Somerset residents will have a chance to say goodbye to a soon-to-be retired Royal Navy helicopter today (Friday) which has been a familiar sight in the skies across the Burnham-On-Sea area.
To mark the official decommissioning of the Mk8 Lynx helicopter after 41 years of operation there will be a farewell flypast today.
It is scheduled to fly into Weston Helicopter Museum today at around 10.30am and then leave shortly afterwards for Devonport, flying over thr Bristol Channel near to Burnham en route southwards.
The Lynx MK8 will set off from RNAS Yeovilton on a farewell tour before it goes out of service on March 31st.
Four Lynx MK8 helicopters will travel around the South West on two separate journeys today, one this morning and one in the afternoon.
The Lynx is being replaced by the new Agusta Westland AW159 Wildcat helicopter.
Lynx farewell flypast Friday, March 17:
9.58am-10.03am: Depart RNAS Yeovilton
10.07am- 10.12am: Glastonbury Tor
10.20am- 10.25am: Rolls Royce Filton
10.30am- 10.35am: Weston-super-Mare helicopter museum
11.08am- 11.13am: Devonport
11.23am- 11.28am: Britannia Royal Naval College (will follow the coast to Lyme Regis).
11.44am- 11.49am: Lyme Regis Return to RNAS Yeovilton
12.18pm- 12.23pm: Depart RNAS Yeovilton
12.23pm- 12.28pm: Leonardo Helicopters
12.37pm- 12.42pm: Portland
12.44pm- 12.49pm: Lulworth
12.52pm- 12.57pm: Sandbanks
1.08pm- 1.13pm: Fleetlands
1.13pm- 1.18pm: Navy Command Headquarters
1.29pm- 1.34pm: Odiham
1.53pm- 1.58pm: Depart Odiham
2.13pm- 2.18pm: Isle of Dogs Westbound following River Thames
2.45pm- 2.50pm: Middle Wallop
2.50pm- 2.55pm: Boscombe Down
3pm- 3.05pm: Compton Abbas
3.13pm- 3.18pm: Arrive at RNAS Yeovilton
