HH-60 Pave Hawk On Mission 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Excellent shot of a USAF HH-60 Pave Hawk on a training mission. Gotta love the machine guns on both sides. That's one mean looking chopper.

F-14D Bombcat Aerial 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Check out the F-14D Bombcat here with a couple of bombs on the centerline and a targeting pod under the wing. Still love this aircraft.

Friday Video: C-17 Landing

Ever wanted to fly shotgun in a C-17? Here's your chance. If you didn't know any better, you'd think this was a carrier trap landing.

Blue Angel Photo Op From Fat Albert 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

I don't know about you, but this is pretty cool. Can you imagine standing in the back of a C-130 (in this case Blue Angel C-130 Fat Albert) and having an F/A-18D flying a few feet away from you? I love doing aviation photography and this would be a dream opportunity.

Blue Angels Solo Extreme Vortex 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Check this out! What you are seeing is completely by engineering design. With a high angle of attack to the relative wind, you're seeing the incredible vortex wake sweeping over the leading edge extensions and down the wing. This allows the aircraft to fly at very high angles of attack and not stall. Amazing...

F-14B Tomcat with Two Croatian MIG-21s 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a rare shot of a Navy F-14B in formation with two Croatian MIG-21s. From a fighter vs fighter perspective, the MIG-21 doesn't match up well in this fight.

F-14B Tomcat with F-18E Super Hornet In Formation 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Nice shot here of an F-14B Tomcat backseater with an F-18E Super Hornet in formation behind. Enjoy!

Thunderbirds Over NASA Kennedy Space Center 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a great six-ship USAF Thunderbird formation flying over the Kennedy Space Center. For those of you that don't know, this is the location where the USA launches the Space Shuttles.

It's also Easter Sunday, so happy Easter!

Planet Jupiter 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Check out the massive gas giant Jupiter. What's wild about space is that things are on such a larger scale than we can appreciate. Enjoy!

B-1B Lancer Aerial 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Head-on shots of aircraft are some of my favorites and this one doesn't disappoint. You have to see this bomber fly at an airshow. It's quite impressive, especially the high speed pass.

B-1B Lancer Aerial Refueling 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Nice shot of the B-1B Bomber catching some fuel from a tanker. I'd love to fly one of these bombers. It's like a giant fighter ... but it is limited to 3 g's positive.

F-117 Stealth Fighter Stars and Stripes 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

I've dubbed this F-117 as "stars and stripes". Definitely a unique paint scheme and picture you won't find in a few years now that this aircraft is retired. Enjoy!

F-117 Stealth Fighter Final Flight 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

As you know, the F-117 was retired last week. A few more pictures have surfaced from the retirement ceremony aircraft. Check out the underside of this stealth fighter. I have another shot to post tomorrow as well.

NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis Landing In Florida 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Based on site metrics, many of you love pictures of the Space Shuttle. Here's a great shot of NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis landing at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

As a pilot, it's impressive to me how they glide that aircraft to landing. With no engines, there's no go-around. You have to be perfect every time!

Friday Special: Flying The F-16

Back in 1988, while I was in the USAF, I won a few competitions (Load Crew of the Month and Load Crew of the Quarter). By winning these competitions I was awarded an "incentive ride" in the F-16B for our squadron (79-428).

Here are some photos from that day. The first shot shows me strapped into the back seat and searching for some important switch.

The second shot is pure fun as I've got the oxygen mask on and visor down. I was a fighter pilot for a day!

The third shot here is when we were taxiing out to the runway. At this point, I'm about as excited as I can get.

This fourth shot shows us overhead after takeoff. There is nothing like a full afterburner takeoff in the F-16. The engine puts out 25,000 lbs of thrust and our aircraft was slick (no pylons or fuel tanks). I was completely blown away by the force of acceleration. Incredible.


This last shot is after we returned and were taxiing back. The flight lasted about 45 minutes and I was able to fly the plane for about 15 minutes. Let me tell you that flying the F-16 was a blast, but nothing prepares you for the g-forces you will experience. My badge of honor was that I didn't puke from the ride, though I did grey-out during a high g pull-out.

I knew when I joined the USAF I was going to do whatever it took to get a ride. If it took winning competitions, I was going to do it. I was so hooked after that flight that I went on to win two more competitions and was awarded another incentive flight. I never got the second ride since they pulled out some old policy thing that said you were only allowed one flight per tour of duty.

Happy Friday!

Thunderbirds over Las Vegas Motor Speedway (NASCAR) 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

If you've been to the Vegas Motor Speedway, you know it's next door to Nellis AFB (the home of the Thunderbirds). Here's a great shot of the Tbirds flying over the speedway before the start of the event. The mountain in the background is called Sunrise Mountain.

Enjoy!

F-117 Stealth Fighter Retirement 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

F-117 Stealth Fighter Retired By USAF

Wow, hard to believe this story but time marches on. The F-117 is being retired by the USAF to make room for the F/A-22 Raptor (which is rumored to have a similar radar signature profile).

To honor this occasion, I've brought out a F-117 photograph from my personal collection. I took this shot in 2003 at the Miramar Airshow. Never thought I wouldn't get another opportunity to photograph this amazing aircraft.

When I was in the USAF (1986-1990) and stationed at Nellis, we knew a bunch of guys that were secretly working on this aircraft. They used to refer to Area 51 as "secret squirrel land". The pilots used to fly modified A-7 Corsairs when they would shuttle up to the range from Nellis (that should give you an idea of how the F-117 handles in flight...). When the story broke and the first pictures leaked, it was a big relief. It's hard keeping secrets from family and close friends.

This aircraft will be missed.

U-2 Dragon Fly Cockpit 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

The U-2 has a nicely updated glass cockpit. This aircraft routinely flies at over 70,000 feet and looks a lot like a glider.

F-16A Fighting Falcons 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

This shot brings back memories. I used to work on F-16A models from the same year (tails 79-XXX). These were block 10 aircraft and were a far cry from today's Block 50/52's. The F-16 has had an amazing evolution.

Chuck Norris Fact: When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

World War II Memorial General George C Marshall Quote 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

When traveling the world, I enjoy taking photographs of quotations on buildings and memorials. In Washington DC there is a World War II memorial where I took this photo.

When I visited London, I made a point to visit the Winston Churchill museum. It's quickly coming to a time when the generation that fought this war will be gone.

Friday Video: F-15 Eagles vs Drones

Here's an excellent live fire video of F-15C Eagles vs QF-4 drones. You'll see some spectacular missile shots and fireballs. Happy Friday!

B-52 Bomber 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

I'm back!

Last months I didn't have much time to post on the blog due to examinations. It’s getting warmer which means the airshow season is approaching. The first airshow I will visit is at Leeuwarden, the Netherlands the 21th of June. I secretly hope to see one of these jumbo-bombers pass by… Keep on dreaming, I guess…

Pieter

F-14A Tomcat 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Nice shot of an F-14A Tomcat preparing for takeoff. I applied a photo color filter to the shot to change the mood.

Enjoy!

Posters Available Through Zazzle

Thanks to many of you for your site survey feedback. I've taken your comments and implemented some changes. One of the big items you asked for was the ability to purchase posters. I've partnered with Zazzle to start creating posters of the most popular images on the site.

Please check out the Zazzle sidebar widget and let me know your thoughts. For those of you that do purchase a poster, let me know. I'll gladly post your testimonial here!

Over the next weeks I will continue to add products.

SPECIAL OFFER: If you want a particular photo here made into a product (t-shirt, cup, etc.) just let me know and I'll create it for you and send you a link.

P.S. My Zazzle account is named "greatdesigns".

FSX Acceleration F-18C Hornet 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

If you own Microsoft Flight Simulator (FSX), there is an expansion pack called Acceleration. This pack added the F/A-18C as a flyable aircraft.

Today's widescreen desktop background is taken from a screenshot in the sim. After performing a lot of Photoshop enhancements, I think this shot turned out great.

What do you think? Do you have any great shots to share?

F-16C In Flight 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Great shot of the Fighting Falcon with live ordnance, ECM pod, and 370 tanks.

AV-8B Harrier Takeoff 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Great shot of a Harrier on takeoff. From this angle, the aircraft has quite a menacing look. Love it.

Enjoy!

Space Shuttle Discovery Approaching the International Space Station 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

What an amazing view from space. The Space Shuttle Discovery is dramatically floating above earth and slowly approaching the International Space Station. Impressive.