Aviation | Perth Amboy Bird CK This Perth Amboy Bird CK image was captured a few years ago at the Annual Antique Airplane Association Fly-in in Blakesburg, IA. Only 50 Perth Amboy Bird CK aircraft were built in the 1930s and only four are registered in the USA today. It’s powered by the five cylinder Kinner B-5 radial engine. For the whole story with all images, see Aviation | a 7 Image Story.
Aviation | a 7 Image Story Picking seven aviation images from the thousands in my database was difficult. These images were primarily chosen because they represent some of my best compositions. Like these images, many of my favorite aviation images come from airshows and fly-ins. My favorite events include Oshkosh, Chicago Air & Water, the AAA fly-in, and the Lake City fly-in. See more wildlife images in my Aviation Portfolio.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner This image, captured several years ago at Oshkosh before the 787 had entered service, shows the Dreamliner on its takeoff roll. The Dreamliner can carry around 300+/- passengers 6,000 to 7,500 nm. To help passengers on those long hauls, the cabin pressure and the humidity are higher than most airliners. Passengers feel like they are at an altitude of 6,000 feet instead of the industry standard of around 8,000 feet, which may help passenger fatigue.
B-25 Champaign Gal In this image, Champaign Gal is taking off at Grimes Field in Urbana, OH before the 70th Reunion of the Doolittle Raiders at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH in April 2012. Twenty B-25 aircraft attended the reunion with the five remaining crew members from the raid. Similar images could have easily been taken at numerous airfields around the world in 1942. Champaign Gal is based at Grimes Field as part of the Champaign Air Museum.
F/A 18 Super Hornet This image was captured at the Chicago Air & Water Show. If you have never gone to it; it’s a really nice venue for capturing aircraft images along the beach, particularly if you like jets. You can’t always pick the background, but even with these bald skies, the vapor trail provides some contrast. Notice the “F/A” in the F/A-18 designation since it’s both a fighter and an attack aircraft. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine, carrier-capable, multi-role fighter and attack aircraft. It has an internal 20 mm M61 rotary cannon and can also carry air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface weapons. Turn & burn!
Cub & Super Cub Two iconic airplanes flying in nice snow make for memorable images. Of course, the difficulty to capturing good airplane images in the winter with snow, is to keep the shutter speed low enough to blur the prop and pan well enough to keep the wings and fuselage in sharp focus while dealing with bright, hard mid-day light. A 1/125s shutter speed is about as high as I like for a click like this one.
F-4 Phantom This F-4 Phantom II image was captured during the Oshkosh fly-in several years ago. The F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range, supersonic fighter-bomber. The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2.
Perth Amboy Bird CK This Perth Amboy Bird CK image was captured a few years ago at the Annual Antique Airplane Association Fly-in in Blakesburg, IA. Only 50 Perth Amboy Bird CK aircraft were built in the 1930s and only four are registered in the USA today. It’s powered by the five cylinder Kinner B-5 radial engine.
Martin JRM Mars This Martin JRM Mars is dropping 7,200 gallons of water on runway 18/36 at AirVenture 2016. The Martin JRM Mars flying boats are the world’s largest flying boats ever flown operationally. Although seven were built, only two remain flying, the Hawaii Mars JRM-3 pictured here and the Philippine Mars. They have been refitted as firefighting water bombers carrying 7,200 gallons of water.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Aviation.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Back to Blakesburg AAA Fly-in | Perth Amboy Bird CK This beautiful Perth Amboy Bird CK flew at the Annual Antique Airplane Association Fly-in in Blakesburg, IA. Only 50 Perth Amboy Bird CK aircraft were built in the 1930s and only four are registered in the USA today. It’s powered by the five cylinder Kinner B-5 radial engine. For the whole story with all images, see Back to Blakesburg AAA Fly-in.
Back to Blakesburg AAA Fly-in | a 7 Image Story The Antique Airplane Association Fly-in is held annually at Antique Airfield (IA27) over the Labor Day weekend. Vintage airplane lovers and owners come together to enjoy beautiful old airplanes including some rare examples like Waco, Spartan, Stearman, Perth Amboy Bird CK, Fairchild, and Swift. Vintage airplanes are on ground display and are flown regularly during the fly-in. In fact, pilots are almost continuously flying their antique airplanes during the day; making the Antique Airfield’s 2,350-foot turf runway, very busy. And, sometimes the pilots will give rides taking you back to the golden age of aviation! The AAA fly-in feels like an old grassroots fly-in from years past. The airplanes are beautifully restored and the people are genuinely friendly. Of course, the photography is as good as it gets.
Soundtrack from the movie Flyboys; a musical score composed by Trevor Rabin & Don Harper.
So, what is the Antique Airplane Association? The AAA was first formed in August of 1953 to “Keep the Antiques Flying”, which remains today as their main interest and primary function. The AAA has over twenty active chapters and a close working relationship with many of the aircraft type clubs, which sometimes use Antique Airfield for fly-ins. The Antique Airplane Association is located at Antique Airfield near Blakesburg, Iowa. Membership is open to anyone interested in antique airplanes; it’s not necessary to be a pilot or an aircraft owner. The Annual Invitational AAA/APM Fly-In and Convention is held every Labor Day Weekend. To attend the fly-in, you must be an AAA member or join when you register at the fly-in. See the Antique Aircraft Association site for more information on this grass roots fly-in.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Back to Blakesburg AAA Fly-in.
Click any image below for a slide show!
This beautiful Perth Amboy Bird CK flew at the Annual Antique Airplane Association Fly-in in Blakesburg, IA. As I learn more about this and other antique aircraft at the fly-in, I will post more images and information. This year was my first to attend the AAA fly-in and I certainly hope it’s not the last. It feels like an old grassroots fly-in from years past. The airplanes are beautifully restored and the people are genuinely friendly. And, the photography is as good as it gets.
