Aviation Nation 2009 – Sunday – Picture(s) A Day 15 November 2009 – Part I

Yes, it was another wonderful day at Nellis Air Force Base and I’m again paying the price   I got to sleep last night very late and didn’t wake up this morning until about 1130 hours.  Yes, I knew this would be a heck of a weekend, so I took today off from work with a well thought out vacation request   Aside from going out to run a few errands, I’ve been working on this post on and off and not doing much more.

I decided to lighten up the load a bit on Sunday and left my AE-1 Program back in the car along with the tripod. I only had another eight rolls of film and they sure went quick Thankfully, I managed to get what should be some seriously cool pictures with My EOS Rebel T2 and I also had the digital cameras with me as well. The film was mostly used on airborne subjects like the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 demo, the A-10 Warthog, and the Heritage Flight.

Today didn’t disappoint and I’m truly glad I got back out there for day two. Lots of good photos were taken of the static displays and I met some more great people, too One of the guys I met was Lt. Col. Bill Holloman who was one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. There are fewer of these great men every year and I’m honored to have met him.

I still have to get the film developed, but I pulled the best pictures from Sunday’s digital pics and while I wanted to get them all in one post, WordPress didn’t want to let me.  So it’s a two part series

On with the pictures

15 November 2009 - That's one big limo!

Heading to Nellis, I saw this limo and I’d have to say it’s one I wouldn’t want to drive

15 November 2009 - USCG Dolphin helicopter

The U.S. Coast Guard uses the Dolphin helicopter for search and rescue wherever it’s required.

15 November 2009 - USAF MH-60 Pave Hawk

15 November 2009 - Playing with the minigun in the MH-60

MH-60 Pave Hawks are close relatives to the other Black Hawk helicopters and are used by the Air Force for a variety of missions including search and rescue as well as airborne security. You could see M2 .50 cal machineguns or 7.62mm miniguns like the one above mounted on these choppers depending on the mission.

15 November 2009 - SRA Kevin Reid works with the MQ-1 Predator drones

SRA Kevin Reid is one of the warriors in the USAF who helps put warheads on foreheads overseas from his position at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada. He’s one of the guys the enemy fears – they never know when a Predator or Reaper UAV will ruin their day

15 November 2009 - Nanching CJ6-A

15 November 2009 - Nanching CJ6-A information

15 November 2009 - Nanching CJ6-A

The Nanching CJ6-A is a Chinese built trainer which is popular with civilians. Gotta love good, aerobatic airplanes! Click on the image of the data placard for much more information than I’d be able to give you

15 November 2009 - USAF T-41 Mescalero

15 November 2009 - USAF Cessna 150

The USAF Academy uses these Cessnas for training, but it’s great to bring them to airshows, too.

15 November 2009 - USAF T-6A TexanII

The T-6A Texan II is the primary training aircraft for the USAF. Trainers like the Texan II are high performance compared to the average civilian aircraft as they’re light and powerful with their turboprop engines. This makes them good preparation for the higher performance aircraft to follow.

15 November 2009 - USAF V-22 Osprey

15 November 2009 - USAF V-22 Osprey

15 November 2009 - USAF V-22 Osprey cockpit

While the V-22 has had a long and troubled history, the guys these days seem to love ‘em. Able to take off like and land like a helicopter, the Osprey can tilt its rotors forward and fly like an airplane which is much faster than normal helicopters. I got to see the Osprey fly in 2006 and I can’t begin to describe just how quiet it is in airplane mode with the rotors forward like propellers. Helicopters still have their place, but the Osprey brings great capabilities to our forces.

15 November 2009 - P-38 Lightning 'Thoughts of Midnight'

15 November 2009 - P-38 Lightning 'Thoughts of Midnight'

15 November 2009 - P-38 Lightning 'Thoughts of Midnight'

I don’t know for sure just how many P-38s are left flying, but I think there are about six in the world. Seeing a P-38 is rare enough at a museum, so you can imagine how much of a treat it is to see one at an airshow. I feel lucky just to see one on static display, but this one flew and took part in the Heritage Flight along with a few other planes. Yes, there will be pictures of that but you’ll have to wait until I get the film developed

The top scoring U.S. Ace of all time, Richard Bong, flew a P-38 in WWII and was congratulated by U.S. WWI Ace Eddie Rickenbacker when he broke Rickenbacker’s old record. Other famous aviators who flew the P-38 include Robin Olds and Charles Lindbergh. Robin Olds scored four kills in Vietnam while flying F-4 Phantoms, but he also had thirteen kills in WWII. One of those kills were achieved while his engines were shut down after he forgot to switch to his wing tanks after punching off his drop tanks! Charles Lindbergh wasn’t in the military, but he still flew the P-38 into combat against the Japanese which is an interesting story more of which can be found here.

15 November 2009 - P-51 Mustangs of 'The Horsemen'

15 November 2009 - P-51 Mustang silhouette

There are many more Mustangs flying than P-38s, but that doesn’t mean we airshow freaks don’t enjoy seeing them Mustangs are considered to be the greatest fighters of WWII in the European theater due to their ability to escort Allied bombers all the way to the target and back. They have an incredible kill record against both German and Japanese aircraft. P-51s were still in service and carried on raising hell against the enemy into the Korean war.

15 November 2009 - USAF F-15 Eagle agressor in arctic Soviet camouflage

Today’s USAF is the greatest in the air not only because of its aircraft, but also because of the training of the pilots who fly those aircraft. The USAF Fighter Weapons School is the Air Force equivalent of the Navy’s TOPGUN. The instructors fly enemy tactics in F-15s and F-16s painted in enemy camouflage schemes against the students. While actual enemy aircraft have been used in the past (see Constant Peg), there are problems with that. These aircraft and pilots still provide excellent training.

15 November 2009 - T-33 'Ace Maker'

15 November 2009 - T-33 'Ace Maker'

15 November 2009 - Nose art on T-33 'Ace Maker'

15 November 2009 - Nose art on T-33 'Ace Maker'

15 November 2009 - T-33 Shooting Star AKA 'T-Bird'

The T-33 was officially known as the “Shooting Star” but everyone I know calls it the “T-Bird.” Rugged, simple, and dependable, the T-33 is a favorite jet warbird for those with the money to play in that sort of sport My buddy JR down in Florida has a bit of time in one of his friend’s T-33 and can’t say enough good about it. From the dawn of the Jet Age until now, the T-33 is still admired as one of the great aircraft of all time.

15 November 2009 - Soviet MiG-15 'Fagot'

The MiG-15 first tangled with the USAF in the Korean War. Fast, agile, and well armed, the MiG was a worthy adversary for the American F-86 Sabre. The MiG-15, NATO code named “Fagot,” was designed to be rugged and easily serviced in the field which makes it one of the more common jet warbirds in civilian hands today. One of the interesting features of the MiG-15 is its pneumatic braking system which allowed it to operate in extremely cold environments where hydraulic fluids might have frozen and which saved weight and increased performance.

15 November 2009 - Nose art on USAF B-52 Stratofortress 'Nemesis'

Nose art is back in the USAF, at least on the bombers. It’s officially sanctioned and yes, it’s politically correct, but very welcome nonetheless. You’ve got to love the symbolism in the nose art on Nemesis!

15 November 2009 - Rotating launcher in a USAF B-1 Lancer

15 November 2009 - Bomb racks in a USAF B-1 Lancer

Originally designed as a high speed, penetrating strategic nuclear bomber, the B-1 has become a multi-role aircraft. It can still do its original job, but it can also carry smaller bombs including GPS guided JDAMs. With this and other capabilities, it’s not uncommon for a B-1 in the middle east to leave full in support of Coalition troops and return empty.

15 November 2009 - USAF B-52 Stratofortress AKA 'BUFF' - Big Ugly Fat F**ker

It’s amazing that the B-52 Stratofortress, AKA the BUFF, is still in service considering the first flight of the prototype happened in 1952. With its long range and tremendous payload, the B-52 can bring destruction to the enemy anywhere in the world. This old warhorse isn’t planned to be retired until at least a couple of decades from now which means that we might see bombers in service with the USAF when they’re 90 or 100 years old! Boeing sure got that one right

15 November 2009 - USAF B-1 Lancer - AKA 'Bone' - 'B-One'

With its sleek shape, the B-1 has a relatively small radar signature and its four afterburning engines can propel it to supersonic speeds when the need arises. It’s very much at home down low where its terrain following radar allows it to follow the contours of the earth at very high speed. Fighters have trouble with the Bone because it’s so fast and agile down low where they have to hand fly their aircraft. Even if they can hack that, the Bone’s greater fuel reserves usually mean that the fighters have to call off the chase or run out of gas themselves.

15 November 2009 - Squadron insignia on a US Navy F/A-18 Hornet

15 November 2009 - US Navy F/A-18 Hornet

15 November 2009 - US Navy F/A-18 Hornet

15 November 2009 - Cockpit of a US Navy F/A-18 Hornet

Readers of Neptunus Lex are no doubt familiar with the US Navy F/A-18 Hornet The F/A-18 was the first aircraft to carry both fighter and attack designations as it is so good at both roles. With the flick of a switch, the Hornet’s computer can optimize its flight control system for either air to air or air to ground combat. The origins of the Hornet may date back to the failed YF-17 prototype which lost the competition to the YF-16, but its shown itself to be a first rate combat aircraft in the US Navy and air forces around the world along with being a superb demonstration airplane for the US Navy’s Blue Angels.

15 November 2009 - US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet

15 November 2009 - Squadron insignia on a US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet

15 November 2009 - Tailhook on a US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet

15 November 2009 - Cockpit of a US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet

15 November 2009 - Cockpit of a US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet

The US Navy realized that the original F/A-18 Hornet was getting to be a bit long in the tooth and that the individual aircraft were getting flat worn out. Carrier operations are some of the most grueling conditions an aircraft can endure with the stresses of catapult launches, cable arrested landings, and the corrosive environment of the humid, salty air. The answer to this problem for the the US Navy came in the form of a newer version of the Hornet – the F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets. Larger, more powerful, and more capable than the original Hornet is the backbone of the US Navy’s carrier aircraft fleet. Nicknamed the “Rhino” (a term originally used for the F-4 Phantom) by those aboard the ship, the Super Hornet is a force to be reckoned with, especially in the skilled hands of our US Navy’s cadre of aviators!

15 November 2009 - USAF C-17 Globemaster II - AKA 'Moose'

15 November 2009 - USAF V-22 Osprey

15 November 2009 - USAF V-22 Osprey

15 November 2009 - USAF V-22 Osprey

I’ve written quite a bit about the Osprey earlier in this post, so I’ll keep this short One of the reasons I stay behind a while at airshows if possible is that most of the crowd has already left and I can get much better pictures

15 November 2009 - Nose art on a USAF C-17

The nose art on this C-17 can be found on many aircraft in the USAF. “Let’s Roll” is a tribute to Todd M. Beamer who perished aboard Flight 93 on September 11, 2001 while fighting the terrorists who had gained control of the aircraft with plans to use it as a weapon.

15 November 2009 - AC-47 Spooky gunship

The American and Kansas State Flags fly over Spooky – gotta love the AC-47 gunship!

Look for part two shortly