Airbus A380 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a shot I took on June 24th, 2011 at the 2011 Paris Airshow. What an amazing aircraft the Airbus A380 is. To see it perform at the airshow was awesome!  I took this with my old faithful Canon EOS 300d with a 70-200mm lens (I should upgrade one of these days...).

Attending the show was a life-long dream. I had a great time in Paris for the week as well. Enjoy!

F-4E Phantom 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Today I'm pulling another shot from my personal archive. Here's a second shot of the F-4E Phantom I took at the Nellis AFB airshow back in 2007. It's a real shame the rear seat was empty. What a waste!

F-16A Cockpit 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Over the weekend I flew with my wife to Ohio. Besides doing fun things like visiting King's Island theme park, eating great food in Cincinnati, and overall having a blast, we made a stop on Sunday at the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH.

I brought my camera thinking I would get a million photos. What I needed to bring was a tripod since the aircraft are in darkly lit hangers! Oh well....

I was able to take a few decent shots like this photo of an F-16A Falcon cockpit.

The Air Force museum was incredible and a worthy rival to NAS Pensacola's Naval museum. Not only do you get to see an amazing variety of aircraft, you will also see historically famous aircraft. The Cold War display alone featured the B-2, B-1, F-117, EF-111, F-111, A-10, Tornado, F-16, F-4, F-15, Mig-29, and more.

If you love aviation, this museum is a must-see. Next time I'll remember to bring a tripod.

P-51 Mustang Rolls Royce Engine 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

If you've ever heard the P-51 fly-by, you'll recognize the distinctive sound of the supercharged 12 cylinder Rolls Royce engine. Here's a shot I took while at an airshow a few years ago.

This plane was part of a racing series and the team was performing maintenance. It was the first time I've seen the engine without the cowling on.

National Naval Aviation Museum F-14D 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Over the weekend my wife and I traveled to Pensacola, Florida to visit my in-laws. While there, we all visited the National Naval Aviation Museum located at Pensacola Naval Air Station.

The museum is one of the finest in the United States and as the name says, it focuses on Naval aviation.

The aircraft in the museum are top-notch restorations and the exhibits are breathtaking. If you love aircraft, you have to put this on your list of must-see museums.
This first picture of the F-14D is today's widescreen wallpaper. This baby still had her GE engines and was in excellent shape.


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In one section of the museum they have a four-ship of Blue Angel A-4s in the diamond formation. It's great to stand on the bottom floor and look up at these beautiful aircraft.

The next picture is of me sitting in a Blue Angel F-4 Phantom. They have a lot of aircraft cockpits you can jump into. I sat myself in an F-4, A-7, and F-14. You could spend hours here and the amazing part is that admission is FREE!

Friday Video: Flight From KPIE St Petersburg International With A Cessna 172 G1000

Last Saturday I went flying locally (KPIE St Petersburg International) in a Cessna 172SP with a Garmin 1000 avionics suite. This was a actually a gift flight from my precious wife for my birthday. How nice is that?

The video is a quick shot of us taking off. You can see some of the avionics panels in the video. Let's just say I was stunned by the G1000. If I ever buy a plane, the G1000 is a must purchase. One feature that made my mouth drop open was the real-time traffic display. This amazing system actually displays other aircraft as white diamonds with direction lines and altitude. It will even announce traffic conflict warnings. At times, I felt I was flying a fighter jet.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the C-172SP. The plane had leather seats, airbags, XM satellite radio, and flew like a dream.

Here are a couple of pictures from the flight. There nothing special, but it gives you an idea of how beautiful Clearwater Florida can be.

MIG-21 Head-on 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

A few years ago I took this shot of a MIG-21 near March AFB in California. It seems somebody was importing these retired fighters from a former Eastern bloc country and then keeping them for show. My first impression was that there wasn't much visibility for the pilot.

F-16F Block 60 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a rare F-16, it's called the F-16F Block 60. The primary customer for this amazing Falcon is the United Arab Emirates.

This baby is fitted with a GE F-110-GE-132 engine that spits out 32,500 lbs of thrust (The original F-16 model engines put out 25,000 lbs).

I took this photo at the 2007 Nellis AFB airshow. The USAF has a few of these to help train the UAE pilots. It's a beautiful plane.

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!

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.

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.

North American F-86 Sabre 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

The F-86 is a great Korean era jet fighter. The jet has great lines and I've always enjoyed taking photos of it.

I took this shot at the Nellis AFB 2007 airshow. You've got Sunrise mountain in the background adding a nice contrast.

Artistic: Starlight 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Well, it is Friday and I've been experimenting with some effects with Photoshop lately. You'll either love this or hate it, but hey, it's free right? I've called it starlight.

Let me know your thoughts.

P-51D Mustang 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

The P-51D Mustang is "the" fighter of World War II. I love seeing it at airshows and love hearing that 12 cylinder supercharged engine. I have a dream to fly one.

As for this shot, I took it at the Nellis airshow. Framing is always tough since you have 5000 people standing around, but you make the best of the situation.

Aircraft Nose Art 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Aviation nose art has a great history for pilots and crews. In a way it takes mere aluminum, nuts, and bolts and personifies it. Man and his machine.

When I saw this nose art, I just had to snap a picture.

The Three Soldiers Vietnam Memorial Widescreen Wallpaper 1680 x 1050

For those of you that live in the USA or travel here, Washington DC is a great place to visit. When you visit the National Mall (it's a National Park area), you'll find tributes to famous Americans and wars Americans were involved in.

I took this picture of the Three Soldiers in May, 2007. The Vietnam Memorial wall is just off in the distance to the left. Memorials are meant to cause a person to reflect and I think the designer accomplished his goal.

B-52H Bomber 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

Here's a B-52H model "Memphis Belle IV that was sitting on the ramp. I like nose art and always enjoy looking at the details of an aircraft upclose.

Enjoy!

C-130 Hercules 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

I'm not sure what version of C-130 this is, but there were a few at the Nellis AFB 2007 airshow.

Have a great day and don't eat too much food.

B-52 Pass and Review 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

The B-52 Bomber is always a star performer at airshows. You can see the huge plumes of black smoke miles away before it makes a pass and the anticipation is electric.

I took this shot during the early afternoon pass and review of Vietnam era aircraft.

Thunderbird #5 F-16C High Alpha Pass 1680 x 1050 Widescreen Wallpaper

In contrast to other airshows, during the 2007 Nellis airshow the Thunderbirds flew before the modern military aircraft.

I got this shot of Tbird Solo #5 doing a high AOA slow speed pass.

Enjoy!