Tag Archives: f-15c

Great Access for the Takeoff and Recovery

I didn’t get to see the F-15s when they did the flyover for the Huskies game, but the Sunday gave me a chance to head out and see what might be possible to shoot.  I bumped into my friend, Jeff, at the spot I was hoping to try, and it was immediately clear it would not work because a bunch of spare 737s had been parked in the line of sight.  With the weather being overcast, we both decided to head across to the terminal to see what our options were.

Then Jeff found out his friend, Clint, was working on the field that day and was happy to give us a ride.  The F-15s had already fired up so we were a bit concerned whether we could meet up with him in time or not.  However, it is always a long time between engine start and taxiing and Clint came and got us with plenty of time to spare.  We stopped at one location to photograph the jets taxiing towards us but a bizjet pulled out in front of them, so we made tracks to the other side of the field.

We picked a spot which we thought would be good for them having already rotated and then waited.  They were lined up behind the bizjet and it was waiting for its airways release so, eventually the tower had them taxi across the runway to make space for the F-15s to launch.  They then lined up and were blasting past us.  I hadn’t brought any hearing protection and things were a touch loud, but it was brief.  I was a little foolish playing with some low shutter speeds but a few of the shots worked out well.  The second jet kept things nice and low so the photographers further down the field would have been very happy.

Before they would return, Clint had some tasks to perform so he took us along while he sorted out what needed to be done.  We kept the football commentary on the radio so we would know when the flyover had taken place.  Then the jets came back into sight stopping across the lower end of the city before they lined up for landing.  We picked a spot close to where we expected touchdown and, again, got lucky.  The second jet even obliged with the speedbrake – a bit like their original arrival.

What a fantastic bit of luck and thanks to Clint and Jeff for allowing me to tag along.  There is nothing quite like seeing these jets at close quarter.

F-15s Arriving for the Flyovers

Seattle was hosting two football games in one weekend.  The Seahawks had their season opener on Sunday and the Huskies were playing on Saturday.  The 142nd FW from Portland sent up three jets to undertake flyovers for both games.  Each flyover involved two jets so the third was a spare should one be needed.  After all, these jets aren’t young.  Indeed, with the wing taking delivery of F-15EX jets, it won’t be long before the Charlie models are gone.

They showed up at the end of the day which made it easier to be there to catch them.  Since there were three of them, I decided to use a relatively high shutter speed for the first jet, a slower shutter speed for the second and then lower still for the last jet.  That way I should get a result on the early jets and hopefully would get something more dynamic on the last one if I was lucky.  Things turned out well enough and the last jet even popped the speedbrake on touchdown which was welcome.  The skies were a bit red as a result of the smoke in the are from wildfires but that might have softened the light a little.

Rippling The Wing Skin Of A 40 Year Old Jet

The F-15 Eagle recently had the fiftieth anniversary of its first flight.  It is hard to come to terms with the fact that a jet that I still think as high up the pecking order is really over fifty years old.  Of course, the jets in service now are not the originals but the F-15Cs started production in fiscal year 78 which meant they were delivered from around 1980 onwards.  Therefore, they are over 40 years old which is quite something for a jet getting such heavy use today.

The 173FW put a four ship of F-15C/Ds up for the Sentry Eagle 2022 air show.  They tore up the field in an impressive way for the practice days and the main show itself. Having been a fan of the F-15 since my youth, this was a lot of fun to watch.  I got a series of shots of one of the jets as it pulled hard to the vertical in full burner and then turned towards the crowd direction.  Looking at the surface of the rear wing, there is definitely some deformation of the skins as the structure is loaded up.  This is not a problem.  It is quite common to get aircraft skin to ripple under varying load conditions but it is usually something that is more common on aging airframes.

Portland Eagles

The first stop on our Oregon odyssey was Portland International Airport.  Aside from being a commercial airport, PDX is also home to an Air Force Reserve unit of F-15 Eagles.  I have visited the base before for their open house but I have loved the F-15 from my childhood so I was hoping to see their jets in action again.  They were done for the day when we arrived but the following morning we were optimistic that we would get a launch before we headed off on our further travels.

The aircraft were parked up under the shelters when we arrived but they are quite regular with their launch schedules so we were listening out for the whine of low bypass turbofans kicking in to life.  We were also joined by our friend, Bill, who works locally and is familiar with what to expect.  As we scanned the flight line, we noticed one of the jets had a sharks mouth painted on the front fuselage.

The airliners and freighters were busy with their operations when we finally heard the noise we had been hoping for.  Sure enough, first two jets and then a third taxied out.  Even better news was that one of the jets was the shark mouth jet and another was the one with unit colors painted on it.  They taxied to the last chance, got checked out and then went to the departure hold.

I decided to be safe with the first jet to make sure I got a shot so I kept the shutter speed high.  It was not configured with external tanks so was airborne as it passed us and tucking the gear up as it accelerated.  For the second jet, I dropped the shutter speed a little to try for a more dynamic image with a blurred background.  For the third, I dropped it even further.  I figured it was time to get brave.  High frame rates are your friend in this case and I was happy to get some acceptable shots of all three jets as they departed.  With them on their way, it was time for us to depart too.  Plenty more to do on this trip.

Tower, Requesting a Flyby

Another shot from the Portland Open House of the Redhawks and a gratuitous reference to Top Gun scripts.  In this case it wasn’t really a flyby.  Instead, the jets were launching off the near runway.  They were all doing a nice job of keeping it low on departure and they ended up pulling up as the passed the ramp and the tower.  A nice view as they pulled up with a few of them getting some vapor is they climbed out more steeply than the average departure from the airport!

Missile Load Training

The open day at the Portland ANG base included a demonstration of missile loading.  A jet had been parked out on the ramp for the morning and there was a rack of missiles also on display.  Towards the end of the morning, a team started to prep the jet for loading.  This was an exercise that had multiple purposes.  It was a demonstration for the guests, but it was also a qualification test.

Apparently, the crews are required to carry out a loading drill every 90 days when they are timed and observed in order to maintain their qualifications.  Therefore, a pair of observers were there to watch the three-person team do their work.  It can’t have been fun to have the public watching and the assessment team overseeing you at the same time.  The crew got to it though and they seemed to be diligently following every procedure which is no bad thing when you are potentially dealing with live weapons (not that these examples were in any way live).

The missile configuration was quite a mix.  They had six AMRAAMS to load, four on the fuselage and two on the stub pylons.  The other two stubs were fitted with an AIM-9M and an AIM-9X.  The Sidewinders were loaded by hand but the AMRAAMs are heavier and required the use of a mechanical loader.  Prepping the plane before the missiles came close took a while and then the missiles were loaded in sequence with things like fins being added at different times such that some were on before the missile was attached and some were added once it was installed.

Once the whole task was completed, they reversed the process and removed the missiles.  There was some choreography involved with getting the loader in place.  It is not a subtle piece of machinery, but it could be placed quite accurately.  Then there is adjustability in the rotation and position of the missile holders to allow things to be fine-tuned into position.  Maneuvering a missile on to the rail or the launcher while not hitting anything else also requires some careful work.  It was a most interesting process to watch.

Portland Eagle Launches

The F-15s based at Portland International Airport are an active bunch.  From what I understand, they tend to launch two waves of jets a day, one first thing in the morning and the next around lunchtime.  I was there early waiting to pick up some colleagues from a flight.  I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for the message that they had landed.  I wasn’t even thinking about the Eagles.  My camera was in the trunk.  Then I heard a noise and rapidly realized what it was.

I was never going to get out of the car, open the trunk, get the camera out and on in time to get the first jet but I was ready for the second and third.  It was a cloudy day so not exactly ideal conditions for shooting a gray jet but they were F-15s so who is complaining.  After a brief gap, some more jets launched as well and this time I was ready.  Just as they cleared me, I got a text from my colleagues saying they were ready to be picked up.  What excellent timing.