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US Naval Aviation Centennial Kickoff - NAS North Island, San Diego, Feb 11 and 12, 2011

100 YEARS OF NAVAL AVIATION

     The weekend of February 11 and 12, 2011 was nothing short of one big ‘color-fest’ at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego. This was because 2011 is the 100th Anniversary of US Naval Aviation and beginning in mid 2010, the United States Navy began to paint twenty seven different aircraft with various ‘retro’ paint schemes, mostly representations from the early 1940s era. Twenty-two of these ‘heritage’ aircraft were on the ramp at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, as well as a handful of other commanders’
aircraft, more commonly known to aviation photographers as ‘color birds’. Some of the more popular displays included VAQ-129’s blue EA-18 Growler, the blue EA6B Prowler from NAS Whidbey Island, the blue S-3 Viking from VX-30, the six color helicopters including SH-60 Seahawks and MH-60 Knighthawks, and last but not least, the VMA-214 commander’s aircraft flown over from MCAS Yuma, an AV-8B Harrier, which features Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington’s name on the nose, as well as some nice
“Blacksheep” squadron graphics. The aforementioned VX-30 also flew a second S-3 Viking in the flying portion of this celebration, - a colorful S-3 Viking known as “Bloodhound 700”.   The aircraft is a beauty - white overall, complemented with patches of dark blue and yellow trim. VX-30 is a squadron nicknamed the “Bloodhounds” and is located at Naval Base Ventura County on the California coast. Colorful aircraft like the ones I’ve mentioned are a big hit with photographers because we simply do not see them very often.

Why San Diego?
        San Diego is recognized as the birthplace of US Naval Aviation in 1911 because the Navy ordered their first aircraft from Glenn Curtiss in May of 1911. It was later designated the A-1 Triad. A bit earlier, in February of that year, Mr Curtiss operated one of his hydro designs from the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania, with a bit of help from cranes of course. The first Naval Aviator, Lt Theodore Ellyson received his training (from Glenn Curtiss) in the area. It became official in July of 1911, several months after Curtiss’ recommendation. On display at the event were two replicas of the A-1 Triad
airplane, and both are in flying condition. Even more exciting was the fact that one of them put on a short demonstration in the water. Two aircraft carriers were made available to the media and public, but I’ll get to that later. For photographers, this event was probably going to be the airshow of the year and I am sure Naval Base Coronado’s public affairs office was absolutely swamped with requests for media credentials for the celebration. I was fortunate to be one of about 150 people who gained access the Friday
before the show, to roam the flight line without the crowds.

Base Access
       Traffic getting off-base for media day was the worst congestion I’ve seen in years, and that includes heavy metal concerts, but then again this area really wasn’t designed with airshow traffic in mind. You had to feel sorry for anyone using the Coronado bridge going out Friday, or in either direction Saturday. As one of my buddies said, “it was evil!”. Entering and exiting the base via the southern route, known as Silver Strand, to Imperial Beach was going to be the best bet. Media day was a fantastic, no, make that a once in a lifetime opportunity, and yet there were fewer photographers than expected, which meant, for us early birds, that there would not be as many arms and legs in the
background to clone out with photo editing software!   After media day was over, nearby Brown Field in Chula Vista proved to be a pretty good side trip. This is where most of the participating warbirds, and a few military aircraft, were staging from. One of the highlights on the ramp at Brown Field was a Pittsburgh-based AF Reserve C-130 with fantastic Desert Storm related nose art. The military iron operated out of nearby MCAS Miramar.

Coming back to the base on Saturday about 8am, I passed the already gridlocked spectator traffic and local beach spots (already filling up with locals), checked in with public affairs, then made my way to the parking lot and the static displays. Having shot most of the ground stuff Friday, I was looking forward to an easy day’s shooting - concentrating on the aerial action only - and hoped to maybe even time to just sit and watch the show as opposed to obsessively photographing every important sight out there. As it turned out, however, there was another handful of static aircraft that had either been
late arrivals Friday afternoon, or had been towed out to the ramp late after the media had left, so there went my plans for a light work day!

        We were offered rooftop access on Saturday, on one of the squadron buildings, and I managed to get up there just in time to see the A-1 Triad demo. One surprise for both media and spectators on Saturday was the fact that the Triad actually took to the air for a brief time. All signs leading up to the event pointed to a simple ‘taxi around the water’ routine. I don’t think anyone was complaining though!

Military and Warbird Statics:
         There were about sixty-one aircraft on the ground at North Island for this event. The oldest, in terms of the era they represented, were the two replica A-1 Triads. Both of them are flyable. There was also an old Jenny biplane inside one of the hangars. Next to these, probably the rarest were the E-6B Mercury and the PB4Y Privateer. There was a second E-6B in the skies later that day. Many of us expected to see the popular Commemorative Air Forces’s Curtiss SB2C Helldiver on display, but it did not make it. It is a one of a kind aircraft and rarely leaves its home state of Texas. Another rarity was the arrival of a flying A-4 Skyhawk. But most of the media photographers headed for three aircraft in particular, that were grouped together in what appeared to be what you might call “blue row” - this included the blue Growler, the blue Prowler, and the blue S-3 Viking. The San Diego Bay provided a very nice background for these three. The S-3 and EA6B both looked like something out of the Battle of Midway with their classic World War Two markings. There was one aircraft in particular that I’ve been waiting
about two or three years to photograph, and that was the colorful VFC-111 “Sundowners” F-5, with its red and white rising sun tail art. The squadron also had an F-5 flying in the aerial parade. Speaking of F-5s, there were a total of eight F-5s that flew in the airshow itself - and one of them was a very rare two seat model. Three P-3 Orion variants were on display - an EP-3, a Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii-based P-3C in heritage markings, and a Canadian version, also known as an “Aurora”.   China Lake’s VX-9 “Vampires” test squadron brought two aircraft over in heritage schemes - a green tailed F-18, and a black tailed Hornet - the latter’s markings reminiscent of the old VX-4 “Vandy One” tail art. Other heritage birds included two specially marked T-34Cs, a TC-12, an F-18 from the “River Rattlers”, another Hornet from VFC-12, and an odd-looking “pixelated” digital F-18 (some airshow fans might have seen this at the 2010 Miramar airshow). VFA-122 from NAS Lemoore brought down their two tone gray aircraft, which again, was on display at the last MCAS Miramar show, however I do not believe this is one of the ‘heritage’ aircraft. The future of Naval Aviation was covered as well, with an X-47B,
Global Hawk and Fire Scout on the ramp. Shockingly, there were no F-4 Phantoms of F-14s on static display!

The Parade of Flight
       What was billed as the largest flyover since the 1950s turned out to be a slow paced airshow. But many of the delays were caused by local boaters who kept getting too close to the safety zone on the bay. These individuals were chased off by aggressive naval security forces. Another delay was caused by an wayward. Once these were taken care of, it was back to the business at hand. In spite of heavy promotion indicating a huge two hundred aircraft flyover, the airshow’s only mass flyby turned out to be the forty-one
aircraft from Carrier Air Wing Nine at the show’s finale. Opening the show were the US Navy’s Blue Angels, crossing right in front of the rising half moon. After the playing of the National Anthem, the crowd saw a demo from the US Navy Leap Frogs skydiving team, and then came the vintage warbirds, one at a time and very far out over the bay. Photographers began to get restless and were murmuring amongst themselves about the disappointing proximity of the aircraft, until finally some larger aircraft flew by, or we saw some formations big enough to fill our frames. Some of those formations included Cobras and Super Cobras with the newest Huey helicopter variant, the “Venom”.   We also saw a Prowler leading two Growlers, two separate groups of F-5 adversary aircraft, two color-tailed C-2 Greyhounds, two Prowlers, two VMFC-232 Hornets, four Hornets from NAS Lemoore, four Harriers including a color bird, groups of CH-46s and CH-53s, a pair of Ospreys, four more Hornets - two from VMFA-232 and two from VMFA-112, three Hornets from VMFA-314, two aggressor F-16s from NAS Fallon and the famous Top Gun school, two T-45 Goshawks, two T-6 Texans, a UC-12 / UC-35 pairing, and a two-ship C-130 formation.   Individual passes included C-9, E-6B, E-2C, C-130 from the Coast Guard, S-3, F-18 mini demo, Harrier mini demo, Osprey mini demo, a Gulfstream,
P-3, HC-144A, T-39, T-2, B-17, B-25, an N3N3 biplane, Hellcat, SBD Dauntless, PV-2 Harpoon, Grumman Albatross, and four T-28s.

      You also want to be alert for anything unexpected. In this case, since we were on the shores of San Diego Bay, there were plenty of birds around to photograph. During the airshow, the group of photographers I was with – we were offered rooftop access on a squadron building rooftop - was surprised by an Osprey coming up from the water with its lunch, a rather good sized fish! The bird flew right at us, then swerved to our side at the last moment, but those of us who were fast enough, managed to get four or five decent shots of it.

Ship Tours
            One of the ships available for tours was one of America’s most advanced aircraft carriers, the USS John C. Stennis, CVN-74. People were taken aboard to see the flight deck and the hangar deck. Two aircraft above, on catapults one and two, were an EA6B Prowler (VAQ-138 “Yellowjackets”), and an F-18 Hornet from VFA-14.   From the flight deck of the Stennis you could look east and see the San Diego-Coronado Bridge and a handful of other Navy ships in port, including a third carrier. Looking north you could look right at the USS Midway museum, and Lindbergh Field.   If you turned to the northwest you saw mostly residential areas and the USMC recruit depot. The USS Pelileu, a light assault carrier, was also open to tours.   As the show went on, naval security forces continued to keep the local boating public at bay (pardon the pun), and after the initial interruptions, everything seemed to go pretty smooth for the remainder of the day. This being a big Navy town, the boat traffic certainly could’ve been as bad as the vehicular traffic on land.

       Now we’ll all have to wait and see what the United States Marine Corps does for their 100th Aviation Centennial next year. As for the US Air Force, well, see some of you in 2047!

   Thanks to the Naval Base Coronado Public Affairs Office staff for their
assistance during the event. Thanks to Ron for information on some of the aircraft, as well as advance info on local traffic. And thanks also to photographer Ned Harris for identifying the feathered Osprey for me. Many thanks to whoever it was who decided to crank up the Judas Priest song, “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin” over the PA right as I entered the static display area on Saturday. That was an absolutely perfect way start the
day!

Versions of thiis report will also be in World Airshow News magazine and Today's Photographer magazine.

SpaceShip Two on Display at Mojave Airport, Feb 19, 2011

Today was Mojave Airport's monthly "Plane Crazy" event, and the highlight was White Knight and SpaceShip Two, built by Scaled Composites. The weather in the morning wasn't the greatest, but eventually the sun came out and stayed out until the mid afternoon. The two aircraft were on display until about 2pm. This was the first time the public has been able to get an up-close look at the new SpaceShip. Late in 2009 it was officially unveiled to VIPs and the press. SS2 will carry four passengers and then will launch and travel to approximately 62 miles for a few minutes of weightlessness, before returning to earth just like SpaceShip One. It has undergone several test flights, with one rough landing that slightly damaged the nose gear. When Virgin Galactic's space venture takes off, the launches will be from a SpacePort in New Mexico.

Red Flag 11-2 report (Nellis AFB)

Red Flag 11-2's media day was held recently and I was there to cover it. These exercises are held about 4 or 5 times annually and feature a large combination of United States and Allied foreign aircraft engaging each other as well as ground targets on the Nellis ranges, north of Las Vegas. It's not unusual for there to be as many as 150 aircraft involved. For this trip, there were about 50 photographers from across the nation to catch the action. Unfortunately many of them were clearly not legitimate media people, a slap in the face to many of us who work our butts off to get opportunities like this. That being said, let's get to the details.........

Meeting our PAO escorts at the visitor center mid-morning, we were loaded onto a bus and headed out towards the flightline to catch the pending launches. For those who may not know, during Red Flag media days, the photographers are bussed out to an area IN BETWEEN the two runways.

On our way out there, I noted a fairly large number of bombers - FIVE B-1s and FOUR B-52s! That's a bit more than what is usually here for a Red Flag exercise. The B-1s were from the 28th Bomb Wing / 34th Bomb Squadron ('Thunderbirds') of Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota. The Buffs, aka B-52s, were from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB. Since we were allowed to get about 175 feet from the runway concrete, the roar of the bombers was going to be one hell of an experience! Two of each type were sent out for the day's sortie. During launches, the B-52s launched on runway 3L, which meant you didn't have to point your camera into the sun. However the B-1s went out on 3R, which did mean backlit images.

Other 'heavies' present were a pair of E-3 Sentries, some C-130s from Belgium, one FT coded Hercules, a pair of Hercs from the 'Flying Vikings' / 96th Airlift Squadron out of Minnesota, and several KC-135s - from McConnell AFB, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Nose art was prevalent on many of the larger aircraft, however we really never got quite the right angle on most of them, to get close up shots. We had a chance when one of the 96th AS Hercs took off, and again when the B-52s returned on runway 21R, and that was about it. Everthing else was too far off, or showing the wrong side of the aircraft.

Next up it was time for the fighters. The usual suspects, the Aggressors, launched a few F-16s from the 64th AGRS, and then we saw a good mix of other stuff, including many WA and OT coded birds from Nellis' Weapons School and Operational Test units. Other participating aircraft included F-16 Vipers from the UAE (F-16Es and Fs, aka "Desert Vipers"), F-16 Vipers from the 510th FS 'Buzzards (Aviano Italy), more Vipers from the famous 555th FS 'Triple Nickel' squadron (also from Aviano), A-10 Warthogs from the 303rd FS 'KC Hawgs' at Whiteman AFB in Missouri - these feature the NFL Kansas City Chiefs logo as fincaps - one was nicknamed 'Thunderbolt of California'; more F-16s from the 22nd and 23rd fighter squadrons ('Stingers' and 'Fighting Hawks' respectively) at Spangdalhem, Germany; plus a few scattered new additions to the aggressor units that have not been painted yet. Both the 64th and 65th guys have received new aircraft recently, including some Minnesota ANG Vipers - one of which was a color bird, Shaw AFB 'Gamblers' Vipers which recently stood down, and an FF coded F-15 Eagle, formerly with the 1st FW at Langley AFB. There were also a handful of older F-15s with no tail code, presumably they are also new additions to the aggressor 'fleet'. These aircraft will most likely get their new paint when they are due for depot maintenance.

A big surprise at the end of the day was the departure of three F-22 Raptors from runway 21R. Two of these raptors were sporting drop tanks. This is something RARELY seen, and I do mean RARE-LY. First time I'd seen this. The running joke is (started by somebody with a website in Mojave, Ca.) that Raptors with drop tanks are known as "Raptors with Boobs". One of the pilots even used the afterburner - something the Raptor usually doesn't do - and it doesn't really need it either. But this is always a welcome sight for us photogs. In a matter of a few hours, we photographed about 120 different aircraft.

Thanks to Senior Airman Michael Charles for the opportunity to come out to Nellis.

2010 Point Mugu Airshow Report & photos

PT MUGU AIRSHOW 2010

FRI AUG 6 (ARRIVALS / PRACTICE)

SAT / SUN - AUG 7 AND 8 (AIR SHOWS)

PHOTOGRAPHY & TEXT BY BRIAN EMCH

2010 brought the return of an air show to Naval Base Ventura County (more popularly known as Point Mugu but also includes Port Hueneme and Channel Islands ANGS) on August 6,7, and 8, with the 6^th being arrival and practice day. Most weather reports were pretty gloomy for the weekend, predicting fog and even drizzle, however that did not stop diehard aviation fans from coming out to hear a bit of jet and prop noise. Enthusiasts and press alike mobbed the Point Mugu Missile Park on Friday morning, in hopes of catching views of not only the popular USAF demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, but also a US Navy EA-18G, Navy F-18s from NAS Lemoore, Aggressor F-5s from VFC-13, an EA6B Prowler, Canadian Hornets, WWII era warbirds such as a B-25, P-51, F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, and a very rare Japanese Zero from the Commemorative Air Force in nearby Camarillo. This particular Zero is mostly authentic, but it has an American Pratt & Whitney engine. Only the Chino Planes of Fame Air Museum can claim a REAL 100% authentic version with its Japanese built Sakae engine. A couple of heavies from March Air Reserve base were present, the C-17 demo bird, and a KC-135 tanker.

Both Saturday and Sunday started out heavily overcast, but it broke up about lunchtime Saturday and stayed mostly clear, and even earlier on Sun, by 10am, getting hot and sunny for the remainder of the day. One of the big static display highlights was VX-30s S-3B Viking color bird, aka “Bloodhound 700”, looking spectacular in its blue / gold markings. The squadron currently has three of the type, two of which are now in what's known as depot maintenance, with a fourth aircraft on the way. The mission of the S-3 Viking is range surveillance and control. They also still fly the P-3 Orion, and one of their NP-3 variants was on display. The S-3B was one of the most popular static displays over the weekend, especially with photographers.

This was mostly an Air Force, warbird, and aerobatic airshow. The only Navy act on the bill this year was the F-18C Legacy Hornet demo, from VFA-125 in Lemoore, California. Other than the aforementioned C-17 demo, the Air Force brought their A-10 West demo team to the show, from Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona. The pilot for this year is Joe Shetterly. The demo also included a Wall of Fire created by a Navy EOD team. Photographers who were alert enough to catch it, were able to get beautiful shots of the Wall of Fire directly behind the Thunderbirds aircraft. The team, based at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada, were the headliners for both days at Point Mugu. They now have block 52 F-16 Vipers. The CAF in Camarillo brought over their Zero and Hellcat to fly a simulated dogfight, and it was well done. Aerobatics were provided by Bill Cornick, Spencer Suderman, Julie Clark in her beautiful T-34 Mentor, Rich Perkins in the L-39 “Firecat” (an L-39 in “airshow camo scheme” - yellow and orange!), Amanda and Kyle Franklin, Matt Chapman, Michael Wiskus, and Chuck Aaron in the Red Bull helicopter. Red Bull also had their skydiving team on hand. A low ceiling on Saturday prevented them from flying during the Nat’l Anthem, however they did jump later in the day. There was one other act in the show, one that I’d never seen before - Greg Koontz and the Alabama Boys. This was a show that combined comedy with flying and ended up with landing on a pickup truck! Alert photographers were also treated to seeing a formation of three E-2C Hawkeyes return to Point Mugu from an inbound carrier.

The crowd this year was probably the largest I’ve ever seen at the base. Most of which, I’d be willing to bet, were hoping for another ‘Vaporfest’ like the last air show, back in 2007. Unfortunately the F-22 Raptor was not on the schedule, but there was still hope for some vapor, with the A-10, C-17, F-18 and the Thunderbirds. At the Chino air show last March, the C-17 demo got quite a bit of vapor on its first pass on one of the show days, however here at Pt Mugu they didn’t open with that same pass, so photographers had to hope for vapor elsewhere, though it did get a noticeable amount during a turning maneuver halfway through their demonstration. The F-18 produced a lot more vapor in its demo, with two VERY brief clouds. The A-10 managed to show off a bit more vapor than its 2007 Point Mugu performance. There was some occasional condensation on the Thunderbirds F-16s, with the most occurring on the team’s ‘sneak pass‘, but for the most part this year, there were really no huge clouds of the stuff. Ya just never know!

FYI, for central California residents, NAS Lemoore will be having an air show in 2011, their first since 2004, and the Blue Angels are scheduled to be there, so mark your calendars!

Thanks to Vance Vasquez at the Point Mugu PAO for access to the media pit. Thanks also to California natives Lt. Jon Lyman and Lt. Nate Sayer from VX-30 for answering my questions about the S-3, as well as the photo op.

2009 Edwards AFB Airshow Report

Oct 17th saw the return of the Edwards AFB Open House and Air Show. This was the first one since 2006, which meant a huge crowd was expected. Going by the name "Flight Test Nation", highlights included the very first airshow appearance of a REAL F-35 JSF / Lightning II Strike Fighter (up until now, the display has been only a mockup); both of Scaled Composite's White Knight motherships were there - one of which flew during the show); Air Combat Command's official F-22 Raptor Demo Team; the Commemorative Air Force's "Tora Tora Tora Squadron", who puts on a fantastic reenactment of the attack on Pearl Harbor, complete with pyrotechnic explosions, and replica Japanese Zeroes/Kates/Vals. Also featured was the US Army skydiving team, the Golden Knights; warbird flybys including a B-17 ("Sentimental Journey" owned by the CAF in Mesa, Az), B-25 ("Pacific Prowler" a privately owned a/c), P-51 ("Gunfighter" - another CAF-owned bird), and a very rare P-38 flown in from Chino, Calif by Steve Hinton. Steve is the man you want to see flying a demo in the original "Lightning" fighter plane. He is the President of the Planes of Fame Air Musuem in Chino and can fly the heck out of most warbirds flying today.

Originally planned as a two-day event, this was later cut down to only a one day show. However it also ended up being one of Edwards AFB's best airshows, with the varied types of aircraft flying in the show. Civilian aerobatics were provided by Julie Clark, in her T-34 Mentor trainer aircraft. A three-ship bomber formation had been planned for the 2009 air show, however the plan was apparently scratched at the last minute and the crowd saw one flyby from each type in succession: B-1, B-2, and B-52, with the latter topped off with some serious pyro out in the desert. Another Air Combat Command display, the Heritage Flight, was featured at the base, and it showcased the P-38 in formation with the F-22, A-10 and F-16. The Heritage Flight program was started unofficially in 1997 at Nellis AFB, and has since become one of the most popular additions to the North American air show circuit. Viper West, aka the F-16 Viper West demo team, from Hill AFB, put on a fantastic aerial display. Northrop-Grumman had their B-2 'stealth bike' on display, which was built by the crew at Orange County Choppers.

Friday's practice air show allowed members of the media to view some of the activity from South Base. Aircraft participating in the practice included a KC-135, C-130, C-17, B-52, B-2, F-16, T-38, T-6, T-34, P-51, B-17, and F-22.

Joe Engle and Chuck Yeager were both present, and after each of them opened the air show flying in the backseat of two F-16s and creating a double sonic boom, later in the day they took part in a public talk about their careers, hosted by former tv show host David Hartmann.

Only one thing was missing from the show this year: the F-117A Nighthawk.

Thanks go out to John Haire and the entire Edwards AFB public affairs team, and to Cindy and GP for the special access at show center.

The B-2 Stealth Bomber Turns Twenty

Prints and a calendar are available.

NORTHROP CELEBRATES THE 20^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE B-2 STEALTH BOMBER’S FIRST FLIGHT

Northrop- USAF- Plant 42

Palmdale, Calif.. July 17, 2009

Text & photography by Brian Emch

The Spirit has just turned twenty. On July 17, 1989, just nine months after it was first rolled out to the public in November 1988, the highly secret B-2 stealth bomber took to the skies for the first time, with Bruce Hinds and Rick Couch at the controls. Twenty-one of the highly advanced bombers were built, and today twenty remain - one was lost in Guam in early 2008. Two decades later, now having seen its share of combat missions, (including one that lasted 44 hours), the airplane is flying as well as ever, still giving spectators and military personnel alike, goose bumps wherever it flies, and now it has a mascot, too. On a blazingly warm sunny Southern California morning, exactly twenty years to the date of that first flight - media, VIPs and Northrop employees got a look at one of the B-2s, as well as the “stealth bike”, built by Orange County Choppers of New York. Dave Mazur, VP and B-2 program manager at Northrop, rode in on the bike to be the master of ceremonies for the morning’s event.

One of the operational B-2s , the Spirit of Louisiana, #93-1088, was the backdrop for the ceremony. Speakers included Los Angeles television announcer Stephanie Edwards (famous for working the Pasadena, California Rose Parade’s play-by-play with Bob Eubanks); Bruce Hinds, the first B-2 test pilot; Col James Dawkins, USAF Commander of the 509^th Operations group at Whiteman AFB, where the operational B-2s are based. Scott Seymour, former president of Northrop’s Integrated Systems, and Gary Ervin, President of Northrop’s Aerospace Systems were also on hand to share their thoughts. Several dozen media representatives were on hand, as well as what appeared to be at least two hundred very enthusiastic Northrop employees. And yes folks, there was a flyby, though officials weren’t calling it that, instead they referred to it simply as a “well-timed training mission”. The Spirit of New York, #82-1068, aka “air vehicle #3”, took off from Edwards AFB and flew by twice - the first was what you might call a combination of a “dirty pass” and “photo pass”, while the second flyby featured a good profile view with the gear up, with a late banking turn as the crew headed back to Edwards. This concluded the morning’s festivities.

It is believed that there are currently four B-2s in the Antelope Valley right now - New York, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Two of these flew out from Whiteman last January, for New Year’s Day activities, and then went to their birthplace for upgrades.

Thanks to Northrop, and in particular Brooks McKinney, for the opportunity to come out and cover the event.

White Knight Two Spotted Over Mojave

Burt Rutan and Scaled Composite's latest 'mothership', White Knight Two, was spotted returning to Mojave airport this past Saturday, from a flight to New Mexico. Spectators at the airport's monthly 'Plane Crazy' static display were treated to a low altitude flyby and also got to see the plane closeup as it taxied back to the hangar. A minor mechanical issue forced them to stop over at Mesa-Gateway airport in Chandler, Az. An attempt was made to 'discourage' photographers at Gateway from taking photos of the aircraft, however nothing legally could be done as long as people stayed out of the airport's secured areas.

Rare Variant of the U-2 Spyplane Sighted in Palmdale

A very rarely seen variant of the U-2 Spyplane was sighted over Palmdale this week. An operational aircraft from Beale AFB in Nothern California, was photographed carrying an ETP, or Senior Span pod on its spine. This particular airframe, #80-1066, which was originally built as a TR-1, is not seen in our neck of the woods very often. The pod, looking like an upside down motorcycle gas tank, is part of the satellite uplink system. Most of the U-2s and TR-1s flying today are now using the designation U-2S.

Airborne Laser 747 Aircraft Spotted over Palmdale

The rarely seen ABL aircraft, aka Airborne Laser 747 aircraft, was sighted at Palmdale's USAF Plant 42 facility on Thurs, April 30th. After circling Edwards AFB a number of times, the aircrew flew over to SoCal Logistics Airport in Victorville, did a touch n go, then on over to Palmdale, where they did another touch n go, and then they returned to Edwards. The aircraft is almost never seen over areas outside of the Edwards ranges.

Minter Field's 2009 "Fly-In"

Aviation fans gathered Saturday, April 18^th, at Minter Field in Shafter, for their 2009 Fly-in. Due to money constraints, show organizers were unable to put on a full-scale airshow this year, so they opted for a smaller event featuring the old Army Air Corps basic trainer, the Vultee BT-13, as well as other warbirds, antiques and homebuilt aircraft. Other than the three BT-13s that were present on the ramp, specific aircraft that were at the show included Al Goss’s SNJ “Warlock”, Eddie Van Fossen’s T-6 “Miss TNT’, a Chinese CJ-6 Nanchang, several Navions, a Fokker Triplane (famous for being flown by Germany’s Baron Von Richtoven, aka the “Red Baron”), an A-26 Invader nicknamed ‘Dragon Lady’, a Harmon Rocket, RV-4s and RV-5s, another pair of T-6 trainers, a Stearman trainer, a pair of ultra-lites (one of which had the classic ‘shark mouth’ nose art), a Euro Fox, a Sky Ranger, Remos G-3 600, Piper Cub, and a handful of others. The B-25 known as ‘Executive Sweet’ was scheduled to participate, but apparently had mechanical issues at its home base, and did not make it. Tiger Destefani’s famous ‘Strega’ also was not present for the same reason, and amagzingly it was not even brought out for static display. Also present on the ramp was a group of vintage vehicles, both civilian and military. The weather was perfect, as it almost always is, and the event drew a pretty good crowd. Flybys and rides took place throughout the day, and a good number of vendors made it to the event, hawking vintage nose art style placards, books, shirts, hats, and die cast toy airplanes. Organizers say that in 2010, the full airshow will return.

See my website, Southern California Airshow Review, in the coming weeks, for more photos from the event.

NAF El Centro Airshow

March in El Centro, California means lots of jet noise, and the start of another exciting airshow season in North America. The US Navy’s Blue Angels use NAF El Centro for their winter training, which runs from approximately January right up until the base’s annual airshow in mid March. During that time, the locale becomes a mecca for diehard aviation fans and photographers who love to hang out atop hay bales near the runway and cheer on their favorite team, while at the same time, trying NOT to get a haircut from those very same blue & gold F/A-18 Hornets!

This year’s show, held on March 14th, featured a variety of performers, ranging from aerobatics to warbirds, to modern military demos, two of the latter being welcome surprises. The show was kicked off with a flight of three Stearman trainers, then the “Thunder Delfins” took over, flying their Czech-built (?) L-29s. Normally the team flies four aircraft, but only two were able to make it. Bill Cornick, and Spencer Suderman provided the aerobatics. John Collver, a regular at many Southern California airshows, flew his SNJ “Wardog”. NAS Fallon sent down their SAR demo team for what looks like their last airshow appearance, with the Huey helo being slated for retirement. Next up was the popular F-15E Strike Eagle demo, from Seymour-Johnson AFB, flown by Capt Phil “Ritz” Smith with his WSO, Capt John “Gizmo” Cox. After displaying a lot of ‘turning and burning’, the Eagle then formed up with the P-51 “Wee Willy II” being flown by Kevin Eldridge, for the Heritage Flight. NAS North Island sent over a C-2 “Greyhound”, aka “COD” for a flyby just before Black Dagger jump team performed. Afterwards, there was a change of command for NAF El Centro, giving the crowd a chance to run for the numerous food vendors on hand, before the action resumed. When the show started up again, the well known B-25J, “Heavenly Body” went up and did a few flybys for the crowd. The F-18 Super Hornet demo (from NAS Lemoore), and C-17 demo (from nearby March Field ARB) kept everyone looking to the skies with their contrasting speeds and maneuvers. A BIG surprise was the appearance of not one, but TWO B-1 Lancer bombers from Dyess AFB in Abilene, Texas. They arrived during the COC ceremony at high altitude, and after a lengthy absence of both narration and the planes’ returning, a person could’ve easily thought that was the flyby. But not quite. Wait for it - wait for it. The two bombers eventually came back by in formation, low and close in! It’s rare enough that airshow fans can see a B-1, let alone TWO of them. What a sight that was! The other surprise was the appearance of two AV8B Harriers, apparently returning from the MCAS Yuma airshow, which was being held on the same day as El Centro’s. Even though a Harrier demo did not occur at the EC show, the two aircraft did do a nice flyby, with a break for landing at about midfield. The Commemorative Air Force’s Southern California Wing, based up the coast in Camarillo, sent down their F6F Hellcat, and A6M Zero for a simulated dogfight. And finally, getting back to the modern era, it was time for the Blue Angels to take over. Their C-130 transport, known as “Fat Albert”, took to the skies and did several flybys before handing it over to its F/A-18 teammates.

More coverage of the El Centro airshow, as well as Blue Angels' winter training, can be found in the near future on my website, SoCal Airshow Review, and in an upcoming issue of World Airshow News magazine.

Heritage Flight Airshow Pilots Train at Davis-Monthan AFB

Overcast skies and high winds failed to dampen spirits, or prevent flying, at the 2009 ACC Heritage Flight Conference, held March 6^th thru the 8^th, at Tucson’s Davis-Monthan AFB. Strangely, while Tucson was socked in, the weather just up the highway in Phoenix was clear. Adding to the strange weather was the arrival of one of those mysterious “Janet” 737 aircraft. And once its landing roll took it past the hot ramp area, we never saw it again that day, which was fitting, considering that aircraft’s mission. Lady Luck smiled on the event on day two of the practice sessions, with the clouds giving way to sunshine all day long. Media Day was held on Friday, with about a dozen representatives getting approved by Air Combat Command to cover the event. We had writers and photographers from the local Tucson area; Reno, Nevada, Texas; Southern California; and as far away as Holland. The F-4 Phantom Society was well represented with at least five members attending this year. DM’s PAO escorts were generous in allowing several of us to stay on base most of the day. We were allowed on the hot ramp for about 90 minutes, getting close up views of the participating aircraft. World War II era warbirds this year included the following: “Proud American”, an A-1 Skyraider in an SEA scheme, flown by Alan Anders; “Double Trouble Two”, a very sharp-looking P-51 Mustang; two other P-51s (including “Wee Willy 2”), and a pair of P-40s, one of which belongs to the Chino, California-based Planes of Fame museum. It was still in its “Valkyrie” movie paint scheme, which featured British markings. Steve Hinton and Kevin Eldridge represented the Chino museum this year. Kevin is beginning his second year as Heritage Flight pilot. I met Kevin during the 2008 season and he told me at that time he was very excited to be a part of the HF program. The other P-40 was bright green, with Flying Tiger markings. The P-47 Thunderbolt, “Tarheel Hal”, did not make it this year. Back for 2009 after standing down for one year, is the A-10 East Team, from Moody AFB. All of the other usual demo teams were there of course - F-4 West, F-4 East, A-10 West, Viper East, Viper West, and the F-15E Strike Eagle team. F-15 West from Eglin was present, and there was another F-15 with no tail code at all. Jet demo team pilots this year include Lt Col Ryan Luchsinger, aka “Chief” (F-4 West); Lt. Col. Ron “Stuff” Miller (F-4 East); Major Dave “Zeke” Skalicky (F-22 East); Major David Graham (Viper West); Major George Clifford (Viper East); Capt. Paul Brown (A-10 West); Capt. Johnnie Green (A-10 east); Capt. Sam “Nuke” Joplin (F-15 West); and Capt. Phil “Ritz” Smith with WSO Capt. John “Gizmo” Cox (F-15 Strike Eagle).

Just about thirty different formations were flown over the three-day period, and that does not include arrival formations. 2009 brings us a new F-22 Raptor demo pilot, and even though there does not appear to be anything drastically new in the demo routine itself, it certainly shows us nothing less than what Max Moga has presented over the past two seasons. Of course a good portion of the Raptor’s true capabilities presumably cannot be shown publicly. An exciting change this year was the apparent clearance for the F-4 Phantoms to do complete rolls in transition following their Heritage Flight split passes and their individual flybys. Until now, they’ve only gone just a little bit past the 90 degree mark, before straightening out. There were four Phantoms here this year, two from Holloman, #72-162 and #74-626, both of which are now on their third season in the Heritage Flight program; and two from Tyndall AFB - #237 and #74-622, believed to be going on their second Heritage Flight season.

The three-day event trains / certifies airshow pilots in the Heritage Flight program in preparation for the upcoming airshow season. The F-4 Phantom was added to the program in 2005, while the F-22 was added in 2006. It is not open to the public, however there is usually one media day, and there are many spots off base where you can view the formation practices.

Thanks to Capt. Ferrau and Michelle at ACC and Lt. Pekas along with Major John Napierand Ssgt Jacob Richmond at the DM PAO, for their assistance and access.

In the near future, extended coverage (with many more photos) of the event can be found on my website, and also in World Airshow News magazine. All photos shown are available to purchase as large prints, calendars, etc.

Southern California Airshow Review & Aviation Photography:

http://home.earthlink.net/~socal_airshow_review

Alaskan F-22 Raptors & Edwards AFB F-16s Participate in Latest Nellis AFB Red Flag Exercises

Red Flag 9-2 was held at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, for the past few weeks, and on Feb 2 and 3, I was able to get on base with press credentials for their media days. About 100 of us showed up to be bussed out to a spectacular location - right in between the two runways! Later on day two we were taken over to one of the EORs (End of Runway) for landings. No limits on photography, we could shoot anything that flew. Even though there were very few foreign players this time around, this was one of the bigger Red Flag exercises. I photographed 134 different aircraft, and 62 of those alone were F-16s! Here’s the breakdown of participating aircraft: F-16s (62) - 23 from Shaw AFB; 13 from Spangdehlem, Germany (sp?); 12 aggressors from Nellis; four aggressors from NAS Fallon; a handful from Edwards AFB; four Thunderbirds were spotted practicing in their newer model Vipers; and one Nellis test bird. Twenty eight F-15s included the following: four aggressors from Nellis; 13 aircraft from Seymour Johnson AFB back east; and eleven test birds from Nellis. One of the primary highlights of this particular Red Flag, were the TWELVE F-22 Raptors - from the 525^th FS in Alaska, and four test birds from Nellis. There were six British-based Harriers here, as well as two of their E-3 AWACs birds, along with one American E-3. Originally there were three B-2 stealth bombers present, but later that dropped to two, the Spirit of California and Spirit of Ohio. Unfortunately only one of them flew while I was on base, but it was good enough! I’d never been that close to a moving B-2 before! Four B-1 Lancers from Ellsworth AFB were here, including ‘Nighthawk’, ‘No Antidote II’, and ‘Dakota Demolition’. What a rush it was to be within 150 feet of the takeoffs! We were so close that we could've easily photographed the larger aircraft with our wide angle lenses! For the most part, a 75-300mm lens was perfect. Other aircraft types involved with this session included a C-130, several KC-135s, and an RC-135. Transient a/c seen included a C-17, and T-38.

My thanks go out to the Nellis public affairs staff for the priviledge of attending this event, and for taking time out of their days to assist us in getting out there. Hopefully those budget cuts won’t hurt too bad, and they’ll be able to offer us this opportunity again sometime in the future.

South Korean F-15K Fighter Spotted over Palmdale

I was out photographing airplanes on Thursday afternoon, and it was a little bit busier than usual, with a C-40, C-130, and C-17 in the pattern. Next up was an approaching F-15 Eagle, which you don't see out here very often, even the F-15s from Edwards are a rare sight. However this particular 'Eagle', as they are known, was not your average F-15. This turned out to be a South Korean 'K' model F-15, also known as a 'Slam Eagle'. It was carrying three drop tanks, which makes me believe this was probably a delivery flight from the Boeing factory to the South Korean Air Force. Surprisingly, the airplane was also carrying a 'sniper pod', which allows aircrews to identify targets, and they are also used for battle damage assessment after the fight. This is a fairly new piece of equipment, so I was taken aback to see it on a foreign aircraft. A U-2 spyplane came in shortly after the F-15.

Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell, Motorhead, & Testament Destroy San Bernardino, Sat Aug 30th

Ok, I am about recovered from Saturday night's 'Metal Masters' show at the Glen Helen Pavilion in San Bernardino, at least enough to write a review at least. I almost did not go because of my truck situation, but I finally said 'screw it' and went anyways, even though I had to borrow somebody else's car.

I had a killer seat - Orch 2, Row w, seat 30 - dead center! Just a bit further back than when I saw Priest at Irvine Meadows in 2005, but still good enough. The bands included Testament, Motorhead, Heaven and Hell (in actuality 80s era Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio out in front), and the mighty Metal Gods themselves, Judas Priest.

Testament took the stage while people were still entering the venue and getting their drinks & finding their seats, but they put on a good show. I've seen em once before but am not totally familiar with their stuff. Sound was good. Pretty basic stage setup. Large artwork behind em, slightly elevated drum riser, no true props.

Motorhead came on and blew out everyone's ears of course - what else would you expect? LOL. "We're Motorhead and we play Rock n Roll" was their motto for the night. Another simple stage setup, except their drummer was a lot more elevated than was Testament's. Excellent drum solo! Set list included Ace of Spades, Metropolis, Killed by Death, and Overkill. Not sure I knew the rest of the songs.

Heaven and Hell was next, and their stage set was a lot more elaborate. Winged gargolyes to each side, with gates on each side of another elevated drum riser. Light show was fantastic, mostly to simulate the fires of hell, etc. Dio can still sing with the best of em. Setlist included Die Young, Sign of the Southern Cross, Falling off the Edge of the World, "I", Time Machine, Mob Rules, Heaven and Hell (ext version!) and Neon Knights. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler did an amazing job, and we got the night's 2nd drum solo from Vinnie Appice. This was my main reason for coming - how many times will you get to see the two bands considered to be the Godfathers of Heavy Metal, on stage in the same night??

Judas Priest took the stage about 9:35, beginning with Dawn of Creation and Prophecy, from the new 'Nostradamus' cd - which is a masterpiece - if you haven't picked it up yet - go grab it! Rob Halford began the night dressed up as kind of a Heavy Metal Pope, with his long silver hooded trenchcoat. He remained hooded throughout 'Prophecy' and removed it in time for 'Metal Gods', which just kicked!! One of the greatest metal anthems of all time, and even better when performed live, and at the right speed, which they are definitely doing this tour. The last couple of tours I've seen them, they've played it just a bit too slow.

"Eat Me Alive" and "Dissident Aggressor", two of of the handful of songs that have never been played live before, were big highlights of the evening. Rob did appear to be using the teleprompter a lot, which is kind of a bummer to see, but still, he has The Voice. Just amazing. He struggled only on "Painkiller". KK and Glenn were in top form, Ian was at his usual post, and Scott seemed to be getting into the show more than usual. He's known for looking a little bored at times during shows, but not Sat night.

Other songs included Between the Hammer/Anvil, Hell Patrol, Rock Hard Ride Free, Angel, Devil's Child, Electric Eye, Breakin the Law, Hell Bent, Green Manalishi, and Rob bantered back and forth with the crowd just before going into Another Thing Comin as the usual show ender.

Priest is planning to come back around and play Nostradamus in its entirety in 2009. Don't miss it!