Category Archives: military

NAS Whidbey Island

The day before the ISAP Symposium kicked off, there was a smaller field trip to NAS Whidbey Island. Located on an island (surprisingly enough) north of Seattle, it was a bit of a journey to get there with a bus ride and ferry trip to get us there. As with all military bases, you never quite know what will be going on when you get there. They can be a hive of activity or have no flying at all. We did okay on this trip.

First we stopped in the hangar of an E/A-18G Growler unit. One of the officers was their to show us around and answer any questions. There was also one jet in the hangar that we could shoot. We then migrated outside to see some jets launching or coming back from trips. Then it was time to head up to the tower. We got to hang out for a short while on the catwalk outside the tower cab. This gives you a great view over the ramp area and the field as a whole. We had a couple of movements while we were there but then things got pretty quiet which would have been a disappointment for the second half of our group who were up second.

Lunch was served in the officers’ club which included some great mementos of operations and types passed. After that is was back on the journey home. A good little trip and a nice time to hang out with some folks I hadn’t seen for a while and others who were new to meet.

MiG 21

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Warbirds are not an uncommon sight around here but there are some planes that still stand out as a little unusual. I got to see one of these recently up in Rockford when the good folks at Code 1 held a weekend of training for formation flying. A bunch of aircraft showed up including a lot of T-6/SNJs, a Yak, a bunch of L-39s and, most interestingly, a MiG-21. This wasn’t there for the formation training but was being used for an FAA check ride for a guy who has a MiG-21 that he keeps elsewhere in the state.

A MiG-21 is a great looking jet. This example is an ex-Polish Air Force two seat example. This generation of aircraft has some interesting performance characteristics. Fuel consumption is pretty dramatic so the sorties are not too long. Also, the approach speeds are quite high so watching it on the approach, it does appear to be coming down pretty dramatically.

We were lucky to have some great weather and the plane flew a couple of times so it was possible to shoot it taking off and arriving from both sides of the field as well as getting some shots on the ground. The plane is solidly built and the structure is finished in polished metal. This makes for some great looks with the metal and rivets looking great in some lighting. Having the chance to look at such a different jet was great fun and many thanks to everyone who made it possible.

Trying Something Different

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If you are not a fast jet pilot, you might think that being one is close to the pinnacle of flying excitement. Everything else would seem rather tame by comparison. However, you might just be wrong. During the course of the Waukegan Airshow, Paul Wood of the Warbird Heritage Foundation hosted a number of the performers. The A-10 and F/A-18 crews both paid I visit while I was there and they all took a chance to go flying.

The aircraft of choice was the Boeing Stearman. Sean took then flying (including his friend Russell – a local guy originally). It is safe to say that everyone came back grinning like kids. They had a bunch of fun playing around with something totally different – not least of which is the open cockpit.

During the after show party, Stewie (who flies Hornets during the day) checked out a number of the collection’s other planes. He certainly looked like he would have taken a lot of things home with him if he had the chance!

Historic Flight Foundation

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Two down and one to go. A trip across to the other side of Paine Field and you arrive at the Historic Flight Foundation – John Sessions collection of vintage aircraft. Combined with my previous two visits, you really have to think of Everett as a goldmine for the aviation enthusiast. Much like the Flying Heritage Collection, the focus here is on airworthy vintage aircraft. However, they are all allied aircraft and are not all military planes.

The hangar is a lovely spot that is spotless. The aircraft are arrayed around the place and they all look spotless too. One was undergoing its annual so was pulled apart a bit more. There is also a B-25 that was outside when I was visiting. I was welcomed to take a look inside. Flights are available too if you want although my schedule and budget were not going to fit in with that and the weather was rather crappy to be honest.

One of the volunteers was an ex-pat Brit and he showed me around the whole collection. He knew a great deal about the planes having been involved with them for a long time and we had a great time. others were passing by and would join the discussion as well. It was a very friendly environment. John Sessions was also about and said hello but he had a group visiting so was making sure they were having a good time.

As with the other places at Paine Field, I can certainly recommend a visit. It is an interesting collection and if you can time it to coincide with some flying activity, you will have done even better.

Flying Heritage Collection

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The Flying Heritage Collection has a museum facility at Paine Field that was the first thing to trigger in my mind when I was thinking about things to see up there. The collection is owned by Paul Allen and they have got a great collection of vintage warbirds. They also have some newer jets but they aren’t in the museum at the moment. I have been tracking the collection on Facebook so wanted to drop in and see what they had.

The museum was easy enough to find and if you can’t spot it, listen out for the noise of construction. They are building a new facility next door and the crews were hard at work making quite a racket as a result. The current building is an old hangar but it does the trick for the time-being. Since nearly all of the aircraft are flown periodically, the hangar is a working hangar. Work is done on the aircraft where they stand and the barriers are moveable so the planes can be taken outside when it is their turn to fly.

The place is not huge and you are close to the planes which is good from an interest point of view but makes photos a little more difficult. If going back, I would take a wider angle lens. However, it wasn’t too bad and the light was pretty reasonable too. The Axis and Allied aircraft were very interesting but I was particularly keen to see their recent addition, the Ilyushin IL-2 Shturmovik. It had not long been in the collection after delivery from restoration in Russia. I was a touch disappointed when one of the docents told me that, with the flying of the German aircraft they had planned for the coming weekend, Steve Hinton was coming in and was going to take the chance to get the IL-2 up in the air. Missing the flying at the weekend was one of those things but something even more rare in the air just after I left was rather unfortunate!

Putting that aside, it was good to take a look around the collection and I shall endeavor to get back there at some point soon – hopefully next time to see some of the collection up in the air!

Chicago Air and Water Show

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My reduced enthusiasm for air shows has cropped up in posts recently. I mentioned it here not so long ago. I also talked about it last year with regard to my “home” air show, the Chicago Air and Water Show. I have been a bit reluctant to go to the show because it is very busy/crowded and the content of the show has been a bit reduced due to the lack of available performers.

This year the show snuck up on me and suddenly it was here. I had kept my calendar clear on the Friday before the show because I like to go to the practice day. Not only do you get a full show (usually) but there are a lot less people there. You can even get bonuses with the headlining team (either the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds) tagging on a few extra practice moves at the end as they tighten up their performance. For some reason the Friday also seems to be more lucky with the weather. This year I figured I would follow the pattern and go then and avoid the busy weekend performances.

The plan turned out to be a really good one. The air temperature was about 70F but the skies were clear blue. There was even a hint of moisture in the air earlier in the day which would prove beneficial! They have moved the show an hour earlier compared to years gone by. I’m sure this has a number of benefits for the organizers and getting people in and out. However, the light is a little harsh earlier in the day until it comes around behind the crowds so starting earlier reduces the time for good light. However, you can still make that work if you plan your shooting.

I met up with a bunch of familiar faces down on North Avenue Beach and we settled in for the show. We had most of the main performers and a bonus with two Super Hornet displays. Two crews cover the show, one flying each day. However, they both get to practice on the Friday. It is safe to say the first crew got high marks from us for the style of the display and for having it close enough to see. The second crew seemed to be flying a very different display and were a lot further out. The first crew also benefited from the humidity levels by dragging some clouds around with them throughout the show. That helped their rating from us but they were clearly better on the day.

A lot of familiar acts were displaying but I got to see some I haven’t seen much of. Kirby Chambliss put on an excellent display I thought. All of the pilots are good but sometimes you see someone and just instantly recognize that they are a cut above the norm. Kirby fitted that description.

The Blues were the headlining act this year and they performed pretty well. Most of the display looked slick with the one glaring issue being the poor timing of the sneak passes. The four ship had been long gone by the time the solos arrived so people had plenty of time to see them coming. It was practice day so hopefully they fixed that on the real days. I didn’t see Saturday but was at home on Sunday to watch them come through the downtown as they repositioned. I did see that four was instead three on Sunday so I guess a jet or a pilot was sick – don’t know which.

With the combination of the great weather, the good friends and some excellent flying, I had one of my best air show experiences in a long time. This might be my last Air and Water Show so, if that proves to be the case, at least I will have gone out on a high.

Hello Again Marine One

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It wasn’t long ago that I made a trip out to get some shots of the VH-3D helicopters that operate as presidential transports and are known as Marine One when the President is aboard. You can read about that here.

It turns out I was going to get a second chance. As I drove back up to DuPage airport after shooting Fifi on the approach, I noticed a selection of nice looking helicopters parked up between the hangars. A presidential movement was planned and the aircraft were operating from DuPage. With the TFR being published, we knew they would be heading out early in the afternoon.

Sure enough, in due course the helicopters came into view. There were the two VH-3Ds along with three CH-46s in support – two of which were in the glossy green finish and one in standard gray. They taxied out in line and lined up on the taxiway. Then they lifted in unison and departed towards the city. It was very cool to watch.

A while later I was off the field again shooting Fifi taking off when a couple of the CH-46s came back. I was pretty disappointed to miss their arrival but I got the shot I was there for. When I got back to the field, I was walking across the apron when I met one of the HMX-1 crew-members. I told him how disappointed I was to have missed their return. Not to worry. He told me two more would be back in about ten minutes. Sure enough, in they came. What a great break to get them when I had no idea that they would be there.

Hello Fifi

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As part of her tour of the country, Fifi, the B-29 operated by the Commemorative Air Force was coming to the Chicago region. She was scheduled to appear at DuPage Airport, west of Chicago. I had been in contact with the team about covering the visit for GAR. This is something to be published soon so I won’t spoil everything just yet! However, it is safe to say that I did head along and meet up with the team and see Fifi flying.

She was scheduled to fly three times during the day with the first trip being in the morning. The layout of the main part of the airport meant that the light wold be bad in the morning but better later in the day. I found an alternative spot to catch her as she took off and got myself ready. Unfortunately, my brain was not totally in gear and I had one camera on the wrong settings. I did get lucky though and did not end up with frozen props in the shots, even if they are a little less blurry than I would like!

I then headed around to the approach lights to get her heading back in. It was very impressive to have a B-29 coming right over your head. I got the shots but did peak out the side to enjoy the experience – something that is a little lost some times when focusing too much on getting the shots. I was about to head back when I noticed a P-51 on approach too. A nice bonus. Then it was back to the airport to get the interview and some ground shots. A great bunch of people and a very interesting day.

Travis

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This is a plug for the magazine. For those averse to gratuitous advertising, look away now. Global Aviation Resource’s digital magazine was running a feature on the Air Force Reserve. Paul Dunn was leading the article but wanted some help on the piece so I joined him at Travis AFB located between the Bay Area and Sacramento in California. This is an area I am spending a lot of time in at the moment but it was fun to do something a little different!

Since the magazine will be the outlet for a lot of the work from the day, I can’t put too much in here at the moment. The Reserve article is live in the current issue but there will be some follow up material in later issues. However, here are a couple of shots from the day. The team at Travis were as helpful as you could possibly want and many thanks to everyone there for taking such good care of us. My only complaint is that Paul broke the sim but that is another story…

Waukegan Part 2 – The Military Stuff

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As mentioned in the previous post, the Collings Foundation were at Waukegan with their B-17, B-24 and P-51. Pete and I had headed up there to take a look at what was going on. This was the last day of the tour at Waukegan before they moved on to Palwauckee. They were supposed to be flying during the day and then departing in the early afternoon. Things were looking promising with the B-24 taking off while we were over at the Warbird Heritage Foundation hangar.

The P-51 was apparently being a little troublesome but was also scheduled to take someone on a ride while we were there. A friend of mine, Chris, volunteers for Collings and he was working with them that day so i took the chance to catch up with him. I give him regular abuse as he got a ride in P-51 Baby Duck once before when I was shooting it. I must be a lucky omen for him!

We needed to head back to Chicago for Pete to be ready for the return flight but the warbirds hadn’t yet departed. We decided to give them a few extra minutes. The B-17 had headed out first but the B-24 was obviously waiting to make sure the P-51 was away. Unfortunately, the engine was not looking too willing when it came to starting. Fortunately, a bit of ground power did the trick and they were away. As it turned out, Chris had made it in to the back of the P-51 so I got him in another one. I hope he recognizes my role in all of this!