Category Archives: military

128th ARW Open House

A short drive north of Chicago is Milwaukee. The main airport at Milwaukee is General Mitchell International and, aside from the commercial services that operate there, the Wisconsin Air National Guard also has a unit based on the field. It has a fleet of KC-135 tankers operated by the 128 Aerial Refueling Wing. Periodically, they have an open house and I went up to the recent event.

This is not an air show. The field remains open and normal flight operations continue. However, the ANG unit takes the chance to show off what they do to the local community and let them know what is going on with their tax dollars. They also invite others to bring aircraft in to give the visitors a variety of things to see. These visitors include aircraft from other Air Force units, a helicopter from the army and a variety of vintage aircraft, many from the local area.

The event took place over two days of the weekend. The Sunday looked better from a weather perspective so that is the day I went for. It proved to be a good choice with plenty of sun but temperatures staying very comfortable. What I didn’t appreciate was the additional benefit of it being Mother’s Day. I got their early for the better light but most people were spending time showing their mothers that they love them. Since I am 4,000 miles from my mum, a personal visit was a little impractical! It did make for a quiet ramp for quite a while though.

As the day progressed, plenty more people showed up and they probably achieved their goals for sharing with the local community. I got to chat with a number of interesting people and, since it was quiet, was able to have more than a passing conversation. I also met a few people who might be interested in some follow up work for the magazine so the trip was productive as well as fun.

I got a few shots of airliners as well as the aircraft on the ramp. We were also lucky that one of the based KC-135s launched on a mission while I was there so a shot of that flying helped out a lot. Since it isn’t an air show, that was a nice extra! I hope to get back up to the unit in due course and find out more about them and maybe put together a more detailed piece on their history and operations.

More WHF Fun!

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Some days things are just looking like they will be good. The Warbird Heritage Foundation have their newly restored P-51 Mustang, Baby Duck, ready for flight. Before they can do too much with it, they need to get some hours on the engine. Consequently, they have had Vlado Lenoch coming across to fly the aircraft when possible to build the hours.

I knew that they had intentions to fly in the week before Christmas but I didn’t know exactly when. However, the weather was crap for the majority of the week. When I saw a good forecast for Friday and I had some free time, I decided to take a chance and head on up to see if anything was happening. If not, it was still a nice day to be out and about!

As it was, not only did the guess prove to be accurate, I got a bit luckier than even I had expected. Baby Duck was out on the ramp when I arrived which was a good sign. Indeed she would be flying and Vlado was coming to fly her. What is the easiest way for Vlado to get there? In his P-51 of course. Paul also was planning on flying one of the other aircraft that day as well. Bonus!

Vlado showed up and got ready to fly the Duck. I scooted across the field to be in a position for good light and angles and it wasn’t long before Vlado was taxiing out. A few other aircraft movements kept me amused while he headed out to the departure end. Before I had left the hangar, I had foolishly suggested to Vlado that he keep it low on departure. That was a pretty redundant thing to say. Vlado certainly kept the aircraft in a good position for me as he came past and he built up speed before turning it into height.

I headed back since we didn’t know how long they would be out. They actually landed away so were gone for quite a while. Chris Doud had been in the right place to bag the back seat so he was having a great time.

When they got back, Paul had a chat with Vlado about how the flight had gone and then got ready to take the T-2 up for a run. Vlado was also heading home in Moonbeam McSwine so I made a second run across the field to get the departures again. They ended up heading out close together. Both provided sporty departures so I was considering the day a very productive one.

I headed back to the hangar to await the return of the T-2. They broke back into the pattern and landed so some taxi in shots and then a few pictures of a very happy back seat passenger made for the end of the day. Time to head back to Chicago and enjoy all the traffic could offer on the last day before Christmas!

Scooter Time Again

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For those of you that have hung around here for a while, hopefully there is more than one of you, you will know that I have spent a lot of time shooting with the Warbird Heritage Foundation up at Waukegan. If you saw my recent post on the T-6, you will know that I was up at Waukegan to see the A-4 fly again. The A-4 is a great little jet and one that I love to see in action.

The aircraft has some new stores fitted underwing. These are practice bomb carriers and they add to the options for displaying the aircraft. They certainly look good. The weather was great on the day I went up and Paul wanted to get up and flying as quickly as he could. He had other things to get to later in the day so getting the jet up and running was a priority. First it required an engine run and a leak check after the servicing and then it should be good to go.

The engine run went well and a couple of minor things were noted and fixed. Then it was time to fly. I decided it would be best to head across the field. The hangar is north of the runway and doesn’t have the best light angle for the aircraft taking off. Fortunately, the wind, while light, meant that the jet would be departing heading in to the light so, from a position by the other hangar (the maintenance hangar is called the Bunker) should provide a good view.

This worked out well, Paul certainly helped by keeping the jet relatively low as he transitioned the gear up. I got some nice close shots as he came by and then he pulled up into a steep climb out. Certainly great and worth the trip – the T-6 flight was a cherry on the top!

Time in the T-6

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I recently popped up to Waukegan to see the good folks at the Warbird Heritage Foundation. I was up there to take some shots of their A-4 Skyhawk. It was scheduled to fly and the weather was looking particularly good so it seemed like an opportunity not to miss. A post on that will follow soon.

While I was there, the Chief Pilot, Herwig, was getting ready to take up the T-6 to run a check on the adjustments that had been made to the aileron trim. When he asked if I wanted to come along, I think you can guess what my answer was.

This was to be my first trip in a T-6. I minimized what photography equipment I was going to take along in order to keep things simple. Since we weren’t shooting anything else, I really only had two shot options. The ground or myself. Needless to say, I had a go at both. There is something very self centered but fun about shooting yourself in the cockpit while flying. I like shooting the pilot too but in the case of the T-6, the best I can get is the back of Herwig’s head!

The flight was a quick one and the trim checks were carried out before heading back to Waukegan. An overhead break into the pattern and then we were back on terra firma. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Thanks guys.

Elusive ER-2

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Paul and I decided to make a trip up to Palmdale while we were in LA. Palmdale is about an hour and a half north of LAX if the traffic is flowing freely and can be a source of some interesting aircraft. It can also be a big disappointment. Luck of the draw. As we headed over the pass towards Palmdale, the clouds were drifting in which didn’t bode well. However, you never know.

One of the things we were keen to see was NASA’s ER-2. This is a variant of the U-2 airframe, two of which NASA acquired for research work. ER stands for Earth Resources I think although whether that is all they do is a different question! It was scheduled to launch that morning so we headed up.

We looked around for a spot to locate ourselves and found something that looked promising. We were well placed for the main runway. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize they were launching away from us on a cross runway until the sound of the ER-2 made us jump out of the car and watch it climbing away towards the hills. It turned and came close as it departed to the east but not a great shot.

Next to launch was a U-2. Lockheed Martin do maintenance on them at Palmdale and this one launched away from us as well. Our luck was not looking good. We could track the ER-2 since it was a civilian flight but whether the U-2 would come back or was being redelivered, we did not know. In the end, it did come back and flew right past us. Finally some success.

As we waited, something else showed up on the horizon. The shape looked slightly familiar and, as it came closer, it turned out to be a B-2. Almost totally unmarked, we suspect it was from Edwards. It flew a couple of approaches and then departed north. It came close enough to us but they are difficult to shoot unless the light is really good – which it wasn’t – so a little dull. However, a nice break.

Finally the ER-2 came back. We were ready for some lunch so watched it head towards us. Then, it broke off to land the opposite way on the runway it had departed from. There was no time to reposition ourselves so we missed out again. My results were a few distant crops of shots against a white sky so nothing to be too proud of. A bit of a bust of a day but that is the luck of the draw. Time to head off and get lunch after that!

Bye Bye El Centro

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You might have thought that we had covered El Centro enough. Nah! The day after the photocall, I was planning to head across to San Diego. However, I didn’t have to be there until lunchtime and it is only a couple of hours drive to get there. Since I was going to be up early, why not finish of the time at El Centro with one more visit to the base to shoot from outside.

I wasn’t going to be there too long but there was the probability of an early launch wave and they would recover before I was going to depart. I got there early enough for some of the first launches and was the first visitor. I was going to be joined by some of the friends from the photocall and there was a second visit scheduled by another group for that day so the attendees for that were likely to show up before too long.

We did get a similar bunch of traffic to the previous day with waves of T-45s heading out as well as some F/A-18s doing their thing. I got to cover the first wave without any trouble and then quietened down around the time I was planning on leaving. However, leaving proved to be a bit more troublesome than I would have expected.

Some of the people that arrived for that day either hadn’t been before to the location and/or were not very thoughtful when it comes to accommodating those around them. The location is alongside a drainage ditch with a drop off to a lower level which then has another ditch beside it. There is space to park along the ridge and leave space for other vehicles to get past.

Sadly, some of the new arrivals hadn’t bothered with that concept. When it came time for me to leave, the easier was out – since there were poorly parked vehicles both ahead and behind – was actually backwards. Reversing around the parked cars on the top of the ridge was hardly fun and then reversing the remaining length of the ridge was also less than enjoyable. It wasn’t difficult but the presence of water on one side and a drop on the other tends to increase the level of concentration.

Anyway, despite the thoughtlessness of a few, I did make it out and got a good start to the day. Sadly, I should probably have hung around a bit longer since my next stop didn’t go quite according to plan – but that can wait for another post.

More El Centro Stills

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The main purpose of the visit to El Centro was to shoot still images. I have previously posted some of the shots from outside here and some video from inside here but the real purpose was the stills on base.

Michelle Dee and her team at El Centro are very progressive in their approach to allowing photography on base. They organize regular visits for photographers where it is possible to shoot from right alongside the runway at the LSO shack. This means the aircraft are touching down right beside you and launching past you in close proximity. This provides a chance for some shots that are not the norm.

Such access is quite unusual but the success of these events is hopefully persuading other facilities that it can be done safely. A big part of this is having people on the shoot who understand what is possible and what is not and following those rules. Everyone is ready to self-police as well. Besides, the location is so good, where could you possibly be that would be any better?

Anyway, enough of the description. Thank you again Michelle and team and thanks to Kevin for setting things up from our side. Great to see you again buddy. Here are the pictures.

El Centro Video

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We were kindly hosted by the team at NAF El Centro for a photocall. I will post later with some of the shots from the visit to the base itself. However, one of the things I wanted to do this time that I learned following my previous visit to El Centro was to shoot more video.

I was still going be predominantly shooting stills but the motion and proximity of the aircraft is hard to appreciate sometimes from a still image (a failing of mine as a photographer of course). Video gives you more of a sense of the activity. Therefore, I took a GoPro with me to the day and mounted it on top of my camera on the hot shoe.

This had the advantage of allowing me to shoot video at the same time as stills. It did have a couple of disadvantages. One is that the sound of the shutter clicking is picked up by the camera on the soundtrack. When the jets are close it isn’t too bad but when they are further away, it becomes more intrusive. Second, the GoPro is fixed at quite a wide angle so it makes everything look a little further away than it is. However, this is an add-on to my normal shooting so both compromises are worthwhile.

I did shoot a small bit of video with one of the SLRs and it probably won’t be hard to spot which bit of film that is when you watch. I didn’t bother with any music since I think the sound of the jets does a pretty good job. Here is the result.

El Centro Preamble

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In a previous post, I mentioned that I was heading to NAF El Centro in California for a photo shoot. The main part of the shoot was going to be on the base. It was due to commence at noon. That left a free morning. El Centro has a couple of good locations off base where you can photograph the aircraft and one is better suited to morning shooting since the light is good for departing aircraft and those breaking into the pattern.

I was ready for an early start and got out as the early departures were underway. Not only was this a good spot to shoot from, it was also a good gathering spot for some of us going on base later so it served multiple purposes.

There was a fair amount of morning activity. The majority of traffic was from T-45 Goshawk from NAS Meridian who were deployed to El Centro for training. The local ranges provide opportunities for basic weapons training but other missions as also flown including some field carrier landing practice (FCLP).

Hornets and Super Hornets from the west coast training squadron were also operating and provided a regular stream of departing and arriving traffic. The Canadian forces were also operating Hornets from the base. They tend to depart reasonably straight out and break into the pattern a little early but sometimes come into a good location for shooting. When they are weapons training, though, they always come to the end of the runway to make all weapons safe so we get a good view. They had also brought a C-130 tanker with them which was a nice addition.

A couple of C-2 Greyhounds were practicing their pattern work to mix it up. Helicopter traffic included some AH-1 Cobras from the Marines transiting and a British Army Apache although they stayed well to the south so were not something I could get any shots of.

All of this gave us an idea of what was on base and provided some good shooting opportunities from a different position to that we would get later in the day.

Looking forward to El Centro

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One of the benefits of the blog being relatively new is that I have the opportunity to dig up stuff from the past and turn it into a post. I will shortly be heading to El Centro in California for a shoot at the Navy base there. Last year I made a similar trip and I thought I would remind myself and prime you for some of what might be there.

What will show up on a given day is hard to predict. Last time we had some T-45s that had made the trip across from Meridian TX. Whether there will be any this time, we shall see. Hornets may drop in from other bases to use the facilities and last time some Canadian Hornets were in to use the ranges.

It is the luck of the draw what you get but one thing you can, hopefully, rely on is the weather. El Centro has sun most days of the year. I have had bad luck at some locations with weather but I am hoping this one will behave.

What might I try differently this time? Last time I used a variety of lenses and positions. The heat haze is a big issue so looking to far back up the approach is problematic. Getting ahead of, beside and behind the touchdown location mixes things up a bit. Getting the aircraft and the hold is also worthwhile and I may spend more time there. I am also going to try and mix in more video this time too.

We shall see how it goes and what I can get off base before and after as well. Wait to see what we get!