In the hangar... Yokota Aero Club's open house

For some odd reason when you move to a foreign country they require you to get some form of training before you're let loose on the roads. I think my stint in Tucson should qualify me for driving anywhere in the world.

So, being limited to the base has put a bit of a damper on my spotting activities but fear not! I have found an opportunity to view four local aircraft that are not your run-of-the-mill fare.

Yokota Air Base just outside of Tokyo, Japan has an Aero Club run by the 374th Services Squadron and they have four of the nicest, cleanest and most wonderfully decorated Cessna 172s I have seen. Ever. During their open house this past weekend I was able to wander around a bit and, properly escorted, photograph them on a muggy overcast morning. Two of their Cessnas are 172M models, the others are 172H which they refer to as the T-41 Mescalero (very familiar to many a military flyer from the UPT days). All are exceptionally clean, well-maintained and have up-to-date avionics (better than my Herc has one pilot quipped).

What is extraordinary about them is their paint schemes. All have a very Japanese feel to them with crashing waves on the tails and an assortment of flowers, shrines and Samurai themes. Most pleasing to look at and I'm sure they will be a joy to catch in-flight in the future.

In the land of the Rising Sun!

A very quick post letting everyone know that we're now in Japan at Yokota AFB near Tokyo. Hopefully our transition into housing will be quick because I REALLY want to get the glass out. In just a couple of short days there have been B747s from Evergreen and Atlas Air as well as my old friend the ATI DC-8. It is also a little surreal to hear the WOP WOP WOP of Huey blades and not see a Border Patrol paint scheme on the airframe.

This is going to be fun. :-)

In the pipeline.... off to Japan.

Well the boxes are in crates and the suitcase living conditions are present so that means one thing... we're off to Japan! I must admit I am somewhat ambivalent about moving to a country that has so many issues on the front burner, but that's part of being married to the Air Force now, isn't it?

The past couple of weeks have been jam-packed with action and some of that has been on the aviation front as well. The International Society for Aviation Photography held their symposium in San Diego and was filled with opportunities to network, learn and use our skills at a variety of venues including the San Diego Air & Space Museum, MCAS Mirimar and Gillespie Field (hosted by Bill Allen no less). A great event run by a great organization.

And finally getting checked off of the bucket list was an overflight of the 309th AMARG facility a.k.a the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB. We've all seen the F-16 but seeing 300+ fighting Falcons lined up in the morning sun is something else altogether. Many of them will (conceivably) be used in the ramp-up of the QF-16 drone program as the last of the F-4 Phantoms are used up.

Keep checking back, we're scheduled to arrive at Yokota AB, Japan in mid-June and I hope to begin photographing upon arrival.

In awe.... the 2011 Chino Airshow

I feel like I should be part of some 12-step program when I say the following. "Hello, my name is James (Hi James) and I... I've..... I've never been to the Chino Airshow." GASP!

Well gasp no more. My good friend Chuck and I spent the weekend in Southern California in awe and gawking at the amount and quality of aircraft both on the ground and in the skies over Chino during the 2011 airshow. If I had to sum up the experience in a single word it would have to be overwhelming.

Driving from Tucson, Arizona we arrived at the Planes of Fame museum and photographed the activities necessary to get your display aircraft ready to fly: washing, polishing, engine runs and test flights. Friday we visited Yanks Air Museum and later photographed arrivals and practice sessions. Saturday and Sunday... photographed. Monday we drove back and took a detour to the Palm Springs Air Museum and again photographed. Notice a pattern? To say there's a bit of processing ahead of me might just be an understatement. So I leave you with a single photo, a partial panorama of the flight line at Chino: four P-51 Mustangs, a P-63 King Cobra, two YAK-3s (one radial powered, one Allison powered), and a Mitsubishi Zero powered by the original engine no less.

My Top 10 favorite Arizona photographic moments

As my time here in Arizona draws to a close I've been looking back on what I have experienced through my camera lens in the past 18 months. Trying to select ten images is tough, like trying to pick a favorite child.

#10 Beech Staggerwing at Coolidge- Coolidge holds a monthly fly-in breakfast during the cooler months of the year. The local Lion's Club comes to cook breakfast and it is a total mystery what kinds of aircraft will show up. General Aviation was not a strong point with me when I moved here, but repeated Saturdays spent there wondering what the heck was THAT has helped bring me up to speed.

#9 Snow in the Mountains- Walking out the front door of the building our church meets in (The Rock of Sahuarita) is a glorious view of the Santa Rita mountains, and when the snow levels come down far enough it blankets them and everything goes quiet. No better place to be early on a Sunday morning.

#8 UAE Desert Viper-  Tucson Int'l. Airport is a place where I've seen many things for the first time but one of the most impressive was the United Arab Emirates F-16E/F Block 60 Desert Vipers. Start with  an already capable and deadly aircraft and add every odd lump and bump and you get an idea of what they look like, an F-16 on Steroids. They've returned to the UAE and no longer rip open the skies in the Old Pueblo but they are certainly not forgotten.

#7 Saguaro Trails- I have a huge Saguaro cactus in my backyard. Estimates by people "in the know" figure it started growing about the time the US was suffering through the Civil War. Combine this with the incredible night skies, thanks in large part to light regulations, and you can get an idea about how my brain started to think about how to combine them into a single image. I did, and I love it.

#6 Astronauts- Williams-Gateway Airport (formerly Williams AFB) has an FBO (fixed base operator) that has a military contract to provide services to military / gov't aircraft passing through in need of gas or crew rest, mayhaps even lunch. One of those agencies utilizing this contract is NASA and they often ferry shuttle pilots back and forth. I think they're going to go THAT way.

#5 Grand Canyon- No tour in Arizona would be complete without a trip to the Big Ditch. Colors, topography and snow all combined to show us unforgettable vistas at one of America's most iconic National Park.

#4 Pima Air & Space Museum- "Nothing beats like the heart of a volunteer" and one of my most memorable volunteer opportunities occurred at PASM where I served as a Tram driver giving narrated tours to visitors, as a collections worker cataloging images and artifacts as well as helping out with their Special Events department. I have heard about what visitors did "back in the day" and had them educate me on all manner of topics. I was fortunate enough to help install exhibits and dress mannequins in flight gear (not easy!). I have also learned volumes from fellow volunteers and staff members. It was a great time.

#3 Hummingbirds- Nuff' said.

#2 Barry Goldwater Bomb and Gunnery Range- Before you go to war you have to train for war. If you are to obliterate targets with airplane built around a big honking gun in war, you have to practice with your airplane built around a big honking gun and that is why there is a Barry Goldwater Bomb & Gunnery Range. A-10s and F-16s screaming down the chute to let loose, well... hell. Glad they're on our side.

#1 Storm in a Moment- Ever wondered what a thunder storm would look like if it happened all at once? Here's a typical Arizona monsoon storm compressed from over an hour into one single image. Purple and blues in the sky result from single lightning bolts changing the clouds and rain different colors. Streaks along the road are cars returning home during the event. Image created using 27 different lightning images.

So I've come full-circle. I was born here (at Davis-Monthan no less) and many many years later I'm back here and just like before I leaving. Will there be a third time? Who knows.

Farewell Coolidge!

5:00 a.m. came terribly early today considering it was Saturday. Quickly making a cup of disgusting instant decaf to get on the road was in order. Today was my last day at Coolidge. There will be more breakfast fly-ins there once the heat abates in the fall but when they do, I will be in the land of the Rising Sun exploring the aviation opportunities on offer in Japan. Today was a going away and I was eager to see what this aviation box of chocolates would present to me this day.

An hour and a quarter passes and I pull up behind the WWII hanger undergoing restoration. Once the north side was nothing more than peeling paint and shattered windows, now it is sheathed in Tyvek and surrounded by the machinery of construction. It's good to see the hanger getting a makeover after so many years, good to see it preparing to stand for another half-century. She has seen many people come and go, been host to a number of hanger flying events and the telling of tall tales, some perhaps even tainted by a drop or two of truth.

I hear the rumbling of a radial engine at idle and as I round the corner I see "Maniak" pulling to a stop, her giant machete-like propeller blades glinting in the harsh morning sun. It will be in the mid-90s before the lunch hour, but it's a dry heat after all. After two summers I don't even start complaining until we're past the century mark. Have I gotten used to the oven called Arizona? Perhaps. Then again, I may just be enjoying the lack of moisture in the air for I know the days of single digit humidity readings will soon be but a memory.

Five minutes after I arrive I get what is, for me, an image that sums up what a fly-in at Coolidge can be. A Cold War-era Soviet designed tail-dragger gleaming in the morning sun; the morning haze, unlikely to be burned off, obscuring the mountains behind her. Friends made in the past eighteen months appear and it feels like any other day standing alongside a runway tracking aircraft from tame to beastly. "Enjoy these men, these aircraft, this field while you can" I tell myself, for it will end in a short time. I will miss you Coolidge.

On the web... with FLICKR Groups

I like groups. Small groups at church, groups of photographers, groups of people gathering for a pot luck, that kind of thing. I would like to think if I was an animal I'd be a wolf; not because of the "lone wolf" idea but because there is such a neat social structure they have.

I'm the same way with the photo sharing site Flickr. I enjoy being part of numerous groups and seeing how the individual contributions of many can come together in a themed group, i.e. camouflage aircraft, Federal Aviation, aircraft built by Douglas, etc. I also happen to run a small number of groups that are aviation related and I must say seeing the images that pop up is often what brings a smile to my face on a less-than-perfect day. So if you like seeing themed images of aircraft, head on over to Flickr and browse through the groups. A nice distraction from the wildfire burning on the other side of the mountains on a very windy day I assure you.

BUSH PLANES- my latest group, a group for sharing images of airplanes used to service remote locations (typically thought of as Alaska, Canada, Australia and Africa but includes many more). Planes should be easily recognizable as capable of rough-field operations requiring short-field take-off and landing techniques, bush tires, skis, floats, etc.

GEAR IN MOTION- Dedicated to landing gear at any point between fully stowed and fully extended. Not for gear up, not for gear down; it is for landing gear between up and down.

 PODS: ECM, Targeting, Recce, etc.- a group dedicated to the phenomena of aircraft underwing/fuselage pods: electronic counter measures (ECM), targeting, and reconnaissance.

PROPWASH- Dedicated to the phenomenon called propwash or spiral slipstream that occurs on the tips of rotating aircraft propellers during low speed / high torque conditions a.k.a. takeoff and high speed taxi.