F/A-18E/F Super Hornets
F/A-18E/F Super Hornets from the United States Navy Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 122 “Flying Eagles” photographed at the 2019 Reno Air Races.
Blue Angels On The Flightline
The precision of the United States Navy Blue Angels even just coming back to the flightline is amazing! At the Naval Air Facility El Centro Airshow this past Saturday. With the Palm Springs Air Museum, we were very happy to have been part of it with our own aircraft too! Thanks!
The Other Four
The Palm Springs Air Museum took four aircraft to the NAF El Centro Airshow this past weekend. These are not them. Took me along too. Good thing I brought a camera (or two)!
The United States Navy Blue Angels! At their opening demonstration for their 2018 flying season. We were very honored to bring our own aircraft to the Naval Air Facility El Centro for this exciting Air Show! And just as excited to bring you a look at our experience in photos and video. Thanks!
Lt. “Animal” Newman
No this is not one of those photos where Lt. “Animal” Newman got caught going through a red light. That is the name right under the canopy. A McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk trainer used by the United States Navy and you can see that it is an aircraft carrier capable jet because of the tail hook. It will do 645 MPH, well into the wow category! Another day of more fun at the Palm Springs Air Museum yesterday. By the way, I bet you were thinking that Lt. “Animal” Newman is a guy. Might be, might not be.
Value Added Bonus
Hang out at the Palm Springs Air Museum and you often get the added fun of military aircraft flying at the airport. Saturday saw T-45 jet trainers taking off and landing. Out of Naval Air Facility El Centro, these trainers are fully aircraft carrier capable and will do 645 mph. When I am there, I always have a camera at the ready. Wow!
An F-18 Visit
Not unusual to see military aircraft coming in to the airport here in Palm Springs. It is unusual for an F-18 Hornet to drive by my house right over my backyard pool. And nothing in my pool looks like a carrier. Very cool though!
No Matter How Old You Are!
Always so very fun no matter how old you are! The sound and the power of this vintage aircraft taking flight. Just this past Saturday at the Palm Springs Air Museum. A World War II Navy fighter, the Bearcat F8F-2, here flown by pilot Steve Barber.
Bearcat
A Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat Navy fighter plane on it’s way out for a flight demonstration at the Palm Springs Air Museum. Flown by Pilot Steve Barber. The Bearcat was a carrier based aircraft. It later still out performed many of the early jet fighter aircraft. Popular in air racing, they can exceed 500 mph and have held many world records.
Skyward!
I was at the Palm Springs Air Museum the other day and all the talk is the excitement of flying again for this season! This is a flying museum along with all kinds of great programs. You can watch historic aircraft take to the skies, sit in cockpits and see incredible one of a kind programs. Yes and you can fly too! Check it all out on the Palm Springs Air Museum website here at http://palmspringsairmuseum.org
And you will see me there with my favorite Hasselblad cameras. Hasselblad cameras were the choice for NASA taking into Space and to the Moon. So my first choice too!
Here We Go!
Coming up to that time of year when all of the activities at the Palm Springs Air Museum really get going. Flight demonstrations, special presentations and programs, chili cook-offs, car shows and so much more fun! And even when there is not something specifically scheduled, you never know what you might see.
This day we sure did know what to expect. A Navy EA-6B Prowler coming in from a carrier in the Persian Gulf to retire at the Museum. What a sight to see that was! Wow! You can check out that amazing aircraft today at it’s permanent home. Come take a look! You will often find me there with my cameras!
Some Navy Training
Not only yesterday but pretty much everyday you can go take a ride in this PT-17 Stearman Navy trainer at the Palm Springs Air Museum. There were over 10,000 built in the 1930’s and 1940’s. If you learned how to fly in the military this was your classroom.
Photographed with a FujiFilm XT-1 camera and the FujiFilm 50-140 lens. What a great lightweight versatile camera system!
Just Needs A Quart Of Oil
Just top it off with a quart of oil and good to go! Ok maybe not. Just brought in to the Palm Springs Air Museum yesterday morning. This is a Grumman F9F Panther. The Panther was the U.S. Navy’s first successful carrier based jet aircraft. It was also the aircraft of the Blue Angels from 1949 – 1954. There were 1,382 built and today it is a very rare aircraft. It will go through extensive renovation at the Air Museum and before too will be on display looking like the day it came off the assembly line.
I did some online searching and found what may be a photo (below) of this actual aircraft on board a carrier during the Korean War. It is in the VF-821 Fighter Squadron and may have been on the USS Princeton and the USS Essex. It certainly looks like it was damaged. The photograph below that is an intact Panther on the USS Midway in 1952. I find that photo pretty exciting because I was a photographer onboard the Midway when she was decommissioned and brought into San Diego Harbor where she is today as a Museum.
Avenger!
The new model Avenger was actually first introduced to the public by Grumman Aircraft on December 7, 1941 as Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. By early 1942 the first 100 were delivered to the United States Navy. Be sure to watch the video as this TBM Avenger 1900hp engine fires up and the wings are extended on this huge airplane. At the Palm Springs Air Museum. Very Cool!
Dauntless Dive Bomber
The SBD Dauntless is a World War II Naval dive bomber that is best known for sinking the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. This very rare and still flying Dauntless not only saw service during the war but also appeared in the movies “Midway” and “War And Remembrance”. Flying out of the Palm Springs Air Museum from the “Planes Of Fame” Air Museum in Chino California.
Hellcat!
A United States Navy Hellcat. A carrier based plane that destroyed more enemy aircraft during WWII than any other Allied Naval Aircraft. Flying out of the Palm Springs Air Museum.
The Prowler Arrives!
How very fun is this! A United States Navy EA-6B Prowler arriving at the Palm Springs Air Museum for it’s official retirement. This plane, flown by it’s Navy crew, made it’s way across the country, from active duty in the Persian Gulf on the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, to NAS Whidbey Island in Washington to here in Palm Springs just this morning. I have some real cool video I shot as well. More later!
“Does This Plane Match My Outfit?”
Fashionably fit Sharon Lim deciding if the Boeing Navy Stearman matches her outfit or if she should keep shopping. Personally I think this is the one Sharon should take home with her. What do you think?
From our photo shoot at the Palm Springs Air Museum. Makeup and Hair Styling by Natalie Lyle. Thanks!
Veterans Day In The Skies
The day started with a California Highway Patrol Cessna circling over the end of a pursuit. A stolen truck was driven onto a golf course and into a lake at the 9th hole. Driver and passenger were taken into custody. Way over par!
The Veterans Parade in Palm Springs starts out with planes from the Palm Springs Air Museum doing a flyover right over the parade route.
Are You Ready To Climb In?
Are you ready to climb in? A United States Navy SNJ-5 training aircraft which first flew under the designation NA-16 in April 1st in 1935. Later it became more known as the AT-6 Texan. Interestingly 20 of the AT-6 Texans were flown by the Syrian Air Force against Israel in 1948. This Navy version yesterday at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
T-28 Leaving The Runway
Another look at the U.S. Navy T-28B leaving the runway for a flight demonstration. Yesterday at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
T-28
A U.S. Navy T-28B returning to the Palm Springs Air Museum after a flight demonstration yesterday. The T-28 saw service primarily as trainer starting in the 1950’s into the 1980’s. It is a very impressive aircraft to see, and hear, flying.
The World’s Only FLYING WWII PB4Y Patrol Bomber
The World’s Only FLYING Privateer PB4Y Patrol Bomber (Navy variant of the B-24 Heavy Bomber) coming in to the Palm Springs Air Museum yesterday. I had to see it and take photos for sure!
F/A-18 Hornet Departing Palm Springs
This morning, a United States Navy F/A-18 Hornet departing the Palm Springs Airport. It almost left without me seeing it and I got my camera up just in time. I just did a little research and found that this plane is from the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101), a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet training squadron. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California.
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