Tag Archives: reconnaissance

A Twin Tub A-12 Sitting by the Parking Lot

Google Maps can really be your friend.  I was hoping to find the time to get to see the space shuttle stack in Expo Park while I was back in LA if possible.  I went on Google Maps to see how to get there and the layout of the area and I saw a tag for an A-12.  Sure enough, the twin seat Lockheed A-12 is mounted on display right next to the parking lot.  It is tucked in between the lot and a pathway over a dip in the grounds.  It is rather tight to the parking lot which made getting shots a touch tricky but the early morning light when I was there was the best angle for it.  I was pleased to add an unusual airframe to the briefest of visits!

Darkstar (Not The Real One) and Blackbird (The Real One)

One of the bigger attractions at the Antelope Valley Air Show, held at Edwards AFB, was the appearance of the Darkstar plane from Top Gun Maverick.  Obviously not a real plane (and not even the real Darkstar which was a reconnaissance UAV that never progressed beyond testing), it was part of a hugely popular movie so garnered a ton of attention.  It was parked in the static display alongside a very real SR-71 Blackbird.  This was something I found far more interesting having seen them fly for real in my younger days.  The Darkstar was still fun to see. I am not that churlish.

Blackbird Air Park

Alongside, connected to but not part of Joe Davies Historic Airpark is Blackbird Airpark.  On the south side of Palmdale’s airport, this area pays tribute to some of the most iconic products from Plant 42 across the airfield.  Lockheed’s Skunk Works turned out some amazing aircraft and this exhibit includes an A-12, an SR-71, a U-2 and an D-21 drone.  Having an A-12 next to an SR-71 is pretty special.  You have to look closely to see which is which.  A selection of black airframes together in the desert sun does not make for easy photography and there are lots of power lines and fences in the background but it would be churlish to complain too much.  It is free after all!

Why Not Shoot an M-21 While I’m Here

I was at the Museum of Flight for the IPMS exhibit but, while I was visiting, I figured it would be churlish not to take a picture of the M-21 that dominates the main hall.  It is actually a bit difficult to photograph and there is a lot of contrast with the background and it is always busy so a bit cluttered.  I knew it wasn’t going to be a great shot but decided to crop tighter on the airframe and shoot bracketed exposures and maybe go with an HDR process.  It isn’t great but it came out better than I had expected.

U-125 Out and Back

The BAe125 (and all of the successor names) was a dominant biz jet for many years.  It also found a few roles in military operations from transport, through trainer, to flight calibration and reconnaissance.  The JASDF was one such operator with the aircraft designated U-125 in Japanese service.  Hyakuri is home to a detachment and one of the jets flew during my visit.  It taxied out and headed off on its mission.

Returning later on it was stopped in time to make the taxiway not far passed my location.  The aircraft has a fairing underneath the fuselage for the search radar.  The operator sits in the fuselage just above this location.  They are also provided with a huge observation window for observing what is going on outside.  Must be a good spot for taking pictures!  I’m not jealous…

Crewing a Recce Jet

I was on the wrong tower at Hyakuri when the crews came out on the recce ramp to crew up.  Rather than get down and move around and potentially miss it, I accepted that shooting through the trees would have to do.  The ground crew did their work efficiently and the flightcrew walked around the jet before jumping in.  Soon they were powered up and coming towards us.  This was early in the day and the beginning of a fun day out!

Recce Jets and Pretty Colors

Japanese jets have a reputation for interesting colors and, while the fighter units were pretty dull gray, the recce jets were far more interesting.  Most of the flying jets I saw were in the blue camo scheme and they look very nice.  One the first wave I saw, there was also a jet in green and brown camo.  Sadly it only flew once and I messed up a bunch of my shots.  The other scheme on the ramp was a green and grey scheme that looked a lot like the old German colors.  Sadly, it stayed on the ramp the entire time I was there.

Was This Sensor Once Highly Classified?

The SR-71 Blackbird provided a reconnaissance platform that was unmatched.  It would have been pretty high in the sensitivity list when it came to its sensors and capabilities.  Now the jets are all retired.  The example that is in the Evergreen Aerospace Museum has one of the sensors extracted from the sensor bay and mounted on a stand in front of the aircraft.  I imagine there was a time when this was something that would not be available for me to look at but now, I guess, this is just another obsolete piece of tech.

Build a Blackbird Pano

While I was wandering around by the SR-71 at Evergreen and taking some pictures, one of the museum docents approached me and asked if I wanted to go upstairs.  I had seen the stairs and a gallery but the signage showed it as closed off.  If I had an invitation, I wasn’t going to say no, though!  The location put you above the Blackbird giving a great perspective that you don’t normally get.  However, I was pretty close in so the lens I had was still not wide enough.  Time for a pano instead.  I took a sequence of shots to try and cover the whole thing as best I could.  Then it was up to the software to do the stitching.  The above shot was the result.

Blackbird Motor

The SR-71 that is located in the Evergreen Aerospace Museum is configured to give some interesting views of the aircraft.  One side of the aircraft is opened up to show the engine.  The whole of the outer portion of the wing folds up to give access to the engine.  I had no idea that was the way it operated until I saw this plane.  It does show the engine configuration nicely.  At the high supersonic speeds, there is a bypass process whereby a lot of the flow is taken around the core.  The pipes for this can be clearly seen along the side of the engine.