Fight to Fly

Hellcat roars to life!

2013-01-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

On Friday, January 25, 2013, Flying Heritage Collection fired up their restored Grumman F6F-5 for the first time, marking the beginning of a new lease on life. According to FHC's website, this aircraft was built in 1945 and was built as an F6F-5N night fighter. It was later converted to a 5K as a target drone. Since late fall, the aircraft was brought back to the FHC museum floor, where visitors could watch the maintainers finish the final process of restoring this beautiful aircraft.

Since the aircraft was used as a target drone, there were modifications made to the airframe for servos etc. In order to bring this aircraft back to WWII delivery condition, FHC had portions of the wing re-skinned, so as to give it original panel lines. FHC is known for their attention to detail and spared no expense with the Hellcat.

In the coming weeks the aircraft will be moved yet again, but this time, to be painted! It will receive its final unit markings, of which has not been revealed yet, in February.

As always, I was there to catch the momentous occasion with video and photographs!

If you enjoyed the photos and video, please show your support by visiting www.gofundme.com/fight2fly as I am in the process of making a much-needed upgrade to my video camera.

Thank you for reading!

What Aviation is All About

2013-01-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Ever since I started learning to fly planes when I was thirteen, I had imagined how fun aviation could be with friends. I had always hoped that once I did get my certificate, my high school friends would want to come along on various adventures across the state. Unfortunately that never happened. Though many offers were given, and I had prior permission from parents. NONE of my friends ever came flying with me.

Fast forward ten years, and I finally have cool friends to flying with. Although with a weird twist of fate, I'm no longer the pilot. I'm the ride-along photographer, enjoying every second of the beautiful scenery that passes beneath.

Sunday, January 13th was a childhood dream come true. It was everything I always hoped aviation would be, someday. Five fellow pilots and their respective aircraft along with about eight photographers met up at Paine Field that noon and put together a plan for a formation flight over the beautiful snow-covered Cascade Mountains.

The plan was simple. First of all we organized which pilot was flying what position and established safety procedures and communication frequencies. Then the plan was to simply head east following Highway 2 up to Skykomish, and follow the canyon to the left, which creates a nice comfortable loop, easy to negotiate even with four aircraft off our wing.

We ended up getting nearly two-hours of formation time in. It was absolutely gorgeous, as the photos and videos will show, and was a really great experience for all involved.

This, to me, is what general aviation is all about. Enjoy:

http://fight2fly.photoshelter.com/gallery/Cascade-Formation-Flight/G0000RiYRcUPcT3U/

Video:
http://youtu.be/I--ucgtgfC4

2013-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fans! I'm here to announce that in the coming weeks/months I will be making some (hopefully) regular posts, covering some of the really cool people I get to hang out with and go flying with throughout the year. We have a really awesome community of photographers and pilots, always working together to have a great time, and share our love of aviation with those around us, and what I want to do is provide some interviews of these folks to truly show that anyone with an interest in planes can make their goals come true.

So, here's the plan: I'm starting a program I call "Pacific Northwest Aviation Profiles" where I will interview folks (both on "paper" and on video) having anything to do with aviation. I want to have pilots, mechanics, engineers, air traffic controllers, photographers, and everyone else who is involved in aviation in some way. As I mentioned, I will post the written version of the interview here first, and then at a later time I will conduct a video interview of that same person, asking similar questions to what you see in the, but with more in-depth follow ups. I will create a new Playlist called "Aviation Profiles" on my Channel.

There you have it, that's the tentative plan. If you have any questions you would like to see answered, please leave a comment either here or on my Facebook Page.

And as always, thank you for stopping by and visiting! Be sure to visit my Fund Raising Page to stay up to date on my funding efforts for a new and improved video camera!

Jason

2012-12-24T17:14:00.000-08:00

Greetings and Merry Christmas! This post is to announce that I have some really great things planned for 2013! I look to release some new and improved productions throughout the year, including several interviews. One of the first things I have lined up is an in-depth look at a local restoration of an extremely rare WWII fighter/bomber. All of the attention has been on New Zealand's Mosquito restoration that took its first flight in September. However, very few people realize that there is an original Mosquito (bomber version!) being restored in British Columbia. Also, I am hoping to get some interviews and a few status updates on an original A6M3-22 Zero with an original Sakai-21 engine here at Paine Field. They've been making great strides in its progress.

In the meantime, enjoy this video I put together. Please, share your ideas as to why you think we should (or shouldn't?) keep these warbirds flying.

http://youtu.be/2d-7eMf7uvo

2012-12-13T20:15:00.001-08:00

Here's a fun spotting video from this summer. This video features an IL-2 Shturmovik, B-25D Mitchell, Boeing 777, 787, and 747 LCF! A little bit of something for everyone, all in one afternoon! :-)

http://youtu.be/QfRtsmF83n4

Ok, so I'm not so great...

2012-12-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

OK, so I'm not so great at the whole blogging thing! Sorry! From time to time I will try to keep this thing updated with projects I'm doing. It's been a very FUN, and BUSY summer and fall and now it's time to start preparing for the next year. I've officially made video my primary medium now, and am actually trying to "crowd-fund" a fancy new camera to help improve the quality of the videos I provide. Being practically unemployed (substitute teaching) there is no way right now that I could afford a brand new professional-quality camera. So far folks have been incredibly generous, and I am encouraged that I can actually meet my goal by next summer!

At any rate, I've been reading, and watching tutorials and trying to learn everything I possibly can about film making. I'm hoping I can start enough projects to keep me busy throughout the summer months.

Anyway, I've added some "widgets" to the blog here so folks can donate to my new-camera fund. If you don't want to donate, you can still help support me buy clicking on all of the ads in my YouTube videos! :-) Also, check out my Photoshelter website. That money also goes toward the new camera, and that way you also get a beautiful photo! Win-win!

Thanks for your time!

Jason

http://www.gofundme.com/Fight2Fly
http://www.facebook.com/Fight2Fly
http://www.youtube.com/user/fight2flyphoto
http://fight2fly.photoshelter.com/

2012 Flying Season

2012-09-04T01:23:00.000-07:00

It's September and the 2012 flying season is already nearing a close. We have had several flying events and I have been able to capture some AMAZING flying displays so far! Flying Heritage Collection has added yet another aircraft to flying status, the A6M3-22 Zero. When FHC moved from Arlington Municipal Airport in Arlington, Washington, to Paine Field in Everett, Washington, they brought along their unfinished Zero and had it on display for about 18 months. At that time it was sent to Wenatchee, Washington, for its final restoration to flying condition. In April of this year it arrived back home all done and ready to fly. As of this posting the aircraft has already flown for two displays.

The much anticipated Il-2 Sturmovik has flown many times for pilot certification and flight tests and is now ready for its public debut on September, 15!

"Black Death" has arrived!

2012-02-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

Saturday, February 4th marked the arrival of Flying Heritage Collection's Il-2 Shturmovik, the only one of its kind in flying condition, despite being the most widely produced military aircraft in history. Even though it is so rare, this aircraft will in fact be participating in this summers free fly days.

Here is what Flying Heritage Collection says about the aircraft on their website (www.FlyingHeritage.com)

Place in history: The Il-2 operated close to the ground, attacking enemy tanks, trucks, and troops near the front line. The job was dangerous and though the IL-2 was heavily armored, many of the planes were lost in battle. As Germany threatened western Russia, Soviet factories moved east, to ensure new Shturmoviks arrived to take the place of recent casualties. The enemy called the plane "Black Death" or "Betonvogel" (loosely, the Concrete Bird). Soviet pilots lovingly named the plane "Ilyusha." To the Soviet soldiers, the Il-2 was "the Winged Tank" or, perhaps most endearingly of all, "the Flying Infantryman."

This airplane: The FHC's Il-2 was constructed in Kuybyshev in mid-1943 and was assigned to the 828th Attack Aviation Regiment on the lower Karelian Front. On October 10, 1944, the plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire while attacking an airfield and crashed near the Titovka River. The plane was discovered in a nameless lake by searchers scouting the area with a helicopter in 1991. When the recovery crew raised the Il-2 to the surface, they found it still had its complement of rockets and bombs under its wings. The plane was restored using parts from four wrecks discovered in northwestern regions of the former Soviet Union. Il-2 serial number 305401 makes up a large percentage of the aircraft.

Latest news has them installing the wings this coming Friday, February 10th. Stay tuned for updates!! Until then, enjoy these photographs I shot after its arrival on Saturday

As with the other aircraft in the FHC collection, even the manner in which the paint was applied in 1943 was replicated with this aircraft. When it was originally produced, the manufacturers were in such a hurry to get the aircraft on the front lines, they didn't even apply primer to the airframe, thus, the paint chips and peels very easily! Add to that the long trek from Russia to a port in Germany and this aircraft has already been through a lot!

For those with an eye for detail, there are also a few remaining bullet holes in the fuselage.

Come see this aircraft and many others at Flying Heritage Collection at Paine Field in Everett, Washington!

IL-2 Arrival - Flying Heritage Collection

2012-02-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

This just in! Flying Heritage Collection at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, has just announced that its highly-anticipated IL-2 Shturmovick has arrived via ship at the Port of Tacoma early this (Feb. 2) morning! I have not been able to get a time as to when it may arrive at the museum, however, they said it should be very soon. I will keep you posted with news as it becomes available.

They will be reassembling the aircraft in the hangar so visitors may be able to view its assembly process. This is very exciting as it is the only IL-2 in the world that is in flying condition, out of 35,000 that were built during WWII.

100 Hour Inspection Complete

2012-01-29T16:39:00.000-08:00

This last weekend was a nice tease of things to come for 2012. Historic Flight Foundation finished the 100-hour inspection on their B-25D Mitchell "Grumpy" and took it out for its first flights on Friday and Saturday. And sure enough, I was there to catch all the fun and excitement, with my camera in hand!

Sweet Sound of Warbirds

2012-01-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

What's better than the sweet sound of airplanes? The sweet sound of Warbirds! I have started an account over at Freesound.org where I will continue to add sound files of the various WWII aircraft that frequent Paine Field. My page is http://www.freesound.org/people/Fight2FlyPhoto/ and you may download and enjoy these various aircraft sound files. At the time of writing this I only have seven that are "live" but have about ten more waiting for moderation before becoming "live."

One of the most difficult things about video is capturing decent audio. As much as I like hanging out with my friends and fellow photographers, the constant chatter of shutters becomes quite apparent when listening to the audio. With the windscreen I have on my camera right now, I am able to cut down quite a bit on chatter and shutters, and completely eliminates wind noises, so that has helped a great deal in the last couple of months. Now the search for next Summer is to find places that provide an appealing view, but also separate myself from the noise of other people.

Those problems aside, I hope you enjoy the growing collection of aircraft sound effects!!

Jason

Meet the Hawker Hurricane Mk. XIIA

2012-01-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

This is the first video in a series where I take a closer look at the local warbirds of Historic Flight Foundation and Flying Heritage Collection. This video series is actually made for my aunt who lives down in Oregon and LOVES these vintage warbirds. I figured I would share it with the rest of the world as well.

Enjoy

Winter Rumblings

2012-01-16T19:22:00.001-08:00

[edit] Ah, helps to have a working link!

With annuals underway at Flying Heritage Collection, winter is a great time to get a very rare view of the unique collection with inspection panels open, cowlings removed, and even the rare opportunity to view some maintenance runs. Friday the thirteenth was just one such day. The Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk and Republic P-47D Thunderbolt have recently finished their annual inspections so the FHC maintainers decided to take advantage of the nice weather to runup the engines. Below is the video I shot on Friday. If you enjoy the music of Warbird noise, you will enjoy this 14-minute video as a tease of things soon to come this Spring! Enjoy!

Shooting Lessons pt. III: Shutter Speed

2012-01-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

     In my opinion, there are two requirements for a good image/video when it comes to shooting aircraft: proper shutter speed, and great panning. In this lesson I will speak about the first, shutter speed.

     First of all, the goal of anybody shooting propeller driven aircraft or helicopters should be to shoot at the slowest shutter speed possible so as to obtain a good amount of prop/rotor blur. A stationary propeller or rotor makes the subject look like it is just a toy, suspended in the air. An image with a full-disc of prop/rotor blur makes the picture pop with energy and excitement and more accurately portrays how the human eye sees it

     When shooting propeller-driven aircraft, I suggest shooting absolutely no faster than 1/150 of a second. When I'm out of practice I will still shoot still photos at 1/125, but when I have been out shooting for days on end, I can handhold my 500mm lens down to 1/50 to get a nice, full, disc of prop blur. If your shooting jets you can certainly up the shutter speed, but keep in mind, tracking a fast subject with a completely stopped background is not nearly as exciting as one with a tack-sharp subject and a completely motion blurred background. When shooting jets I tend to keep it around 1/200. That keeps my autofocus happy, and it provides a nice amount of blur. Helicopters are the tricky buggers! Those you absolutely want to shoot as slow as possible, as the main rotor blades move much slower than propellers. Those you want to shoot under 1/100 second when at all possible.

     While shooting video I am able to get a good amount of propeller blur when I select a shutter speed of 1/100 second. Sometimes, if I do not have to pan a lot, I will slow it down to 1/60.

Equipment consideration: slow shutter speed may make it more difficult for your cameras autofocus to track the subject! As I hinted above, there are very few times I will slow it down to 1/60 second using my Canon HG20 due to the fact that any slight shaking or movement of the subject will cause the autofocus to get confused.

Enjoy these tips and be sure to comment if you have any questions or need clarification! Eventually I hope to turn these into video tutorials.

Shooting Lessons pt. II: When in Doubt, Zoom out!!

2011-12-29T00:39:00.001-08:00

     Now that I have trained myself to wait for my subject to be closer before recording and follow the previous rules, I have yet another bad habit to fix: zooming in too far. I am not quite sure why it is, but for some reason every time I see an aircraft approaching through my viewfinder/screen I zoom all the way in. Once I get home and see the video I am again disappointed that the video quality is less than what I remember when shooting. Just like time compression in my previous post (Norm, you know what I'm talking about!). The plane jumps all around the frame in a blurry mass if metal. Ever been there? Again, taking notes from my still photography, it took me a while to back off when I first got my Sigma 50-500mm lens. I wanted to be able to see the look on the pilots face as they passed by. Several years later that amusement has warn off for better things such as framing. Same should be done with my video. I need to back it off.
   Today, as a matter of fact, I applied this very rule, with very good results. I can't see the pilots faces, but I can see the entire aircraft and its proximity to the ground. This, I believe, makes for a much more pleasing clip. Extreme closeups have their time and place but should be used sparingly.

     Just like in still photography, there is an exception. Extreme closeups can be very cool, and add a lot of energy to your video. However, it must be done with great consideration! Here are some rules that I follow with my still photography and am trying to apply to video.
1. Make it look intentional! Clipping just the very end of the nose, tail, or wingtip looks sloppy. If you want it full frame, zoom out a bit. If you want it cropped, zoom in so as your viewer knows you are trying to focus on one particular aspect of the aircraft.

2. Make it look smooth! At least, as smooth as possible. You never know if you don't try, right? Try to find a zoom range that works for you and your equipment and make a mental note for yourself to NEVER go beyond that range. Make a small mark on your camera if you need to.

3. Just like real life pilots, make yourself some personal minimums. Go practice shooting and determine the amount of zoom that you like for those shots you MUST keep in the future. But, be sure that when the moment counts, you don't press your luck and assume you'll be "just fine" this time out. I've ruined too many amazing photo opportunities because of this. Some photographers will tell you to take the risk, I tend to say err on the conservative side. I'd rather have a clip that leaves me wanting more, than one that leaves me wanting less.

Equipment Consideration:

Not all image stabilization is created equal, and none are perfect!

Again, consider your focus points. I know I mentioned this in the last post, but you must be aware of the focus point(s) in the camera you are using. I cannot tell you how many times I wanted have nice 1/3 framing, only to find my camera kept trying to focus on a blank background, which ruined the shot. In this case, what I should have done is zoom out more so I can still keep my subject in the center (focus point) and the ground on the bottom portion of the screen.

I hope these tips help in some way, either in shooting video or still photography! Please comment below and share with your friends!

Blue skies and happy shooting!!

Jason

Shooting Lessons: Pt. I - Patience

2011-12-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

This lesson is about patience, waiting for that perfect moment to start recording your video.

I'm finding that learning to shoot video is much the same as learning to shoot still photographs. Though I have been photographing airplanes for ten years now, I feel as though I'm starting from the beginning when it comes to video. A perfect example of this is wanting to shoot everything I see, even when the aircraft/subject is waaaaaay off in the distance. To the naked eye it "looks cool" and sometimes even through the view-finder/display screen it may look especially cool, since I can zoom in on the subject. However, once I get home and sit down at the computer and review it, I realize I wasted 40 seconds of video which I could have used later in the day, on a subject I can hardly even see.

Lesson I - Patience: Only shoot when your subject can fill 1/3 of the frame or more.
Think of each clip you shoot as an individual photograph. Would you want to sit and look at a speck of an airplane against a solid blue sky for 30-seconds? Probably not. Once that aircraft/subject fills at least 1/3 of the frame, you will be able to make out greater detail.

The other thing to take into consideration is that you will probably be at full zoom. As we all know, trying to keep any camera rock-steady at full zoom is very, very difficult. As a result, this video will be very shaky. That is, unless, you have a nice tripod setup. In that case, I find it even more tempting to record when the subject is far away. Remember to be patient, and keep your finger off the trigger until you can get a decent, interesting shot.

With every rule of photography there is an exception. With this, the exception would be if you're trying to catch an interesting background or you're trying to capture the motion of the subject. If you're at an airshow you may want to show an aircraft making an exceptionally tight turn, or rounding off the top of a loop or other aerobatic maneuver. If you're at an airport spotting, you may want to show aircraft in the traffic pattern turning base to final. For this to be successful, in my opinion, you must have a background other than solid blue sky. Clouds, ground references, or maybe even airshow smoke must be visible to show motion. This follows a lesson I will discuss at a later time, when in doubt, zoom out.

Equipment Consideration: Focus point

With my Canon VIXIA HG20 I find it extremely challenging to record an interesting scene due to the fact this camera only has one focus point, and it is dead center. As a result, this unfortunately means most of the time I cannot follow the rule of thirds. If I want the subject in focus, it has to be in the middle. Otherwise I get continuous focus searching, or a blurry subject. If you have an older piece of equipment or one with limited functions, be aware of that and shoot accordingly. Sure, in PP I can zoom and pan the scene, but this will result in a generally degraded image quality due to pixelation and increased noise.

108 Years of Powered Flight

2011-12-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

Today is the 108th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight of a powered aircraft!

Enjoy this photo which spans 95 years of aviation history in the Curtiss JN-4D Jenny and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Summer Projects: Luftwaffe Day

2011-12-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

Back in August my Sigma 50-500mm lens started having aperture problems, where it would just stay closed. At first it would happen only occasionally, starting in July, but by the time "Luftwaffe Day" had approached, which was due to be Flying Heritage Collection's debut of the worlds ONLY airworthy Focke-Wulf 190A-5, I figured I better be ready for a backup plan and decided to bring my Canon camcorder along.

As I feared, the lens never recovered that morning, and I was forced to start shooting video.
This is the video that I shot that morning and thus began my conversion to shooting video exclusively:

This day represented the first time an original Fw-190 and an original Bf-109 had been in the air together since WWII. The Fw-190 was piloted by Steve Hinton, and the 109 by Bud Granley. Sitting behind me in a hangar was Legend Flyers Messerschmitt Me-262 which they had been test flying earlier that week.

Enjoy!

Change of Direction

2011-12-08T15:31:00.000-08:00

I do realize I have not yet posted a 2011 recap, which will greatly explain why the change of direction, however, I am currently making some breakthroughs which I believe are more important at this time.

What is the change of direction? VIDEO! Some issues came up early on in the 2011 flying season which disabled the use of my Sigma 50-500mm lens. So, as someone who tries to always be prepared, the day of its final failure, I was smart enough to bring along my trust Canon VIXIA HG20 HD camcorder. Since this moment in August, I have been exclusively been shooting the aviation events on video. I still get a TON of use out of my DSLR Canon RebelXT and Sigma 10-20mm, however, that has been strictly for static shots, and one VERY awesome air-to-air shoot.

Right now I am focusing my "off season" energy on improving my videos in whatever (CHEAP) ways I can. So far I have found many amazing resources online through Youtube that have allowed me to use supplies I already have to make some great video effects.

The greatest complaint I have had all summer long has to do with the challenge of using a 1lb camera in a way which eliminates/reduces the nightmare of camera-shake. The IS on this camera does help, however, in the grand scheme of things it really is not very apparent. The previous camcorder I had (non HD and non-functioning) had SUPERB IS. You could practically throw the thing and it remained absolutely rock-steady. This, however, is anything but.

The other complaint was the obnoxious wind-noise. The HG20 has a nice wind-cancelling feature which is about as useful as its IS. So, again, working with a budget of $0, I made a wind-shield having sacrificed a few square inches of foam from my pillow. Voila!

Right now I am in the process of eliminating issues with camera stability (camera-shake) in the form of a handy-dandy $15 shoulder mounted rig which gives me full functionality over the camera via a mounted wireless remote, several feet of PVC 1/2 inch piping, and a firm, steady platform to shoot from. More details, directions, and references will follow.

Thanks to the support and advice of my fellow photographers, I am undertaking several rather large projects for the next year, which will keep me very busy and (hopefully!) present many amazing shooting opportunities since I am currently (though, not for long) the only person shooting HD video.

Summer 2010 Recap

2011-11-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

For the 2010 airshow season I didn't see a whole lot of action, as I had class on almost every Saturday. I did, however, get to make it out to the McChord AFB Air Expo Friday through Sunday, which was SPECTACULAR! Each year the McChord show gets better and better! Last years show had a LOT of vintage jets, including the FJ-4B Fury, MiG-15, MiG-17, 2 F-86 Sabres, and an F-4 Phantom. It was amazing to see a vintage formation including the FJ-4 Fury, F-86, MiG-15, and MiG-17 all together for Sundays show. The airshow did not have the Thunderbirds, but instead had the Patriots. For my first time seeing their show, I was VERY impressed! And if having them in place of the Thunderbirds means a greater selection of performers, I welcome them yet again for the 2012 show!

A few times I was able to sneak out of class during lunch time and make it to the airport just in time to catch the warbirds taking off for the Flying Heritage Collection's free fly days. I was very thankful that class was only about 10 minutes from the airport.

Below are some of my favorite images from 2010:

Fj-4 Fury turning final at McChord

F/A-22 Raptor on final approach as the National Anthem is played over the loudspeakers at McChord AFB

Flying Heritage Collection's Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk and Supermarine Spitfire Mk. Vc flyby in tight formation

Navy Legacy Flight featuring the FJ-4 Fury and F/A-18F Superhornet

You don't see this often! From top: FJ-4 Fury, F-86 Sabre, MiG-15, MiG-17

Two F-86 Sabres pass by in formation. The lead (green camo) aircraft is flown by Capt. (ret) Dale "Snort" Snodgrass

Air Force Heritage Flight featuring the F-16 Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-4 Phantom, and F-86 Sabre

Colling's Foundation B-17G Flying Fortress

Historic Flight Foundation's Grumman F7F-2 Tigercat

Historic Flight Foundation's Grumman F8F Bearcat

Historic Flight Foundation's B-25D Mitchell "Grumpy" gets a figher escort from their P-51B Mustang and Heritage Flight Museum's P-51D Mustang during Vintage Aircraft Weekend

One of my favorite days of last year was Flying Heritage Collection's Luftwaffe Day featuring their Fieseler Storch and Messerschmitt Bf-109E-3 Emil, shown here!

Summer of 2011 saw the addition of a Focke-Wulf 190A-5!

Enjoy and I will keep the pictures coming!!

Wow, sorry for the absense!

2011-11-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

As is usually the case, life has indeed gotten in the way, yet again! A few things have changed since my last post on March 24, 2009:

I enrolled in a 2-year teacher education program at City University of Seattle
I got married
I moved
I finished my teacher ed program
I am now looking for a full-time teaching position
I have had my first photographs published
I had my first flight in a WWII aircraft (CAF Arizona Wing B-25 "Maid in the Shade")
I had my first air-to-air photo shoot (platform: B-25 "Grumpy" Subject: F8F Bearcat)
Many new aircraft have arrived at Paine Field: Focke-Wulf 190A-5, B-25J Mitchell, Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXe, Me-262 flight testing (now gone to its home in Virginia).
And I have become completely obsessed with ice hockey, thanks to my wife!

As you can tell, I have some SERIOUS catching up to do!

McChord AFB Air Expo 2008 - Saturday and Sunday

2008-08-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

The airshow proved to be another world class event. The organizers put on a fantastic airshow featuring a wide diversity of acts and everything semed to flow very smoothly.

Here are some pics from the actual airshow:

Team McChord. McChord AFB is home to two squadrons of C-17 Globemaster III's

This C-17 just emerges from the low clouds on Saturdays airshow

The B-2 Spirit only flew by on Saturday

Tora! Tora! Tora! taxis out to the runway to begin their 20 minute show.

The sky was full of these amazing warbirds, smoke, and giant fireballs as the airplanes simulated the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The F-18F Super Hornet pulls sharply into the vertical

Rhino high speed pass.

The F-15 creating some beautiful vapor as it climbs into the moist air.

F-15C Eagle

The Thunderbirds Diamond climbs high into the sky.

Knife Edge Pass

Thunderbird Six in full afterburner.

Enjoy!

Practice and Arrival: Friday, July 18th

2008-08-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love most about airshows is the arrival and practice day. This is when you get a chance to see some more rare aircraft that will be on static display. Also the teams practice earlier in the week and provides many more opportunities to get great photographs.
Friday was no exception.

This is how my day began:

KC-10 Extender on very short final.

This C-5A Galaxy seemed to just stop in mid air. As the jet was overhead it was so close all I could see through the viewfinder were individual tires. At 50mm!! It felt like a hurricane after she passed over.

Eagle West turning sharply overhead.

This is where I was for landing. As you can see, I'm just a few hundred feet from where the jets were touching down. Try to imagine that C-5 Galaxy where this F-15 is.

Thunderbird number one coming in to land.

The F/A-18F Super Hornet doing the high speed pass.

This was one of two F/A-22 Raptors that flew in for the static display.

HH-65 Dolphin

P-51D Mustang

C-130J Herculese

A-10A Thunderbolt II, Warthog

C-12

T-38 Tallon

RC-135 Rivet Joint

F-16C Fighting Falcon

McChord AFB Air Expo 2008

2008-08-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

If you've read previous posts, you know I was waiting a long time for this show. Unfortunately, at the last minute many changes were made to the show, some major. For example, the MiG Fury Fighters team that flys a MiG-15 and MiG-17 against a FJ-4 Fury canceled a week before the event due to fuel costs. Later all of the other warbird jets backed out as well. For a show that was going to be mainly a jet warbird show, it ended up not having ANY jet warbirds. :( Bummer. But maybe in 2010 it'll work out.

Also, the event brought in record crowds! On Saturday the record was broken as 150,000 people attended the airshow. The next day 227,000 people showed up!

The linuep included the US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet demo, USAF F-15 Demo, USAF Thunderbirds, a B-2 Sprit flyby on Saturday, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Bud and Ross Granley, Tim Webber (I love your flying, but do you honestly have to sing about being high?), Air Force Reserve Jet Car, MiG-17 from Classic Aviation in Oregon, the C-17 single ship demo, Wings of Blue jump team, and the McChord Airfield assault with three C-17's.

Great show, everyone! There were no awkward pauses, except for the usual 45 minutes it takes the Thunderbirds to taxi out to the runway, twiddle their thumbs, then take off. But that's just how the Thunderbirds roll.

The next posts will feature photos from Fridays practice and arrival day, and the show on Saturday and Sunday, July 19th and 20th.

Arlington Fly-In and Airshow 2008

2008-08-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Instead of posting a bunch of pictures from this event, I decided to record some video. I hung out with the friendly folks at the IAC Chapter 67 tent for most of the time throughout the week and for the airshow made it out to the front of the crowdline.

First up is a video I put together of a friend and fellow IAC 67 member, Terry Burch! He always puts on an incredible airshow routine in his beautiful Zlin 50LA. Sit back and enjoy:

Next up is a video showcasing all of the acts that participated in this years 2008 Arlington Fly-In and Airshow! Celebrating the 40th annual Arlington Fly-In! The Arlington Fly-In takes place at Arlington Municipal Airport in Arlington, Washington.
Enjoy:

Performers Shown In Video:
Kent Pietsch - Interstate Kadet
Ken Fowler / Eric Hansen - Rocket Aerobatics - Harmon Rocket
Renny Price - Su-29
Bud & Ross Granley T-6 Texan/ Yak-18/ Yak-55
Frank Donnely - Dr. D's Old time Aerobatics
Red Eagle Air Sports - Christen Eagle II
John Mrazek - Harvard Mk IV
Dan Buchanan - Hang Glider
Terry Burch - Zlin 50 LA
Kathy Hirtz - Wolf Pitts
Julie Clark - T-34 mentor

P.S. Youtube left out the last 6 seconds of the video, which provided time to pause and read the performers list. It's originally 4:08