Tag Archives: military

MiG 21

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.

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!

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!

Davis Monthan AFB

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This year is the 40^th anniversary of the first flight of the Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II or Warthog to most people. Global Aviation Resource wanted to celebrate this event in the magazine so I headed off to Tucson Arizona to visit Davis Monthan AFB. Well known for being home of the boneyard, DM is also the home of three A-10 squadrons. Two are training units and the third is an operational squadron.

I was visiting both a training squadron and an operational unit to see he people train to fly the jet today as well as learn about how it is used today. I have had a soft spot for the A-10 for as long as I can remember. Visiting an A-10 unit is a treat for me. This is still true even if it is 105F in Tucson while I am visiting!

The team took great care of me while I was there. I spent the morning with Major John “Tex” Lesho who is an instructor on the jet with a number of tours at different locations with the aircraft. He gave me a great description about the aircraft and the training process as well as the changes that have been introduced in recent upgrades. He also had some great stories as would be expected of someone who has been flying the jet a long time. During the visit with him the opportunity was presented to head to the weapons ranges to watch the jets training. However, this involved a long drive each way and would have taken up most of the day. Since I was there to learn about the units, going to photograph the jets gunning the range couldn’t be done. It would have been great to do and hopefully I will get another chance in the future.

In the afternoon it was time to visit the operational squadron. Beercan Collier was my host. I mentioned Beercan in a previous post for those of you paying attention. He gave me a rundown on how the unit works as well as the additional work he has with the Heritage Flight duties. He then handed my off to a group of pilots who were getting ready to launch on a four ship mission. We watched them sign out the jets and then head out for start up and launch. They were very accommodating but I did make sure to stay out of the way. Launching military jets does not happen quickly since there is a lot to do. You don’t just turn it on and go. I made best use of the aircraft shelters during this to stay out of the sun.

Once they were launched, I managed to grab a shot of a VC-25 that was parked on the ramp before it was time to wrap up. (Unfortunately, the VC-25 launched just as I drove off base and, while I scurried to find a spot to get a picture of it in flight, I was still driving up the road as it flew overhead. Oh well.) My escort for the day, Sarah, did a great job of getting me where I wanted to be and I am grateful to here and everyone else for taking such good care of me. The article is in the August edition of the magazine so go to www.globalaviationresource.com if you want to buy a copy.

Tucson F-16s

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I recently was in Tucson AZ for a piece I was working on for the magazine. Since that is yet to be public, I will have to hold off on putting anything from the visit on here. However, I did have a morning free before my flight home and decided to check out the F-16 operations that take place at Tucson’s international airport. I hadn’t visited the airport before so I checked in with my friend Jay to find out what the options are for shooting at the field.

Jay gave me some suggestions on locations as well as the times of day that things are likely to happen. This was focused on first thing in the morning since it is a little warm in Tucson at this time of year. 105F is not just uncomfortable to be out and about in but it does cause lots of heat haze issues which makes for tricky shooting conditions. Besides, I did have a plane to catch.

I got the the departure end of things and the timing of the first wave of F-16s was pretty much as predicted. While you have a good view of the aircraft on their takeoff run, most shots before they get close are pointless since the heat haze is very strong. That didn’t stop me trying some of course. However, there are a lot of shots of that type that did not make it through the first cull of bad images!

With the first wave away, I moved to the other end of the field to get the recoveries. Not only was Jay’s suggestion well placed for getting the aircraft as they came in but it also provided a measure of shelter from the sun. This was very welcome. Depending on the pilots, the jets turn in very close to you and provide a nice angle that you don’t often get. Some pilots turned a lot further out although I did notice one jet which was a two seater do that on its first pass and it was a lot tighter on the second pass. i wonder what the conversation was like in that jet.

I got the recoveries of the jets that had launched earlier along with a few civilian arrivals before deciding that it was too warm. Then I did a little exploration around the field but that will be a different post!

Virginia Air Power Park

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Just down the road from the Virginia Air and Space Museum is the Virginia Air Power Park. This has some similarities to the Air and Space Museum and some differences. First, since it is also close to the Air Force and NASA facilities, it shares the access to some interesting exhibits. Therefore, there are some very interesting aircraft on display. This includes an XV-6 Kestrel from NASA, just like the Air and Space Museum. Strange that such a rare aircraft should have two on display in such close proximity!

The differences are more pronounced. It is an outdoor exhibition and decidedly less glamorous. Getting funding to look after the aircraft is a continuing issue for the team there and they are working hard at it. Some of the aircraft are repainted but others a in need of a new coat when they can get it. Since everything is outdoors, I imagine that the preservation task is a more difficult one. We were there on a rather grey day. It had been raining heavily and was still cloudy and dull while we were there. Some of the aircraft were standing in large puddles which can’t be good for them.

None of this is meant to be critical of the team. That they are doing what they can to keep these aircraft on display is great but it must be a struggle to make sure that they are not going to rot away. Not only are there aircraft but also some interesting missile and some rockets from the space program’s test activities. They also have some capsule hardware from test activities.

There is a building at the park as well which currently contains a wide selection of models of different aircraft, ships and spacecraft. Again, if you are passing by, I would recommend you pay it a visit but you might need to make sure you have some shoes that don’t mind puddles!