How’d you get that shot – Rare Bear

An underside plan form layout of Rare Bear's new paint scheme lies on the work table along with dozens of engine parts soon to be added to the aircraft.

Let me first start by saying, I have never witnessed harder working aircrews than those who toil over air racers. Months before the Reno Air Races, air racing crews are diligently working on their aircraft tweaking and modifying every square inch for that one extra mile per hour. And as race day nears, they become sleepless masters of aeronautics and duct tape. It was this very essence of commitment I was tasked with capturing for Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine.

Arriving at Stead Field in mid-July is fairly anticlimactic if you’ve ever been to Reno during the height of the air races. The hot ramp is void of horsepower, the spectators are nowhere to be found and the track is deafeningly silent. However, hidden in a nearby hangar a ferocious racer is being prepped for race day only three short months away.

It had been twenty years since I first saw this aircraft rounding the pylons at Stead Field. My first time attending the races in 1991, Lyle Shelton pushed the radial engine hard beating out the inlines, Skip Holm in Tsunami and Bill DeStefani in Strega, for the win. I was in love. Forever more this would be the aircraft for which I would push to win.

Rare Bear Preparation 2009. (L-R) Mechanics Keith Geary and Rob Grosvenor discuss aircraft modifications with Team Lead Alby Redick and Crew Chief Dave Cornell.

When I came upon the ‘Bear Cave’, chief mechanics, Keith Gary and Rob Grovesnor were deep in concentration running through a rather long checklist. Team Lead, Alby Redick, was tending to other tasks in preparation for Crew Chief, Dave Cornell’s short visit. For a brief moment, they all stopped for a quick greeting and introduction, then it was right back to work.

I was grateful for the brief moment of attention, but even more grateful for their ability to focus on their duties despite my presence. There is nothing more annoying than posed photos. These guys had no doubt been in this situation before; a photographer sticking a camera in their face while they do their best to troubleshoot a problem that if not addressed, could jeopardize the life of a pilot, at the very least. However, as a photographer, knowing the circumstances and the main purpose of why they are doing what they are doing, remains a fundamental responsibility that every photographer must embrace.

Crew Chief for the 2009 Rare Bear team, Dave Cornell, discusses improvements made to the highly modified F8f Bearcat prior to the Reno Air Racing Championship held at Stead Field near Reno, NV. Here he inspects the firewall just aft the engine.

With that mutual understanding, the team quickly came to trust me…at least I think they did.

When Cornell arrived, the tools were put down and the list came out. I have no experience as an aerodynamicist, none whatsoever in aviation circuitry, nada when it comes to high-pressure and low-pressure airflow, zip with composites, fuel flow, ventilation, compression, not even paint. Everything these guys talked about was complete Greek to me, with the exception of the word airframe. I know what an airframe is and I know I heard that word a couple times, so I must still be in the right place.

Rare Bear Team Manager, Alby Redick, listens to his teammates as they run through a maintenance checklist and appropriate solutions.

I followed the guys around during their checklist tour and relevant minor tweaks. I never butted in, only captured what light was available to me as they made their rounds and did my best to capture expressions and juxtapositions as they occurred. As quickly as Cornell arrived, he was gone. And back to work went the team.

It was already known this was to be a cover story and we needed to get a cover shot. A short time earlier I had completed a shoot with the General Atomics Predator C ‘Avenger’ in Southern California. I figured I’d apply what I learned from the late night photoshoot to capture the vibrancy of Rare Bear under controlled lighting conditions.

The tail fairing from a 2007 Rare Bear paint scheme lies discarded amongst other pieces of scrap metal in the fabrication shop. History lies everywhere in the 'Bear Cave'.

When nightfall came, the crew pulled Rare Bear out of the hangar and headed toward the run-up area at the end of RWY26. Although it took about an hour, we managed to get the old scissor lift next to the hangar out to the run-up area as well. This enabled me to get the camera onto a raised platform for a much better overview of the historic racer.

One of the initial factors on this night was that there was a near full moon. At any other time, this would have been great. A timed exposure with a full moon present will bathe the subject in ambient light at a fairly controllable rate. Unfortunately, due to the direction we needed to shoot, the moon threatened to cast a huge complex shadow of the scissor lift over the tarmac and eventually the aircraft. When we initially set up the shot, this wasn’t going to be an issue, but as the moon moved across the sky, we came to the realization there was a time frame we needed to work within. If we took too long, the scissor lift’s shadow would ruin the image.

Mechanic Keith Geary peers into an access port while assisting with the installation of Rare Bear's canopy.

The image had already been preconceived on a pad of paper. Space needed to be provided for the magazine cover’s masthead, contents and bar code. Angling the aircraft in such a way, and providing plenty of background would do the trick. Once the Bear was positioned, I went up in the lift to compose the shot, mount the camera to the scissor lift’s railing and attach all the necessary cables in order to remotely operate the camera from the ground. The lift was lowered, I exited and sent the lift back up with just the camera. Connected to my laptop, I could now see what the camera was seeing and began working on lighting the aircraft.

Once the images had been captured, I made some minor tweaks and sent it off to the magazine. The next morning I got a call from Caroline Sheen critiquing the image. Although we were on the right track, it just wasn’t cover-worthy material, and I agreed. The image itself was strong and technically perfect, but it lacked the human element. It was just a plane.

Although the original image was technically perfect, it lacked the human touch and the real essence of the Reno Air Races. It was a photo of a static aircraft, nothing more.

Caroline asked for what I thought was the impossible however, I didn’t realize the level of efficiency and dedication air racing teams posses. She asked, “How difficult would it be to make the aircraft appear as it should on race day?” There were no control surfaces, no canopy, no prop, missing panels, missing fairings, no spinner and a host of other things an aircraft must have in order to fly. I laughed a little, the team did not. They simply responded, “No problem, we’ll get right on that!”

They spent the day putting the aircraft back together. This would be the most complete Rare Bear had been since concluding last year’s races. While I did my best to stay out of the way and document their progress, I continuously racked my brain on how we were going to utilize the same lighting method, but with people. I hadn’t done that before with a long exposure lighting technique.

Once nightfall came, everyone jumped into action repeating exactly as we had done the night before. Since we hadn’t planned on a remake, there were no markers or place cards denoting where everything should go. We had to do our best to compare the existing photo with where everything had to be. And of course there was the moon. That constant nagging reminder that we had to remain on our toes and not waste any time.

The final published image shows Reno Air Racing champion Rare Bear, a highly modified F8f Bearcat resting on the tarmac at Stead Field while (clockwise from top) Keith Geary, Rob Grosvenor and Alby Redick work on preparing the aircraft.

With everything in place, we briefed the shot once more. Since the guys had all been there the night prior, they were all familiar with the lighting technique and understood the fundamentals of what needed to be accomplished. Essentially, they needed to assume a comfortable pose and maintain that exact position for two to three minutes. If you’re wondering why the long exposure instead of a quick pop of portable strobes, certain elements such as the dimly lit taxi lights, distant mountain range and its separation from the sky, could only be accomplished with a long exposure using the moon’s ambient light.

With the conclusion of each exposure, a giddiness looms over as the guys leave their respective positions and head for the computer to see what progress has been made. It reminds me of why I do what I do. Here are a group of guys I would trade anything for to experience a mere fraction of what they have, and yet a simple picture is enough to ignite a sense of genuine excitement.

Just before 1am on July 9th, it was a wrap! The moon had moved westward making the scissor lift’s shadow too dominant to continue. Not to mention we were all working to the point of exhaustion and still had to move everything back to the hangar.

Using the moon, a flashlight and my camera bag as a tripod, this would be my closing shot following three days of documenting the hard working Rare Bear team at Stead Field.

Each member of the crew took responsibility for hauling a vehicle back to the hangar leaving me all alone on the ramp with one last machine, Rare Bear. With only the moonlight and a flashlight, I set out for one last shot. Knowing the guys would be back in a few minutes, I rested the camera on my camera bag angling it upward at the sleeping beast.

Back lit by the moon, I lit the aircraft with the flashlight for a near 3-minute exposure. The lights in the immediate background are those of the Lemmon Valley residents with the horizon being lit by the nearby Reno cityscape.

After nearly 20 years of watching and cheering on the Bear, I’ll never forget the surreal feeling of being on the ramp at Stead all alone with this magnificent aircraft.

Special thanks to the Rare Bear team for their passion and dedication not only for their assistance with this shoot, but for all the years of work they’ve poured into the Bear to keep her in the skies. Rare Bear Team Lead, Alby Redick; Crew Chief, Dave Cornell;  Lead Mechanics, Keith Geary and Rob Grosvenor; Public Relations, Lisa Snow and aircraft owner, Rod Lewis. Of course the shoot would not have been possible without those at Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine, Linda Shiner and Caroline Sheen.

For more images from this shoot, follow the link here.

Camera: Canon 5D
Lens: 17-35mm f/2.8 @ 17mm
Exposure: 228 seconds – Manual
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100
Image Created: 7/8/09 @ 11:08pm pst

How’d you get that shot – Blue Angels over Big Sur

Michael Goulian with passenger Bill Whitaker from CBS News flies in formation with Ed Hamill behind a C-130J belonging to the 146th Airlift Wing of the Rhode Island Air National Guard.

At the risk of sounding cliche, it all started with a phone call. Make that two cliches. John Cudahy, President of the International Council of Airshows (ICAS), asked if I would have any interest in joining and assisting a news crew on various photoshoots during the weekend of the California International Airshow in Salinas. It didn’t take long to provide an answer.

It was Fall of 2009 and home foreclosures were at an all time high. The market had already crashed and the unemployment rate was not about to decline anytime soon. Due to the popularity of airshows during an otherwise miserable economic downturn, CBS contacted ICAS to find out the secret behind these entertaining venues. Because of time constraints and accessibility, Salinas would be chosen to host the news crew for their national story.

For 2009, Salinas had a stellar line up. Military demonstration teams included the A-10 Thunderbolt, USAF Heritage Flight, US Army Golden Knights and the USN Blue Angels. On the civilian roster was Michael Goulian, Ed Hamill, Bob Carlton, Gene Soucey and Teresa Stokes, John Collver and the ever popular Robosaurus and the Wall of Fire.

Major Paul "Harb" Brown of the West Coast A-10 Demo Team points the business end of his Thunderbolt II toward the open ramp of the C-130J.

The first photoshoot involved Michael Goulian with CBS news correspondent Bill Whitaker as his passenger. Flying Wayne Handley’s yellow and blue Extra, Goulian teamed up with Ed Hamill in his patriotic Pitts biplane. Assisting the news crew and the airshow throughout the weekend was the 143rd Airlift Wing of the Rhode Island Air National Guard (RIANG) with their extended body C-130J Hercules.

Once Goulian and Hamill completed their formation fun behind the C-130, it was time for Major Paul “Harb” Brown in the A-10 and Steve Hinton in his P-51D “Wee Willy II” to join the fun. Harb expertly approached the six o’clock position of the C-130 swaying from side to side providing the news crew with various bank angles followed by cautiously placing the business end of the A-10 within mere feet of the extended ramp. After a few brief minutes, Hinton joined Harb demonstrating the dissimilar formation of the USAF Heritage Flight. A quick glance at the CBS videographer revealed a grin from ear to ear. The news crew was no doubt getting what they wanted.

From the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California, Steve Hinton flies P-51D 'Wee Willy II' during a media flight at the 29th annual California International Airshow in Salinas.

As with just about every exhilarating air to air shoot, it was all over too soon. The ramp of the C-130 slowly closed until the last sliver of light glistening off the maze of pipes along the internal fuselage walls disappeared. A small bump a few minutes later indicated we were back on the ground.

Throughout the weekend the excitement of one of the country’s most successful civilian airshows drew oohs and ahhs from the crowd. The news crew could be found hard at work at every corner of the airfield capturing these magical moments. All the while, Commander Greg McWhirter lead the precision Blue Angles demonstration team through three flawless performances giving us a hint of what was to come at the conclusion of the show.

High over the cloudy California coastline, the 2009 Blue Angels Demonstration Team flies their famous six-ship formation behind a RIANG C-130J at the conclusion of the California International Airshow in Salinas.

Early Monday morning, absent of crowds, aircraft were being closely inspected by their aircrews in preparation of heading home. Vendors were disassembling booths and temporary stanchions were being collected. The airport was still however, far from looking like an airport.

Proudly sitting on the flightline were the six primary Blue Angel aircraft, their canopies freshly cleared of morning dew. Looking on was the RIANG C-130J complete with aircrew and passengers, but without one major entity…CBS. Unfortunately the news crew was on deadline and was forced to head back to New York in order to prepare the piece.

Just as we had done before the airshow started, we received our brief, buckled in and watched from the rear of the aircraft as we taxied toward the runway. Slowly the ramp began to close and we were airborne.

Tilting and tightening in on a singular subject adds to the variety of a shoot.

As soon as we were ‘feet wet’ over the Monterey Bay, the cargo door came down revealing the thick marine layer covering the Central Coast. In the distance a dot could be seen, followed by another dot, and yet another two dots…pretty soon seven random dots could be seen closing in on our aircraft. In no time at all those seven dots became a tightly knit formation of gold and blue F-18’s with the seventh aircraft, F-18B #7 hanging just outside the formation.

By this time we were about five miles off the coast of Pebble Beach, California rounding to the south to follow the Big Sur coastline. The surrealistic view of six F/A-18A Hornets being flown by perhaps the best pilots in the world warranted a few moments of contemplation without a camera in front of my face. Fortunately that didn’t last long and I got back to shooting.

Clearly this wasn’t the first time the Blue Angels had pulled up behind a C-130 full of camera-wielding photographers. The six pilots were as one as they swayed from side to side, smoke on then smoke off.

Just seconds before the six-ship formation broke away from the C-130, the skies opened up over the Point Sur Lighthouse. This was literally the last image shot before the shoot came to an end.

Not that any ‘impact’ needed to be added to illustrate the sheer power and agility of of today’s front line fighter, let alone six, but I did attempt various angles and isolating individual aircraft. A tilt to the left or a tilt to the right managed to fill the frame and add a sense of dynamics. Zooming in on individual aircraft revealed unique views and perspectives, especially with multiple aircraft and multiple angles from which to choose.

During the entire eighty-mile flight down the Big Sur coastline, the marine layer was ever prevalent with no sign of revealing the breathtaking cliffs. But as all hope seemed lost, a break in the clouds appeared just as we approached the Point Sur Lighthouse, made famous by the USS Macon (ZRS-5) which crashed just off shore. A small trough of warm air carved an angular wedge out of the persistent coastal gloom revealing a beachhead and a hint of the lighthouse. Seconds later the six-ship plus one departed in search of an awaiting KC-135. Once topped off, they would be on their way home to Pensacola, Florida.

It was an incredible honor to have been the first civilian photographer to have an image featured as the official team litho for 2010. Thank you to everyone on the team who made it happen!

Special thanks to John Cudahy of ICAS for the special invite along with the entire Board of the California International Airshow for creating the logistics to make this reality. An enormous debt of gratitude is owed to the USN Blue Angels Demonstration Squadron as well as Col. Larry Gallogly and his crew of the 143rd Airlift Wing Air National Guard. Additional thanks to Blue Angels CDR Greg McWherter and Public Affairs Officer, CAPT Tyson Dunkelberger for selecting the resulting image as the official 2010 Blue Angels Lithograph.

For more images from this shoot and the 2009 California International Airshow, Salinas, click here or pick up a copy of the 2009 California International Airshow – Salinas Pictorial.

Camera: Canon 5D
Lens: 28-135mm f/3.5 @ f/5.6
Exposure: 1/500 – Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 100
Image Created: 8/10/09 @ 9:10am pst

For more images from the Blue Angels photoshoot, including additional photography and details of each performer, check out the "California International Airshow" book by clicking on the above image.

How to Price Your eBook

With the ever growing popularity of the tablet, anyone who has ever dreamed of publishing a book now has the means. Owners of iPads, Kindles, Tabs, Nooks, and others are purchasing eBooks at a record pace due to their portability and environmental conscientiousness. But who would have predicted the actual creation and implementation of an eBook would be the easy part?

Pricing a book used to be relatively easy. Take all the parts of the book like printing costs, marketing expenses, advances and other author related fees, publisher fees, distribution fees and desired profits, add them up, divide by the number of printed copies, end it with a ‘5’ or a ‘9’ and voila, you have a price. With eBooks, some of that process is still in place, but there is no longer a physical book along with printing costs, or distribution fees and thus the basis of pricing is flipped on end.

Regardless of the size or amount of time you've spent on your publication, the consumer will only spend what they feel the eBook is worth.

In many ways, the growing eBook industry has much to learn from the digital photography business. When film disappeared, photographers needed to find a new way of justifying prices based on an intangible product. Customers at first didn’t understand why they were paying the same price, if not more, for a digital image when the expense of film was no longer a part of the process. As most photographers know, the price of technology skyrocketed, the responsibilities of processing film simply transferred from the lab to the photographer and storing images digitally on hard drives replaced the cost of purchasing film.

Producing an eBook is no different. Instead of a publisher working to lay out the book, the author now does the work. Although a publisher may no longer incur the expense of printing the book, the author may instead be tasked with hiring a pre-production company to digitize and troubleshoot any layout inconsistencies. And of course there’s time invested.

Those looking to get their books published have been eased into the market through ‘Print-on-Demand’ publishing companies like Blurb, Flickr, Lulu and CafePress just to name a few. Unfortunately these markets allowed little room for profit but enabled new publishers a base from which price from.

The eBook market has no standard. Typically ‘How-To’ books are priced higher than your fictional love story so in the online world, entertainment isn’t quite as valuable as information. Expect to pay about $2.99 for an entertaining novel by an unknown writer versus $7.99 and up for an informative ePub.

The consensus to arriving at a competitive price comes down to what you want out of your project. Selling an eBook is no different than selling anything else in this world; there are pros and cons.

People will tell you to price your work at next to nothing so you can sell hundreds, thousands, even millions of copies and possibly make a profit from bulk sales. Others will suggest taking a loss so you can get your name out. And still others will claim testing the market by setting a high price only to gradually lower it until sales improve is a great way to operate. Unfortunately all of these have a downside.

We all dream of selling millions of books, so do the other millions of people who have uploaded their books. Selling your book for nothing or next to nothing will still get you nothing. Why not make a little money while your name gets out there? After all, we’re talking about a digital book, not a physical one that people will share with their friends. If your book is good, they will email their friends about it and your book will go viral regardless of the price, so long as it’s a reasonable one. And gradually lowering the price of your book will only lead to upset buyers who purchased your book when it first came out. Remember, those buying your book are still customers and you want them to eventually buy more books, so don’t burn your bridges with poor customer service.

With that in mind, keep your pricing economically viable. In other words, it may be unrealistic to get $29.99 for your book just because you’ve invested six months to a year of your time in its creation. That kind of pricing may need to be saved for the physical copy and your eBook price may have to drop to $4.99. It’ll be a hard pill to swallow, but eventually worth it.

To best figure out what your book is worth, do a little homework and check out other books similar to yours featured on eBook sites. The more unique your publication, the more people will pay for that knowledge.

The most important part, check out your competition. If you’ve completed a stellar cookbook, check out other highly rated cookbooks with similar content and structure and price your book accordingly. If this happens to be your first book, price it slightly lower than authors with multiple books. Research has shown that up to 80% of consumers that have purchased one book from a particular author will go on to purchase additional books by that same author if they like the work. So, pricing your first eBook slightly below theirs may put you on the same level playing field and at least get readers to acknowledge your skills.

So why end in ‘5’ or ‘9’? Most of it is psychological and if anyone has ever been shopping, you know the psychology works. Would you rather buy something for $19.99 or $20.00? Furthermore, many of the eBook distributors require a pricing structure that ends in $.95 or $.99. Apple’s iTunes, for example, happens to require an ending price of $.99.

And don’t forget, you don’t get to keep all the dough. Suppose you print a book through Blurb and then submit it to iTunes. Blurb will keep their operating cost, about $1.40 and Apple will keep about 30% of the purchase price. If you’re selling a novel marketed through Amazon’s Kindle, pricing it at $2.99 or above will enable you to keep 70% of the profit, but if you price it below $2.99, you only keep 30%.

Most importantly, don’t underprice yourself. Your knowledge and ideas are valuable. Just spend some time doing a bit of homework and browsing the eBook store to get a better idea of what the market will bear for titles similar to yours.

And congratulations on becoming an author!

How’d You Get That Shot? – Silver Stealth

Without the usual armed guards and miles of redundant security stanchions typically present with the F-117, photographers could exercise their creativity in documenting the aircraft and the event.

“Ok guys, here’s what I want; let’s get five Night Hawks…no wait, fifteen…aw heck, twenty-five F-117’s in formation on a heading of 162 degrees so they align perfectly with the flag pole at the base’s static museum. Sound doable?”

So, that discussion didn’t actually happen, but the results couldn’t have been planned any better.

On October 27, 2006, Holloman Air Force Base helped celebrate the F-117 Night Hawk’s 25^th Anniversary of active duty service. For many it seemed like the F-117 was still a relatively new aircraft, but for those who knew America’s best kept secret, the aircraft had already served combat in other countries.

Having first flown on June 18, 1981, the F-117 was the world’s first real stealth fighter. Designed with faceted surfaces, radar waves would bounce off the surface of the aircraft at angles preventing the waves from returning to the point of origin. In addition, the aircraft could also absorb radar waves by use of a special radar absorbent material (RAM). In all, 64 F-117’s were built including five experimental airframes.

Following a pre-flight of the aircraft, Lt. Col. Chris 'Hans' Knehans fires up the F-117 in preparation for the mass flyover.

The 25^th Anniversary of the F-117, or Silver Stealth, as it came to be known, was a not a highly publicized media event. With such few individuals present, the Public Affairs Office could be a bit more accommodating with unusual requests.

First on the shot list was a pair of Night Hawks set at a 45-degree angle facing toward one another on a vacant ramp. Since the F-117 possessed features that were still top secret, aircraft on public display were always accompanied by armed guards and two rows of stanchions. But on this day, things were different. No ropes, no military police, no snipers, just two of the most guarded aircraft at our disposal – unguarded.

As the sun set over the New Mexico desert we continued making the most of the light. So relaxed and trusting were the escorts, I had the opportunity to refine a relatively new technique for photographing an aircraft at night with very little gear. This required me to crawl around and under the aircraft placing lights in strategic areas necessary to illuminate a black aircraft against a night sky. With an exposure of about two minutes, strobes assisting for back-lighting and the night sky glowing with the faint remnants of the earlier day’s light, those escorting us allowed for continued photography based on the immediate results from my Canon 10D.

In an incredible show of power, 25 stealth aircraft taxi toward the runway at Holloman AFB in New Mexico.

The following morning Rich Cooper and Kevin Jackson of Combat Aircraft Magazine finally made it in from the UK. Tommy Fuller from Public Affairs met us at the gate and brought us to Brig. Gen. David Goldfein’s office, the base commander. Following a warm and generous greeting, we were off to check out some sheltered Night Hawks.

The maintainers from the F-117 Demo Team had already been hard at work preparing the aircraft when pilot, Lt. Col. Chris ‘Hans’ Knehans arrived to inspect his plane. Once more we were allowed unfettered access to the stealth bomber as well as the routine each pilot goes through prior to flight. Following his pre-flight, he patiently posed as we snapped a few portraits.

In an adjacent hangar, Captain Christina Szasz, one of the few female pilots to fly the F-117 was also completing her pre-flight. To top off the hangar tour would be one final aircraft hidden away.

For the mass flyover, the plan was to have five aircraft in ‘Vic’ formation with a total of five groups in-trail totaling 25 aircraft. An additional five aircraft would be airborne as mechanical in-air replacements with yet another 5 aircraft ready for launch as redundant backup. The discussion amongst photographers was where to be for the launch and flyover.

Five groups of five represent the 25 years the F-117 Night Hawk stealth fighter has served the USAF.

With limited support, photographers couldn’t be randomly dispersed across the base so the choices were limited to the tarmac for taxi shots, the point of rotation along the runway or the ceremonial grounds where the base commander and special guests would be conducting speeches. Following a discussion amongst photographers, most chose the congested grouping along the taxiway.

As the aircraft all lined up, it was apparent the tarmac wouldn’t be long enough for all 25 aircraft to be positioned side-by-side, but the sight was still staggering. One by one they taxied forward and headed toward our position in two long rows. Upon reaching the runway, the aircraft were put on hold as they were a few minutes early. This gave us time to convince public affairs to rush to a new position, the ceremonial grounds.

Once on the grounds, the photographers spread out to cover the various speakers, attendees and static aircraft as we all awaited the mass-flyover. Of the speakers, base commander, Brig. Gen Goldfein became the last ‘Bandit’ trained to fly the F-117 and spoke alongside Gen. Lloyd “Fig” Newton, the first F-117 Wing Commander of the 49^th Fighter Wing. Meanwhile, I was doing my best to find a suitable foreground for the impending flyover. Though the formation itself will no doubt be impressive, aircraft laid against a solid blue sky tends to be somewhat less impressive than an image with depth.

While still a beautiful and precise formation, seen from the rear a gaggle of F-117's make their way past Holloman AFB following their historic flyover.

With a pause in the presentations, everyone began looking around for the black cloud of aircraft soon to approach. With no hope of a decent foreground, I spotted the triple mast flagpole valiantly waving our country’s pride along with the state flag of New Mexico. Right on time from the North, 25 arrow-tipped stealth fighters approached. The last minute choice of a foreground ended up representing a location, emotion and precision as the pilots threaded the proverbial needle in perfect formation.

As quickly as they approached, they disappeared, a massive clump of flying metal. The formation definitely looked better coming from the other direction.

Another last minute decision offered by Mr. Fuller was to catch the remaining F-117’s as they touched down. We jumped into the van and raced across base to the far end of the runway. We caught the last formation of five making the overhead break and the eventual touchdown.

A few months prior to the mass formation of F-117's was this mass formation of F-14 Tomcats returning from deployment, and leading to eventual retirement at NAS Oceana.

It was a remarkable couple of days, one that could not have been recorded without the assistance of all those aforementioned in this piece. Of note, 2006 was certainly the year of mass formations. A few months earlier, the final deployment of the F-14 came to an end with an incredible formation of 22 Tomcats over NAS Oceana.

To view more images from the Silver Stealth celebration, click here.

Lightning Storm

A rare sight of four P-38 Lightnings take to the skies above Sacramento.

Over the past few years, gatherings of like aircraft seem to be all the rage. Whether it’s the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends at Rickenbacker Air Field in 2007, the 50^th Anniversary of the CJ-6 Nanchang at Airventure in 2008, the T-28’s 60^th anniversary in 2009, or the impressive gathering of DC-3 aircraft at Rock Falls, Illinois in 2010, the coming together of groups of similar aircraft never disappoint. The weekend of September 11^th, 2010 would prove to be another milestone towards insuring history not be forgotten.

Their airborne presence was made known across California’s Central Valley as they headed from Chino to Mather Field near Sacramento. Although it started as a flight of five, mechanical issues meant the highly anticipated arrival would only number four. Calls were coming in to the California Capital Airshow Director, Darcy Brewer as the aircraft would pass various points across the State causing the excitement on the air field to climb. Only after seeing the four dots representing the P-38’s and a fifth being a P-51D chase plane, did reality sink in. History was being made.

The endeavor to host six flying P-38 “Lightning’s” at one venue began nearly a year prior to Sacramento’s 5^th anniversary show. Around the world, only seven examples remain airworthy. Of those, six are located in the United States with the seventh being owned by Red Bull based in Austria. With the help of Bob Alvis and the National P-38 Association, the “Lightning” aircraft owners and pilots along with Director, Darcy Brewer and air show volunteer, Scott Wolff, the coming together of these historic aircraft was anything but uneventful. Despite the hardships and monetary hurdles, however, four of the world’s finest examples touched down at Mather Field at approximately 6:45pm on Thursday, September 9^th.

Joining the old and the new, a Lockheed P-38L Lightning rests on the tarmac with a state of the art Lockheed F-22 Raptor.

The aircraft taking part in the gathering included “Glacier Girl” flown by Steve Hinton, “Thoughts of Midnight” flown by Kevin Eldridge, “Ruff Stuff” flown by Rob Ator and “Honey Bunny” flown by Jeff Harris. Setting down in Fresno on the way to Mather was “23 Skidoo” flown by Chris Fahey.

What few know is that this event almost didn’t happen. While the coming together of six P-38’s had always been the goal, the ultimate mission was to showcase the aircraft at two separate venues. Both the California Capital Airshow and the Reno Air Races, which were to be held the following weekend, would host all six P-38’s. After the loss of a sponsor, Reno was forced to drop out of the program leaving the Sacramento Airshow footing an even larger bill.

Three P-38’s, “Glacier Girl”, “23 Skidoo” and “Honey Bunny”, were already in the process of attending Sacramento and were being staged at Southern California’s Chino Airport. With such a dramatic change in plans and only a week before the show, serious work needed to be made to raise additional funds as the remaining P-38’s had much further to travel. “Ruff Stuff” was coming from Minneapolis, “Thoughts of Midnight” from Texas and “Tangerine” from Oregon. With the last minute assistance of Dan Friedkin and Rod Lewis, two of the three were able to make the trip and ultimately, history. It would be the largest assembly of P-38’s since World War II.

During the weekend of the air show, the P-38’s would be put through their paces. All four would demonstrate their agility in front of the audience, but more importantly, show the attending WWII veterans that they are not forgotten. The four-ship of P-38’s would first fly the honorable “Missing-Man” formation to the tune of a solo trumpet and utter silence. With 70,000+ spectators looking on, a dropped needle could be heard amongst the silenced crowd as the aircraft’s eight Allison engines flowed harmoniously with somber tune of “Taps”. Once Rob Ator in “Ruff Stuff” pulled out of the number three spot, it became the most emotional memorial flight in recent memory. “It was so poignant and meant so much,” said Bob Alvis.

Upon the conclusion of the “Missing-Man” tribute, the P-38’s joined up in a very loose in-trail plane-chase as each aircraft would swoop in front of the crowd, their unique engine sounds paying homage to those who cared for them and worked on them tirelessly during the War.

An aerial view of the largest gathering of P-38 Lightnings since WWII. Today an estimated 7 remain airworthy.

Following the showcase, Steve Hinton and Kevin Eldridge would remain aloft. Hinton would spend the next few minutes flying an elegant solo routine looping and rolling “Glacier Girl” in the skies above California’s capital. Although the gracefulness of the “Fork-Tail Devil” would be briefly interrupted by the state of the art F-22 Raptor demonstration, both Hinton and Eldridge would re-enter the airspace taking on the number two and three position for the USAF Heritage Flight. More than 60 years of aviation history pass in front of the crowd, a sight none of the veterans of the P-38 program could have ever envisioned.

The air show weekend wasn’t without incident however, as “Glacier Girl” suffered a relatively minor mechanical issue on Sunday forcing her back to the hot pit. In the meantime, Jeff Harris had the misfortune of dealing with medical issues and was also grounded. With an inoperable P-38, Steve Hinton taxied “Glacier Girl” back to the line and hopped in Jeff Harris’ “Honey Bunny” to insure the show went on.

Throughout the weekend the P-38’s were on display for everyone to get a closer look at, especially the WWII veterans who worked so hard on keeping them airworthy when it mattered most. The entrance to the P-38 paddock played host to various vendors including the National P-38 Association, Lockheed Martin and others including a special area where spectators could reminisce with veterans.

Known as a 'stack-up', the four P-38 pilots expertly line up their aircraft for an iconic photo.

One of those veterans was Capt. Bill Behrns (Ret.) who flew 104 combat and six weather missions during World War II, mostly stationed in Chittagong, Burma, now the country of Myanmar. During his involvement with the 459th Fighter Squadron, Behrns scored 4.5 enemy kills in his P-38 “San Joaquin Siren”. Behrns was the last of the 32 original pilots assigned to that special squadron of which only four survived.

Entrance to the paddock by voluntary donation enabled spectators the ability to pose with the aircraft and get a closer look. While most would expect these warbirds to be roped off, the pilots and crew instead remained with the aircraft answering questions and giving personal tours. In some cases, they even enabled a lucky few to sit in the cockpit.

When it came time to fly, the paddock was the perfect place to hear all eight Allison engines roar to life.

The weekend provided reflection for those too young to have known the P-38 as a front-line fighter. It provided a sense of peace for those who put their lives in harm’s way for the freedoms we take for granted today. It was a chance to touch a panel they had removed so many times before in a time of war. And it was a chance to recognize those who sacrifice so much to keep them flying today.

There will no doubt be another gathering of P-38’s sometime in the future, but this will probably be the last time they will ever gather for those whose lives depended on them.

P-38’s Present:

P-38L "Honey Bunny", flown by Jeff Harris is the only known P-38 flying with fully functional turbo chargers.

Honey Bunny, a P-38L Lightning, NL7723C, was delivered to the Army Air Force as photoreconnaissance F-5G Serial# 44-26981. Its construction number is 7985. Aero Exploration Company Incorporated of Tulsa, Oklahoma acquired it from the War Assets Administration at Kingman, Arizona for $1,250 on March 22, 1946.

Originally registered as NX53752 on May 10, 1946 and then as N53752 in 1948, it was withdrawn from service in Tulsa, Oklahoma in July 1949. Despite changing hands many times, #981 remained relatively active compared to most acquired warbirds. Today she is owned by Jack Croul and operated by Allied Fighters in Chino, California.

Not only was #981 the only non-camo P-38 present, the airframe also boasts having the only functional turbo-chargers of any airworthy P-38 gracing the skies today.

Piloted by Rob Ator, P-38L "Ruff Stuff" once graced the name "Marge" and was on display at the March AFB Museum.

Ruff Stuff, P-38L, N79123, entered civilian hands in July 1956 where she was originally registered as NX79123. Like most warbirds, the P-38 changed hands numerous times finally ending up with David Tallichet in Chino, CA.

Restoration of 44-27231 began in 1984 in Tulsa, OK before being moved to Chino in 1987. During the restoration process, the F-5G ‘recon’ nose was removed and replaced with the traditional fighter nose seen today. In November 1995, the airframe was once again airworthy and wore the name “Marge” along with a silver paint scheme. For three years beginning in 1998, “Marge” was on display at the USAFM at March AFB.

In 2004, the aircraft was purchased by Ronald Fagen and by 2007, the P-38 had a new paint job and the current nose art, “Ruff Stuff” which got its name from WWII pilot, First Lieutenant Norbert C. Ruff.

Kevin Eldredge is at the stick of P-38L "Thoughts of Midnight". This Lightning is one of the few in existence that never wore an F-5G reconnaissance nose.

Thoughts of Midnight, P-38L, 44-53095, is one of the few existing P-38′s not formerly converted from an F-5G reconnaissance variant. Removed from service in 1946, #8350 was originally assigned registration number NL67745, but was soon to see service in Honduras as FAH503 and later, FAH506. The airframe was later brought back the States in 1960 registered as N9005R and stored in Blythe, CA.

In 1969, #8350 was given a new name, “Der Gabelshwanz Teufel” and remained so until 1986. The aircraft changed hands eventually ending up with the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, TX. Following an accident, she was repaired and renamed “Putt Putt Maru” until undergoing restoration in 2006. Now owned by Tom Friedkin and Comanche Fighters, the freshly restored and repainted aircraft flies with the registration NL38TF and the name, “Thoughts of Midnight”.

Undoubtedly the most famous P-38 flying today, "Glacier Girl", flown by Steve Hinton, was entombed in 270ft of ice and painstakingly restored to flying condition.

Glacier Girl is a Lockheed P-38F-1-LO Lightning World War II fighter plane, 41-7630, c/n 222-5757, that was recently restored to operable condition after being buried beneath ice on the remote Greenland Ice Sheet for nearly fifty years.

On 15 July 1942, its squadron was forced to make an emergency landing en route to the British Isles during Operation Bolero and subsequently rescued. Glacier Girl, along with five other P-38 fighters and two B-17 bombers, was eventually buried beneath 270 feet of ice. Fifty years later, in 1992, the plane was brought to the surface after years of excavation and transported to Middlesboro, Kentucky, where it was restored to flying condition. So challenging was the excavation of Glacier Girl, she was documented in an episode of The History Channel’s “Mega Movers” series, titled “Extreme Aircraft Recovery”. Currently this airframe is equipped with the only genuine nose guns of any airworthy P-38.

To view additional images of the P-38 gathering, click here.

For more information on the Gathering of P-38's at the 2010 California Capital Airshow, including additional imagery and details of each performer, check out the "California Capital Airshow" book by clicking on the above image.

How’d You Get That Shot? – Zeppelin Passenger

What ended up becoming an award winning image was the result of a series of events that just happened to come together. The image provided a unique panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay along with the ehtereal feel of lighter than air flight.

The challenge was to not only describe the sheer size of the only flying Zeppelin in the United States, but to also illustrate the serenity and awe one feels floating above the earth. When I think of an airship, I think back to the carefree days of the 1930′s when people adorned their best attire for air travel and took in the amazement of flight. The gondola of the airship resembled a floating restaurant, the gentlemen grasping a glass of Jack on the rocks, the women competitively showing off their uniquely designed dresses and over the top hats. While the austere of aviation has subdued slightly and the attire somewhat less formal, some facets of aviation will never change.

Oracle's enormous campus is one of many tech firms dotted across the Silicon Valley. The slow speed of the Zeppelin allows for plenty of time to compose images.

At Moffett Airfield in Palo Alto, California, a rare Zeppelin named “Eureka” and owned by Airship Ventures offers the unique experience of slow speed, low level flight over the San Francisco Bay area for a tidy sum of $400 and change. It truly is an incredible experience for those wishing to know what flight in a glass elevator is really like. With the exception of take off and landing, passengers are free to move about the gondola and even chat with the pilots as they’re doing their thing. The airship’s seating can accommodate 12 people including the pilot and copilot so intimacy and getting to know your fellow passenger is expected. But, unlike the Hollywood scenes of past, there is no bar or balcony, no waiter, no coat check and no need to load or unload that big bulky trunk. There is however still no smoking.

Katherine Board has the honor of being the world's only Zeppelin pilot. She and a select few pilots fly the airship not only around the Bay Area, but across the United States.

Our trip was to be the typical Bay cruise departing from Moffett Air Field, over-flying Google, Oracle and other iconic tech business dotted across Silicon Valley on our way to the San Francisco Airport. Continuing north to the Golden Gate followed by a brief turn to the East over Alcatraz, then to the south down the length of the Bay ending up back at Moffett Field. Before we departed, it was necessary to photograph Kate Board, the world’s only female Zeppelin pilot. After all, that’s who the story was about. While all the other publications did a great job covering the airship, PilotMag was looking for something a bit different.

En route to Ecuador, the 741-ft oil tanker, Overseas Cleliamar, lost power and nearly ran aground just outside the Golden Gate Bridge. Fortunately the tanker had offloaded its oil prior to leaving the Bay.

I concentrated on Kate knowing there were paying passengers on board deserving of a unique experience. At times, even though the light was perfect, a passenger would remain hovered over the cockpit area asking endless questions. No pressure, the time would come and eventually it did. Fortunately Kate is quite photogenic and capturing her at work was the easy part.

As we approached the Golden Gate and the Marin Headlands, I continued to take advantage of the light and the scenic vistas adding to the backdrop. I briefly looked down to see where we were when I noticed a tanker had come dangerously close to the rocky coast just outside the Golden Gate. It was learned later the ship had lost power shortly after leaving the Bay and was victim to the tide bringing her back in. Fortunately the tanker was empty and with the help of a tug managed to get clear of the coastline. She was brought back to the shipyard and the problem eventually fixed.

Following those few minutes of excitement, my mind returned to creating that iconic image of the 1930′s and how it could possibly be done. The gondola’s interior consisted of leather FAA approved airline seats, grey carpet, state of the art instrument panel and lot’s of rounded, blended, modern surfaces. What I was looking for was clearly not inside the Zeppelin, so I had to look outside.

Airships and Blimps transport passengers via a gondola. Similar to an aircraft cabin, the gondola hangs beneath the larger structure of the airship.

The Zeppelin flies at a speed of about 30mph so it’s not too incredibly windy when you stick your head out of one of the many window openings. Sticking a camera out isn’t any more difficult. The challenge came from the diminishing light as it was already 30 minutes past sunset. The shimmer on the Bay was incredible and the reflection off the side of the gondola was simply breathtaking. Only problem was the empty seat that could be seen through the window from the outside. Coincidentally, right next to me was a gentleman dressed in casual suit, minus the jacket. I asked if he wouldn’t mind having a seat for a moment while I reached outside the gondola with my Canon 5D and a 15mm lens. Without being able to look through the viewfinder, I took three quick photos attempting to keep it as perceivable level as possible before bringing the camera back inside. What I hadn’t expected to capture was the outboard engine far above the gondola giving me that sense of size. Between it, the appropriately dressed passenger and his thought-provoking gaze, along with the vastness and color of the Bay, I think I got my shot.

A passenger aboard Airship Ventures "Eureka" Zeppelin gets a closer view of San Francisco with a pair of binoculars.

There is something magical about a balloon ride. Albeit the Zeppelin is far from a balloon, it’s the closest some will ever get, especially when it comes to hovering over Northern California’s busiest aerial real estate. Somehow the photo also managed to capture the eye of Aviation Week & Space Technology Magazine judges during their 2009 photography contest garnering a first place win in its category. At the time of this writing, Airship Ventures is currently touring the Zeppelin across the United States. Its most recent stop was in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for EAA’s 2011 Airventure Fly-In. For more information on Airship Ventures, visit their website. For more images from this shoot, check out the Gallery.

Camera: Canon 5D
Lens: 15mm f/2.8 @ f/3.2
Exposure: 1/40 – Program
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 320
Image Created: 1/27/09 @ 5:55pm pst

How’d You Get That Shot? – Legacy Hornet / Helldiver

To commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation, an F/A-18C Hornet takes on the colors of a WWII Helldiver unit and joins the world's only airworthy Helldiver in the skies above Central California. The F/A-18C is flown by VFA-122's LT Alex "Scribe" Armatas and the Helldiver is piloted by Mark Allen.

When I arrived at NAS Lemoore in California’s Central Valley, I had already seen many of the commemorative jets painted to celebrate the Centennial of Naval Aviation. Sitting on the ramp, all by itself, was an F-18C adorned with a paint scheme I hadn’t yet seen before. If it weren’t for the presence of the world’s only SB2C-5 Helldiver operated by the Commemorative Air Force, I don’t think I would ever have made the connection. The Hornet emulated the looks of a WWII Helldiver unit. What were the odds that both of these aircraft would be at the same location?

What brought them together was the annual gathering of civilian warbird pilots and Naval aviators chosen to participate in the 2011 Navy Tailhook Legacy Flight program. To celebrate the history of Naval Aviation and bring together generations of aviation enthusiasts, the Legacy Flight was devised combining 60-year old aircraft and modern day fighters at air shows around the country.

Following the arrival of civilian warbird pilots to NAS Lemoore, a formation flight list is circulated detailing the flight curriculum. The list contains information such as which civilian pilots will fly with which active duty pilots and what aircraft will be flown in that designated formation. Unfortunately no commemorative aircraft were scheduled to fly during this training exercise.

Lt. Kyle "Groper" Jason with warbird pilot Doug Rozendaal in the back seat, flies perhaps one of the most unique-looking aircraft to adorn a Centennial of Naval Aviation paint scheme. Dubbed the "Digi-Cam" Hornet, Groper pulls along side the world's only flying Helldiver piloted by Ed Vesely.

The F-18C in Helldiver colors had just come out of the paint shop and the scheduled post-maintenance had yet to be completed. Additionally, the digital camouflaged (Digi-Cam) F-18F Hornet had just reached a certain number of flight hours requiring routine maintenance that also had yet to be started. Fortunately the folks at VFA-122 “Flying Eagles” were just as sentimental about the joining of these aircraft as I was and were willing to make miracles happen. Pleading my case to Lt. Erin “Eeyore” Flint and Captain Mark “Mutha” Hubbard, they saw to it the aircraft would be readied for flight and added to the roster. Just as much a challenge was finding a pilot qualified to fly the F-18C since all of the pilots scheduled to fly the Legacy Program were all SuperHornet pilots. One of the few qualified pilots authorized for participation in the program was Lt. Alex “Scribe” Armatas. Slowly but surely, the gathering of these aircraft was becoming a reality.

The F-18C and Digi-Cam F-18F completed maintenance and flew on February 15th, the 2nd day of the 3-day training program. The Digi-Cam went on a second flight later that day flown by Lt. Kyle “Groper” Jason with warbird pilot Doug Rozendaal in the back seat. Joining on his wing was the Helldiver flown by Ed Vesely. The photoship used was a T-2 Buckeye flown by Peter Kline, owned by Dr. Rich Sugden.

Making a figure-eight pattern enabled us to shoot the formation from both high and low vantage points.

With adverse weather approaching the area, flights scheduled for day 3 were not looking good. On the morning of February 16th, an F6F Hellcat operated by the Commemorative Air Force in Camarillo, CA launched from NAS Lemoore to get a better idea of the operating ceiling. With a low, but serviceable ceiling, flights continued. Once more, I strapped into the T-2 and watched as the Helldiver fired up. The F-18C however, sat on the ramp surrounded by maintainers. “Scribe” was already in the aircraft, but something was wrong. After about 15 minutes, the Helldiver shut down and we continued to wait. The maintainers worked tirelessly and after only a few more minutes, the Hornet fired up, followed by the Helldiver and the T-2.

Normally the skies above NAS Lemoore are filled with haze and harsh midday light, but as the morning storm cleared, the skies gave way to puffy white clouds mixed with azure blue. As we caught up to the aircraft, the Hornet and Helldiver, flown by Mark Allen, were already in formation. The moisture lingering in the air added to the dramatic sight as vortices trailed from the wingtips of the Hornet.

The completed image as seen in Airventure's 2011 marketing materials. Utilizing a high-resolution camera such as the Nikon D3x enabled EAA to crop the image vertically for use as their poster and program cover.

The entire photoshoot lasted 10 minutes where Peter in the T-2 led the formation for most of that time. Flying a figure-eight enabled us to capture the best angle of light in both a high and low echelon formation. The T-2 itself proved to be an incredible photoship due to its roomy interior and wide angle of view. Of course, it goes without saying the piloting skills of all those involved proved invaluable to obtaining the resulting imagery.

Camera: Nikon D3x
Lens: 24-120mm @ 85mm
Exposure: 1/160 – Shutter Priority
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 100
Image Created: 2/16/11 @ 11:11am pst

When is Exclusivity Not a Good Idea?

A single image can have multiple uses from editorial to commercial. But, it has to be marketed just right.

Providing art directors with editable images will enable them to use a common photo that has been cropped or modified to create a different presentation.

There are some things that only happen once in our lifetime and sometimes there are only a few people present when that happens. Although there will always be that one publication that wants the “scoop”, can you really afford to market that coverage to just one entity?

Of course client loyalty is paramount, but so is communication. If you know you’re going to be covering an event that will yield massive coverage, be sure to communicate that with any potential clients beforehand.

Most publishers will be willing to work with you as long as they know what other publications will be bringing to market. Two competing magazines showcasing the same image on the cover would be a very bad idea, so be open with your clients as to what is going where.

Besides good communication, logistics are also vital to successfully distributing imagery to multiple clients. Know each client’s market. Not all aviation magazines are aimed at the same aviation market. Some magazines are aimed at warbird enthusiasts while others go for the modern military jet crowd, and still others are read solely by those fascinated with the luxury of aviation. In many cases those magazines are not considered competitors and similar images and accompanying stories can be run simultaneously.

Once the editorial coverage has taken its course, the images can then be used in marketing campaigns and for other commercial purposes.

An assortment of vertical photos from the same shoot will also provide publications the ability to choose photos more suited to their liking thus eliminating the risk of duplicating covers.

Even if you’ve done all your homework, this process can still backfire. While one magazine may not see another as a direct competitor, the other magazine may deem otherwise. In the interest of running the story first, a magazine may not be totally honest about their position, especially if it is a smaller publication. Often times you will be forced to make a choice as to who gets what even though two competing publications want to run the story. You’ve spent a lot of time building relationships, don’t ruin it with a competing story that will only yield a couple hundred bucks. Client relationships are worth much more than that.

But magazines aren’t all that’s fit to print. There are still other markets that may be interested in coverage of the event outside the magazine industry such as aircraft manufacturers, air shows, aviation parts manufacturers, and the list goes on. The key to understanding the timing for exposing your imagery is to understand the life cycle of an image. A magazine has a life span of approximately one to two months and a limited readership. An advertisement can be wide reaching and remain in the public eye for many months. Because of the publicity advertisements provide, it is usually best to let any potential magazines share the story and images first before marketing the photos for use as advertisement pieces.

A single historic event, if covered well and marketed properly can be distributed to various clients successfully for six to eight months or more. And with good communication and forward thinking, it can be a win-win for everyone.

[Images seen here are a result of the US Navy Tailhook Legacy Flight training program. Special thanks to Dr. Richard Sugden for the use of his aircraft along with Peter Kline for his excellent piloting skills. Additional thanks goes to Lt. Erin “Eeyore” Flint for putting the commemorative Hornets in the air and Captain Mark “Mutha” Hubbard for his incredible support for the program. Of course without the hospitality of VFA-122 and the cooperation of all the civilian Legacy Pilots, none of this imagery would be possible. It is also with deep regret the passing of Lt. Matt "11" Lowe and Lt. Nathan "Beefcake" Williams as their F/A-18F Super Hornet crashed at NAS Lemoore on April 6, 2011, shortly after the conclusion of the Legacy Training Program. Both aviators were to have taken part in the 2011 Airshow Season as demonstration and Legacy pilots. Moreso, they each served this country dutifully and honorably both locally and in hostile territory. May they fly on in our memories forever.]

A layout from Warbird Digest Magazine shows how even though they used a large number of images from the shoot, their audience is mainly relegated to warbird enthusiasts. Therefore the same images can be used in other publications marketed to different interests.

World Airshow News Magazine is aimed towards those with a fascination of airshows. Although similar images were used, combining two contributors will insure the contents are significantly different.

Often times, a single event can be covered in different ways. Here, coverage from the Legacy Training Program was satirically presented from the first person point of view for World Airshow News Magazine.

Aimed at the more adventurous pilot as well as luxury aircraft owners, PilotMag used the Legacy Training Flight piece as a human interest article enabling those with limited knowledge of military aviation to go behind the scenes.

Aircraft Illustrated Magazine printed in the UK has their own set of readers fascinated with older warbirds and civilian restorations. Both they and their sister publication, Combat Aircraft, printed variations of the Legacy Flight Training that best suited their readership.

Four-Wheeled Aviation Artistry

I first took notice about six years ago at the highly acclaimed McCall’s Motorworks party hosted by automotive aficionado Gordon McCall. They sat in the corner of the hangar at the Monterey Jet Center quietly calling for attention. A black one and a burgundy with loads of chrome trim and mesh accents. Surrounding them were elegantly dressed people pinching a wine glass with one hand and reaching for the hors d’oeuvre tray with the other. Hard as they try, it was impossible not to resist taking multiple glances at the metal and glass artwork. Like me there was a certain feature everyone wanted to take a closer look at, the chrome shifter.

Sure, it could easily have been the brush-swirled instrument panel dotted with aluminum toggle switches or the vintage-aero vents reminiscent of a turbofan engine. But it was the unique thinking of leaving the shift column and linkage assembly viewable to all that caught my eye and became the redundant question to which Spyker representatives learned quickly to respond.

Both automatic and manual transmission shifters are of an open-air design showcasing the linkage which is normally covered by a boot in more traditional vehicles.

“Most people are afraid of it.” Says Spyker representative JP Clinging, “But we simply explain to the customer it’s no different than any other shift assembly available on vehicles today. We just decided not to cover it up.”

What was then known as ‘Car & Cigars’ has become the official kick-off celebration for the famed Concourse d’Elegance week on the Monterey Peninsula. Each year Spyker has been present alongside a plethora of business jets, nostalgic racers and those vehicles predicted to be amongst the finest examples presented by weeks end at Pebble Beach.

Spyker’s unique aeronautical appearance was born in 1914 when the company merged with the Dutch Aircraft Factory N.V. Like many aviation to automotive adaptations such as the Studabaker’s jet engine intake-like nose to the Cadillac’s aerodynamically flowing fins, Spyker set the pace beginning with its prop and wire wheel logo. From there, aviation was in the car’s blood.

Ahead of its time, this early Spyker motor coach was put to the test during the Peking to Paris rally.

In 1898 two brothers, Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker, both coach builders in Amsterdam, founded the automotive business whereby bringing the first 4-wheel drive and 4-wheel brake equipped vehicle to market in 1903. In 1907, they took second place after entering their vehicle in the grueling Peking to Paris race earning them great notoriety.

Following WWI, the automotive industry stalled and Spyker was forced to merge with the aviation industry whereby producing 100 fighter aircraft and 200 high-performance aircraft engines. Despite the merger, Spyker continued building a limited number of performance and luxury-based vehicles until 1925.

It wasn’t until October 2000 that Spyker reemerged as a cutting-edge automotive manufacturer with the limited production C8 ‘Spyder’ followed a few months later by the C8 ‘Laviolette’ coupe. By June 2005, Spyker was finally allowed to bring the C8 class of vehicles stateside following emissions testing by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The instrument panel of the Spyker Aileron showcases guarded switches, analog guages, brushed aluminum panel and turbine-esque ventilation ducts.

I got the chance to meet up with the folks from Spyker at esteemed Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, CA. Though I had heard rumors of my being allowed to drive the car, I really didn’t expect it to actually happen.

They had a nice collection of Laviolettes bustling around along with the original “Peking to Paris” Spyker. A few minutes after I had arrived at Bernardus, the new C8 Aileron coupe coasted up the lengthy driveway humming a well-tuned throaty beat announcing its presence.

Compared to the original C8 Laviolette and the convertible C8 Spyder, the Aileron has a 6-inch longer wheelbase and front track increase of 6.1 inches for better road handling. Many of the ‘shark gills’ have been removed for a cleaner style and the split side windows have given way to the more functional single-pane windows that are now fully retractable. From the front, it sports a larger intake for increased engine cooling and from the rear light emitting diodes (LED’s) have taken the place of the venerable brake light bulb. That same LED technology is also used in the turn indicators as well as to accent the redesigned headlights.

A quick walk around followed by a more in-depth photographic look at each and every detail revealed the amount of creativity poured into the vehicle’s design. From the simplicity of the toggle switches to the elegance of the aeronautical clock, chrome and leather intertwined beautifully. Of note, Spyker designers chose to include aviation evolution into the design. Unlike the original C8’s use of piston era accents, the new Aileron boasts features reminiscent of the turbine propulsion age.

Connecting Carmel Valley to Highway 68, better known as the means to Laguna Seca Raceway, is the windy and hilly Laureles Grade. A short jaunt to the top of the grade yielded a nice turn out for some photos before my driver handed over the wheel to head back down the hill. Not exactly fair as little manual acceleration is required due to this thing called gravity, but the guardrail hugging turns were most certainly welcome.

My first impression was that of a solid car, including the suspension. One definitely feels each and every pebble not to mention the gentle soothing vibration of the rear-mounted 400bhp Audi 4.2 liter V8 engine. There’s no question acceleration is plenty to satisfy as are the over sized ABS brakes when it comes to slowing her down.

New to the unique shifting linkage is a teardrop twist control knob for the radio, but good luck in hearing tunes over the engine roar. After all, one would deduce the rumble in the rear is far more appealing than anything on the airwaves. However, should you force your ears to choose tunes over tones, the iPod-ready Kharma audio system should give your brain plenty of conflict.

The new Spyker Aileron takes its cues from Cold War Era jet designes vs. the Laviolette which is more WWII aviation design driven.

Being a relatively short guy (5’3), the increased interior room of the lengthened Aileron chassis meant I had to move the seat forward. (Subtly suggesting this would be a really good thing for most people) Surrounded by plush leather, that of the Dutch Royal Tannery Hulshof, made my derriere feel not worthy, but oh so comfortable.

That interface between man and machine is none other than a perfectly matched 6-speed Getrag gearbox. Available as an option, the ZF 6-speed gearbox comes standard with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel for that enhanced F-1 experience. And keeping the Aileron on terra firma is courtesy 235/35 tires up front and 295/30’s in the rear with wheels taking on the look of a jet turbofan.

An interior view of the Spyker C8 Laviolette Spyder.

Completing the package, a Lotus-developed rear double-wishbone suspension system attempts to make the driver more comfortable without robbing him or her of the ground-pounding fun. Taking on a new kinematic layout consisting of front and rear stabilizer bars, mono-tube dampers, coil over damper steel springs as well as an anti-dive and anti-squat layout all combine to improve handling over the C8 configuration.

While I found the Aileron to be an exhilarating ride, I quickly learned the vehicle is not on par with a movement from Mozart or Vivaldi, but rather that of Guns n’ Roses or Korn. The ride is solid and noisy, beasty and adrenaline inducing. At the helm of the hardtop was like being loaded into a shotgun. What this thing needed was air, room to breath, sun to warm. Low and behold, the Aileron Spyder!

Introduced at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance, the Spyder retains the classic lines of the hard top Aileron but with more California cruisin’ fun built right in.

The new Spyder utilizes a new semi-automatic canvas soft-top incorporating an electric/hydraulic mechanism secured by a centrally located manual latch. Once folded, the glass window-equipped soft-top is completely enclosed enabling the flowing lines of the Aileron to go undisturbed. On the rear deck rests a solid billet aluminum luggage rack complete with an aerodynamic wing-shape aluminum luggage case large enough for a well-folded shirt.

Written along the side of the tonneau cover is Spyker’s long-time saying, “Nulla tenaci invia est via” – for the tenacious no road is impassable.

Careful What You Wish For…

There’s no denying that those with a remote fascination of aviation would donate any given body part to fly in a state of the art US Navy fighter. What they don’t tell you is the metamorphosis one needs to embrace in order to enjoy the thrill.

Perhaps you’ve read articles or listened to comedians describe their nauseating experience of an incentive ride in a military jet followed by weeks of therapy. Apparently they seemed to have skipped the part where they had to squeeze into an outfit purposefully designed to be four sizes too small and become a human origami project in order to slip on everything else. But I digress…

Peter Kline gets spun around in the 'Puke Chair' by Physiologist Lt. Schwerdtfeger during flight training.

While working with VFA-122 “Flying Eagles” during the historic “Tailhook Legacy Flight” training program, I along with the attending warbird pilots, had the great honor of being allowed to fly in an F/A-18F Super Hornet.

It all began with our mock physiology training. Instead of being shot out of a canon or subjected to the swirling t-cup ride at Disneyland, we were taught the miracle of the “Hik Maneuver”. Not to be confused with the complexities of a “Red Neck” tractor pull, the “Hik Maneuver” involved the rapid and specifically timed process of exchanging air in the lungs combined with muscle tension to prevent loss of consciousness during high g-load. It used to be called the “Hook Maneuver”, but grunting “Hik” while popping a forehead vein sounded better.

Along with the brief training we were also shown what the various yellow handles, buttons and knobs with black stripes were for. This was of course not to be confused with the black handles, buttons and knobs with yellow stripes. You don’t want to touch those…I think. One was to arm the ejection seat, one was to eject, one was to make the pilot eject, one made expresso and another was for the windshield wipers. This was one cool seat!

An iPhone shot of the Centrifuge. So intricate is this machine that the foundation reaches deep into the ground and hundred's of feet in diameter.

Following our short introduction to the Rhino’s WSO Chair, Lt. Schwerdtfeger showed us around the Flight Physiology compound at NAS Lemoore. The tour included checking out the twirl-a-hurl centrifuge machine, the braincell-killing altitude chamber and every Aquaphobiac’s vacation destination, the dunk-tank.

My scheduled hop in the Super Hornet followed all the other warbird pilots’ opportunities. I had the joy of sharing their experiences and fears vicariously through them. What was once a dream soon to come true turned into a fear similar to being called next at a talent show.

When it was my turn to prepare for flight, I was sent to the paraloft where I would get sized up…in gear that is. This big dude who obviously works out gave me a quick look over and compared me in size to pilot similar in stature i.e., short. He then opened a locker belonging to a Commander of the unit and instructed me on how to look my best in olive drab.

Now, I had my own flight suit so I was certainly doing my best to look the part, but wearing blue jeans under that flight suit which were then covered by a blood-constricting G-Suit, might not have been the smartest thing. It took me nearly thirty-minutes to zip up those damn military leg warmers! Then came the harness. I was too exhausted to put on a harness, but alas, somehow I did it. And after that was the 216-pound survival vest consisting of the inflatable horse collar, oxygen mask and filter, flares, a Vietnam-era flashlight, a Jenny Craig meal for four including place settings, and a bunch of other stuff I was really hoping not to use. Oh yeah! I looked sexy…kinda like an Oompa-Loompa that was being cast as Rambo.

Lt. Alex "Stranger" Wright and I stand beside Rhino 143 from VFA-122 "Flying Eagles" following our flight.

By this time I was all suited up and ready to go. I hobbled down the stairs and toward the hangar door before one of the guys in the paraloft noticed my bright white tennis shoes peaking out from my all green garb. Apparently tenny’s aren’t the in-thing. Off came all the gear and on went some loaner boots. If getting the G-Suit on before was hard, strapping them around the added circumference of a boot-neck was impossible.

I’ll spare you with the excitement of flight-suit deja vu, but let it be known it involved sweat, blood (literally) and my pilot to help get the crap back on. I had a new found respect for pilots everywhere, and I hadn’t even climbed into the plane.

Speaking of my pilot, Lieutenant Alex “Stranger” Wright was awesome! He had the patience of a saint and was willing to carry me out to the plane. Well, maybe not that last part.

With all my gear on, sensation in my limbs was disappearing fast. Fortunately we were assigned an aircraft that was parked furthest away on the ramp. That was by no means comforting. Even better, I was told we were to do a “Hot-Swap”, a process where the aircraft would remain running as we swapped pilot and crew. I really should have listened…was it the yellow and black striped handle or the black and yellow striped handle?

Once strapped into the seat, by my pilot, because I had no strength to do it, I checked the oxygen flow. There was none. Inhaling simply caused the O2 mask to adhere to my face like a plastic bag. Nothing to worry about there. I asked “Stranger”, who was now comfortably strapped into his seat, how to adjust the O2. He made me aware of a knob by my left butt-cheek that needed to be rotated 90-degrees. I couldn’t see past my knees let alone over my shoulder and down by my side. Of course he chuckled, “Oh, you may need to feel your way around to find it.” Oh sure, I’m sitting on a friggin’ rocket and you want me to start feeling around? The last person who asked, “What does this button do?” didn’t fare so well. Nervousness aside, I found it. I could now breathe. That was a good thing.

We launched as a flight of four consisting of an F-6F Hellcat, Helldiver and another Super Hornet. I had brought with me a loaner D3x from Nikon and a 24-120mm to record this glorious moment. Though every time I raised the camera to my face, my O2 mask would leak slightly forcing a steady flow of oxygen directly into my right eye. I quickly learned how to hold the camera with my left hand, position my right hand on the shutter with my thumb awkwardly jamming my right eyelid shut. I’m sure I looked perfectly normal to everyone in the flight.

It wasn’t until the group of aircraft broke formation and the two Super Hornets were left to play that things got really interesting. “Stranger” pulled hard back on the stick enabling the G-meter to reach 7.5 and I decided to try out that “Hik Maneuver” thing. While holding a camera now weighing nearly 45-pounds up to my face, I nearly knocked myself out keeping too much blood in my head. Apparently I am G-tolerant far beyond the 7-G range. I resulted to giggling like a schoolgirl instead. Any remnants of masculinity were long gone. All the while my G-suit was painfully contracting forcing my spleen to tickle my tonsils.

While in the #2 position, Lt. Alex "Stranger" Wright pulled hard keeping up with Lt. Patrick "Hashbrown" O'Conner during the 'Banana Pass' over NAS Lemoore. A subtle amount of vapor on the lead Rhino only hints to the G-forces incurred resulting in the camera weighing nearly 45-pounds.

It had always been my dream to get that over-the-shoulder shot of the aircraft engulfed in vapor. As we pulled hard to the left for the “Banana-Pass” followed by an abrupt break to the right, all I could think about was how I got in the position of resting my head on my shoes. The last thought on my mind was how to raise this insanely heavy camera above my head. Nonetheless, I did my best to capture the moment and am proud to say I never incurred any sign of losing the G-war. I think I even managed to get a picture or two.

“Stranger” put the Hornet on the deck effortlessly and we taxied back to the same spot we started and were again to exercise a “Hot Swap”. Once pried from the rear seat of the Super Hornet, I made my way down the ladder and waited for “Stranger” to accompany me on the ramp. While waiting, Lt. Erik “Dookie” Kenny informed me that the back seat would be empty for this next hop and asked if I wanted to join him for a second flight. Amazed at the incredible offer bestowed upon me, I politely and quickly responded, “No.” The look on “Dookie’s” face was priceless.

Earlier in the morning I had briefed with Peter Kline, pilot of the T-2 “Buckeye” also participating in the Legacy Flight Program, regarding an aerial photoshoot. Time simply did not allow for another Hornet hop. But rest assured, this would be the only time I’d pass up an opportunity like this.

Capt. Mark "Mutha" Hubbard pilots the F-6F Hellcat with Lt. Matt "11" Lowe in the F/A-18E and Lt. Erik "Dookie" Kenny in the F/A-18F.

“Stranger” and I walked…or rather he walked, I waddled back to the paraloft and we removed our gear. I quickly rushed back to the T-2 and we immediately fired up and got into the air. The shoot was amazing for many reasons. Mostly due to the fact that Capt. Mark “Mutha” Hubbard, Commodore for the Strike Fighter Wing Pacific (SFWP) was at the controls of the F-6F Bearcat with two Rhino’s in trail. The other amazing fact was that holding the #3 position was “Dookie” flying “143”, the SuperHornet I had just crawled out of.

Although I mock my experience, the fact is I can’t thank the folks at VFA-122 enough for hosting the entire Legacy crew and enabling all of us to see first hand what our Naval Aviators endure. It goes without saying I have a new found respect for our military pilots. Additional thanks to Dr. Rich Sugden and Peter Kline for including me in the Legacy Program and enabling me to document such an incredible joining of the past and present. Putting commemorative aircraft in the air that were not scheduled to fly was due to the amazing efforts of Demo Coordinator, Lt. Erin “Eeyore” Flint. The passion of Capt. “Mutha” Hubbard is without a doubt a critical element to insuring the success of the Legacy Program. His unwavering desire to see the history of Naval Aviation celebrated in front of millions of aviation enthusiasts and air show spectators is an invaluable asset. The Legacy Program is truly honored to have such a great representative. And of course the program would not be what it is without all of the Legacy Pilots, warbird owners and Navy demo pilots who choose to participate and remain involved in such a historic program.