The United States Navy, Marines, and Air Force at work...

This is the place to put those reference links, posts on books, movies, photos, and etc.
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The United States Navy, Marines, and Air Force at work...

Post by p51 » Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:50 am

Hey guys!

WOW. What an amazing two weeks! I've seen everything from the Blue Angels, F-22 Raptor, B-2 Stealth Bomber, F-117 Nighthawk, F-4 Phantom, B-52, B-1B Lancer, F-16 Viper, Harrier, etc etc etc.

It started last week with MCAS Miramar in San Diego (Formerly 'Top Gun'). They featured the USN Blue Angels (my heros growing up which I always love to see and will drive any distance to see them). Got to see the F-22 Raptor for the very first time in a fly-by at the show. They did a full B-1B and F-117 demo, along with demos from F-16 Viper (West Coast), F/A-18C Hornet, A-10A Thunderbolt II (West Coast), Marine Air Ground Task Force, AV-8B Harrier, and of course, the USN Blue Angels with their support C-130 Hercules named 'Fat Albert'. The heritage flight included a QF-4 Phantom, F-51D Mustang (post US Air Force creation), A-10A Thunderbolt II, and F-16C Viper. There were many other performers during the show (tons actually), but those were the most noteworthy. MCAS Miramar is hailed as the biggest Marine/Navy airshow in the USA this year.

Then, this past weekend, I was at NAS Point Mugu up past LA in Ventura County. Unfortunatly, the cieling for the overcast was just about 700 feet, so just about everything was cancelled. Fat Albert did his JATO though and almost immediatly disappeared into the clouds! The F/A-18F Super Hornet attempted to do his demo but if he'd just raise the nose slightly he'd be in the clouds, so he did a few touch and goes (VIA GCA - Ground Control Approach) then landed. There were a few aerobatic performers who did their best to perform with such a low cieling. Kind of a bust since the Blue Angels cancelled... but I did get to chat with the Blue Angel pilots for some time. And they had a nice selection of static displays (thought not nearly as many as MCAS Miramar). Would have been a great show had it not been overcast.

And then, to end this past weekend off with a bang, the next day I went to Edwards Air Force Base Airshow in Palmdale CA (aka Rodger's Dry Lake). As many of you know, Edwards is famous for Yeager Breaking the sound barrier, most air force aircraft made their first flights in the area, and the shuttle often lands there. What a show! If MCAS Miramar was the premiere Navy/Marine Airshow in the USA, then Edwards AFB has to be at the very least tied with Nellis AFB for the best Air Force Airshow. Static displays included the 747 used to carry the shuttle around, the famous Nasa B-52 that drops all the test aircraft (including the X-3), F-22 Raptor, F-117 (out in the open!), C-17, B-1B Lancer, A-10s, U-2 Spyplane, V-22 Osprey, Air Force B-52, Nasa F-18 with elastic wing testing, early model (and weird looking) A-10 used for Nasa Testing, the Boeing Bird of Prey (UAV), Predator, Global Hawk, F-16s from all over including the F-16 Delta Wing, and tons more! But the big part of the show was the flights. Everything in the Air Force Inventory flew. F-22 Raptor put on a full demonstration with a very rare look at it with it's bombbay doors open, the B-2 Stealth Bomber did a full demo also showing us the bombbay and even more rare top of the plane! The B-2 made several passes very slow, once even with gear down! Most people hardly ever get to even see the B-2 let alone slow passes where he shows off the top of the plane! A very historic last flight of a F-117 with a US flag painted on the bottom happened there, after it put on the demo and participated in the final act, it landed back at Palmdale to never fly again. Nasa aircraft put on demos as well, like the F-15 Active (Nasa F-15 with leading wings), Nasa F/A-18A Hornet, and Nasa U-2 SPyplane. Got to see the Dutch F-16 Viper demo (which was amazing), and the F-16 Viper West Coast demo (Hill AFB). The C-17 did a pallet drop and a few slow passes with gear down (I had no idea how much that thing can bank, it really does move like a fighter!). A USAF B-52 took off and performed some simulated bomb runs with pyro, and also did a slow speed dirty pass. The brand new T-6A Texan II USAF Trainer did a full demo and heritage flight with a WW2 AT-6 Texan... and at one point they did a Blue Angel show center cross and opposing pass! Tora Tora Tora was there and did the full pyro technic simulation of the bombing on Pearl Harbor. My home shooting grounds (Planes of Fame Museum) sent our B-25J Mitchell 'Photo Fanny' and out F-86 and MiG-15. The F-86 and MiG-15 performed the usual high speed Korean War dogfight simulation. Our B-25 was the one that dropped the 'wall of flame' pyro. To start the show, a F-16 Viper broke the sound barrier at 30,000 feet. That was awesome. Also, Chuck Yeager was there and actually flew his P-51D Mustang for a few passes (amazing he still flies at his age!). There were a lot of other acts... but the final one I want to mention is the very last and most historical act. I'd class it as one of the top 10 amazing aviation sights I've ever seen. It's called the 'Air Force in Review'... and it was a bit historic this year because of the retiring F-117 and the inclusion of the F-22 Raptor. At Planes of Fame's Airshow, we call our huge display the 'Mass Gaggle of Warbirds'... and we send all our show warbirds up in the air (anywhere from 25-40 warbirds) and fly them in a massive mile long formation. Well, at Edwards, they have the same idea... but they send up one of every aircraft type in the USAF inventory! In a giant giant formation, the follow aircraft flew together:
F-22 Raptor, F-16D Viper, F-16 (Red and White Markings) Viper, T-38 Talon, F-117 (with USA Flag paint job), B-52 Stratofortress, B-2 Spirit, C-17 Globemaster II, C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, and USAF Queen Air. An amazing formation! The only major airframes that were missing were the F-15 Eagle and C-5 Galaxy. After they made their pass overhead, they all split off and the show ended.

So, I'll post some photos in here later today, but what a two weeks of aviation! And in about three weeks, I'll be at Nellis AFB for their airshow (featuring the Raptor, B-2, Air Races, the USAF Thunderbirds, etc.) which marks the end of the Airshow season.

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Post by vulgarvulture » Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:22 pm

p51: You are very fortunate with your location to catch all of those airshows (even though they are a bit of a drive). I've never made it to any of them over the years because of the distance to travel, but sure wish I could for the reasons you state.

Looking forward to your pics!

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Post by p51 » Wed Oct 26, 2005 2:20 pm

Some previews till I get home tonight ;-)
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To see these full size (since I have code on here that kinda cuts off the images),
just go to the bottom of the posts and scroll over.


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Post by tmanthegreat » Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:44 pm

Damn! You're too lucky to be living in So Cal - and to have so much free time! I used to attend the Edwards AFB show years ago with my old Boy Scout troop. We would make a campout of it and were allowed to camp in the South Base area near the remains of a rocket sled testing track. I was there for the US Air Force 50th Anniversary Celebration and saw Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier in an F-15E on the anniversary of the first time he accomplished the feat. Then there were all the cool flight demos: SR-71 mach 3 Flyby (at 70,000 ft.) Skunk works heritage flight with the F-117, U-2, and B-2, just to name a few. The last time I went (in 1999) one of the first production F/A-22 Raptors did a flight demo as well.

Glad to see that the show has still got it!

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Photos

Post by JimBob55 » Wed Oct 26, 2005 7:54 pm

Wow, great photos! Great resolution and action capture! What kind of camera/lens combo do you use for these?

I use a Pentax istDS for wildlife and other fun photo stuff.


Thanks for sharing!
JimBob
:)

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Post by Bruzzer » Wed Oct 26, 2005 9:38 pm

Looking forward to your pics. :)

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Post by vulgarvulture » Thu Oct 27, 2005 6:37 am

The C-17 is something else. It's truely amazing how nimble an aircraft of that size is. Can damn near stop on a dime.

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Post by p51 » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:46 pm

Camera used - Canon Rebel XT EOS 350D with a variety of lenses actually. Mostly the Canon 100-400mm IS USM L4.5

Some more from Edwards Air Force Base Airshow 2006.

Good Ole B-52 in a bomb run
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Dutch F-16 Viper Demo, using a borrowed Edwards F-16.
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NASA F-15 Active!
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T-6A Texan II
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Tora! Tora! Tora! Demo
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Tora! Tora! Tora! Demo
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F/A-22 Raptor on Static Display (the #2 produced Raptor)
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F/A-22 Raptor, P-51D Mustang (Chuck Yeagar), and F-16 Viper
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Post by vulgarvulture » Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:07 pm

I like the TTT demo taxi pic.

Thanks for posting these.

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Post by INTREPER » Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:49 pm

Good stuff P!
I was at Miramar on Sunday. Awesome show. I was a bit dissapointed by the Blue Angel show though. I remember them doing so much cooler stuff as a kid. Then Fat Albert wasn't able to do his JATO until the show was over. We saw it from the parking lot. Overlall, it was an awesome adventure for my younger brother and old roomate who had never been to a military air show.

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Post by p51 » Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:44 pm

A bunch from MCAS Miramar (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday):

Can you tell I LOVE Hornets? :-)
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MAGTF AV-8B Harrier
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Two, yes Two B-1B Lancers
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F-51D Mustang (common misconception... while it is a P-51D Mustang, post the Air force creation, all Pursuit aircraft
became Fighters... so this is in face a F-51D Mustang given it's paint scheme)
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Had her all to myself as she taxiied in to a stop about 20 feet in front of me!
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Clockwise - QF-4 Phantom II, F-51D Mustang 'Val Halla', F-16C Viper (Hill AFB West Coast Demo), and A-10A Thunderbolt II (West Coast Demo)
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Viper West Demo start
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QF-4 Phantom II (very good chance it could be destroyed at anytime as a drone :-( So sad! They put a million bucks
into these QF-4s and then go and blow them up! They need to keep a few in the Airshow circuit)
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-----------------USN BLUE ANGELS 2005------------------------------
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'Fat Albert'
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B-1B Lancer with nearly-supersonic Vapor
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AV-8B Harrier making a quick high speed pass
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Post by p51 » Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:11 am

A few more Blue Angel Photos...


But first... What's 'different' about the following two photos? ;-) I expect at LEAST Buzzard to know! :-D
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Post by vulgarvulture » Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:47 am

#7 flying instead of #6. 8)

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Post by HardenSteel » Sun Oct 30, 2005 9:12 pm

Wow! Must have been the Event to be at. Thanks for the incredably fine pictures! Absolutely stunning!

We get to see a bit of the show through your wonderfully artisitc lens... :)

That B1 profile - imagine that in 1/18 scale...

The Harrier rules, as does the Raptor - anymore pics?

HD

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Post by p51 » Sun Nov 06, 2005 3:59 pm

Day 1 (Friday) of MCAS Miramar online now! - http://www.warbird-photos.com/miramar05-d1/index.html

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Post by Teamski » Sun Nov 06, 2005 5:26 pm

I'm just now looking at the shots and WOW!! What a show! Great photos as usual Britt!! The F-4 is just awesome!! I used to take them for granted when they were still flying in USAF colors.....

-Ski
[url=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2869983520050168193AYuxRR][img]http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/8785/2869983520050168193S600x600Q85.jpg[/img][/url]

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Post by p51 » Mon Nov 07, 2005 10:48 pm

Thanks Ski! Yeah, it was amazing ot hear her take to the sky again! No demo unfortunatly, but after the Heritage Flight she did two passes and a very hard bank with afterburn.

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photos

Post by pilotman » Wed Nov 09, 2005 2:15 pm

those are some amazing photos mate.
I've been to miramar in the past and they put on a hell of a show!
You've done an awesome job capturing the atmosphere, thanks. 8)
Those magnificent men in their flying machines, go SHOPPING at <a href="http://www.updiddilyupup.com/xcart/home.php"><img src="http://updiddilyupup.com/xcart/skin1/images/xlogo.gif" WIDTH=25%></a>

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Post by p51 » Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:56 pm

Some new ones from Nellis AFB near Las Vegas, Nevada. Was a fun airshow, first time I had gone! It's the home of the Thunderbirds, so it marked the last airshow of the season for them. On the same weekend, the Blue Angels were at their home base in Pensacola, Florida for their last show... so the two shows are considered the last 'weekend airshows' for the year, ending the 2005 Airshow season! Already looking forward to the 2006 season... already being dubbed 'The year of the F-22 Raptor'

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Post by p51 » Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:00 pm

First up, some F/A-22 Raptor shots.... I'm starting to really like this bird.
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Note F-16s in the distance... the F-22 here has pulled up the gear but is still streaking across the runway very low.
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Full Afterburn
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Airshow History - The first EVER Top Side pass for the public!
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Landing, keeping the nose up
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Post by p51 » Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:04 pm

NELLIS PHOTOS - POST #2 (see bottom of previous page for Raptor Photos)
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Heritage Flight - P-51D Mustang 'Six Shooter', QF-4 Phantom II, and F/A-22 Raptor
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QF-4 Phantom, gears going up and low streak
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Punching the burners
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Taxi Back (Low Angle)
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Post by p51 » Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:09 pm

NELLIS PHOTOS - POST #3
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Low Angle Shots

Red Bull MiG-15
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AD-4N Skyraider
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F-15 Eagle (West Coast Demo)
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AV-8B Harrier II (Demo)
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OV-10 Bronco
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AC-47 Gunship 'Spooky'
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Another Skyraider
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Post by p51 » Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:14 pm

NELLIS PHOTOS - POST #4
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F-15 Eagle Climb
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Reno Air Race Demo with T-6 Texans
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B-25J Mitchell 'Executive Sweet'
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Patriots Jet Team head on pass
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AV-8B Harrier Sunset departure
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U-16 Albatross sunset departure
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Post by p51 » Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:18 pm

NELLIS PHOTOS - POST #5
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And finally, the USAF Thunderbirds
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Post by vulgarvulture » Wed Nov 23, 2005 9:54 pm

p51, I look forward to your pictures every time. Thanks for posting them.

Dang it, now I need a 1:18 Skyraider to go with a 1:18 Phantom!

Thanks again.

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