Its amazing how many of you get on to these magnificent beasts to capture those awesome images ... I am very envious of you folks.
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Military Aircraft: airshows, operational, whatever, lets see what you have!
- Thread starter Viper28
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Fascinating shot of the Mossey on page one by Marauder. I always thought there were none left flying anywhere in the world.
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Sporgon said:
There is one currently undergoing restoration at the RAAF museum. Work was started on it privately years ago with the intention of it being in airworthy condition. However I'm not sure that will be the case now that the RAAF are doing it. http://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/exhibitions/restoration/current.htm
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A few shots from a visit to the hangars of the Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis association. They put on a classic airshow every June. This is a lot more than a hobby for these guys, it's a lifestyle. A lot of their wives are wingwalkers.
My brother is really into classic aircraft so I just gave him my 6D (with the 40mm pancake on it as usual) & let him go nuts with it (so the exposure & composition aren't really my "style"). It was pretty dark in there but he still got some cool snaps of rare warbirds.
Ju-52, Luftwaffe tri-motor transport:
Fi 156 "Storch", Luftwaffe STOL. The guy that gave us the tour had flown this one a couple of times. The Luftwaffe rescued Mussolini with a Storch in the Gran Sasso raid. Modern replicas have takeoff rolls as short as 30 meters.
"Zhey don't make zhem like ziss anymore, do zhey".
The detail on the engine cowling on this thing was amazing:
Detail of the canvas on the "Moustique":
The Pink Lady, the last airworthy B17 that saw active duty during WWII:
Freshly built wings awaiting canvas (biplanes need 4 wings, that's a lot of work!)
Renault inline 4 engine undergoing restoration:
My brother is really into classic aircraft so I just gave him my 6D (with the 40mm pancake on it as usual) & let him go nuts with it (so the exposure & composition aren't really my "style"). It was pretty dark in there but he still got some cool snaps of rare warbirds.
Ju-52, Luftwaffe tri-motor transport:
Fi 156 "Storch", Luftwaffe STOL. The guy that gave us the tour had flown this one a couple of times. The Luftwaffe rescued Mussolini with a Storch in the Gran Sasso raid. Modern replicas have takeoff rolls as short as 30 meters.
"Zhey don't make zhem like ziss anymore, do zhey".
The detail on the engine cowling on this thing was amazing:
Detail of the canvas on the "Moustique":
The Pink Lady, the last airworthy B17 that saw active duty during WWII:
Freshly built wings awaiting canvas (biplanes need 4 wings, that's a lot of work!)
Renault inline 4 engine undergoing restoration:
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expatinasia said:
That was a very interesting one. We had spend a good 90 minutes briefing all the formation shots we were going to do and we scheduled the flight for the late afternoon, in order to catch some nice soft light on the jets and the New Mexico desert background. I had been on base for a few days, doing all the mandatory medical checks, egress and ejection training, getting stuffed fitted at life support (G-suit, parachute harness, helmet and oxygen mask - I use my own nomex suit, gloves and certified shoes) - and throughout that time it had been baking hot, blue skies and no clouds. During the briefing, the skies outside were blue as blue can be.
So we step at 1630 - that is, we strap out stuff on and are driven to the flight line, climb into the waiting F-4Es and get strapped in by the (equally fantastic) ground crew. We look up and... we see this almighty grey soup coming in from over the mountains!
Like super thick grey sludge, which was at very high altitude. Because it was so high up, it did not impede visibility which is why it wasn't on the weather briefing or NOTAMs. But it was going to deny us all the light needed for some decent photography!
Meanwhile, we're all strapped in, jet has been checked and the mighty J79 engines have come alive - and my pilot, the Squadron Commander, and I discuss the weather situation over the intercom. Since the weather is moving in from the northern part of the White Sands Missile Range, where we had planned our sortie, we decide to head south instead - beating the weather and get the shots before the light goes out.
Of course, that's when one of the F-4Es in our 3-ship reports a hydraulic leak on start-up. Which is a pretty terminal problem and sure enough we see the pilot (QF-4E "drones" are flown as single ship Phantoms most of the time) run across the tarmac to the spare jet. Even with the spare jet ready, it takes us another 15 minutes before we taxi out.
The soup is now upon us and while holding short, we radio in ATC and ask them about the soup (and why nobody told us!) and what was on the cards for tomorrow - so we could decide to postpone the flight until tomorrow if the weather was better. Unfortunately the forecast was for heavy thunderstorms which is an absolute no-no, so without further ado, the Commander takes the jet onto the runway, tells me to get "ready to rock!" and slams the throttle forward into full afterburner.
And what followed was the wildest roller-coaster ride you can imagine. The initial acceleration was not as sudden or brutal as a carrier cat-launch, which I had been very lucky to experience a few times albeit only as "meat cargo" in a C-2, but it surely was a major kick in the rear (the two J79 burners lighting up) and you feel yourself going fast.... faster.... faster still...... very fast.. and you are still rolling! Just when I started to wonder if we are going to break the soundbarrier while still rolling down the runway, the nose comes up, you feel the gear retracting and before you can say "beep", we are heading towards the stars and the moon.
Once we are all in formation, we start looking for some light in the sky - but none is to be found. Until we find this tiny break in the soup and we basically end up flying a continuous wagon wheel formation to stay inside that tiny area of light so I can get some shots with actual sunlight on the jets. As the area gets smaller, the Gs are getting higher, the camera gets heavier and I get greener and greener around the nose.
And all this in the New Mexico late summer, it's stinking hot on the ground and its hot in the jet. The air conditioning in the F-4E is rubbish, it doesn't work below 10,000 feet and ours wasn't working above 10,000 feet. The seat is brutally uncomfortable and I am looking over my shoulder, through a viewfinder for most of the flight. It was a truly awesome experience but, at that moment in the time, I was extremely uncomfortable. ;D I think it was sheer willpower that stopped me from filling my bag!
In comparison, the F-16 is incredibly comfortable, with very comfy seats, great air-conditioning, stunning visibility and the reclined seat make the Gs somewhat easier to bear. So my favourite jet, as a photo ship, is the F-16D. In terms of subjects, I still would love to shoot the F-15C air to air before it disappears. With 104 confirmed kills against zero losses (worldwide), the Eagle is the ultimate fighter jet in my book. Unfortunately the sequestration killed the F-15 air to air sortie I was working on, which was in a well developed stage (the host unit was very supportive and from their end it was green, we just needed ACC approval and that's exactly when this whole budget reduction kicked in.)
And for all those who were scrolling down to see if there really was a picture here or not, here's one of my all-time favourite jets!
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ErikNZ said:And for all those who were scrolling down to see if there really was a picture here or not, here's one of my all-time favourite jets!
Great story Erik! Love the shot of the A-10. I'm guessing you shot it out the back of a C-130
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CarlTN said:
Carl, I shoot for a number of magazines and my work is also used by aviation book authors and publication houses. Without the support and accreditation of these, none of these great experiences would have been possible - well at least not for me anyway.
And are you trying to tell us that the moon and stars do not actually exist throughout the day? ;D
Roo said:Great story Erik! Love the shot of the A-10. I'm guessing you shot it out the back of a C-130
You got that right! Taken from the ramp of a HC-130P Combat King to be exact, the dedicated Search and Rescue variant of the C-130.
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Hi Erik.
A great story, beautiful shot, but a fugly plane, a fantastic plane, I love em but fugly! I have not seen it fire live, but I have seen it on tv, I cannot imagine the psychological effect on an enemy of seeing the ground start to dance, then when it is all over hearing the BRRRRRRRPPPPP...
It is a shame they couldn't find one for you to photograph that hadn't been pounded on with a hammer!
Cheers Graham.
A great story, beautiful shot, but a fugly plane, a fantastic plane, I love em but fugly! I have not seen it fire live, but I have seen it on tv, I cannot imagine the psychological effect on an enemy of seeing the ground start to dance, then when it is all over hearing the BRRRRRRRPPPPP...
It is a shame they couldn't find one for you to photograph that hadn't been pounded on with a hammer!
Cheers Graham.
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ErikNZ said:CarlTN said:
Carl, I shoot for a number of magazines and my work is also used by aviation book authors and publication houses. Without the support and accreditation of these, none of these great experiences would have been possible - well at least not for me anyway.
And are you trying to tell us that the moon and stars do not actually exist throughout the day? ;D
Roo said:Great story Erik! Love the shot of the A-10. I'm guessing you shot it out the back of a C-130
You got that right! Taken from the ramp of a HC-130P Combat King to be exact, the dedicated Search and Rescue variant of the C-130.
Haha, well you can't see the stars during the day...maybe you can at high altitude. I was just saying it was confusing because it was making me think your flight initiated in pre-dawn hours, but it didn't...did it?
I've seen Jupiter and Venus during the daytime, at least on a "cobalt blue sky" day, easier with binoculars than the naked eye, though.
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Erik,
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us all about that experience. Wow, people pay tens of thousands of dollars to go up in fighter jets but you get to experience it on a different level.
As you are not on an official fun ride, how do you manage to keep the viewfinder to your eye and not smash the lens against the canopy or worse still, have it smash against your nose?
Thanks, for sharing!!
The stars and the moon are still out there, even in the day time. I think Erik was trying to add a little atmosphere to his journey of heading straight up into the sky!
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us all about that experience. Wow, people pay tens of thousands of dollars to go up in fighter jets but you get to experience it on a different level.
As you are not on an official fun ride, how do you manage to keep the viewfinder to your eye and not smash the lens against the canopy or worse still, have it smash against your nose?
Thanks, for sharing!!
CarlTN said:
The stars and the moon are still out there, even in the day time. I think Erik was trying to add a little atmosphere to his journey of heading straight up into the sky!
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