This morning, I received an E-mail where I learned that PlaneImages.net, an aviation photography website will be shutting down as of July 15, 2018 due to an unsustainable business model and lack of funding from a venture capitalist. PlaneImages was meant to make plane-spotting and aviation photography, two old, tired hobbies fun and revitalize great photographers by making a home for their work that would otherwise never have been accepted onto screener-based websites and stepping away from catalog data-basing.
There is no hiding that fact in how disappointed I am to hear that such an incredible website is shutting down. PlaneImages was a huge win for underdog photographers such as myself, who don't have the means or resources to make our photos "high-quality," at least according to overly-high standards of elitists from other, screener-based websites. While we can all agree or disagree on what's considered high-quality based on personal preferences, such screener-based standards suppresses creativity, and is an insult to the vast majority of aviation photographers and the incredible work they otherwise produce. PlaneImages encouraged artistic creativity and recognized contribution in our photos, as the site provided the perfect platform to showcase my best work after nothing but negative and insulting experiences with other screener-based aviation photography websites.
The shutdown of PlaneImages.net, once again leaves us underdog photographers in the shadows of those elitist photographers and their screener-based sites with their high, often unattainable standards.
That being said, I wish to express gratitude to the founders of PlaneImages.net, Beau, Jake and Drew, for taking a stab at addressing a plane-spotter's frustrations and delivering a service for the aviation photography underdogs via funding often out of their own pockets and in their own time. I wish them the all the best and hope that one day, they will find the proper and sustainable means to open a website (without the screening!) that showcases aircraft in real-time that will ultimately change the aviation photography/plane-spotter game for the better.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Gallery Update: Allegiant A319 Afternoon Departure from Provo
I'm still chasing after Allegiant Airbuses that I haven't photographed yet! Today, a single A319 made two runs into Provo from Phoenix-Mesa on one of those days where services is offered twice in one day (the route to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport must be popular to Provo passengers!) and it was another airframe I never photographed before. And yes, it was sporting the airline's new livery!
Provo (PVU) 63
Preview:
Provo (PVU) 63
Preview:
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| Allegiant Air Airbus A319-111 (N319NV) taxiing to 13 for departure to Phoenix-Mesa as AAY281. |
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| AAY281 lining up on 13 for departure. Airframe formerly with EasyJet, first delivered in June 2005 as G-EZIN. Allegiant Air acquired the airframe in July 2014 and then continued to to lease it EasyJet until March 28, 2018 when it was brought over to the states for Allegiant's use as one of the carrier's most recent addition to the fleet. |
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| AAY281 beginning takeoff roll on 13. |
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Pilot Life: Another Morning Flight with My Uncle Alan
My uncle Alan and I went up again this morning for another round of flying instrument approaches. Once again, my uncle served as my safety pilot while I logged some hood time shooting ILS approaches into Provo. Following our arrival at the airport, we went straight for the airplane and I got the pre-flight preparation taken care of.
After pre-flight, we hopped in, got the engine started and taxied out to Runway 12. After doing run-ups, we got airborne and headed out west towards the Fairfield VOR. The regular approach frequency with Salt Lake was still out of service, but we figured out an alternative frequency to contact for radar services, which we were able to get. Once again, I flew the approach under the foggles while my uncle kept eyes outside the cockpit.
On this flight we were able to shoot two full practice ILS approaches to Runway 13 at Provo; the first ended with a touch-and-go landing while the tower was still closed. On the second run, Provo Tower just opened and Class Delta airspace operations resumed so I requested the option, which ended with a stop-and-go landing followed by a straight-out departure back to Spanish Fork. Upon entering the traffic pattern, I flew the pattern not once, but twice. I did a touch-and-go on Runway 12 and then a full-stop landing after the second lap.
After rolling out and clearing the runway on the second landing at Spanish Fork, we taxied back to the ramp, shut the engine down, secured the airplane, and called it another successful flight. Again, it was fun flying with my uncle!
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| Once again, we were in N968CT. |
After pre-flight, we hopped in, got the engine started and taxied out to Runway 12. After doing run-ups, we got airborne and headed out west towards the Fairfield VOR. The regular approach frequency with Salt Lake was still out of service, but we figured out an alternative frequency to contact for radar services, which we were able to get. Once again, I flew the approach under the foggles while my uncle kept eyes outside the cockpit.
On this flight we were able to shoot two full practice ILS approaches to Runway 13 at Provo; the first ended with a touch-and-go landing while the tower was still closed. On the second run, Provo Tower just opened and Class Delta airspace operations resumed so I requested the option, which ended with a stop-and-go landing followed by a straight-out departure back to Spanish Fork. Upon entering the traffic pattern, I flew the pattern not once, but twice. I did a touch-and-go on Runway 12 and then a full-stop landing after the second lap.
After rolling out and clearing the runway on the second landing at Spanish Fork, we taxied back to the ramp, shut the engine down, secured the airplane, and called it another successful flight. Again, it was fun flying with my uncle!
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Pilot Life: Taking My Friend, Candice Flying!
It's been a while since I last logged two flights in one day. But this was also my first time logging two separate flights in the same airplane! This evening, I took my friend Candice flying around Utah Lake as well as the valley. I ended up pushing the flight back by about an hour because it was so stinkin' hot outside! After letting some time pass, we headed out to the airplane; I had my passenger take cover under some shade while I did the pre-flight, walk-around, and then added fuel to the tanks.
Afterwards, we hopped in and I got the engine started. I taxied a short ways to the usual run-up spot, where I did the engine run-ups; because it's hot outside, we kept a close eye on the oil temperature gauge. I also didn't waste time in doing a long run-up either. I then taxied us to the runway where I held short in sequence behind a familiar airplane, the Lancair Legacy Turboprop known as "Turbulence!" We got to see him take off from the runway and saw him make a steep climb out; I couldn't help but compliment him over the radio!
We continued to hold short of the runway to give way to some landing traffic. While we waited, we took a selfie!
After the arriving traffic landed and cleared the runway, I taxied onto the runway and we got airborne. Once off the ground, I made a steady climb over and around the airport in order to not overheat the engine and be nearby in case we needed to land; I was not going to push my engine hard given the how hot it was outside! Eventually, we got up to my desired cruise altitude where it was cooler outside and I was able rest easy regarding engine oil temperature! I then took us out over Utah Lake towards the Fairfield VOR to fly the ILS 13 approach into Provo and attempted to call up Salt Lake Approach. I received no response and it became a concern. While I waited for a response, I tuned into the Provo Airport ATIS to get the weather information and that's when it became clear to me; there was a NOTAM reporting that the frequency I was trying call up approach on was out of service! That's when I decided to abort the approach and just fly over the lake and valley. We also remained at the cruise altitude I've previously chosen to keep the engine cool.
What was supposed to be a lap around Utah Lake in order to shoot approaches turned into just a sight-seeing scenic flight! We flew over Provo Airport above their Class Delta airspace and flew over the city. I then turned us out to the south and invited Candice to take the controls and fly the airplane, which she gladly accepted! That's when she revealed to me that both her parents were pilots; it's no wonder she did so well maintaining altitude and heading while manipulating the controls! We flew south on the east side of the freeway until we passed Payson. I then re-took full control of the airplane and headed back to Spanish Fork. I descended down to pattern altitude and entered the traffic pattern for Runway 30; descending was much easier than climbing out since the engine didn't have to work as hard! I touched us down on Runway 30 and rolled out to the next available taxiway.
After taxiing back to the ramp, I parked the plane and shut the engine down, calling it another successful flight. After the post-flight and securing the airplane, we took one more selfie!
We drove home afterwards, reflecting on what turned out to be a great flight despite how hot it was outside.
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| Another flight in N968CT! |
Afterwards, we hopped in and I got the engine started. I taxied a short ways to the usual run-up spot, where I did the engine run-ups; because it's hot outside, we kept a close eye on the oil temperature gauge. I also didn't waste time in doing a long run-up either. I then taxied us to the runway where I held short in sequence behind a familiar airplane, the Lancair Legacy Turboprop known as "Turbulence!" We got to see him take off from the runway and saw him make a steep climb out; I couldn't help but compliment him over the radio!
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| We were second in line for takeoff behind this one-off turbine-powered Lancair Legacy "Turbulence!" |
We continued to hold short of the runway to give way to some landing traffic. While we waited, we took a selfie!
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| Obligatory selfie before takeoff! (Photo credit: Candice Boren, my lovely passenger!) |
After the arriving traffic landed and cleared the runway, I taxied onto the runway and we got airborne. Once off the ground, I made a steady climb over and around the airport in order to not overheat the engine and be nearby in case we needed to land; I was not going to push my engine hard given the how hot it was outside! Eventually, we got up to my desired cruise altitude where it was cooler outside and I was able rest easy regarding engine oil temperature! I then took us out over Utah Lake towards the Fairfield VOR to fly the ILS 13 approach into Provo and attempted to call up Salt Lake Approach. I received no response and it became a concern. While I waited for a response, I tuned into the Provo Airport ATIS to get the weather information and that's when it became clear to me; there was a NOTAM reporting that the frequency I was trying call up approach on was out of service! That's when I decided to abort the approach and just fly over the lake and valley. We also remained at the cruise altitude I've previously chosen to keep the engine cool.
What was supposed to be a lap around Utah Lake in order to shoot approaches turned into just a sight-seeing scenic flight! We flew over Provo Airport above their Class Delta airspace and flew over the city. I then turned us out to the south and invited Candice to take the controls and fly the airplane, which she gladly accepted! That's when she revealed to me that both her parents were pilots; it's no wonder she did so well maintaining altitude and heading while manipulating the controls! We flew south on the east side of the freeway until we passed Payson. I then re-took full control of the airplane and headed back to Spanish Fork. I descended down to pattern altitude and entered the traffic pattern for Runway 30; descending was much easier than climbing out since the engine didn't have to work as hard! I touched us down on Runway 30 and rolled out to the next available taxiway.
After taxiing back to the ramp, I parked the plane and shut the engine down, calling it another successful flight. After the post-flight and securing the airplane, we took one more selfie!
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| One more selfie after landing! (Photo credit: Candice Boren) |
We drove home afterwards, reflecting on what turned out to be a great flight despite how hot it was outside.
Gallery Update: Apache Action in Spanish Fork!
I was taking another one of my friends flying this evening. I ended up pushing the flight back because it was so stinkin' hot outside! So while we waited, an Army Apache helicopter flew in to practice pattern work as well as some autorotations. I happened to have my camera on me, so I got a few good shots as I was able to see and photograph an AH-64 in flight for the very first time!
Spanish Fork-Springville (SPK) 30
Preview:
Spanish Fork-Springville (SPK) 30
Preview:
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| United States Army Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow (99-5586) on short final for 30. My first time seeing one of these in flight up close! Certainly don't want to see one of these in your rear-view mirror! |
Pilot Life: Flying with My Uncle Alan!
My uncle Alan is in town this week and he wanted to go flying with me! He owns and flies a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, which he used to be here in Utah with his wife this week. My uncle Alan's never flown in a DA20 Katana before, so I was privileged to take him up and have him act as my safety pilot while we shot some approaches into Provo.
After arriving at the airport, we headed straight for the airplane where we conducted pre-flight and showed my uncle the ropes. We then added fuel before hopping in and starting up the engine. After start-up, I allowed the engine oil temperature to warm up because it was the first flight of the day. Once warm-up was completed, we taxied over to Runway 12, where I did the standard engine run-ups; everything was in the green, so we were ready to get airborne!
I taxied us onto the runway and we got airborne. After getting up in the air, I climbed us out over the airport and departed the area to the west. I then handed control to my uncle and he got his first taste in flying a Katana! I also went under the foggles to log some simulated instrument time. I tuned into Salt Lake Approach and called them up, letting them know that we wanted to shoot the practice ILS 13 approach into Provo. We flew out to the Fairfield VOR and flew the full approach. This was also good practice/observation for my uncle as well because he was planning on working on his Instrument Rating and wanted to see how it worked. We eventually got established on the final approach course and Salt Lake Approach cleared us for the ILS 13 and cut us loose. We were in the air during hours when Provo Tower was closed, so the tower frequency acted as the CTAF and I made my radio calls on it. We continued descending on the glideslope localizer until we hit minimums, where I removed my foggles.
We made a stop-and-go landing on Runway 13 before getting back up in the air again and made left traffic back up to the north. I went back under the foggles and called up Salt Lake Approach and requested radar vectors for the practice ILS 13 approach. The request was granted and we eventually got established once more on the ILS 13 approach into Provo. From that point on, approach cut us loose and I made my radio calls on the CTAF again. Once at minimums, I removed my foggles and made a touch-and-go landing on Runway 13, followed by a straight-out departure back to Spanish Fork. We entered the traffic pattern for Runway 12 and I made a successful, full-stop landing. We taxied the Katana back to the ramp and we called it a successful flight after shutting the engine down. My uncle was able to experience what an instrument approach procedure was like as he acted as my safety pilot, which also allowed him to log pilot-in-command (PIC) time on the Katana. And I was able to log some meaningful simulated instrument time, log the approaches, and include my uncle Alan's name in my logbook for the first time!
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| I got to take my uncle Alan up in N968CT! |
After arriving at the airport, we headed straight for the airplane where we conducted pre-flight and showed my uncle the ropes. We then added fuel before hopping in and starting up the engine. After start-up, I allowed the engine oil temperature to warm up because it was the first flight of the day. Once warm-up was completed, we taxied over to Runway 12, where I did the standard engine run-ups; everything was in the green, so we were ready to get airborne!
I taxied us onto the runway and we got airborne. After getting up in the air, I climbed us out over the airport and departed the area to the west. I then handed control to my uncle and he got his first taste in flying a Katana! I also went under the foggles to log some simulated instrument time. I tuned into Salt Lake Approach and called them up, letting them know that we wanted to shoot the practice ILS 13 approach into Provo. We flew out to the Fairfield VOR and flew the full approach. This was also good practice/observation for my uncle as well because he was planning on working on his Instrument Rating and wanted to see how it worked. We eventually got established on the final approach course and Salt Lake Approach cleared us for the ILS 13 and cut us loose. We were in the air during hours when Provo Tower was closed, so the tower frequency acted as the CTAF and I made my radio calls on it. We continued descending on the glideslope localizer until we hit minimums, where I removed my foggles.
We made a stop-and-go landing on Runway 13 before getting back up in the air again and made left traffic back up to the north. I went back under the foggles and called up Salt Lake Approach and requested radar vectors for the practice ILS 13 approach. The request was granted and we eventually got established once more on the ILS 13 approach into Provo. From that point on, approach cut us loose and I made my radio calls on the CTAF again. Once at minimums, I removed my foggles and made a touch-and-go landing on Runway 13, followed by a straight-out departure back to Spanish Fork. We entered the traffic pattern for Runway 12 and I made a successful, full-stop landing. We taxied the Katana back to the ramp and we called it a successful flight after shutting the engine down. My uncle was able to experience what an instrument approach procedure was like as he acted as my safety pilot, which also allowed him to log pilot-in-command (PIC) time on the Katana. And I was able to log some meaningful simulated instrument time, log the approaches, and include my uncle Alan's name in my logbook for the first time!
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| Selfie after landing and post-flight! It was so great to fly with uncle Alan and have him act as my safety pilot! |
Monday, June 25, 2018
Gallery Update: Chasing an Allegiant A320 in the New Livery
This afternoon, I went plane-spotting specifically to chase after another one of Allegiant Air's Airbus A320s; this one was sporting the carrier's new standard livery, which was a first for me! In addition to the Airbus, I got to photograph a little military action in Provo as well, in the form of a C-12 Huron.
Provo (PVU) 62
Preview:
Provo (PVU) 62
Preview:
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| United States Army Beechcraft (B200C) C-12T Huron (84-0149) on short final for 13 as PAT149. |
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| Allegiant Air Airbus A320-214 (N233NV) on short final for 13 as AAY255 arriving from Los Angeles. This is my first time catching the new standard livery of Allegiant on one of their A320s! |
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| Airframe first delivered to Eurofly as I-EEZG in May 2003, and then to Meridiana Fly in February 2010. It then fell under ownership of GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and re-registered as EI-EZV in January 2013 before being leased to Aer Lingus in April the same year, flying under the short-lived Virgin Atlantic Little Red branding as "Tartan Lassie." Re-branded under the Aer Lingus livery in September 2015, it was christened "St. Andrew / Aindriú" before being withdrawn in March 2017. Acquired by Allegiant Air in April 2017. |
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| ATP Flight School Piper PA-44-180 Seminole (N684AT) on short final for 13. |
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Gallery Update: The Utah Air Show - Warriors Over the Wasatch 2018 Recap
Last weekend, it was the air show up in Rexburg; this weekend, in Ogden, Utah! My friend and I were able to attend The Utah Air Show - Warriors Over the Wasatch 2018 at Hill Air Force Base today and it was a fun-filled, exciting day, as this was my first time attending this particular air show and my first in a very long time to attend an air show held on an active military base! It was a hot day, but our day was made easier thanks to the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and us being able to the ride FrontRunner train up to Ogden. It was highly encouraged to utilize public transportation and I'm glad we did so because this turned out to be one of the least-stressful air show outings I've had in a long time!The highlights of this major air show includes:
- The United States Air Force Thunderbirds as the main headliner for the show. It's been six years since I last saw the Thunderbirds perform back at the 2012 Oregon International Air Show! And thankfully, they returned to the air show circuit last month following a stand-down in the wake of tragedy where Major Stephen "Cajun" Del Bagno, former Thunderbird #4 was lost in a training flight near Creech Air Force Base in Nevada on April 4, 2018.
- An F-35 Lightning II attack demo by the locally-based 388th Fighter Wing, Fuujin flight! Four F-35s made simulated "attack runs" accompanied by pyrotechnics.
- Aerobatic performances by Buck Roetman, Rob Holland, Bill Stein, Bob Freeman, and Brad Wursten.
- The Shockwave Jet Truck driven by Chris Darnell.
- The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Parachute Team.
- Warbird aerobatic performances by Gary Rower in his Stearman, Greg "Wired" Colyer in his T-33 we all know as "Ace Maker II," Barry "Bdog" Hancock in his T-6G Texan, as well as Matt Younkin in his Beech Model 18.
- In addition, a couple new acts I've never seen before including Paul "Sticky" Strickland (from the Patriots Jet Team) in a solo jet performance in an Aero L-39C Albatros, Mark Peterson in a Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet, and Jeff Boerboon in the new Yak-110, which debuted in the air show circuit earlier this year!
- And finally, a great assortment of military and civilian static display aircraft!
Links:
Preview:
Shockwave Jet Truck
We arrived just in time to catch the Shockwave Jet Truck bringing the heat and some speed for a quick teaser demo!
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| Chris Darnell in the Shockwave Jet Truck deploying the drag chute to slow down after a quick teaser demo! |
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| The Jet Truck getting a tow back! |
Aerobatics by Buck Roetman
The first aerial act we arrived in time to see was Buck Roetman and his solo aerobatics performance in the Pitts S-2S Special.
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| Buck Roetman taxiing out his Pitts S-2S Special (N99MF). |
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| Buck buzzing the air show box with smoke on! |
Aerobatics by Paul "Sticky" Strickland
Here's an air show act I've never seen before: The Patriots Jet Team's number four slot pilot, Paul "Sticky" Strickland, in addition to his time doing team flying, also flies an L-39C Albatros in a solo act. After seeing L-39s race at Reno as well as seeing two different jet teams that fly the famous Czech trainer, it was quite refreshing to see a solo L-39 aerobatics act for the first time!
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| Paul "Sticky" Strickland taxiing out his Aero L-39C Albatros (N139ES). |
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| "Sticky" airborne off Runway 32! |
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| Photo pass. |
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| Inverted pass. |
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| The middle of an eight-point roll. |
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| Showing off that underside profile of the popular Czech trainer. |
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| High-speed low pass! |
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| The Dirty Pass. |
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| One final pass before "Stick" got set up to land. |
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| Head-on view of the L-39 after "Sticky" cleared off 32. |
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| "Sticky" taxiing back to the hot ramp! |
Aerobatics by Gary Rower
I haven't seen this act for about four years and I'm glad I had a chance to see it again, this time with a proper DSLR camera! Up next was Gary Rower and his aerobatic act in the venerable Boeing PT-17 Stearman, choreographed to the soundtrack from the film 'Apollo 13.'
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| Gary Rower taxiing out his Boeing A75J1 PT-18/R985 Stearman (N212PC). |
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| Smoke on, Gary Rower makes an intersection takeoff on Runway 14; his plane doesn't need that much runway! |
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| Going up into the vertical for a loop! |
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| Coming out of another loop! |
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| Like a true barnstormer! |
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| Waving to the crowd during the final photo pass! |
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| Gary Rower taxiing his Stearman back to the hot ramp. |
Aerobatics by Rob Holland
Aerobatics continued with Rob Holland and his MX2.
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| Rob Holland in his MX Aircraft MX2 (N540RH). |
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| Knife-edge pass! |
Team Hill F-35 Attack Demo
It was time for some of that American sound of freedom with the United States Air Force! The locally-based 388th Fighter Wing sent up four Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs from the 4th Fighter Squadron, the "Fightning Fuujins" in two separate elements as "Fuujin Flight" for a simulated ground attack demo complete with pyrotechnics! The fighter jets made multiple passes showcasing America's newest fighter aircraft!
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| United States Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (15-5172) "Fuujin 01" airborne off 14! |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (15-5176) "Fuujin 02" airborne off 14! |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (15-5143) "Fuujin 03" airborne off 14! |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (15-5124) "Fuujin 04" airborne off 14! |
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| Fuujin 01 making the first "attack" run! |
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| Fuujin 02 follows suit! |
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| Fuujin 03 & 04 bringing up the rear! |
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| Fuujin 01 making a second pass with contrails forming on the wing tips! |
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| Fuujin 02 second "attack" pass with contrails and in afterburner! |
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| Fuujin 03 baking away after the second pass in afterburner and with contrails along with vapor distortion forming! |
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| Fuujin 04 on the second pass with contrails! |
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| Fuujin Flight in formation demonstrating that you don't always need to blow stuff up when combating your enemies! Sometimes, a show of force will do! |
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| Now THAT is badass! |
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| Fuujin 01 making a high-speed pass! |
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| Fuujin 02 making a high-speed pass! Note the afterburner plume! |
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| Fuujin 03 in a high-speed pass in afterburner! Not THAT'S hot! |
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| Fujjin Flight breaking formation in preparation for landing! |
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| A traditional military formation break to create spacing! |
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| Fuujin 02 breaking away from Fuujin 03 & 04! |
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| Fuujin 02's steep bank disturbs the air around it to create contrails! |
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| Bringing up the rear, Fuujin 03 begins breaking away from Fuujin 04! |
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| Fuujin 01 blasting back into the traffic pattern for 14! |
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| Fuujin 02 blasting back into the pattern! |
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| Fuujin 03 climbing back into the pattern! |
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| Fuujin 04 blasting back into the pattern! |
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| Fuujin 01 taxiing back to the hot ramp. |
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| Fuujin 02 taxiing back to the hot ramp. |
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| Fuujin 03 taxiing back to the hot ramp. |
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| Fuujin 04 taxiing back to the hot ramp. |
Yak-110 Teaser/Tribute to Dan Buchanan
On June 2, 2018 paraplegic hang glider performer Dan Buchanan lost his life following a hang gliding accident after his performance at the 2018 Gunfighter Skies Air Show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. Buchanan was scheduled to perform at this year's Warriors Over the Wasatch Air Show and the loss of this one-of-a-kind performer was particularly stinging to the air show industry and to all those who knew him, as he was a unique and inspirational act... In place of Buchanan during his original time slot, aerobatic pilot Jeff Boerboon paid tribute to him with a short teaser demo of one of the newest and most unique entrants in the air show circuit, the Yak-110! No doubt, Dan Buchanan would've wanted everyone to carry on in the wake of his death!
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| Jeff Boerboon taxis out the Yakovlev Yak-110 (N110JY). |
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| Head-on view of the Yak-110, showing the two propeller engines and center-mounted jet engine in the middle. |
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| Underside view of the Yak-110. How often is that you get to see a tri-motor aerobatic aircraft? |
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| We will miss you, Dan Buchanan... |
Aerobatics by Bill Stein
Up next on the aerobatics agenda was Bill Stein, and his colorful Zivko Edge 540.
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| Bill Stein taxiing out his Zivko Edge 540 (N540WS). |
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| Such a colorful airplane! |
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| Bill Stein taxiing back to the hot ramp at the conclusion of his performance. |
Aerobatics by Greg "Wired" Colyer
Up next was the jet warbird act that never gets old! Greg "Wired" Colyer of Ace Maker Air Shows took up his T-33 "Ace Maker II" and demoed the classic military jet trainer.
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| Greg "Wired" Colyer taxiing out "Ace Maker II," a Canadair CL-30 CT-133 Silver Star 3 (N133HH). |
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| "Ace Maker II" airborne off 32! |
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| High-speed photo pass. |
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| Passing overhead at show-center. |
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| Climbing left turn showing the underside profile of the T-33! |
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| "Dirty Pass" configuration! |
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| Final photo pass. |
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| "Wired" taxiing "Ace Maker II" back to the hot ramp. |
Aerobatics by Bob Freeman
Civilian aerobatics continued with Bob Freeman up next, flying in his Extra 300.
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| Bob Freeman in the Extra EA-300/SR (N330RF) during an aileron roll. |
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| The Knife-edge pass. |
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| Bob Freeman taxiing back to the hot ramp. |
Aerobatics by Mark Peterson
This was another air show act I was really looking forward to seeing! Mark Peterson brought a rare and unusual military jet trainer aircraft for the United States, the Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet! As the manufacturer names suggest, the Alpha Jet was jointly designed and built in France and Germany, with less than 500 airframes built. Still in service with air forces around the world, the Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer specifically to perform the trainer and light attack missions, as well as to perform these duties more ideally than the first generation of jet trainers that preceded it. Of course I was excited because I've never seen an Alpha Jet before!
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| Mark Peterson taxiing out his Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jet A (N120AU). The Alpha Jet A was the attack version primarily used by the German Air Force and as such, this airframe is former Luftwaffe 41+20, which first flew in 1981. |
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| Peterson airborne off 32 with smoke on! |
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| Taking the Alpha Jet into the vertical! |
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| Aileron roll. |
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| Inverted pass. |
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| Showing the Alpha Jet's underside profile. |
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| Photo pass. |
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| Clearing off the runway after landing. Note the air brakes deployed. |
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| Mark Peterson taxiing the Alpha Jet back to the hot ramp! |
Buck Roetman & Gary Rower
Up next was some team aerobatics with Buck Roetman in his Pitts and Gary Rower in his Stearman! I've seen these two perform together before and it's always incredible that two completely different bi-planes (one modern, the other vintage) can perform well together and how they compliment each other!
U.S. SOCOM Parachute Team Demo
Taking a break from the aerobatics for a moment, up next was the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Parachute Team.
Aerobatics by Barry "Bdog" Hancock
Back to aerobatics and some more warbirds! Up next was Heber City's Barry Hancock of Pilot Maker Air Shows in his North American T-6G Texan!
Aerobatics by Matt Younkin
Third-generation air show pilot Matt Younkin concluded the warbird aerobatics line-up with his twin-Beech Model 18, an air show act I never get tired of!
Rob Holland & Bill Stein
It was time for some more team aerobatics, this time with Rob Holland and Bill Stein in their respective high-performance aerobatics platforms!
Rob Holland VS Jet Truck!!!
Immediately following Rob Holland and Bill Steins' team aerobatics, it was time to bring on the heat once again with the Shockwave Jet Truck! And this time, it was a race between Rob Holland in his MX2 and Chris Darnell in the suped-up (not to mention NOT street-legal!) truck with jet engines!
Aerobatics by Jeff Boerboon and the Yak-110
After giving us a teaser earlier in the day, it was time for the full aerobatics performance of Jeff Boerboon and the Fat Tire Cowboy's Yakovlev Yak-110 in their second public display of the air show season! The Yak-110 is the Idaho product using Russian planes by sticking two Yak-55 fuselages together and mounting a jet engine in the center (Get it? Two Yak-55s put together equal a Yak-110!). I've heard about the Yak-110 project earlier this year, but never in my wildest dreams get the opportunity to see it in-person on its debut year! You just don't see too many tri-motor aerobatic airplanes!
Aerobatics by Brad Wursten
The aerobatics portion of the air show concluded with Logan, Utah's Brad Wursten in his MXS-R.
United States Air Force Thunderbirds
And finally, it was time for air show's headliner, the United States Air Force 57th Wing's Air Demonstration Squadron out of Nellis Air Force Base, the Thunderbirds! I last saw the Thunderbirds perform six years ago at the 2012 Oregon International Air Show and this year is my first time photographing them with a good DSLR camera, so seeing them again was much-anticipated!
Static Display
And of course, what's an air show without static displays to look at? Before we left, we walked around to check out the static display aircraft and let the crowd thin out; plus it was easier to get decent photos of the display aircraft without too much human photo-bombing!
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| Buck and Gary making their entrance from back-show center! |
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| Buck goes into the vertical while Gary barrel rolls away. |
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| Buck Roetman barrel rolling through Gary Rower's residual smoke. |
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| Gary Rower taking his Stearman into the verticle. |
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| Buck Roetman and Gary Rower making one final pass together! |
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| Gary Rower taxiing his Stearman back to the hot ramp for the second time of the day. |
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| Buck Roetman taxiing his Pitts back to the hot ramp once more for the day. |
U.S. SOCOM Parachute Team Demo
Taking a break from the aerobatics for a moment, up next was the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Parachute Team.
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| Skydive Ogden Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (N1117G) airborne off 32 with the Para-Commandos on board. It's weird seeing a 208 without the belly cargo pod! |
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| A Para-Commando bringing in the POW/MIA Flag, reminding us to never forget those servicemen and women who are still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for. We owe them our lives just as much as those who paid the highest price for this great nation! |
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| A Para-Commando coming in with smoke on. |
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| The third and final Para-Commando coming in, concluding the SOCOM team's demonstrations for the day. |
Aerobatics by Barry "Bdog" Hancock
Back to aerobatics and some more warbirds! Up next was Heber City's Barry Hancock of Pilot Maker Air Shows in his North American T-6G Texan!
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| Barry Hancock taxiing out his North American T-6G Texan (N49388). |
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| Barrel rolling with smoke on! |
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| Photo pass! |
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| "Bdog" giving us a thumbs-up as he taxis back to the hot ramp! |
Aerobatics by Matt Younkin
Third-generation air show pilot Matt Younkin concluded the warbird aerobatics line-up with his twin-Beech Model 18, an air show act I never get tired of!
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| Matt Younkin taxiing out his Beech C18S (N9109R). |
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| Matt Younkin with his lights flashing! |
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| Inverted during a roll. |
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| Going into another roll! |
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| Photo pass. |
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| The Elephant's Waltz with gear and flaps extended! |
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| One final overhead pass in the dirty configuration with lights flashing! |
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| Matt Younkin taxiing back to the hot ramp at the conclusion of his incredible display! |
Rob Holland & Bill Stein
It was time for some more team aerobatics, this time with Rob Holland and Bill Stein in their respective high-performance aerobatics platforms!
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| Rob Holland and Bill Stein climbing up into the vertical while maintaining formation! |
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| At the top of the loop and beginning the descent! |
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| Rob Holland hanging on his prop while Bill Stein makes a loop! |
Rob Holland VS Jet Truck!!!
Immediately following Rob Holland and Bill Steins' team aerobatics, it was time to bring on the heat once again with the Shockwave Jet Truck! And this time, it was a race between Rob Holland in his MX2 and Chris Darnell in the suped-up (not to mention NOT street-legal!) truck with jet engines!
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| Chris Darnell in the Shockwave Jet Truck with flames coming out of the smoke stacks! |
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| Flame on! |
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| Oh, it's on now! Rob Holland taunting Chris Darnell by blowing some smoke over the jet truck! |
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| And off they go! Rob Holland ups the stakes by racing inverted! |
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| The Jet Truck deploying the drag chute! |
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| I think it's pretty clear who the winner of this race is! |
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| Rob Holland taxiing back to the hot ramp. |
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| Bill Stein taxiing back to the hot ramp after sitting pretty watching the race from perhaps the best seat in the house! |
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| Shockwave Jet Truck getting towed back. |
Aerobatics by Jeff Boerboon and the Yak-110
After giving us a teaser earlier in the day, it was time for the full aerobatics performance of Jeff Boerboon and the Fat Tire Cowboy's Yakovlev Yak-110 in their second public display of the air show season! The Yak-110 is the Idaho product using Russian planes by sticking two Yak-55 fuselages together and mounting a jet engine in the center (Get it? Two Yak-55s put together equal a Yak-110!). I've heard about the Yak-110 project earlier this year, but never in my wildest dreams get the opportunity to see it in-person on its debut year! You just don't see too many tri-motor aerobatic airplanes!
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| Jeff Boerboon taxiing out the Yak-110 for the second time of the day. |
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| Airborne off 32! The Yak-110 is powered by two of the standard Vedeneyev M14P 9-cylinder radial engine like the ones found in standard Yak-55s. The center-mounted jet engine is a General Electric CJ610-6 turbojet derived from the J85 that produces around 3,000 pounds of thrust used only for aerobatic performances at air shows. Each cockpit has a full set of flight controls, but things like the starter and the show smoke controls are only found in the left cockpit. |
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| In the middle of a barrell roll, showing the topside profile of the Yak-110! |
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| Inverted pass. Normally, the Russians are known for building weird-looking aircraft, but this plane is considered "American-made" using Russian products! Rumor has it that this project was conceived at a bar during Happy Hour! |
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| Going up into the vertical from an inverted pass. |
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| Photo pass of the Yak-110! |
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| Jeff Boerboon taxiing the Yak-110 back to the hot ramp for the second time of the day! |
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| The taking of two standard, single-engine aerobatics aircraft and putting them together is truly an engineering marvel! Congratulations to all who were involved in the project for producing a unique, aerobatic aircraft! |
Aerobatics by Brad Wursten
The aerobatics portion of the air show concluded with Logan, Utah's Brad Wursten in his MXS-R.
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| Brad Wursten taxiing out his MX Aircraft MXR-R (N545EA). |
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| Knife-edge pass. |
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| Taxiing back to the ramp. |
United States Air Force Thunderbirds
And finally, it was time for air show's headliner, the United States Air Force 57th Wing's Air Demonstration Squadron out of Nellis Air Force Base, the Thunderbirds! I last saw the Thunderbirds perform six years ago at the 2012 Oregon International Air Show and this year is my first time photographing them with a good DSLR camera, so seeing them again was much-anticipated!
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| The four-ship Diamond airborne of Runway 32! |
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| Thunderbird #5 with Lead Solo pilot, Major Whit Collins at the controls airborne off 32 about to execute a barrel roll! |
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| Thunderbird #6 with Opposing Solo, Major Matt Kimmel airborne off 32 at max power about to execute a Split-S. |
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| The Diamond return to execute their opening maneuver, the Clover Loop! |
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| Thunderbird #5 about to execute the Opposing Knife Edge pass! |
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| The Trail to Diamond transition! |
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| Back to the Diamond! |
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| Thunderbird #6 about to execute the Opposing Inverted Pass! |
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| The Diamond about to execute the Line to Diamond Loop! |
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| Thunderbird #5 executing the Knife Edge Pass! |
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| Thunderbird #6 halfway through a Slow Roll! |
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| The Diamond executing the Diamond Roll! |
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| The Diamond executing a synchronized aileron roll, known as the Bon Ton Roulle! |
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| The solos in the Calypso Pass! |
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| The Trail to Diamond Clover Loop executed by the Diamond! |
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| The Diamond just having completed the transition! |
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| Diamond Pass in Review! |
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| Trail to Diamond Roll! |
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| The Diamond having just completed the transition mid-roll. |
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| Thunderbird #5 in the High Alpha Pass! |
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| The Diamond and Thunderbird #6 in the High/Low Pass, where the 4-ship has gear down and slowed down while the solo overtakes them at high speed! |
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| The Diamond completing their Dirty Pass. |
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| The 5-Card Loop! |
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| The Line Break Loop! |
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| Thunderbird #6 in a High Speed Pass! |
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| Note the open panel door just behind the air intake; this would later cause the show to be cut short slight towards the end out of safety. |
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| The Diamond executing the Arrowhead Loop! |
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| The Solos joined the Diamond to form the Delta for the Delta Bottom-Up-Pass! |
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| The Delta Roll! |
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| The Delta at the top of their roll, showing off that Air Force red, white, and blue! |
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| The Delta executing the Delta Loop! |
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| The Delta breaks for the Delta Burst! |
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| The Diamond in the Warrior Loop! |
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| High Bomb Burst! |
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| The Diamond rejoining following the Bomb Burst. |
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| The solos in the Reflection Pass! |
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| Thunderbird #5 pitching up to the pattern in afterburner! |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed F-16C Fighting Falcon (92-3898) Thunderbird #1 taxiing back to the ramp. At the controls is the Thunderbirds Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Walsh. |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed F-16C Fighting Falcon (92-3908) Thunderbird #2 taxiing back to the ramp. At the controls is Left Wing, Captain Will Graeff. |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed F-16C Fighting Falcon (92-3881) Thunderbird #3 taxiing back to the ramp. At the controls is Right Wing, Major Nate Hofmann. |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon (92-3880) Thunderbird #4 taxiing back to the ramp. At the controls is Slot pilot, Major Nick Krajicek. Major Krajicek returned to the team as the slot pilot after the loss of Major Stephen "Cajun" Del Bagno on April 4, 2018. |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed F-16C Fighting Falcon (92-3888) Thunderbird #5 taxiing back to the ramp. At the controls is Major Whit Collins. |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed F-16C Fighting Falcon (92-3896) Thunderbird #6 taxiing back to the ramp. At the controls is Major Matt Kimmel. |
Static Display
And of course, what's an air show without static displays to look at? Before we left, we walked around to check out the static display aircraft and let the crowd thin out; plus it was easier to get decent photos of the display aircraft without too much human photo-bombing!
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| United States Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (15-5134) on display. |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (15-5140) on display. |
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| North American B-25N Mitchel (N8195H) on display. |
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| United States Air Force General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon (87-0291) from New Jersey on display. |
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| United States Navy Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II (169030) from Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA-125) "Rough Raiders" on display. I didn't expect to seen a C-model of the F-35 here! As it turns out, Hill AFB does all the depot work for most, if not all F-35s. Either way, I am absolutely thrilled to be able to photograph the carrier version of the Joint Strike Fighter! |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor (06-4116) from the 57th Wing's USAF Weapons School, the 433rd Weapons Squadron out of Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada. This is my first time photographing an F-22 with a DSLR camera! Now I gotta photograph the F-22 in action! |
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| Face-to-face with the F-35C! |
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| Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II (82-0650) on display. |
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| United States Navy Lockheed C-130T Hercules (164994) of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron Five Four (VR-54), the "Revelers" of NAS/JRB New Orleans on display. |
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| United States Air Force Boeing 717-148 KC-135R Stratotanker (61-0275) of the 151st Air Refueling Wing (151 ARW) "Mountain West Militia" out of Salt Lake City on display. |
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| Northrop T-38C Talon (68-0129) of the 80th Flying Training Wing (80th FTW) out of Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas on display. |
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| United States Air Force Raytheon T-6A Texan II (08-3911) on display. |
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| United States Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (87-0173) of the 366th Fighter Wing (366 FW), 389th Fighter Squadron, the "Thunderbolts" out of Mountain Home AFB in Idaho, painted in the special 30th anniversary scheme to commemorate 30 years of operating the Strike Eagle. I'm thrilled to see and photograph this paint scheme and this is also my first time photographing a Strike Eagle! |
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| United States Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (88-1705) of the 366th Fighter Wing (366 FW), 389th Fighter Squadron, the "Thunderbolts" out of Mountain Home AFB in Idaho. The Strike Eagle is an all-weather multi-role strike fighter variant of the venerable F-15 Eagle, one of the greatest fighters in service with the USAF. |
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| Lockheed P-38L Lightning (NX2114L) "Tangerine" on display. This one's from the Erickson Aircraft Collection out of Madras, Oregon! |
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| Commemorative Air Force Douglas DC-3C (N147AZ) on display. |
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| SIAI-Marchetti S.211 (N211BJ) on display. The S.211 is an Italian jet trainer and light-attack jet aircraft. |
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| Canadair CL-30 CT-133 Silver Star 3 (NX84TB) on display. This jet warbird is from the Western Sky Aviation Warbird Museum in St. George, Utah. |
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| Canadair CL-30 CT-133 Silver Star 3 (NX333MJ) on display. This Blue Angels-liveried T-33 is owned by none other than Kay Eckhardt, who has accumulated more hours in the T-33 than any other civilian warbird pilot. |
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| Yakovlev Yak-50 (N50BK) on display. Formerly registered in Australia as VH-BYJ. |
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| United States Air Force Beech T-1A Jayhawk (94-0124) of the 71st Flying Training Wing out of Vance AFB in Enid, Oklahoma on display. |
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| SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Delta Connection) Bombardier CL-600-2C10 CRJ-701ER (N762SK) on display. Flew into Hill AFB from Salt Lake City International as SKW1972. Go figure SkyWest would send one of their jets to this air show! It's not every day you get to seen a commercial airliner at an active military base! |
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| United States Air Force Lockheed L-500 C-5M Super Galaxy (86-0022) of the 60th Air Mobility Wing (60 AMW) and 349th Air Mobility Wing (349 AMW) out of Travis AFB in California on display. This is my first time seeing and photographing a C-5, one of the largest military airlift aircraft in the world! |
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