Gazelle Over Salisbury Plain by Michael Rondot.  Fast and manoeuvrable, the Gazelle has proved itself as one of the worlds best light battlefield helicopters. Since its introduction into the Army Air Corps in 1973, Gazelles have been used in every major conflict involving British Forces from the Falklands to the Gulf Wars.  Used extensively on anti-terrorist observation and troop support operations in Northern Ireland, Gazelles have also been heavily committed to NATO operations in Bosnia.  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.  Artist Michael Rondot has captured this sense of power and energy in Concorde Farewell, a painting that pays tribute to one of the most impressive aircraft in a century of flight. The Marham Wing Over Sandringham by Michael Rondot.  At the beginning of her Golden Jubilee Year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Royal Air Force Marham, the Norfolk airbase close to the Royal family's winter residence at Sandringham. RAF Marham personnel are very proud of their unique association with Her Majesty who became Honorary Air Commodore of the station in 1976. To mark the occasion of her Golden Jubilee Year this magnificent oil painting was commissioned by all ranks of RAF Marham and presented to Her Majesty. The aircraft in Michael Rondot's painting represent the five squadrons of The Marham Wing. A Canberra PR9 is portrayed lading four Tornado GR4's, with aircraft tail letters specially marked to spell E II R L for the Golden Jubilee, in a formation flown over Sandringham in Her Majesty's honour. In the background, surrounded by wooded grounds, lawned gardens and 20,000 acres of estate, stands a fine red brick and standstone house built in 1870 for Prince Edward (later King Edward VII). Buccaneer Thunder by Michael Rondot.  Built to fly low and fast over very long distances, the Buccaneer reigned supreme during the Cold War years both as a carrier-borne and land-based strike aircraft. For 30 years, first with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm then with the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force, the Buccaneer's achievements in the low-level strike role approached the proportions of legend. Roy Boot's classic design is unbeatable in many respects even by the latest and most potent fighters and this much-loved aircraft is still immensely popular. It enjoys a unique reputation as a tough and reliable shipyard foundry-built aircraft and is sorely missed by those who flew it or worked on it and regarded it as irreplaceable. Pressed into service at short notice during the Gulf War, the Buccaneer and its aircrews finally proved in the most spectacular manner what many had been saying for years, - that the Buccaneer was a truly outstanding machine that could only be replaced by another Buccaneer. As a tribute to the mighty Buccaneer, artist Michael Rondot has painted in his Classic Combat Aircraft Series a striking and powerful image of a Buccaneer "smoking" at 540 knots at low level. Blue -Fire! by Michael Rondot  Nightmare scenario. Dusk over an empty sea. With lights out and in radio silence, three Buccaneers, each armed with 4 Sea-Eagle missiles, prepare to attack a Surface Action Group still beyond radar range. 150 miles away, 3 more Buccaneers are approaching the same target in a pincer attack timed to hit the target at exactly the same time. The first warning that the target will receive of the attack is when all 24 missiles radar seekers switch on at close range for the final phase of the attack. Whilst the Buccaneers escape unseen, the defences will be swamped with their worst nightmare - two volleys of missiles approaching without warning, at wave-top height, at 180 degrees to each other. Michael Rondot's painting captures the moment when the leader of the first element (callsign 'Blue'), achieves firing solution and initiates the ripple launch of his formation's missiles by breaking radio silence with the traditional 208 squadron radio call of "Blue-Fire!" Atlantic Trail by Michael Rondot  Ever wondered what it is like learning to tank? Imagine a fragile basket flailing six feet up and down at the end of a 50 foot hose as the tanker flexes its wings in turbulence. In your cockpit it feels like the throttles are connected to the engines with knicker elastic. To keep straight in the tanker's wingtip vortices you have applied right spoiler and a bootfull of rudder, whilst your death grip on the stick is inducing a violent porpoising motion. Over the radio a calm voice from the tanker clears you in, so with one engine in afterburner and with eyes like saucers you move forward to attempt a controlled mid-air collision. Welcome to the air-to-air refuelling club.  In Michael Rondot's remarkably accurate portrayal of refuelling operations high over an Atlantic panorama, a Tornado moving forward to refuel makes contact with the basket trailed by a VC10 tanker. In these last critical moments the Tornado's probe can either move snugly into the centre of the basket and plug in, or rip through the spokes, sending a shower of debris into the engine intake. It is all a matter of skill, judgement, age and luck. Black Jet by Michael Rondot.  In one of the most dramatic limited edition prints ever published, Michael Rondot portrays a sinister black Lockheed F-117A Stealth fighter landing at dawn with its distinctive black breaking parachute streamed. This superb print, the seventh edition in the Gulf War series, is countersigned by more than 20 operational F-117A pilots from the 49th Fighter Wing, Holloman AFB, serving in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, symbolising a remarkable breakthrough in access to the once super secret Black Jet and its aircrews. Night Attack by Michael Rondot.   April evening: Wittering, 1993. 75 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.Print is signed by 8 pilots : AW Bill Bedford OBE AFC FRAeS, John Farley, Chris Roberts, Air Marshal Sir Kenneth Hayr KCB KBE AFC, Air Vice-Marshal Peter Squire DFC AFC, Air Marshal Dick Johns CB CBE LVO, Group Captain Pete Day AFC and Group Captain Chris Burwell MBE. Meteors Over Castle Howard by Michael Rondot.  The 'Meatbox', as it affectionately became known, formed the backbone of RAF Fighter Command during the heyday of the 1950s, equipping regular and auxiliary RAF squadrons in the day-fighter, reconnaissance and night-fighter roles. The Meteor F8 day-fighter and NF14 night-fighters featured in Michael Rondot's painting represent the ultimate versions of this classic jet fighter which served on front-line squadrons until the late 1950s. Meteors of number 72 Squadron are seen in formation over the magnificent Yorkshire panorama of Castle Howard country house, the setting for Brideshead Revisited. In the background overlooking the vale of Pickering to the North Yorkshire Moors, dark storm clouds form a striking backdrop to this wonderful aviation painting.  Prints also signed by Wing Commander Ian Hawkins and Air Marshal Sir John Nicholls KCB CBE DFC AFC. Testing Times by Michael Rondot.  Of all the big piston-engined navy fighters built after WWII, 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. Boeing E-3A Sentry by Michael Rondot.  Bearing all the familiar hallmarks of his powerful atmospheric paintings, this dramatic winte5ry morning take-off portrayal of a Boeing E3A AWACS aircraft of the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force is set at Geilenkirchen, an area noted for leaden skies and long cold winters. With his masterly technique, Michael has combined superb detail and technical accuracy with an emotionally charged atmosphere that really captures the essence of "heavy metal" in action. Michael Rondot pays tribute to the multi-national crews of NATO E3s who have been involved in every major air battle of the conflict over the former Yugoslavia. Desert Scorpions by Michael Rondot.  The great land offensive by the 1st British Armoured Division during the Gulf War was only made possible by the outstanding levels of logistic support achieved by units of the Royal Corps of Transport, Royal Army Ordnance Corps and the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers. Desert Scorpions marks their exceptional role in Operation Granby and Operation Desert Storm. dominating the foreground of this painting of a typical resupply operation in the field are a Leyland DAF DROPS vehicle from 12 squadron, Royal Corps of Transport, and a Multiple Launch Rocket System from 39 Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery. Rock and Roll by Michael Rondot.  You don't 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 at 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 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. 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 the 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 formation just like these two in my painting, but I dare say the instructors in the back seats are doing the flying." Hawk Country by Michael Rondot.  The outstanding handling and agility of the Hawk make it a joy to fly in any situation, but for most Hawk pilots nothing compares with the "knife fight in a telephone box" excitement of Hawk versus Hawk low-level tactical evasion training in mountainous terrain as portrayed in Hawk Country. Set over the A4085 road by Beddgelert Forest in the Caernarfon Pass, North Wales, two grey-painted Hawks pursued by a 'bounce' fly out of the picture in a left hand turn heading for Capel Curig and the A5 Nant Ffrancon/Ogwen Pass, whilst 3 other Hawks, resplendent in the RAFs new gloss black paint scheme turn hard against the towering backdrop of cloud-capped Snowdon.