WELCOME TO ISNAP ISAP News/Symposium ISAP BOARD MEETS The International Society for Aviation Photography board, led by Chairman Larry Grace and comprised primarily of new directors, met formally for the first time last weekend in Dallas, Texas, near the organization’s Fort Worth birthplace. A primary goal was to finalize plans for an exciting ISAP XI event in May. Over two days of meetings board members bonded as a cohesive team, working to further the ideals of co-founders Jay Miller and Chad Slattery and the previous board members who have served the organization so well. Jim Wilson, a Dallas-based aviation photographer, was elected vice chairman of the board. Planning for the future included reviewing locations for future symposiums and other events. Jim Wilson, a Dallas-based aviation photographer, was elected vice chairman of the board. In addition, two volunteers were named to staff positions; Dan Beauvais is ISAP membership coordinator and Andie Smith is ISAP webmaster. Photo credit © Jim Koepnick
More specific information will follow shortly, and regular updates will be provided through ISAP’s new website (http://aviationphoto.org/), Facebook group and by direct email. Photo credit © Andie Smith MEMBER IMAGES DISPLAYED AT LIVING LEGENDS OF AVIATION ISAP has been given an opportunity to show images from the ISnAP 2011 Year in Review issue at the annual Living Legends of Aviation dinner in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 20.
Event organizers asked to have a slideshow using the compelling aviation images from our review to project on a large screen during the event, which is attended by some of the most celebrated individuals in aviation, including Bob Hoover, Burt Rutan, John Travolta, and Buzz Aldrin. ISAP ANNOUNCES 2012 SYMPOSIUM PLANS Our next symposium, ISAP XI, will be held May 17 through 19 in Norfolk, Va.—and attendees may wish to stay over Sunday, May 20, for the Warbirds Over the Beach airshow. Current plans for the field trip include the Military Aviation Museum’s Fighter Factory and Naval Air Station Oceana. The symposium includes two days of educational presentations, portfolio reviews, lunch each day, a closing banquet Saturday evening, and bus transportation for Friday’s field trip. The symposium’s popular field trip allows members to shoot alongside a host of world-renowned aviation photographers. Seats for the field trip on May 18 are limited, and cannot be guaranteed for reservations received after April 15. Arrangements for ISAP XI are nearly complete, and are awaiting confirmation from several invited speakers. Look for a list of speakers and the symposium schedule soon. Visit the website (http://aviationphoto.org/) to make hotel reservations and for symposium updates. The symposium is open to all ISAP members in good standing. Registration is $225. After April 15, registration increases to $250; registration closes May 1. April 15 also is the deadline to reserve a hotel room at the special symposium rate of $92 (plus tax). Cover photo © ISAP member Andy Wolfe
Meet the Member by Dan McClinton
My interest in photography comes directly from my interest in aviation and as a child, my attempts to render images of aircraft onto paper. As long as I can remember I have loved airplanes and for almost as long I have been trying to draw them. As a child I used magazines and photographs in books as my reference to draw the planes that I loved. P-51, F-86 F-105 and F-16s were all there and I was constantly going to the library in my hometown of Waco, Texas trying to find new reference material. One day while my mom was showing off my work to a neighbor and after hearing how I got inspiration for my artwork, the neighbor suggested that I take pictures of my own and use them for reference. That started me down the spiraling path of debt and expensive camera equipment to where I am today.
After graduating from high school, I entered college to get a degree in engineering and become a fighter pilot in the USAF. My ultimate goal at that time was to fly F-16s. My inability to master calculus and my fondness for socializing (drinking and chasing but not catching too many girls) put an abrupt end to that and I eventually ended up with a degree in Drafting and Design with a concentration in Technical Illustration. As part of my studies I took a class in photography that taught me a lot of the basics and more importantly caused me to buy my first 35mm SLR. After getting my drafting degree, I went to work in Richardson, Texas for a company called Electrospace Systems Inc. We were involved in the modification of military aircraft and I was specifically involved in the design of the installations of specialized equipment on such aircraft as the AC-130, RC-135, ERA-3 and E-4. During my off time I ended up going down to Naval Air Station Dallas on more than a few weekends with my Sears 35mm and Tamron 200mm zoom, hanging out by the railroad tracks waiting for something to land. It was during those times that I met some good friends who I stay in contact with to this day. I also had the pleasure of first meeting Jay Miller down there. We saw a lot of cool things like F-4s and F-14s and the occasional T-37. I also managed
to learn a few things about action photography…especially panning. Looking back on it now, one of the things I learned the most was patience. Back then almost none of us had access or even knew anyone on the base, so it was anyone’s guess when or if something would be flying. It led to interesting discussions to kill time and also taught me to be thankful for when I did have an opportunity to do something I enjoyed. Something a lot of people take for granted, unfortunately. Sometime in 1985 I realized one day that I didn’t want to sit behind a drafting table my entire life, so I went down to the Army recruiter and enlisted for an option known as Warrant Officer Flight Training Program. In the Army this is known as “High School to Flight School”. Even though most guys who enlist for this option already have college, it is possible for someone just coming out of high school to enlist with a guaranteed shot at being an Army Aviator…hence the name. During the Vietnam War a great many individuals enlisted using this option, now it still exists but not vary many people take advantage of it. I entered the Army in 1986 reporting to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for Basic Training. After graduation from basic I then went to Fort Rucker, Alabama to attend the Warrant Officer Entry Course and flight school. Then in October of 2007 I graduated from US Army Initial Entry Rotary Wing Flight Training (Flight School) as a brand new Warrant Officer 1 and fully qualified as a UH-1H pilot with orders for Fort Hood, Texas. During training I carried my camera (now a Nikon 4004) with me whenever I flew, a habit I continued until today. Since that first Nikon 4004, I have worked my way through various Nikon models and now use a D-2X and a D-300S. During my last deployment to Iraq I used my D-300S on the ground and in the air as a visual historian. The artist Keith Ferris was a big influence on me when I was a child. I remember reading his book and his philosophies on how he goes about producing aviation art and wanting his work to represent what actually occurred in a particular place and time. I take these philosophies to heart and attempt to make as visually pleasing a picture as I can but still capture what is occurring without too many staged scenes.
I have been very lucky over the years to have some of my work featured by the US Army on its home-page www.army.mil. Today the link to AKO Mail is a picture I took over Iraq in 2006. I have also been fortunate enough to have my work featured in various magazines, books and advertisements (some without my permission) over the years. Most notably “Army Aviation,” the magazine of the Army Aviation Association of America has used many of my photos over that last several years. While I attend air shows, fly-ins and other demonstrations that allow me to take aviation themed photographs, I am most proud of the work I accomplished during combat missions as an AH-64D Pilot in Command and Air Mission Commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom 2, 2006-08 As far as photographic influences are concerned, like many, I was struck by the awesome photographs in Heater Heatley’s book “The Cutting Edge”. The book came out just when I was graduating from flight school and was/is a standard to which I aspire. As a teenager and young adult I was particularly impressed with the work of Pompoeo Posar in Playboy, but that’s another story entirely. Currently, as a helicopter pilot I find the images presented in Vertical Magazine to be absolutely stunning as a whole. The photographers who are featured there are without exception top notch. I always had my camera during deployments and training. First I shot film and as I became (or tried to become) more serious about my craft
and 2009-10. Looking back there are some things technically I wish I had done better and some things I wish I had found space to bring with me. Flying under combat conditions limited my equipment and the situations under which I could shoot, but I still feel that I have produced a valuable record of the efforts of the unit to which I was assigned and the great pilots and crew I have been honored to serve with. Eventually, I would like to be able to find an appropriate venue to share the thousands of images I captured during this time.
I shot a lot of Kodachrome 64. I hate to think of the thousands of dollars I spent on film, and I have the slides to prove it. One of the drawbacks for me back then was the ability to share my work both for the people I worked with and to garner income. Like most pilots I am a “gear-nut” and tend to be an early adopter of new stuff, so when digital arrived it was good for me on the distribution side and bad on the pocketbook side initially. I can say however that digital photography is a godsend for what I do. If it weren’t for high capacity cards I don’t think there is enough film in the world to capture a rocket leaving the tube of an attack helicopter when you are guessing when they are about to fire. Things like that were vastly simplified when I was flying alongside but I am confident that if it weren’t for digital photography I wouldn’t have gotten half the shots that I was able to get the last several years in Iraq and other places.
I finished my Army career on 1 October 2011 as a Chief Warrant Officer Four. I finished flying with over 5000 hours of flight time as a pilot in the AH-64A/D, UH-1 and OH-58 A/C aircraft. I also have time in the TH-55, AH-1S, Hughes 530D, Alouette and Bell 212 & 412 helicopters. I have
visited or been stationed in Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Germany, Kuwait, Korea and Iraq during my career. For the last 7 years I was assigned to the 1st Battalion 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division based out of Fort Hood, Texas. Also known as “First Attack” it’s the best damn helicopter unit in the United States Army and I’ve never been prouder of any unit in my career. They are still doing great things and are currently in Afghanistan on the unit’s fifth scheduled yearlong deployment since 2003. I would ask that everyone keep them and everyone who is deployed in their thoughts and prayers.
Françoise Guilé French photographer and ISAP member, Francoise Guile, has a passion for photography that extends to the world of aviation. Her aerial work includes posters for the French demo team Solodisplay Alphajet, a full brochure of an Airshow of La Roche sur Yon, a brochure of the Patrouille de France 2011 and a poster for the Solodisplay Rafale Pilot. She also did a book for the Red Arrows Team as a personal memory gift to the team and to Emma Egging when Jon Egging lost his life during a crash this summer. Francoise had met all of them a few weeks before at the Airshow of Rochefort and enjoyed their spirit. Francoise believes “every subject is a gift for photographers” and finds pleasure in photographing jets, but also in photographing motocross, horses, and flowers in her garden. Her website is www.airandfeel.com
Steve Dean (top) peels away from Mark Todd (middle) and Carl Best (bottom) during a recent air show. Steve bought his T6 from the South African Air Force and left the markings in place.
TEXANS OVER DALLAS by Gary Daniels
Steve Dean is a patriotic fellow with a passion for flying. He came up with a unique idea to blend his patriotism and flying by creating the Flight of the Phoenix Aviation Museum at Fox Stephens Field (KJXI) in Gilmer, Texas. Founded in 1990, the museum’s mission is to preserve the memory of U.S. Air Force test pilot Col. Robert L. ‘Silver Fox’ Stephens who was director of the SR71 Blackbird Test Program at Edwards AFB. Stephens passed away in 1984. In 1994, Steve created the Mustang Flight to generate awareness for the museum. The name of the team was changed to the Flight of the Phoenix Escadrille in 2000. Escadrille is made up of a collection of T6 owners that share Steve’s passion for flying these warbirds to keep the memory of WWII alive, to recognize veterans, and to spark interest with youth to the excitement of a career in aviation. Escadrille performs at air shows, Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veterans Day remembrances, special events, and provides free rides. In 2011, the Escadrille performed at 26 venues to more than 500,000 spectators. Steve says it best, “To be able to share the magic of the T6 with a first time flyer, or to see the expression on a veteran’s face as they sidle up to the bird and tell their grandchildren what it was like to fly way back when.” Remarkably, the pilots provide their aircraft and time at no charge to be a part of the Escadrille. Here’s the current pilot roster: Steve Dean: Former USAF T-38 IP, USAF Reserve A-37 fighter pilot Tom Martin: Former Marine Corps F-4 pilot now corporate pilot and FAA Jason Railsback: Pilot – Fed Ex Mark Todd: Pilot – Southwest Airlines Carl Best: Pilot/Guru – Warbird restoration Steve Afeman: Former airline pilot now chief corporate pilot
On November 10, 2011, the Escadrille flew for a customer appreciation event for Jet Aviation at Dallas Love Field. It was a stunning, severe clear Texas fall day with light breezes and a brilliant blue sky. All afternoon, the six ships flew guests of Jet Aviation, taking off on 31L in three flights of two and returning in a long line threading in between Southwest Airline 737’s patiently waiting for all six T6’s to get out of the way.
Steve Dean’s T6 in South African Air Force markings. Everyone wanted a chance to fly in one of the T6’s. It’s a bit dicey to get in the back seat…you have to step three feet up on the wing, turn facing aft and stretch your right leg to put your right foot on the very small foot rest, step up and straddle your left leg into the rear cockpit, stepping in on the seat and then turning around while bringing your right leg in so that you can nestle into the cramped cockpit. But, this did not keep several women…in dresses and heels…from dealing with their ‘challenging wardrobe’ to have a chance to fly in a warbird. Needless to say, there were some comical moments. Everyone who flew taxied out with grins and returned with big smiles and really messed up hair.
Late afternoon, I had the privilege to go up with the Escadrille for an aerial shoot over the city of Dallas. We used Steve’s T6 as the camera ship. By the time we taxied, waited behind a 737, and finally got in the air, we had less than 15 minutes of shoot time left as the sun dipped behind the flat Texas horizon shortly after takeoff. The five T6’s quickly formed up off of Steve’s wing and we did a slow orbit over the city. The low light and tight time frame made for a busy and difficult shoot, but still an exciting time. The pilots of the Escadrille realize they are part of something special. It was an honor for me to fly with them and help tell their story. To find out more about the Flight of the Phoenix Museum, visit: www.flightofthephoenix.org To see a short video of the Texan Flight, go to: the ISAP website under ISAP video Steve Dean
Mark Todd (front) and Steve Dean (back) taking off.
Steve Afeman (foreground) and Carl Best (background) taking off at a recent airshow.
Phoenix Escadrille pilots: (back row, left to right) Steve Dean, Tom Martin, Jason Railsback. (front row, left to right) Mark Todd, Carl Best, Steve Afeman.
“Help! I dropped my iPhone in the bottom of the plane!”
Texans at sunset
In formation
Operation Unified Protector-The Libya Conflict by Mike Green
Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft along with approximately forty other coalition aircraft, together with tanker support from aircraft such as ours that are not officially assigned to OUP, ensure a 100% effective ‘no-fly zone’ around the Libyan coastline. The coalition enforcing the NATO mandate consists of the 28-Nation NATO Alliance, together with Sweden, Ukraine, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
July 19, 2011, NATO warships and aircraft are patrolling the approaches to Libyan territorial waters as part of Operation Unified Protector (OUP). Their mission is to reduce the flow of arms, related material and mercenaries to Libya, as called for in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. Jetwash Aviation Photo is on board Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker 62-3551 of the 100th Air Refuelling Wing based at RAF Mildenhall, England as it circles off the coast of Libya providing much needed gas to thirsty tactical aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone. Operation Unified Protector commenced on March 23, 2011, with NATO taking total control of the no-fly zone on March 24. The air operation is commanded out of the NATO Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy under the control of Lt. Gen. Charles Brouchard of the Canadian Armed Forces. Five NATO Airborne Warning & Control Systems (AWACS)
It’s early morning July 19, 2011, 4.50am to be precise, and we find ourselves at the main gate of RAF Mildenhall awaiting our contact from Public Affairs. Having not been notified of our flight time until 11pm on the 18th we had gotten little sleep, however the knowledge that within a few hours we would be off the coast of Libya ensured we stayed wide awake. Having gone through the necessary vehicle search and formalities at the gate, at 5:20am we are in the 100th ARW building to meet up with our crew for the mission. First to greet us is Sr. Airman Ronnie Echavarria (the boomer), followed by our co-pilot 1st Lt. Jon Bourke, who has just returned from a posting in ‘The Desert’ and finally our aircraft commander, Major James Muniz. We are given the privilege of sitting in on the mission briefing, where we are told that our traffic for today is F-16’s, USAF, Dutch and UAEAF to be precise. Our aircraft call sign will be OUP 001, changing to Exxon 001 once we go ‘tactical’ over the Mediterranean. Planned departure time is 8.45am, so we have time to chat and take a few photos of the crew room and squadron bar, which is adorned with various mementos before we board the bus to the flight line. We prep our camera gear and ensure everything is set up OK, no second chances today and it’s imperative we have the correct ISO and aperture/F-stop settings.
Our aircraft is 62-3551 for today, one of the “newer” KC-135’s in the USAF inventory, but still nearly some 50 years old! She sits on the flight line bathed in sunshine (a miracle after the weather of the last couple of days), with the ground crew having already prepared her for the 8+hour mission. We have a full load on board today and so I ask Major Muniz if we will be using the “under-run” on Mildenhall’s Runway 29. “Oh yeah” he says, “Anything I can do to stop the traffic and slow things down a little”, somewhat tongue in cheek. The crew are quite jovial, particularly bearing in mind the early start and the fact that they have a long mission ahead of them, much of which will be spent watching instruments and monitoring radio traffic.
boom is dropped and we eagerly scan the cloud below us looking for our first ‘chicks’. Our first traffic sees two UAE Air Force F-16 ‘Block 60’ Desert Falcons (“Fist 15 & 16”), an F-16E and a two-seat F-16F. Coming in from the left hand side of the KC-135 the first aircraft plugs-in to the boom, departing to the right of the tanker whilst his wingman comes in for a top-up. They don’t have time to hang around and they depart as quickly as they arrive, “A mission to complete”. As Gadaffi has routinely and purposely placed military equipment in close proximity to civilian institutions, schools and houses it has become increasingly more difficult to minimise collateral damage to the infrastructure when attempting to hit military targets. It is therefore imperative that the coalition makes use of its precision munitions when striking targets so as to minimize any risk of civilian casualties. The UAEAF F-16E carries an AIM-120C AMRAAM on each wing tip, AIM-9M Sidewinder’s on the two outer pylons and a Raytheon GBU-24 Enhanced Paveway-3 DMLGB on the inner pylons, next to the large drop-tanks. Under the engine intake is a Northrop-Grumman AN/AAQ-32 IFTS Targeting pod, which provides day/night, ground/airborne targeting capability in all weather conditions.
While the crew prep, the aircraft we take time to look around and familiarize ourselves with the aircraft, ensuring we take a look at the area surrounding the boomers position to check that the windows aren’t too dirty, as that will screw up any chance of decent shots of the receiving aircraft. Local time is 8:50am and we are at the end of Mildenhall’s Runway 29 ready to depart, the throttles are pushed forward and we start to roll. “V1” is called, followed by “committed” and within a few seconds we are in the air, making a 180-degree right turn back over RAF Mildenhall. The next few hours see us pass over London, then track over the coast and into French airspace, passing to the west of Paris, over the Alps (avoiding Swiss air space due to the nature of our mission and Switzerland’s neutrality), on to Turin and down the west coast of Italy, over Elba and into Maltese airspace at flight level 350 (35,000ft) and Mach 0.84 (290kts). Having reached the area of operations it is time to go tactical. We inform Malta Air Traffic Control and are passed to Tanker Ops, at which time we also change our call sign to Exxon 001. We set up a racetrack pattern some 80 miles off the Libyan coast at 28,000ft (about the maximum used for re-fuelling. Normally 21-25,000ft would be preferable). The orbit we are in is spread over an approximate area of 20 miles by 18 miles, with three levels within the pattern (high, medium and low). Over the radio chatter of the next 3 hours we can hear other tanker aircraft communications with ‘Steeljaw’ (presumably an E-3 AWACS aircraft co-ordinating the tanker ops), together with various tactical flights (mainly F-16’s) linking up with the tankers for gas so as to stay on-station. Without much warning we are told our first traffic is ready for some gas and it’s a mad rush to the back of the aircraft to get into position. The
The UAEAF contingent in Operation Unified Protector is operating out of Decimomannu Air Base in Sardinia, with six F-16E/F Desert Falcons and six Dassault Mirage 2000-9’s as part of its commitment to the NATO led operation and the F-16’s it operates provides a state-of-the-art munitions platform. Our second lot of traffic are two RNLAF F-16AM’s from 312 Squadron based at Volkel Air Base, Netherlands. These guys are happy to give us some photo opportunities as they are on-station for 3 hours, so has some time to kill! We were to see the same two aircraft about an hour later for another top-up before we departed back to the UK. The Royal Netherlands Air Force sent six F-16 aircraft to Operation Unified Protector from Leeuwarden Air Base’s 322 & 323 Squadrons in March 2011. The six F-16’s and a KDC-10 tanker aircraft are also based at Decimonammu Air Base in Sardinia, with the operation in the hands of Volkel Air Base crews, who took over on June 27. The detachment is known as 1 (NLD) Fixed Wing Element and after a request from NATO, a decision was made to extend the Dutch contribution for a further three months. The unit is currently under the command of Lt. Col. Andre Steur and will carry out the RNLAF mission until September. The aircraft are not deployed in attacking ground or sea
targets, but are conducting surveillance flights, gathering intelligence and monitoring air traffic in and out of Libyan air space. The RNLAF F-16’s we saw were equipped with 3 x AIM-120B AMRAAM’s, 1 x AIM-9M Sidewinder, an AN/AAQ-14 LANTIRN targeting pod and an ALQ-131 ECM pod for surface-to-air missile (SAM) detection, so all weapons primarily for self-defence. During our eight and a half hour mission we off-loaded 38,000lbs of fuel, the equivalent to 5,800 US Gallons, and having been on station for approximately 3 hours it was time for us to return to RAF MIldenhall. We took roughly the same route home as we had taken on the way down, losing our “Exxon 001” call sign and picking up “OUP 001” again once we left the refuelling area. A fairly uneventful trip back and time to take in what we had experienced. Things got a little more exciting as we hit UK airspace due to a number of storms on our approach route to RAF Mildenhall. Nevertheless, the crew did a sterling job of weaving us through the red patches indicating heavy storms on the weather radar, and 1st Lt. Jon Bourke got us back on the ground without any hiccups. Although due to security restrictions we are unable to confirm whether any of the aircraft we re-fuelled during our mission actually took part in any combat missions on July 19, below is a summary of the air operations that took place that day.
113 sorties in total 40 of which were strike sorties 5 armed vehicles and 1 armoured fighting vehicle were destroyed near Brega 1 anti-aircraft gun and 2 armed vehicles were destroyed near Misrata 6 SAM launchers and 2 armed vehicles were destroyed near Tripoli 1 military storage facility was destroyed near Waddan 2 command & control nodes, 2 military storage facilities, 3 military facilities and 2 military re-fuelling areas were destroyed near Zlitan Since commencement of air operations on March 23, a total of 15,782 sorties have been flown, of which 5,942 were strike sorties as of July 19, 2011.
The story continues‌
We would like to thank the following for supporting us during our time at RAF Mildenhall with the 100ARW, and enabling us to put this report together. Major James Muniz 1st Lt Jon Bourke Sr.A. Ronnie Echavarria Capt. Lindsey Hahn 2nd Lt. Mary Bartlett SSgt. Thomas Trower 1 Sqn. UAEAF 312 Sqn. RNLAF and remember, No-one Kicks Ass Without Tanker Gas!
Taking Advantage of Practice Days - San Francisco Fleet Week by Hayman Tam
Since this was my first airshow shoot with a tripod, I appreciated not having to lug all my gear the usual mile or so. The next revelation is that there are less shooters to contend with. And then finally, it was soooo sweet to see significantly fewer boats on the water with their associated shot-blocking masts. With the exception of the Patriots team, the rest of the performers showed up to run through a full rehearsal of the weekend performances. I was surprised to see the United 747-400 flyby as part of the practice, given the issues that happened the previous year when drivers on the Golden Gate Bridge called 911 thinking the bridge was under terrorist attack. The pilots undoubtedly enjoyed themselves as they executed tight turns over the Bay. As stated, this was my first airshow use of my new Benro tripod with a Wimberly Sidekick gimbal mount. I struggled to develop an effective tripod panning technique for the first few performers before settling into a reasonable rhythm. I had my Nikon D300 with a 300mm f/4+ 1.4X converter on the tripod and my D7000 with my trusty 80-200mm f/2.8 on a sling strap. Having a camera off the tripod came in handy for the overhead passes and the reduced crowds gave me the room to step back from the tripod as needed. Since 1981, Fleet Week has been an annual opportunity for Northern Californians to honor the men and women of the US and allied armed forces, with a focus on the United States Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. Besides the air show acts, many naval ships are open to the public for tours. This tradition started over a hundred years ago in May 1908, when 16 US Navy battleships, their escort ships and 14,000 sailors entered San Francisco Bay. This fleet remained in San Francisco for two months before departing for the remainder of its 14-month cruise around the world. It has been estimated that over 1.5 million spectators came to San Francisco to enjoy the Fleet Week festivities and watch the weekend air show, which is the highlight of the event. They pack San Francisco’s waterfront for a ringside seat of the jet teams and the other performers flying over show center, marked by ships and buoys in the bay. Unlike a traditional land-based airshow, there are no static displays and the performers stage out of nearby airports. It is a totally different airshow environment and the pilots use the terrain and the historic locale to their advantage, like high-speed passes over the Golden Gate Bridge or Alcatraz Island. The Blue Angels fly from San Francisco International airport, still executing their precision ground drills but with very few spectators to observe. For the 2011 Fleet Week, I decided to go for the practice day on Friday as a change of pace and was not disappointed. The first thing I noticed was being able to park extremely close to my usual spot at Fort Mason.
Learning To Be Social
(Or, How I Ended Up in Washington State By Way of Oshkosh) by Jay Beckman
Being that I am a relative “late bloomer,” the use of Facebook as a marketing tool and a way to call attention to my photography is a little new to me. However, having a Facebook presence directly contributed to me being offered a unique opportunity last year when Boeing delivered the first operational 787 to All Nippon Airways. Facebook features a vast number of Fan Pages devoted to just about anything and everything. However, not all of these pages are actually owned by the corporations or entities whose name is being used. Facebook is a little like the Wild West in this regard. But with some diligence, you can determine which are legitimate and which were started simply by exuberant fans of a given subject.
One such major name is Boeing. There are several pages on Facebook which use the Boeing name but only a small number are legitimate and operated by Boeing’s social media people (yes, Boeing actually has a VP of Social Media.) The page that turned out to be the key for me is a fan page operated by the chain of Boeing Stores. Boeing also maintains a Corporate Page and also a page which is a portal to their Universal Staffing and Human Resources operations. You can actually get a job at Boeing with the first step being through Facebook! What first caught my eye about the Boeing Store on Facebook is that they encourage people to share aircraft images on their photo page and so I jumped in the mix with some of my 787 images. It was gratifying to see that whoever administrates that page made a point of mentioning how much they liked the shots. Not everything posted catches the attention of the page administrator(s). If you’re familiar with how Facebook operates, there were many, many “Likes” clicked for each image. Fast forward to September of 2011 when I received an unexpected phone call from Mr. Jim Newcomb, Director of Brand Management and Advertising at Boeing
headquarters in Chicago. The Boeing Stores are one of Jim’s major departments and it turns out that my four or five relatively small Facebook images of the 787 at AirVenture had crossed his and several other desks at Boeing and as such, would I be interested in coming to Everett to capture the hand-over ceremony and the departure flight of the first operational 787 Dreamliner? Yes, yes I would! Included in the visit were tours of both the Everett and Renton plants as well as a brief visit to the Museum of Flight accompanied by Boeing’s official historian. Festivities began with delivery day in a steady rain but this didn’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd. Managers and employees escorted the jet as it was towed into position outside the main assembly plant at Everett. Despite the well-documented delays in bringing the 787 to market, the folks who build them are genuinely proud of their work and there were smiles and even some tears of joy mixed with the rain drops as the speeches were made and the ceremonial key was handed over to ANA management. Back at Paine Field the next morning before dawn, the Dreamliner is parked next to the Future of Flight facility being prepped by a Boeing Delivery crew. On hand also were several members of the media and well-wishers holding aloft their blue and white souvenir scarves touting ANA as being the “First to Fly” the 787. After a little glitch in getting the 1R door to close properly, the jet was towed out to the taxiway, the tug was removed and she trundled toward the runway bound for Japan and, hopefully, a safe and profitable service life.
So just to connect the dots: Images captured at Oshkosh by an Arizona photographer caught the eye of a Boeing manager in Chicago who extended an invitation to come to Washington to shoot a jet bound for Japan. And all because of a handful of targeted and well-watermarked 720X images posted to Facebook! Jay Beckman is a freelance photographer based in the greater Phoenix area where he operates Crosswind Images. Questions or comments about this article are most welcome and Jay can be reached at jcbeckman@cox.net - Crosswind Images is on the web at www.crosswindimages.com
The LAST F-22 by Rod Reilly
The photo of the final production F/A-22A, airframe #4195 was taken at the Lockheed Martin Marietta Georgia plant. It was shot at the aircraft rollout ceremony, for possible use by Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine. Camera on this shot was a Nikon D-700 with a 28-70mm f/2.8 lens. ISO was 500. Image was shot at f/4 at 1/800 of a second. Color balance was on auto, because I could not measure the factory lights’ color temp. In Photoshop I picked the Black and White option from the Image/Adjustment menu. Then worked with the slider bars on that menu for the individual colors for best contrast and image look. I wanted to get a frontal shot of #4195 but the security ropes were set that this was as far to the front as I could walk. I was taken by the dramatic light and resulting shadow from the Lockheed Martin’s F/A-22A as it stood on the hanger floor before its roll out.
On Assignment by Kevin Hong and Phil Makanna
For many years Phil Makanna, photographer of the world famous GHOSTS calendar has been chasing a whale called Texas Raiders (TR). On October 13, 2011, I had the pleasure of going on a photo shoot with Phil and fellow ISAP/CAF member Chris Ebdon to finally capture Texas Raiders, the CAF’s legendary B-17. For many years Texas Raiders was on the shooting list for Phil’s calendar. Capturing Texas Raiders became the story of Moby Dick about a captain and an elusive whale. Many photo missions were plagued by weather and maintenance issues in the past. Warbirds are old airplanes and fly when they want to fly. But finally, the time came for Phil to catch his whale and I was excited to be a part of the photo shoot.
A few days before the Wings Over Houston air show, clear blue skies and a comfortable temperature in the 80s were forecast. It was time to go flying. We briefed with the pilots and Phil described his vision of having two Japanese Zeros flying with Texas Raiders. The pilots discussed how far we would fly from home base. They went over the logistics, altitude, airspeed, and made drawings of the formation we were going to fly. Of course safety is always the number one issue when executing a photo shoot and selecting alternate airports in case an emergency was a top priority. Phil was using one the CAF’s Tora Zeros as a photo ship. I was chasing the B-17 in another one of the Zeros and Chris was in TR. We were a flight of four heading out to the bay area south of Houston. The smoke and noise of the big radial engines filled the air as we tested our communications and ran through the checklists. I glanced over at Phil in the other T-6 and I could see the reflection of his lens pointed right at me. I started taking photos of him. I could tell this was going to be a fun shoot. We taxied out with Texas Raiders following us in the rear. The sun was beginning to set and shooting with the canopy off made the shoot much more enjoyable. We lined up on the runway and I took off in formation. I was right next to Phil as we lifted off. After takeoff it became a World War II battle with cameras. Phil started shooting photos of me and I was shooting photos of him as we cruised out over the bay and waited for the B-17 to arrive. With the sun at our backs TR came out of nowhere under the shaded horizon line. I guess her olive green was hiding her. We started circling over the water and were able to get some amazing photos as TR climbed
up to meet us, the sun glistening off of the water. As we made our wide turns to join up, the wind started picking up and the pilots were getting a good work out. It was amazing to see this massive B-17 following a small T-6 photo plane. Each time we made a circle there were opportunities for me to capture TR with the sunlight on and off of her. We made a couple of orbits with the Zeros blowing smoke and some clean passes without the smoke. Holding formation and dealing with the wake turbulence of the B-17 became a real challenge. Constant radio contact was made and listening to the pilot’s chatter became surreal. Phil never said a word. He communicated with hand signals only. After we made another turn towards the sun Phil applauded. Then he raised his arms in celebration and gave us a “thumbs up.” The flight home was more enjoyable. We headed towards the sunset and the colors of a warm Texas sky. It was great to see the smile on Phil’s face after he captured his whale.
During the formation, Chris was able to get some shots from TRs waist gun window as we held position so that Phil could get his shot.
We landed at Ellington Field and did a quick debrief with the crew. We swapped cameras, sharing photos with the pilots. It had been a great photo mission. Texas Raiders had finally been captured. I look forward to seeing the final image in the 2013 GHOSTS Calendar.
Kermit Week’s P-51C in Flight Journal by Moose Peterson / warbirdimages.com
It was one of those amazing mornings when the photo gods decided you should be rewarded for getting up way too early. It was April and our Air2Air Workshop was based at Fantasy of Flight. One of the aircraft I had arranged for us to shoot as statics at sunrise was their gorgeous P-51C Red Tail “Ina the Macon Belle.” I had the P-51C parked in this location knowing I wanted the 40’s period hangar in the background. But at that moment, I had only a hint of what was to come. It seemed liked just minutes after Paul had pulled the tug away from the Mustang that the ground fog started to form. We were told it’s not a common occurrence at Fantasy of Flight but I sure wasn’t going to argue with our good fortune. Looking at where the sun was going to come up, knowing the hangar in the background would have light before the P-51C, I selected my piece of ramp to lie on. Using the OverXposed plate with the RRS BH-40 with a D3x / 24-120VR attached, I waited. I knew what I was going to do camera wise, just had to wait for the light. When the sun first kissed that hangar in the background, I let the camera rip. It didn’t last long because once the sun was up, the ground fog was fading but I had my shot. The camera part of this is pretty much your basic stuff. With the P-51C in shade, the hangar in
sun and the ground fog in between, while a single click would capture the moment, it wouldn’t capture the feeling of the moment and that’s what I wanted. I knew I would need a HDR 7 image capture to bring out the feeling in my photo. I wanted the “glow” of that polished fuselage and the airiness of the fog which is how I knew I needed 7 images. The “shine” from under the wings, the “shine” from the nose art and the glow of the fog were key. You can see in the screen capture of the 7 images the key elements. Once the images are captured, the rest is real simple and takes seconds. The seven images were assembled in Photomatix Pro. Since I do “realistic” HDR, the default settings for the program pretty much makes this a one click operation. The 7 images provide Photomatix with a ton of info so the very subtle shades on the fuselage and the fog can be captured. The image was then taken in Photoshop CS5.5 were I do a High Pass on just the P-51C. I removed a couple of clumps of grass on the ramp and it was done. The image has enjoyed a lot of popularity with the most common comment being ,“I love the feel of the fog” which tells me it was a successful photo mission.
Answer to last month’s mystery aircraft Jay Miller Photo Collection
Often referred to by it Ye-166 (Ye = “Experimental) designator in deference to the designation painted on its nose as displayed, this experimental interceptor testbed, designed and built by the Mikoyan (MiG) design bureau, is actually the second of two Ye-152s and was officially known as the Ye-152-2. The first of the two aircraft, the Ye-152-1, was utilized to set a number of world absolute speed and altitude records for class, not the least of which was an official speed record of 2,981.5 km per hour/1,852.6 mph or Mach 2.8 (October 5, 1967; pilot M. M. Komarov) and an official altitude record of 37,650 meters/123.523.6 ft. (August 31, 1977; pilot was A. V. Fedotov). The airplane shown, the second of the two Ye 152s built, was strictly a back-up to the more accomplished first aircraft, and was used sparingly during its flight test program. For propaganda purposes, the Soviets elected to cover up the real designation of both prototypes. When application was made with the Federation Aeronautique Internacional (FAI - the world governing body for aviation records), a fictitious designator, Ye-166, was chosen and used on the FAI forms. The number two Ye-152 - as the Ye-152M - is currently on display at the Central Museum of the Air Forces at Monino, about 24 miles east of Moscow. Specifications for the Ye-152 include a length of 64 ft. 5.9 in.; a wingspan of 28 ft. 10.2 in.; a height of 23.2 ft.; and a maximum takeoff weight of 31,636 pounds. It was powered by a single Tumansky R-15-300 turbojet engine rated at 22,400 pounds thrust in afterburner. Of interest is the fact the Ye-152’s records still stand as the fastest and highest ever for a single-engine manned jet aircraft.
Answers from ISAP members The aircraft in the Dec ISnAP is the Mikoyan 152M Currently on display at the Monino Air Force Museum.- Greg Meland Way too easy this month - the E-152M, although the history isn’t too clear about exactly which aircraft did what with respect to setting all those world records (although no doubt you will enlighten us!). - Simon Fitall Answer to this month’s aircraft ID quiz is: A Russian Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich E-166. The E-166 is single turbojet engine powered experimental aircraft, build by MiG. The first flight was in 1961. The E-166 could reach speeds up to Mach 3. Andy Lay
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The ISnAP is a periodic publication of the International Society for Aviation Photography and is used to communicate news, functions,convention information, and other information of interest on the local, regional, and national scenes. The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and should not be construed as the views or opinions of the International Society for Aviation Photography. Please submit photos as a jpg file, sized at 4x6 or 5x7 (200 dpi minimum), and text as a Microsoft Word file as attachments via email to ISnAP@aviationphoto.org