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Strike Eagle Shot I Couldn’t Ignore

As is often the case, this shot is the result of me looking for something else. While searching through the catalogue to find something, I came across my first visit to the Aviation Nation show at Nellis AFB. I would end up spending a lot of time at Nellis over the years, but this was possibly my first real visit. The USAF F-15E Strike Eagle demo was on the programme, and I had the 500mm on as it took off. By purely good fortune, it rotated at almost the perfect spot for that focal length.

There is a tiny bit of clipping of the airframe, but the dynamism of the shot combined with the favourable lighting means I don’t mind. This then got me thinking of other F-15E demos that occurred around then. On two of them I got the mudhen in an arcing turn at speed with vapour across the airframe. One was in nice light but slightly backlit while the other was in more muted conditions. I figured I would include both of them here so you can compare them yourself.

F-15E Strike Eagle

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A recent anniversary of the first flight of the F-15E Strike Eagle was commemorated on a Facebook group and it got me looking through a variety of old shots I have of the jet. Having found a bunch of them that I liked, I figured I might share a few of them on the blog too. Here are a few of my favorites from over the years.

: A USAF F-15E Strike Eagle turns on to final approach at Nellis AFB Las Vegas Nevada after a Red Flag mission.

: A USAF F-15E Strike Eagle takes off from Nellis AFB to perform a display at Aviation Nation.

: A USAF Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle climbs out of Nellis AFB NV.

Please Come Back Before Sunset

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Some late day departures after the Flag returns included F-15Es, F-35As, L159s and A-4s. You don’t know how long anyone is scheduled to be out but you find yourself hoping that they will all make it back before the sun sets so you can get some arrival shots in the nicest light available. Once they are gone, it is a case of watching the time and crossing your fingers. As it was, we got lucky. They came back in a steady stream with all of them showing up as the sun was at its best. Arriving over Cheyenne is not ideal from a sun angle perspective at this time of year but we still got some nice angles. Some turned tighter while others went wider so we got to try all sorts of angles out to see which picked up what light was remaining.

: A USAF Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II turns on to final approach at Nellis AFB NV.

: Two USAF Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs run in to the break for landing at Nellis AFB NV.

: A USAF Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles turns on to final approach at Nellis AFB NV.

Vipers Sneaking up on Strike Eagle

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Before I say anything else, this shot is not original. I didn’t think of this and I certainly wasn’t the first to shoot it. Indeed, it is the exact opposite. This is a shot that I have seen from other people a bunch of times but that I have never achieved. The recovery for Red Flag has a lot of jets coming home at once. Jets will break into the pattern and will be turning final when more jets are coming in to the break. You can get jets coming in overhead directly behind the jet on final turn. It looks cool but I had not got it before. This time I got lucky. I don’t know whether I am pleased with the shot or just glad that I finally happened to get it!