Since January 2004 I've been fortunate to have done air-to-air photoshoots with the Irish Air Corps on multiple occasions, shooting both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.

Following on from my first ever fixed wing photoshoot report (click here), this report has photos from my first two Alouette III flights, including my first ever rotary wing air-to-air photoshoot. The subject and photoship of both of these flights was the Aerospatiale SA316B Alouette III helicopter from the Helicopter Wing.

I was using a Fuji S602Z 3.1MP camera, the quality of which was poor when compared to today's cameras, and when shooting burst the viewfinder locked up so you had to move the camera in the approximate direction your target was moving and hope you kept the subject in the frame, but as with the Marchetti shoot, superb flying by the Air Corps pilots provided ample photo opportunities.

I'm ever grateful to the Irish Air Corps for introducing me to aviation and aviation photography, and in the year of their 100th Anniversary, I would like to thank them for their support over the years, and wish them all the best for the next 100 years.