HMS Illustrious is due to sail up the Mersey tomorrow morning! She will arrive at approximately 11am.

The 20,000-tonne Illustrious is the latest in a procession of top naval firepower to dock at Liverpool’s new Cruise Liner Terminal for free public viewing on Saturday.

She will have onboard a full complement of Sea Harrier jump jets and Sea King Air-borne Early Warning helicopters of 857 Naval Air Squadron. Also visiting Liverpool is Royal Navy Hunt class mine counter measures vessel HMS Cattistock, berthing in Canning Dock from Friday until Sunday.

HMS Illustrious will be open to visitors on Saturday, October 18, from 10am - 4pm, admission is free!

I will say, however, if the visit of the Ark Royal is anything to go by, I'd get there early - and I mean EARLY!! I queued for 3 1/2 hours to get on the Ark Royal but it was well worth it!! The queue was halfway to Bootle though and there is only 3 portaloo's on the queueline!

It is well worth going to see though! She is beautiful!!

Get ya glad rags on PJ - think of all those men in uniform lol

They're already out babes - all pressed and ready, boots polished

I would like to add to the above statement that I'm going primarily because of the Ship herself and the firepower onboard. I love to see our Naval ships as I am fiercely proud of our Troops and believe they deserve our support whether we agree with the wars they are involved in or not! Like our Police - they do a tough job and get little thanks or support!! This is my way of saying "Thank You" to them.


The fact that it's men in unifrom is a bonus

You have a sea harrier so what is the other one called a land harrier?

Used to work with the harriers. Smashing little aircraft but noisy and blew dust everywhere when landing vertically.

A did you know. Did you know that they very rarely take off vertically? Uses lots of fuel and other stuff hence the ramps on ships or short conventional take offs.

Unfortunately saw the aftermath of one or two crashes when they used to have a bit of a problem. Sorted now thankfully.

Oh don't start me on the physics of vertical take off and landing I tried to explain it to my ex ages ago and he just didn't get it!

It amazes me how a plane can get off the ground, let alone stay up in the air - it's a case of half my brain understands the physics of it but the other half just won't have it

They are very noisy but so nice to look at! A massive jet flew up the Mersey yesterday afternoon, really low - I was made up.

I worked in a boarding school up near the lakes that was full of RAF, Army and Navy children and some of the RAF Dads used to Buzz the school on their manouvres up and down the valleys - one even "hovered" upside down and waved at us! It blew my mind!!

I really should have been a boy

i know planes can hover but how does it hover upside down?

Maybe hover was the wrong word but I don't know what to call it He sort of flew rather slowly but upside down if that makes sense.

that sounds better

just seemed like a long winded way of saying what it looked like. I'm having a bad word day today. Too much revision and not enough going in!!! There has to be an easier way to revise that gives better results!!

harriers are bloody noisy!!! we have a couple at my raf camp

There are 4 or 5 on her now, plus a helicopter. Can't wait for tomorrow

why? cant say i get excited with aircraft and helicopters now i see them almost every day!

Because I don't get to see them very often and I love them!! There's been a couple fly up and down the Mersey this week and it never fails to excite me.

you should move near an raf camp you will see them everyday then!

Don't tempt me I'd quite happily live near one, or an airport for that matter.

Here you go Jay. Clicky

This guy has a plane obsession, his photographs are awesome though considering most of them are taken from the ground

Excellent find my friend That will keep me occupied for hours!!

We found a site near RAF VAlley where you're just the other side of the railway line and can see the radar tower about 100ft away. If you don't like planes it would drive you mad. But we loved it.
I'll post pics

valley only have hawks! at coningsby we have 8 types of aircraft! all better than the hawk!!

Right then - Conningsby it is I'm off to find a Solicitors Firm and a College!!

well at coningsby we have 4 squadrons of typhoons, we have a squadron of tornados and harriers and the battle of britain aircraft!

How far from the beach is it??

bout 20 mins to half an hour from skegness

Is that on foot or in a Typhoon??

we should do an air show PJ - i love airshows

Oooooh yes!!! Or we could just go and perv at the aircraft anyway

WTF? lol

Just to let intrested peeps know ,mersey ferries are running cruises around lusty departing the pier head every 30 mins up till 6pm

i love air shows too.

anyone got any pics of the Lusty yet?

I need to resize all the pictures to be able to put them on here so I think it may be easier to just post the link on here.

My album for HMS Illustrious photo's

Some of the pictures in the album are from the sick bay and operating theatre onboard. They have a fully staffed (when operational and deployed), fully stocked and fully operational operating theatre, including dentistry. The cleanliness and organisation of the department would put some NHS hospitals to shame! I wouldn't like to have to recover from surgery on the beds though - they're very narrow and rather hard lol.

They're great PJ!

Thanks doll. I'm getting used to the camera now

I used to live in a house at the end of the runway at Wildenrath. That was fun...Once you got used to it.