Leaving a Trail for Others to Follow

This huge MD-11 cargo plane leaves impressive vapor trails in the moist early morning air during its landing at Los Angeles International Airport. It was really interesting to see the various aircraft emerge from the fog surrounding the field and touch down while displaying such grace and power. The noise was deafening in some cases.

Red Fresco

Kathy and I made plans to go to 3 car shows on Saturday. Unfortunately 2 had been cancelled. The remaining show was in Rialto and was excellent. On the way home we stopped at the Chino Planes of Fame Museum. This is a MiG-17 fighter designed in Russia. The NATO code name for the MiG-17 is Fresco. All Russian fighters were assigned NATO code names that started with a letter F. For example, the names for the MiG-15, 19 and 21 were Fagot, Farmer and Fishbed respectively. This example has been nicely restored, its bright red and black paint stood out beautifully when compared to the other aircraft in this hanger which were mainly silver or grey. American pilots that encountered the MiG-17 over Vietnam quickly learned that trying to turn with this nimble aircraft would most likely result in the MiG shooting them down. The solution was to fight in the vertical plane, using the American aircraft's superior thrust to accelerate away from the MiG and re-engage from a more advantageous position. In the 1960's, a few flyable examples of the MiG-17 were "obtained" by U.S. intelligence agencies and participated in mock combat against American pilots and aircraft to train them in methods of effectively overcoming the MiG's advantages in the skies over Vietnam. One valuable lesson they learned was that at speeds over 450 knots, the MiG's control stick would partially lock up. American pilots engaged by the MiG were instructed to accelerate to 500+ knots and evade. The MiG would be unable to follow.

The Talon and the Tigershark

On Memorial Day I'll pause to say thank you to the men and women who have served and are serving our country in a dangerous world, protecting our freedoms and keeping us safe. I also want to say thank you to their families who sacrifice so much for us.

These two Northrop aircraft at first glance look quite similar but only the white T-38 Talon saw service as a training aircraft and MiG simulator for our Aggressor squadrons based at Nellis AFB near Las Vegas, NV. The gray F-20 Tigershark was an aircraft without a home. Designed by Northrop at the "suggestion" of the US government, once complete it found no customers. Only three were ever built and this is the only surviving example.

The Phantom of the Midway

The Phantom of the Midway, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I decided to take my neice Alexandra and her boyfriend Josh to San Diego for the weekend. We had a great time on the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum in San Diego harbor. I have been to the Midway a few times before, but this time we explored parts of the ship I had never seen including Pri-Fly and the Bridge.

I was sorry to hear the fireworks display in the bay went so badly this year. Nobody hurt but I understand all of the fireworks went off at once and the show was over in 12 seconds. Apparently about a thousand people had paid for viewing spots on the Midway's flight deck.

Pictured behind us in this fisheye / facebook style shot is an F4 Phantom II fighter / bomber which like all of the aircraft on the Midway has been wonderfully restored. A great day and a lot of fun.

Silverplate

Silverplate, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I have read that even with the accute raw material shortages and rationing that went on during WWII, anything needed for the Manhattan project was was delivered on a silver platter. It was understood that if the United States failed to create a working atomic bomb before the Germans or the Japanese we would likely lose the war. Within the Manhattan project, nothing was given a higher priority than the special modifications that were needed to be made to standard B-29 bombers which would enable them to drop atomic weapons. For that reason these modifications were code named "Silverplate". Pictured here and preserved for history is the Enola Gay which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan, the effects of which probably killed between 90,000 and 166,000 people while helping to end WWII and probably saving 1 million American lives.

The Liberator

The Liberator, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

I've read about them in books and seen them many times on DVD's and TV but until this October I had never set eyes on a real B-24 bomber. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. Manufactured by the Consolidated Aircraft Company of San Diego, the B-24M Liberator bomber was 13th version of this aircraft to be built. About 20 minutes after I took this 10 exposure HDR image, the skies opened up and it rained hard. I took refuge under the huge delta wing of a Canadian Vulcan Bomber and put my camera back into my rolling backpack. My day at the museum was cut short, but I was able to return the next day to finish my tour.

Lead Sled

Lead Sled, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

Formerly cloaked in absolute secrecy and for decades regarded to be the fastest jet powered aircraft the world has ever known, this SR-71 Blackbird now sits quietly in front of the Castle Air Museum in Atwater California. I've seen Blackbirds in mueseums before but never outside and never in a setting where I could freely use my full size tripod to create an HDR image. This is one of my favorite aircraft.

Super Cruising at the Udvar Hazy Center

Super Cruising at the Udvar Hazy Center, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

The Mach 2 Air France Concorde takes center stage at the Udvar Hazy Center in Washington DC.

Starship Enterprise.... Kinda

Starship Enterprise.... Kinda, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

The Space Shuttle Enterprise in the James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Smithsonian's Udvar Hazy Center Museum. Wow that was a mouthful. It's really quite amazing to walk into this hanger and see a space shuttle parked right in front of you. Even if that shuttle has never been in space. This was a test vehicle and was flown off the back of a specially modified 747. Astronaut and Enterprise test pilot John Young once mentioned that the Enterprise had the gliding characteristics of a brick. More Udvar Hazy Center images here.

The Flyer, Spirit and Columbia

The Flyer, Spirit and Columbia, originally uploaded by big_pixel_pusher.

In 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright flipped a coin to decide who would attempt the first controlled, powered flight in a heavier-than-air aircraft which they themselves had designed. Orville, a 32 year old bicycle mechanic won the coin toss.

24 years after their success, Charles Lindbergh flew alone from New York to Paris in the high wing monoplane the "Spirit of St. Louis”. You can see it hanging from the ceiling in this image on the left side. 150,000 cheering Parisians greeted him when he landed at Le Bourget. He was 25 years old.

42 years later he personally witnessed the launch of the giant Apollo 11 moon rocket topped by the Command Module "Columbia" which you can see in the foreground. The Columbia carried Michael Collins, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Neil Armstrong to the Moon. And it was there on July 20, 1969 during the final moments before the landing when Neil had to take manual control of the Lunar Module "Eagle" because their targeting computer was guiding them to a landing spot covered with car size boulders. He successfully landed the Eagle with six seconds of fuel remaining. He was 39 years old.

Over 66 years these men in their twenties and thirties made world history as did everyone who supported their endeavors. Not just for the United States but for all mankind. It's just amazing to me that at one time all three historic flying machines resided in the Milestones of Flight Gallery at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and anyone could just walk in and see them all at once.

When I am lucky enough to visit and I see kids and even adults just pass through this gallery and not really give any of the exhibits here a second glance, I wonder if they have any idea how historic these artifacts are and how they changed our world so profoundly.

This image is fairly unique. You might notice there are no people in it. This is very rare since the National Air and Space is the most visited museum in the world. Manny and I had just seen a few IMAX movies in the museum. We figured that by the time the last film had concluded, the museum would be closed. We planned to linger behind for a few minutes to let the crowd exit the building so I could get this and a few other shots before the security guards kicked us out (which they politely did).

(Note: The Wright Brother's 1903 flyer is now located in its own gallery and is displayed at floor level so guests can get a better look at it.)