Tag Archives: USAF

F-35A Departure And Arrival

Over the course of the Seafair weekend, I got to see the demo F-35A arrive and depart a few times.  The demo pilot would get airborne and keep the jet on the deck in full burner building up a decent amount of speed.  Then, she would pull to a steep climb just as she got to the perimeter of the field.  This looked pretty impressive from the side but it was even more impressive from head on.

The return to land after the display was a lot more sedate.  It was a pretty standard pattern and approach but there were plenty of people at the south end to enjoy the last moments of the flight.  I headed down there a couple of times.  You could easily do both departure and approach since you had the whole time that the display was underway to re-position.  I did all go to Ruby Chow Park from one departure and shot video rather than stills.  Seeing the F-35 come right at us and then pull hard was impressive.  The noise was intense and the wake threw dust and debris into the air around us.  It made an impression!

Lancaster Jets On Sticks

My friend, Paul, had advised me that Lancaster CA had a couple of aircraft on poles that were worth a look.  One is a retired Air Force test F-4 that sits at a busy intersection next to a rail station.  The other is a NASA F/A-18A that is at the entrance to a baseball stadium.  I decided to try and photograph both one evening when the light would be most favorable.

The guys hanging out near the F-4 looked a little perplexed as I drove up and started photographing this plane on a pole.  I think they didn’t see the interest in it that I did.  I think I attracted a few strange glances and I grabbed some shots and then headed back to the car.  The Hornet at the baseball stadium was a different story.  Not too many people around at that time so I took some shots and then headed off.  There was one more target of interest but that would have to wait for a morning visit.

MC-12W (Possibly?)

The C-12 Huron is the military version of the King Air.  While it has been successful as a transport, it has also been the basis for a ton of derivatives.  I am not an expert on this type and all of its subtypes so, when I see one, I can’t say for sure what it is.  The most recent versions have been the MC-12W but I am not sure that they all look alike.  When I saw this plane taxiing out at Boeing Field, I wondered if it was an MC-12W and asked a couple of friends that know more than me.  They weren’t sure either.  It might be or it could be something else.  Whatever it is, it was an unusual visitor.

F-16s In Odd Colors

Sentry Eagle 2022 had a couple of F-16s on static display that had been painted up in special color schemes.  They were supposed to be throwback schemes but, according to those I know that know more about these sorts of things, there are some issues with the schemes that they chose.  I have no idea about such things but I have to say, neither scheme seemed to look that great to me.  They felt slightly cartoonish but I can’t come up with a better explanation what it was.

Getting shots of them both was not straightforward.  First, there were a ton of people around as they were central to the static displays for the show.  Also, the sun was very high and bright and they was a lot of contrast to deal with.  One of them was also close to a shadow from a hangar which made for even more contrast issues.  Since we weren’t staying on base for the full show, I only had a narrow window to work with.  It did improve just before we left, thankfully.

Gate Guards At Klamath Falls

The 173FW at Klamath Falls has flown a variety of types over the year.  One of the advantages of the base being open for Sentry Eagle 2022 was the chance to check out the preserved examples that they have.  There is a central avenue on base that is the location of an F-4, an F-15 and an F-16.  They are mounted on poles and in the colors of the unit.  The lighting can be a bit tricky depending on the time of day but there are ways of making the most of what you can get.

Each plane is set up in a dynamic pose as is appropriate for a fighter aircraft.  They are well looked after and there aren’t too many items on them that you would want removed, like spikes to deter birds from landing.  I was surprised how few of the visitors to the event actually came to check them out as they weren’t far from the main route to the ramp but it certainly made it easier trying to get some shots.

C-12 With A Hint of Lumps And Bumps

We had a lot of time to shoot the arriving aircraft at Klamath Falls in the day before the show.  One aircraft that showed up was a C-12.  I don’t recall seeing it when I was in the show so it either went somewhere else on base or it departed again.  However, when I looked at the shots of it, there seem to be a lot of modifications on the airframe that look like there are designed for mounting other items.  The C-12 family has received any number of different modifications over the years and there are tons of different configurations.  Whether this is one that was de-modified for regular transport use or has the ability to be reconfigured as needed, I don’t know.

Eagles Blasting Into The Sky

On the morning after our arrival in Klamath Falls, we headed out to a location that was hopefully good for getting shots of jets departing to the north in the morning.  What we hadn’t counted on was that the based aircraft would be practicing their display for the air show the following day just after we got there.  This was a four ship display that involved some sporty departures and then beating up the airfield from various directions and in various combinations.

They launched four F-15s in stream.  The first jet up was the specially painted aircraft that the unit has had for a while but which I had not seen previously.  It was joined by two more single seaters in unit markings and the last of the four was an F-15D that wasn’t carrying any unit markings.  They would keep it really low after getting airborne and then cross the fence at speed and with burner locked in.

Then they would each pull hard to the vertical and blast upwards.  The first one caught me off guard a bit – not ideal since this was the special paint jet.  It turned out I got some shots of it, even though I found myself, twisting awkwardly to try and keep it in view.  The others I had a slightly better idea about and was ready to track them as they went.

This was just the beginning of our day at Klamath Falls and it was indicative of what was to be a top time.

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.

My One Chance With The Bones

Red Flag 22-2 included a detachment of B-1B Lancers.  The Bone is a cracking jet as it combines the size of a bomber with the shaping and engines of a fighter.  It is an elegant shape whether the wings are fully swept or not.  I have shot them at Nellis a few times over the years but I was still keen to get some shots of them on this trip.  Unfortunately, things did not quite go to plan.

They didn’t fly on the day that I arrived.  I had gone out in the evening for the night launch but they were not part of it.  The following morning, they launched a lot earlier than I expected so I was still at Cheyenne when they went.  My last day, they again didn’t launch.  That meant the recoveries from the early launch were my only chance.

Weather was not helping too much.  This was not just for the Bones.  It was pretty overcast for a good chunk of the afternoon.  The two jets came back in formation and broke into the pattern.  Thankfully, the arrivals were using the 21s and they were allocated to the right runway.  A pretty sporty pattern for a big jet combined with me having chosen a good spot by the Speedway meant that they were almost filling the frame as they turned on to final.  Some nicer light would have been great but, since this was all I was getting in daylight, it would have to do.

C-17 Patterns At Boeing Field

Boeing Field has a lot of civilian traffic, but it is also a popular stop off point for military traffic.  What I hadn’t anticipated was a McChord C-17 wanting to use it for some pattern work.  I was sitting in the car working on a spreadsheet updating my forecasts for a project that we are working on.  I guess I had heard something call up but was busy with the work and had not realized what was coming.  However, the rumbling of four engines got quite loud and I looked up to see the C-17 on short final.

I did grab a couple of quick shots, but luck was on my side.  They wanted to fly a few patterns so I was going to get another go at it.  The left-hand patterns meant you could see them heading downwind and turning back on to final.  I could get on with my spreadsheet and be ready when they came back again.  The light was really nice and they seemed to fly a little higher on the approach than is normal so getting shots was not tricky.

At one point, while flying downwind, I could see another C-17 flying directly across the field.  They were actually setting up for an approach to McChord and were not going to come our way but it was cool to see both in shot at once.  After they completed their pattern work, they headed back north again so I am not sure what their next plans was but I was pleased to have seen them and had the chance to try and few different shots.