Thanks guys..... (un)fortunately the grain isn't nearly as evident in the picture, it's the scanner to blame - as shown by that nasty vertical dark patch on the left of centre. The film was a cheapo shops-own brand one for 99p, this one at 400asa. I was still getting used to the 300mm lens, so I'm sure I had it fully open on aperture. Cheapo processing at 2.99 too, but I always get good results from them so why pay more?!? lol It must be something about my timing, coz I took another picture of 2 planes doing a similar move, and once again got them crossing each other perfectly.... imo it would look much better if I'd got them a fraction after they'd crossed.... however, practice, practice, practice..... (",)