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Aviation Art Prints  Aviation Artists  Michael Rondot |
[UP] - Ivan Berryman - Robert Taylor - Stan Stokes - Nicolas Trudgian - David Pentland - Philip West - Gerald Coulson - Graeme Lothian - Anthony Saunders - Keith Woodock - Robert Tomlin - Michael Rondot - Brian Bateman - Barry Price - Geoff Lea - Keith Aspinall - John Young - M A Kinnear - Michael Turner - Robin Smith - More Artists - Artist Lists by Title |
| Michael Rondot |
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Michael Rondot is well known in the military aviation world for his distinctive style of aircraft paintings and prints which have made him one of todays most widely collected aviation artists. During his 25 year career as a pilot in the Royal Air Force he flew over 5000 hours in combat jets, including Jaguar fighter bombers during the Gulf War, bringing a unique authority to his paintings that sets them in a class of their own. His portrayals of classic combat aircraft are much sought-after by both aviators and enthusiasts alike for their realism and powerful atmospheric settings. |
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| Text for the above items : |
High in the Sunlit Silence by Michael Rondot. A solo Spitfire flies high over the aerial battlefield of the Battle of Britain. |
Coltishall - End of the Line by Michael Rondot. Life on the flightline at Royal Air Force Coltishall with the 41 Squadron engineering line building in the background. Coltishall was the last Royal Air Force station to operate three squadrons of aircraft from flightlines in front of squadron hangars and the last operational front-line former Battle of Britain fighter station. |
Paveway Tornados by Michael Rondot. In this remarkably accurate portrayal of low level action at sunset he features a pair of FLIR-equipped Tornado GR4s carrying a TIALD laser designator pod and GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided bombs. These weapons, used to such devastating effect during the Gulf War by USAF F-lllF and F-117A Black Jet aircraft, now give the RAF the same capability to attack targets with pinpoint accuracy, both day and night, in adverse weather and from all altitudes. |
Constant Endeavour by Michael Rondot. No text for this item |
Valiant, The Last Valiant by Michael Rondot. The Vickers Valiant was the first four jet bomber of Britains Cold War nuclear strike V-Force whos Valiants, Victors and Vulcans, painted in distinctive anti-flash white, were a familiar sight in the 1950s & 1960s. Widely regarded as the best looking V Bomber and the nicest to fly, the Valiant equipped nine Squadrons during its brief career from 1955 to 1964, dropping bombs in anger during the Suez crisis and Britains first atomic and hydrogen bombs. |
The Longest Minute by Michael Rondot. Just off target there was a lot of flak. Its the first time I have ever seen tracer coming up at me. It was the longest minute of my life. These sobering words brought home the reality of war when a Jaguar pilot described his feelings to waiting press reporters, after coming under fire front AAA during an attack on Iraqi forces in Kuwait on 20 January 1991. The remorseless precision pounding of strategic and tactical Iraqi targets in the Kuwait Theatre of Operations was barely three days old when these words were spoken, but six weeks later, as the hostilities of Operation Desert Storm reached a climax, RAF jaguar pilots still counted the seconds during the long minutes of their dive attacks onto heavily defended targets. Success was important, since many of the targets posed a serious threat to both allied ground and naval forces. Artillery and missile sites were attacked in equal measure with airfields, barracks and ammunition dumps during the Jaguars six week war. Brilliantly led by Wing Commander Bill Pixton AFC, the Jaguars, based at Al Muharraq, Bahrain, flew over 600 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm without loss, suffering only two hits from anti-aircraft fire Often flying into treacherous weather and heavy calibre AAA, the Jaguar pilots dispelled many myths about their aircraft during these tense times. We pushed the aeroplane so far outside its flight envelope that I wouldn't have believed it could do it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes was how one pilot described taking his fully loaded Jaguar transonic at over 34,000 feet during one mission ingress. Michael Rondots painting depicts the moment when the last man to attack, the number 8 at the tail end of the formation watches and waits before tipping in to attack. For him the longest minute is about to begin. The first 4 Jaguars have already attacked and are feet wet returning to base, having dropped their load of 1000lb bombs on the target. During the next few minutes the second four-ship will press home their attack, releasing sixteen 1000lb airburst bombs totally devastating the target before escaping out to sea, away from the coastal AAA flak belt and back to their base at Bahrain. |
Canberra Tribute by Michael Rondot. Operated by 17 airforces in more than 20 different variants, Canberras have been to war at Suez and in India, in Vietnam and the Falklands campaign, and in 1996 Canberra PR9s were engaged in operational reconnaissance flights over Bosnia and in other regions. It is widely and justifiably regarded as one of the greatest aircraft designs of all time. The English Electric Canberra first flew on Friday 13 May 1949 when its performance created a sensation. Such was the quality of the original design that in May 1951, when the first B2 Canberras entered service with No 101 Squadron at RAF Binbrook they could out manoeuvre all the fighters of the period and fly with impunity more than 10,000 feet above them. Operated by 17 airforces in more than 20 different variants, Canberras have been to war at Suez and in India, in Vietnam and the Falklands campaign, and in 1996 Canberra PR9s were engaged in operational reconnaissance flights over Bosnia and in other regions. It is widely and justifiably regarded as one of the greatest aircraft designs of all time. |
Lightning QRA Intercept by Michael Rondot. No.5 Sqn and No.11 Sqn Lightnings intercept a Tu-95 Bear, supported by an essential Victor tanker. QRA, day and night, 24hrs a day, 7 days a week 52 weeks a year, 365 days a year - never a day off, always ready! Over and over again for so many years, the air defences of Britain were regularly tested by Russian Tu-95 Bears as they probed NATO airspace high above the North Sea. |
Night Attack by Michael Rondot. April evening: Wittering, 1993. Seventy five years after the formation of the Royal Air Force, Michael Rondot now portrays the most important new aircraft to enter RAF service, the night-attack Harrier GR7. |
Tornado F3 by Michael Rondot. (AP) Tornado F3 taking off on a dark and wet afternoon with the characteristic pink and blue afterburner plume blazing from its RB 199 engines. The controversial Tornado F3 replaced both the Lightning and F-4 Phantom in the RAF, and flew operational combat air patrols throughout the Gulf War. |
Mutual Support by Michael Rondot. In any conflict, accurate intelligence about the enemy is important, but during the Gulf War it was crucial to the rapid ending of hostilities with minimum Allied casualties. US Air National Guard RF-4C Phantoms, flying deep-penetration photo reconnaissance missions into Iraq and occupied Kuwait, provided much of the vital intelligence which enabled Allied ground forces to outflank and overwhelm Iraqi opposition with such devastation. Their missions were dangerous, taking them into the most heavily defended airspace over Baghdad and The Kuwait of Operations in broad daylight. They were fired on by SAMs and intense AAA barrages, but none were lost in over 300 missions. Michael Rondots painting portrays a classic formation of two RF-4Cs in action over Iraq, flying in company to provide lookout and mutual support in case of attack. On the ground, palls of Sand and smoke drift away from Iraqi artillery positions following an air strike, as the Phantoms accelerate and turn in for their battle-damage assessment photo run. In the next minutes they will come under fire from heat-seeking missiles and flak defenses around the target before escaping South, back to their base at Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain. In the days following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, RF-4C Phantoms from the 117 TRW, Birmingham, Alabama ANG were among the spearhead of Units deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. Operating under difficult and dry conditions from Al Dafra AB, UAE, the Birmingham Guardsmen flew border reconnaissance missions using long range oblique cameras until mid-December, when the Nevada Air Guard took over and moved to similarly tense and dry Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain. The two Phantoms in Mutual Support represent both the Birmingham Guard and the Nevada Guard, the High Rollers. Aircraft 886 flew 54 combat missions during Desert Storm, whilst 056 flew 51 missions in combat before it was lost on 30 March following a catastrophic systems failure over the Persian Gulf. The 192 TRS, Nevada ANG, flew 350 combat and combat support missions during Desert Storm. They did this with just 6 aircraft and 12 crews, supported by a small detachment of technicians and support personnel from their home base in Reno. The Part Timers are now back at their civilian jobs, but their contribution is commemorated marking the twilight of the RF-4C Phantom in service with the Nevada and Alabama ANG. |
747 Classic by Michael Rondot. Last copies of this otherwise sold out edition available. |
Meteors Over Castle Howard by Michael Rondot. No 72 Squadron Meteor F8 and NF14 fighters over Castle Howard, North Yorkshire. Initially based at RAF North Weald with Meteor F8s, No72 moved to Church Fenton in 1953 where, in 1956, it became an all weather squadron with meteor NF12s and 14s Castle Howard, set in more than 1,000 acres of Yorkshires finest parkland, was the magnificent location for the televison filming of Brideshead Revisited. |
Rock and Roll by Michael Rondot. You dont have to be an aviator to know that low flying in mountain valleys is fun. Anyone who has ever seen high-performance jets rolling and pulling through mountain passes will have correctly guessed that it is challenging, and exciting adrenaline-pumping stuff. Artist Michael Rondot served as a fast-jet pilot in the RAF for 25 years and remembers his introduction to low flying in North Wales : My first encounter with the A5 pass at Ogwen came in 1969 when I was a student pilot flying the Folland Gnat trainer from RAF Valley. My instructor, a chap called Norrie Bell, took control of the aircraft towards the end of a training sortie and said Shut up and watch, I want to show you something. We descended through a break in the cloud cover to low level, very low level, closer to the ground than I had ever been except when landing and accelerated to 420 knots. This was my first experience of low flying in the Gnat and I sat mesmerised in the front cockpit with eyes like saucers as the ground rushed past. Trees, water, stone walls and roads flashed by as we continued to accelerate to 480 knots at very low level. Suddenly we were in a deep U-shaped valley with a cloud-covered rock wall at the far end and, as far as I could see, no means of escape except by climbing, and climbing very, very soon, like NOW ! Next thing, I saw the ground rotate and we were in a hard 5G turn pulling DOWN into the valley floor with about 135 degrees of right bank and descending below the level of the road which I could see above my head. We raced out of the valley, still in the weeds until reaching Bethesda village when with a long sigh he handed over control to me and announced: That, young Michael, was the A5 pass. I never forgot that experience and during the next 23 years I took every opportunity to revisit the A5 pass in whatever aircraft I happened to be flying. In 1977 I flew it in a Canberra PR9 on a windy day in poor weather but would not care to repeat that frightening experience. I flew it many times in Hawk and Jaguar aircraft. For me it has a mystique unlike any other place in the UK low flying system. The best students at RAF Valley got the chance to fly the A5 pass in fighting wing formation just like these two in my painting, but I dare say the instructors in the back seats are doing the flying. |
767 by Michael Rondot. You can almost hear the Rolls-Royce RB211-524H engines accelerate to full power in this dramatic study by Michael. British Airways 767 Pilots are also qualified to fly the Boeing 757, which is featured in the background of this superb print. They frequently fly a 757 for the first part of the day, and then a 767 for the remainder, or vice versa. In British Airways service, the Boeing 767 is a remarkably versatile aircraft, used on both shorthaul and longhaul routes. West from London Heathrow to Vancouver, on the far West coast of Canada, or East of the City of Madras in India, the 767 effortlessly swallows the miles. Both the 757 and the 767 can perform fully automatic landings in the exterme weather conditions of fog and low cloud, and are cleared to operate dowm to the almost incredible visibility of just 75 metres, when most other aircraft would be grounded. Extended Time Operations, or ETOPS for short, is another familiar operation for both the 757 and 767. The 767 was one of the first twin-engine passenger aircraft allowed to operate on the demanding North Atlantic routes, and has built a strong reputation for being reliable and dependable aircraft. |
Broken Silence by Michael Rondot. The Jaguars are en-route to Cape Wrath to carry out precision-guided bombing attacks at Garbh-eilean weapons range. The lead aircraft is armed with a Paveway II laser guided bomb, whilst the No 2 is carrying a TIALD pod to laser designate their target. In the background mighty Ben Hope, soaring up to 3040 feet, forms a massive backdrop against a darkening sky as the Big Cats get down to business. |
Shiny II - Tornado Recce by Michael Rondot. Flying beneath an overcast of grey, threatening cloud, two Tornado GRlAs break formation as the lead aircraft turns and accelerates towards a narrow gap in the cloud covered hills. The aircraft are flying a low-level tactical reconnaissance mission, aiming to locate, identify and film a camouflaged target using their sophisticated on-board video recording sensors. As night falls and low cloud envelops them, they have the capability, unmatched by any other recce aircraft in the world, to fly their mission in darkness, at very low-level, and still locate and record their target. During the Gulf War, Recce Tornados were tasked to fly deep-penetration low-level missions at night into Iraq and the Kuwait Theatre of Operations, searching out troop concentrations, armour, and mobile SCUD missile launchers. Their missions were dangerous and lonely work, flying alone and without fighter escort, often into the most heavily defended areas of Iraq and Kuwait. None were lost on these missions, but the dangers they faced, and the professionalism displayed by the aircrews from No. II (AC) Sqn, and No. 13 Sqn, were recognised in the Gulf War Honours List by several awards for bravery in the air, including the DSO and DFC. Already regarded as one of the finest strike and attack aircraft in NATO, the Recce Tornado dispenses with conventional cameras altogether, and instead, features infrared linescan and side-looking thermal imagers mounted inside the forward fuselage gun bays. These high-resolution sensors enable Tornado to identify pinpoint targets from tree-top height, by day or by night, even in the most appalling weather conditions. |
Concorde Farewell by Michael Rondot. Concorde made supersonic history, bringing Mach 2 international travel in luxury surroundings at the edge of space to millions of air travellers. It is instantly recognisable, but Concorde is far more than just a sleek and pretty aircraft. Its sheer size, combined with the glorious power and noise of its Olympus engines endow Concorde with a unique charisma. There is no other aircraft capable of stopping people in their tracks and making them look to the sky in awe like Concorde taking off in full reheat. |
Lightning by Michael Rondot. This classic portrayal of 92 squadrons flagship Lightning F2A XN778 King Cobra taking off from a rain-swept RAF Gutersloh in 1977 pays tribute to the legendary fighter,its pilots and the engineers who enjoyed a love/hate relationship with the difficult and technically challenging Lightning. |
Jaguar Farewell by Michael Rondot. The Jaguar served with the Royal Air Force from 1974 to 2007 as a strike/attack and reconnaissance fighter bomber, equipping eight squadrons in Germany and the UK during the Cold War, and was used in combat during the first Gulf War and in the Balkans conflict. Now at the end of its RAF career, it will be remembered as a rugged and reliable aircraft, capable of finding and putting bombs on a target in bad weather with unprecedented accuracy. This print portrays the Jaguar in typical Jaguar weather climbing on full reheat afterburners! Showing off the classic lines of this incredible aircraft and chosen by the Pilots of 6 Sqn, the final Jaguar Sqn, it is sure to be the true collectors choice for as Michael Rondot, drawing on his own experiences as a Jaguar pilot, has created a fine tribute and a fitting epitaph to an outstanding combat aircraft. |
Testing Times by Michael Rondot. Of all the big piston-engined navy fighters built after WWll, the Hawker Sea Fury was the greatest.Rugged, powerful and fast, the formidable Sea Fury achieved fame over Korea in both fighter and ground attack roles and was the last of the line of piston-engined Fleet Air Arm fighters. |
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