Chicago Air & Water | a 7 Image Story Before the air show gets started, there’s time for a nice Chicago skyline image. Of course, skydivers start the show displaying the American flag while the National Anthem is played. The Leap Frogs executed some amazing maneuvers with their chutes. Then, the water part of the Air & Water Show begins. These boats really move across the water. Merging air and water, the MH-65 dispatched a diver into the water near North Street Beach in a simulated water rescue.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet always impresses; even high time pilots. Notice the “F/A” in the F/A-18 Super Hornet designation since it’s both a fighter and an attack aircraft. Even with these bald skies, the vapor trail provides some contrast. The Blue Angels, of course, are the main attraction to any airshow. Their F/A-18 Hornets fly in formation only an amazing 18 inches apart. The Blue Angels have been performing since 1946 making it the oldest formal flying aerobatics team in the USA. As this Blue Angel’s F/A-18 Hornet climbed high above the clouds, the poem “High Flight” came to mind. To read the entire poem and a brief bio on its author; Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., see Chicago Air & Water | High Flight. Finally, one of America’s top of the line fighters, the F-22 Raptor makes a beautiful demo flight. The F-22 Raptor is a single seat, twin-engine, all-weather, stealth, top line fighter.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Chicago Air & Water. Click any image below for a slide show!
Oshkosh 2018 | a 7 Image Story Picking seven images to represent Oshkosh Air Adventure 2018 feels like mission impossible. To narrow it down a bit; for this story, it’s all about warbirds!
Also, “Doc”, one of 1644 B-29 Superfortresses built in Witchita during WWII, came to Oshkosh. Doc was found in the Mojave Desert in 1987 and restored over the past 15+ years. Learn more about Doc!
With initial deployment in 1950, the North American Aviation T-28 was the first trainer designed to transition pilots to flying jets. Besides being a trainer, the T-28 was also used in a counter-insurgency role during the Vietnam War. In civilian use, it continues flying as an aerobatic warbird.
The Red Tail P-51C Mustang, Tuskegee Airmen, also visited Oshkosh this year. It was painted to honor the four fighter squadrons in the 332nd Fighter Group featuring the red tail indicative of the Tuskegee Airmen. Learn more about Tuskegee Airmen.
The A-1 Skyraider entered service in December 1946 and saw extensive action in the Korean War and Vietnam War. One of the Skyraider’s most famous roles was as the “Sandy” helicopter escort on search and rescue operations. It was retired in the 1970’s after a total of 3,180 planes were built.
This year the Douglas C-47 Skytrain was featured with around twelve C-47s attending, including That’s All, Brother. They attended Oshkosh as part of their preparation for the June 2019 recreation of the flight into Normandy. In the wee hours of the morning on 6 Jun 1944, “That’s All Brother”, piloted by Lt. Col John Donalsoned, led the first flight of more than 800 C-47s to drop over 13,000 paratroopers from the 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions behind enemy lines in Normandy. “That’s All, Brother” on the nose was a message meant for Adolf Hitler.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Oshkosh 2018. Click any image below for a slide show!
Floatplane Weekend | a 7 Image Story On the weekend before Oshkosh, a small group of some of the world’s finest pilots, ranging from military pilots to heavy iron pilots to bush pilots, get together for back to the basics float plane flying. I’m honored to just fly with such incredible pilots. The PA-18 Piper Super Cub, Alaska’s favorite bush plane, makes for great fun. Yea, just squint your eyes a bit, dream a little, and think of a beautiful Alaska water landing in the middle of nowhere. Oh my, wake up today and land on a nice clear Michigan lake. It’s going back to grass-roots flying; flying stick and rudder in float planes.
This weekend’s weather reminded me of southeast Alaska weather; low clouds, mist, rain; bush pilot weather. In fact, the ceilings were so low, very little flying was possible. These images come from past years when the weather was better. Normally, my images do not include many people. This annual weekend event is all about the pilots so I have included a few in this story. Looking back, hopefully next year will bring better flying weather, new flying stories, and more great pilots.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Floatplane Weekend. Click any image below for a slide show!
Lake City Fly-in 2018 | a 7 Image Story The Lake City grassroots fly-in attracts many local planes in beautiful condition. This Piper Cub fired up after a good breakfast at the fly-in/drive-in breakfast at the 2018 Lake City Fly-in held each year on the Sunday before Memorial Day. The Piper J-3 Cub is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. It’s powered by an air-cooled engine and a fixed pitch propeller. Its fuselage is a welded steel frame covered in fabric with seating for two in tandem. It has a simple, lightweight design giving it good low speed handling properties and short field performance. The Cub’s standard chrome yellow paint known as “Cub Yellow” identifies it as one of the best known aircraft of all time. It’s simplicity, affordability, popularity, and performance make it a prized bush plane. Large numbers of Cubs are still flying today.
A Stearman represents the true nature of a grassroots fly-in. The Model 75 was introduced to the US Army Air Forces as a trainer in 1934 and remained in production until the end of WWII. It’s relatively easy to fly and simple to maintain. After the war, the demand for Stearmans remained high; used mostly as agricultural crop dusters and aerobatic air show performers. Many are still airworthy today.
The Sportsman 2+2, a modern replica of the Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser, is a cruiser with extra baggage area and increased fuel capacity. The Sportsman 2+2 has docile handling. It can also utilize large tires for off-airport operation and can hold an IFR instrument panel. Obviously, it can also be configured as a float plane.
The 1948 Luscombe has been beautifully restored and looks at home on a grass strip. It features a 85hp Continental C85 engine and an electrical system. And, In a fly-in with grass runways and taildraggers, the Cessna 172 still seems comfortable. Since 1956, more Skyhawks have built than any other aircraft; more than 44,000 airplanes.
For a photographer, the Lake City Fly-in represents the old grass roots fly-ins of aviation’s early years with beautiful backgrounds and grass runways. Unlike the backgrounds of most airports that contain buildings, roads, towers, etc., these runways run next to nature with trees and fields. In fact, did you ever wonder why sometimes airports are called fields? It’s because early airports where just that; large fields where the airplanes could always takeoff and land into the wind.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category: Lake City Fly-in 2018.
TBM Avenger Gathering 2018 | a 7 Image Story A cloudy IFR morning gave way to a nice, hazy VFR afternoon for the 3rd Annual TBM Avenger Gathering held this weekend at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport in Peru, IL. Eleven Grumman TBM Avengers beat the weather to attend this year’s event, a Salute to Veterans. Also, a Douglas A-26 Invader and a couple of T-6 Texans as well as three North American F-86 Sabres and a MiG-17 Fresco also made it to the gathering this year.
The Grumman TBF Avenger is a WWII torpedo bomber. Those designated TBM were actually manufactured by General Motors. It has a crew of three; pilot, gunner, and radio operator/bombardier. Avengers are powered by a 1,900 hp Wright R-200-20 radial engine. Its armament includes two .50-in. forward-firing machine guns; one .50-in. dorsal gun; one .30-in. ventral gun.; 2,000 lb. bomb/torpedo load. Also it’s capable of carrying the Norden bombsight. Developed for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, it entered service in 1942 and first saw action during the Battle of Midway. Although five Avengers were lost at Midway, it became one of the outstanding torpedo bombers of the war and remained in service until the 1960s after several modifications.
This Grumman TBM Avenger has been restored as a replica of LT. (J.G.) George Bush’s plane; who would later become the 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush. President Bush was a high school senior on Dec. 7, 1941, at Phillips Academy Andover. On June 12, 1942, he turned 18, graduated from Andover, and shortly thereafter was sworn into the US Navy. A year later, Bush became an officer of the United States Naval Reserve, earned his wings as a naval aviator, and was assigned to fly TBM Avengers off the aircraft carrier San Jacinto in the Pacific. He was likely the Navy’s youngest flying officer; just days before his 19th birthday. As a member of the San Jacinto’s torpedo squadron VT-51, Bush flew an Avenger with the name “Barbara” inscribed. During the war, he flew 58 combat missions for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism under fire, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation awarded to his ship, the San Jacinto.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category TBM Avenger Gathering 2018.
Click any image below for a slide show!
TBF/TBM Avenger Specifications
Length: 40 ft., 11 in. Height: 16 ft., 5 in. Wingspan: 54 ft., 2 in. Wing area: 490 sq. ft.
Empty: 10,545 lb. Maximum: 17,895 lb.
Max Speed: 276 mph at 16,500 ft. Cruise Speed: 147 mph Climb Rate: 2,060 ft./min. Ceiling: 30,100 ft. Range: 1,010 miles
Doolittle Raiders Reunion | a 7 Image Story On 18 Apr 1942, 16 brave flight crews took off from the USS Hornet aircraft carrier in B-25 bombers to strike the Japanese mainland in a daring mission early in WWII. Today, only one of the 80 men on the mission, Doolittle’s co-pilot, Colonel Richard “Dick” Cole, remains with us to remember that day. In 2017, the 75th Doolittle Raiders Reunion took place at Grimes Field in Urbana, OH and the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. Colonel Cole was the only Raider able to attend. He came to both the official reunion at the Air Force Museum and to Grimes Field where a group of eleven B-25’s assembled before the official ceremony.
In April 2012, I also had the good fortune to attend a larger reunion at the 70th Doolittle Raiders Reunion, again at Grimes Field and the Air Force Museum. Five raiders celebrated 70th anniversary of their successful mission. The reunion remembered them and all the brave WWII air crews who fought and sometimes died to keep us a free nation. Twenty B-25 aircraft attended the reunion along with their pilots, flight crews, and ground crews.
The Heart of the Volunteer from Pearl Harbor; a musical score composed by Hans Zimmer.
What was the 70th reunion like to attend? The day before the reunion flight to the Air Force Museum was a great day to see the planes and talk with flight crews, ground crews, and even several WWII pilots. I even met “Bud”, an Army Signal Corp photographer assigned to the 5th Air Force. He and my dad served on the same base in New Guinea in WWII. The day before gave way to the night before. The planes were ready; 0530 would come early for these hard-working ground and flight crews. As the sun set, the crowds began to thin out a bit and the photogs began to do their thing. Solitary B-25s, soft light, and longer exposures can sometimes make for great images. It’s going to be a short night for the crews and for the photogs as well. At 0530, Grimes Field will be alive with flight crews, ground crews, airport staff, onlookers, and the Air Force Band. Take-off will be at 0700. But, for now, it’s a peaceful place; not unlike the peaceful nights WWII bomb crews enjoyed before the next day’s mission. Wonder what thoughts crossed their minds on the night before…
And, of course, the night before gave way to dawn; the day of. So, it’s 0530. The flight crews are being briefed. The ground crews are making last-minute checks of the airplanes. By 0600, ground crews begin to move the B-25s into position. Each plane must take-off in a prearranged order. By 0600, enough dawn light allows us photogs to begin capturing images as the Air Force Band plays Stars & Stripes. And, by 0630, flight crews complete their preflight checks and soon after, the planes begin starting engines and taxiing into line to wait their turn to take-off. Now, the pilots are focusing all their attention on the mission ahead.
Take-off is not a time to be nervous, but rather a time every pilot cherishes. Today’s mission is a “milk run” to the U.S. Air Force Museum at Dayton, OH. The 20 B-25’s take-off 90 seconds apart beginning at 0700. After landing at the U.S. Air Force Museum, the planes were on display along the Museum’s runway before, during, and after the formal reunion ceremonies. (The 75th reunion with fewer planes had a similar display.) Meet Mark; as a living historian and Doolittle Raider Reenactor, Mark portrays a WWII Pilot. The photo could have been taken in 1942 in New Guinea just before a mission. Yes, they were that young.
Ski Plane Weekend | a 7 Image Story Usually, the lakes are frozen and there’s plenty of snow for the annual Ski Plane Weekend. Some of the finest pilots from around the country take leave from their heavy iron and bush flying to gather together on this weekend to fly ski planes just for the fun of it. This year, it’s a bit different. Northern Michigan had a big flaw, which melted most of the snow. The best we could fly was a Super Cub on tundra tires. Let’s look back to earlier years.
Although some pilots bring their planes with skis, mostly we fly the Piper J-3 Cub on skis and the Piper PA-18 Super Cub on skis. Most pilots love to fly both planes. The skis add a bit of spice to life in the winter. Add a snow shower and we pilots have dreams of being a bush pilot. And, they have sticks, not a yokes. They bring us back to the basics; no moving maps or no retractable gear; in fact, the J-3 does not even have a battery. Yep, you have to hand prop it. The Cub’s standard chrome yellow paint known as “Cub Yellow” identifies it as one of the best known aircraft of all time.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Ski Plane Weekend.
Nikon 1 V3 for Aviation | a 7 Image Story My journey with the Nikon 1 series cameras and lenses started with the V1, skipped the V2, and embraced the V3. The V3 fixed several annoying V1 traits. Also, handling, auto-focus, and metering improved dramatically. About the same time, a firmware upgrade allowed the auto-focus to more easily keep aircraft in focus while panning with the lens attached to the FT-1 adapter. Thus, the Nikon 1 V3 became a reasonably nice camera for capturing aviation images as well as most other images. I’ve captured a variety of aircraft images including props, jets, sailplanes, float planes, helicopters, and even a blimp. Those images included statics both on land and water as well as ground to air while panning handheld. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any air to air images yet. Thus far, my data base contains over 75K+ V1 and V3 images with over 1330 posted on this blog.
What the V3 does well, it does very well. Now, the V3 is my preferred carry camera for capturing daily walkabout images. It shoots much like a DSLR in continuous mode. Although a bit noisy at higher ISOs, the image quality is quite good, particularly for posting. Although bracketing would really be helpful, today’s post processing software reduces the need. The 2.7 crop factor helps improve images where getting closer is not an option, like at air shows. Would I only take it to an air show or fly-in and leave my DSLRs in the hangar? Well yes, occasionally I do, if a light travel pack is required. Still, I’d rather take both my DSLRs and the V3.
In a nutshell, what specifically do I like about the Nikon 1 V3 for aviation?
The Nikon 1 V3 is relatively small and light to carry. Carrying heavy gear all day around air shows gets old, fast.
With it’s 2.7 crop factor, it adds inexpensive reach to my telephoto lens allowing me more flexibility in positioning.
It’s easy to carry with a telephoto lens attached, like the AFS 70-300mm & FT-1, using the sun sniper shoulder strap.
Image quality seems quite good unless a really large print is required.
With a little practice, it can be panned handheld with slower shutter speeds to capture blurred propellers.
The tilting LCD reduces the time spent hugging the ground to get that low angle shot.
While I seldom use video, a short video makes a nice addition to event posts.
Of course, most Nikon AFS lenses work nicely, using the FT-1 adapter.
The V3 presents a few more challenges over my DSLRs!
The Nikon 1 V3 requires a bit more camera discipline than a my DSLRs. The controls sometimes move during normal handling so the photographer must often check to ensure the settings are correct.
Panning in low light can be demanding and a high ISO generates a good bit of noise.
The small camera frame, attached to a long, heavy telephoto lens, does not seem balanced; making handling a bit tricky. The Nikon AFS 70-300mm works nicely, whereas, the AFS 70-200mm; not so much. Also, care must be taken not to break the camera mount with a heavy telephoto lens. Always carry it by the lens or the FT-1, not the camera.
Higher ISO images sometimes require a pass through noise reduction in post processing.
The V3 does not have exposure bracketing, which would come in handy.
Changing the battery and/or the MicroSD card in the field takes some time and care.
Build quality is more consumer than professional. If dropped, it can break.
What’s next? Nikon appears to have discontinued the Nikon 1 V series; too bad. A V4 camera could have addressed several V3 issues to become a really great camera. It’s not yet clear what my next carry camera will be; maybe another V3.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Nikon 1 V3 for Aviation.
Click any image below for a slide show!
My Nikon 1 V3 aviation kit fits into a very small Lowepro camera backpack. The camera equipment includes a Nikon 1 V3 Body, Nikon FT-1 Adapter, 1 VR 10-30mm f3.5-5.6 PD-Zoom, 1 VR 30-110mm f3.8-5.6, AFS 50mm f1.4G, and a AFS 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR. The supporting equipment includes a Nikon Speedlight SB-N5 Flash, LitePanels MicroPro Hybrid, Sennheiser MKE 400 Directional Mic, Sun Sniper Shoulder Strap, Extra Nikon EN-EL15 Battery, Nikon MH-25 Charger, Extra SD Cards, Lens Cleaning Supplies, and a Headlamp with red & white light. A small MeFOTO tripod has its own bag. Find more Nikon 1 V1 and V3 experiences posted under IMHO.
Chicago Air & Water | a 7 Image Story Before the air show gets started, there’s time for a nice Chicago skyline image. Of course, skydivers start the show displaying the American flag while the National Anthem is played. The Leap Frogs executed some amazing maneuvers with their chutes. Then, the water part of the Air & Water Show begins. These boats really move across the water. Merging air and water, the MH-65 dispatched a diver into the water near North Street Beach in a simulated water rescue.
