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

As I said before, I had to cut this post into two parts.  So here’s part two for my readers to enjoy

15 November 2009 - PV-2 Harpoon

15 November 2009 - Nose art on PV-2 Harpoon

15 November 2009 - Rear gun on PV-2 Harpoon

15 November 2009 - Rear gun on PV-2 Harpoon

These pics of the PV-2 are for KC and Glenn It was a rare treat to see this warbird on display

15 November 2009 - MQ-9 Reaper UAV

15 November 2009 - MQ-1 Predator UAV

The A-10 Warthog is surely a terror to the enemies of the U.S. overseas, but as I’ve said before, the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper are another source of their nightmares. Flying very quietly and nearly undetectable at altitude, the Predators and Reapers are flown by pilots and senor operators from Creech AFB in Indian Springs, NV. Able to carry a pair of Hellfire missiles, the Predator has teeth and the enemy never sees death coming. With an increased weapons loadout, the Reaper only brings more capabilities to the USAF in its quest to do good things to bad people.

15 November 2009 - USCG Dolphin helicopter

I switched the sunset mode of my Canon PowerShot on for this picture and it came out just like I thought it would Gotta love that Coast Guard orange when it glows that bright!

15 November 2009 - USAF E-8 JSTARS

The E-8 JSTARS is a ground surveillance aircraft in the USAF that gives commanders in the battlespace the ability to see just who’s doing what over a very wide area. First used in the Gulf War when we kicked Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, JSTARS is still a vital tool in the Air Force inventory.

15 November 2009 - USAF E-3 AWACS

AWACS stands for Airborne Warning and Control System. The E-3 Sentry is a long serving aircraft which does this superbly. Allowing for control of millions of cubic miles of airspace, the Sentry can even send its data to some fighters allowing them to avoid using their own radars.

15 November 2009 - USAF EC-135 Rivet Joint

Along with the AWACS jets, the EC-135 provides vital information to commanders by listening to the enemy’s radio transmissions. All those bumps conceal antennas for the myriad of systems aboard this jet.

15 November 2009 - USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon - AKA Viper

Serving for decades now in the USAF and in air forces abroad, the F-16 Viper is versatility made airborne. Be it air to air, air to ground, or even going against surface to air missiles, the F-16 can get the job done.

15 November 2009 - USAF C-5 Galaxy

Still the largest aircraft in the USAF, the C-5 Galaxy can carry almost anything you can imagine.  Tanks and helicopters are no problem for this airlifter and it can take that load anywhere in the world with in-flight refueling.  Yes, I want to make one into a house

15 November 2009 - USAF EC-135 Rivet Joint

This picture was just too good to pass up with all that color

15 November 2009 - Tail of a USAF C-5 Galaxy at sunset

The last light of the day brings out the color in the mountains outside of Nellis AFB while shadow has already covered this C-5′s tail.

15 November 2009 - Civil Air Patrol Cessna 675 Caravan

Switching over to some pictures from the Sony digital camera I borrowed for the airshow, we have this picture of a Cessna Caravan operated by the Civil Air Patrol.  The CAP is the official USAF Auxiliary and is made up of civilian volunteers of all ages and backgrounds.  CAP not only flies in SAR (Search And Rescue) missions, their volunteers also assist on the ground.  You can find out much more on the Civil Air Patrol’s official website.

15 November 2009 - Receiving station for imagery from an MQ-1 Predator UAV

It may not look like much, but this is all the equipment you need to see and use the downloaded imagery from a Predator UAV.  I couldn’t get a good picture of the display on the screen due to the sun, but they had a live feed from a Predator 10 miles away at 20,000 feet of altitude.  You could easily see everything that was going on.  The Taliban has every reason to fear this system.

15 November 2009 - Cockpit of a P-51 Mustang

I sure wouldn’t mind having this for an office   The modern civilian cockpit of this P-51 Mustang is a bit different from what it would have looked like during wartime, but it’s pretty darn cool all the same

15 November 2009 - Stearmans in a row

I’ve posted a similar picture to this one before, but Stearmans just never get old

15 November 2009 - The sales team from the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 Demo Team

These lovely ladies from The Netherlands are either wives or girlfriends of the men who came to Nellis to perform – I didn’t ask that part   They were selling souvenirs for the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 Demonstration Team.  Their English was excellent and I can’t thank them enough for coming over and being so gracious to us here in Nevada

15 November 2009 - USAF Thunderbirds solo pilot performing a high alpha pass

15 November 2009 - USAF Thunderbirds 5 card formation

I didn’t get too many pictures of the Thunderbirds this year.  I was out of film for the SLRs and I’ve gotten so many pics in years past that I just wanted to enjoy the show and didn’t feel at all bad about it.  I have to say that they flew better than I’ve seen them fly in a few years which is pretty darn good to begin with

15 November 2009 - USAF V-22 Osprey

OK, I took quite a few pics of the Osprey   I just don’t see these very often and I think they’re really cool

15 November 2009 - Guns on a Soviet MiG-15

The guns in the nose of this MiG-15 are just dummies these days although I wouldn’t mind a civilian with full armament   The two smaller ones on the right are 23mm cannons and the one on the right is a huge 37mm cannon which fired huge explosive projectiles.  No, you didn’t want those guns pointing at your jet over Korea

15 November 2009 - Bill Reesman's Red Bull MiG-17F

Bill Reesman flies this MiG-17F which has an afterburner and is a superb aircraft.  MiG-17s saw action against Bill and other American pilots over Vietnam, but that wasn’t the only place these swept wing jets prowled the skies.  Israel faced MiG-17s over the middle east and I think there may still be some in combat service in some countries in Africa.

15 November 2009 - Stitched picture of a USAF C-17

15 November 2009 - Stitched picture of a USAF E-3

These two pictures were stitched together from separate images, so they’re pretty darn big when you click on ‘em

15 November 2009 - Finally back at my HHR

Finally back at my HHR, I had a chance to get off my feet but still had to navigate my way home.  This wasn’t the easiest thing due to fatigue, but I managed to get it done 8)  I still love this car

15 November 2009 - What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday!

This brings the digital photo portion of the Parrothead Jeff coverage of Aviation Nation 2009 to a close.  The weather could not have been better on Sunday – less wind, temps in the 60s, and not a single cloud in the sky.  I’ve heard this described as “severe clear” and it’s always welcome.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks for more pics as the film is developed and have a great day