxes will visit Portland, Lulworth, Sandbanks and Fleetlands, before reaching their eastern most point, the Isle of Dogs, and following the River Thames westwards through Middle Wallop, Boscombe Down and Compton Abbas.

farewell to filton,bristol.


the amazing lynx


The replacement to the lynx..... wildcat formally called future lynx and lynx wildcat ....so maybe the change is not so great....or is it?

The AW159 Wildcat is the successor to, and a further development of, the Westland Lynx.[30] While the AW159 shares broad similarities in appearance to the Lynx, it has significant design differences and is heavily modernised and adapted to gain new attributes and functionality.[30] The AW159 comprises 95% new components; the remaining 5%, consisting of such items as the fuel system and main rotor gearbox, are interchangeable with the Lynx AH7 and HMA8 variants.[31] During development, the Army and Navy variants of the Wildcat reportedly maintained 98 per cent commonality with one another.[20] The AW159 is the first helicopter by AgustaWestland to be designed inside an entirely digital environment.[30] Among other changes, certain external elements of the Wildcat, such as the tail rotor, have been redesigned for greater durability and stealth qualities.[30]

a reply to: urbanfox
So this is the helicopter that nearly brought down Margaret Thatcher's government.
I remember "the Westland affair" as a massive dispute within the government about the destiny of the struggling company- should it be taken over by an American firm, or by a "European consortium"? Maggie forced through the first option, at the cost of the resignation of Michael Heseltine and a contentious debate in the House of Commons.

a reply to: DISRAELI

well not so much the helicopter but the company yeah... still a fine helicopter though...
let's be honest what major military project doesn't result in political repercussions!

a reply to: urbanfox

They passed over my head today where I was working up a hill. I waved them on and gave a farewell clap of my hands.

Although I have been a passenger in one what I think I will miss is the very unique sound of combined rotor whine and engine note, which always identified it on approach and needed no visual confirmation.