Highlights from the Edwards show

I left the house at 5 AM to be able to get to Edwards for the show plenty early. I arrived at the West gate at 6:45 and was in a line about 3/4 of a mile from the gate. Realizing that this show was normally a two day show and was now one, I knew the crowds would be thick.



The line waiting for the gates to open.


Once you clear the main gate, you still have a considerable drive across the base to the dry lake bed where they park everyone. Along the way, you pass all kinds of historic aircraft on static display, including a P-59 Aircomet, America's first jet fighter. I would have loved to have taken some pictures, but taking photos froma moving car on a military installation these days is not the best idea.


Once I got the car parked, it was a hike to the security checkpoint. It's very similar to the airport, metal detectors and bag searches. We moved pretty quickly through the security checkpoint to the shuttle buses that take you to the show area (this base is HUGE!).


Static displays are everywhere. There are one-of-a-kind aircraft like the F-16XL and others. One aircraft I had never seen was this Yak-18T, with Aeroflot markings.

Yakovlev Yak-18T


It had been three years since the last Edwards show. This year, they had pyrotechnics to go along withe the aerial displays. That added to the while atmosphere.


One of the many bits of aviation history at Edwards was the first time the sound barrier was broken. As part of that tradition Check Yeager and Joe Engel were the back seaters for a two-ship sound barrier break at 30,000 feet. Even from that altitude, it sounded like a shotgun blast. The crowds cheered as the sound hit.

Two Edwards F-16s with Yeager and Engel in the back seat of these two aircraft.


The US Army Golden Knights parachute display team did two performances at the show. They are celebrating their 50th year.

50th anniversary commemoration parachute


Breaking of the formation free fall before opening the parachutes.


This show always features great performances by old and new aircraft. Starting with the older aircraft; this B-17 Flying Fortress "Sentimental Journey" is part of the Commemorative Air Force's Arizona Wing based in Mesa, Arizona. Here she is flying through the smoke of pyrotechnics.



The B-25 "Pacific Prowler" from the John Terry Heritage Foundation also performed for the crowds.



Steve Hinton flew the P-38 Lightning, owned by Jack Croul.



The CAF's P-51 Mustang "Gunfighter" was also on hand to do some fly-bys and even shoot down a Zero replica.





The CAF also has a group they call "Tora, Tora, Tora", which is a gaggle of Japanese replicas that were used in the making of the film Tora, Tora, Tora. The aircraft were donated to the CAF in 1972 and the volunteers at the CAF keep them maintained and flying. Their motto is "Lest we forget" and they honor the memory of Pearl Harbor and WWII.

Initial attack pass.


Dive bomber on the attack.


John Collver flew a great performance in his 1944 SNJ-5 "War Dog".



Julie Clark was flawless in her performance in her T-34 Mentor.

Julie performing a hammer head maneuver


Julie doing a slow roll


The arrival and passes by White Knight II were a great surprise!

White Knight II "Eve", named after Richard Branson's mother.


Performances by the current aircraft in the USAF arsenal was also a highlight.

A-10 Warthog


The F-22 Raptor demonstration was impressive! The capabilities of this aircraft are beyond it's predecessors by a large margin.

F-22 pass with the weapons bay doors open


The B-2 Spirit Stealth bomber pass was awesome.



But seeing the B-1, B-2 and B-52 in formation was something you don't see anywhere else.

Now this is heavy metal!


The USAF Heritage flight is always a treat to see.

USAF Heritage Flight, led by Steve Hinton in the P-38 Lightning


Getting out of the show is always a long process. Considering the number of people that attend, the do a good job getting people out. It just takes some patience. But it also gives you an opportunity to see the sun setting over Edwards AFB.

Sunset over Edwards AFB


I left the house at 5 AM to go to the show, arriving back home at 8:30 PM. 15 hours and 250 miles of driving. Was it worth it? You bet! If you want to see more photos from the show, please visit the galleries on my website by clicking the banner below.

Quiet Birdmen Staging

For 38 years, Jack Broome hosted a private airshow at his ranch in Camarillo for an aviation society called the 'Quiet Birdmen'. He passed away in April of 2009 at the age of 91. I had assumed that there would be no more of these shows after his passing, but it appears that this was the last hurrah.

The cool thing about the QB shows is that they were staged out of the Camarillo Airport. The Commemorative Air Force, SoCal Wing would play host to the aircraft coming and going. This provided a more intimate setting to take photos of the airplanes. I took photos of the first QB staging event in 2004 and continued every year.

As a tribute to Jack and all that he did for aviation, and for Ventura County, I would like to post my favorite highlights from 6 years of the Quiet Birdmen staging events.

During the 2004 and 2005 staging events, I was using a simple 5 megapixel point and shoot camera. This worked well at an event like this because most of the shots are from the ground, on the ground. This first grouping came from those years with the point and shoot Canon Powershot.


A Yak-3, A-1 Skyraider and P-51 Mustang warming up together for a trip to the ranch



The C-46 Commando from the Commemorative Air Force, Southern California Wing.



The familiar gull wings of the F4U Corsair.



The P-51 Mustang "Red Dog XII"



Jack Northrop's aircraft that was one of the early test platforms for the flying wings. This is the N9M.



The Hawker Seafury. It's big and powerful, yet amazingly quiet for a warbird because of the sleeve-valve engine.



The A-1H Skyraider, later called the AD-4. With one engine, it could carry the weight of a standard WWII B-17 bomb load!



One of the "modern" Yak-3s that found their way to the US. Yakovlev made a short run of these WWII fighters in aluminum to raise some funds.


From 2006 onward, I was able to use my Nikon DSLRs for better flexibility and reach. Each year brought something unique and it was through these events that I would see one of a kind aircraft, or sole survivors of a bygone era.

The A-26 Invader below is a beauty. It is based at Van Nuys and if you have seen One Six Right, then you have seen this airplane in it.



In 2006, the only flying SB2C Helldiver came out from Texas and flew for the QB show. It was a real treat to see this airplane as there are so few of these left.



2007 brought out the B-17 "Fuddy Duddy", freshly repaired after a bird strike during the Chino show. You couldn't tell that it had been damaged, or repaired. It looked fantastic.



The AN-2 Colt is the worlds largest single-engine biplane. It can hold 16 fully outfitted paratroopers.



The F7F Tigercat showed up in 2008, flown by Clay Lacy. It's a real beauty.



Bill Cornick was a regular at the QB show. He gives great aerobatic performances. If you didn't know his age, you would never guess it.



When I saw this airplane inbound, I had no idea what it was. Then I found out it is a replica of an NA-50, which I hadn't heard of until then.



Bruce Dickenson brought out his Mr Mulligan replica in 2009 for some flyovers. I love this airplane.



I was there for 6 of the 38 years of QB staging events. I can only imagine what airplanes have come and gone in that time. But I thank Jack for allowing some of us to get a glimpse of some aircraft that I had never seen before.

Blue skies and tail winds, Jack. You will be missed by all those whose lives you touched, and there were probably more than you knew.

Jack Broome at Camarillo Airport in 2007

Palm Springs Gathering of Mentors, Day 3

Sunday morning brought fair winds and partly cloudy skies. We weren't sure what to expect for the morning flights, but were optimistic. As I walked through the hangar seeing all the T-34s in there, I thought it was quite a site. As the T-34s came out of the hangars and onto the ramp, the ramp got pretty crowded.

A ramp full of T-34s

I had spoken the night before with Fred "Mad Dog" Zoltz and Tyler about going up in the morning with the guys from the March flying club. They had three planes at the event. I have seen these guys many times over the years at airshows, and they were most likely my first T-34s I saw fly.

The March flying club T-34s

I got on the back of George Watson's Mentor. George was flying lead for this flight to practice formation breaks and re-joins and of course, get some photos. The air was much smoother this morning, making things easier for everyone flying, and easier to hold the camera steady!

Jerry Rohles on the wing in a Vic formation


Tyler on the left wing of the Vic formation with Fred in the back seat


Tyler and Jerry in the echelon formation

While we were out, other two and three ship formations were up as well, and we saw at least 2 of these pass below us.

After lunch, the group gathered for a group photo. The air crews were assembled for the first shot.

The air crews for the gathering


Air crews and some of the ground crew that helped us out

We briefed for a big formation flight to close the event. I was in the back of Brett Austin's plane as "Photo One" while the rest of the aircraft formed up in three diamonds with a stinger and a T-28 in the tail of the formation as the last stinger, flown by Mark Bauer. Our timing was a little off getting out to shoot the formation. We were taxiing out as the first pass came.

Formation pass over Palm Springs from the cockpit of Photo One

As we got up into position to shoot the second pass, things started to happen. I heard someone call in to leave the formation because of an overheat issue that was causing some prop control issues. Obviously, safety is paramount over everything else. He climbed out of the formation and up to cooler air to try and cool things off. We did hear him later on the radio say that he got things under control.

The winds and the heat had returned and keeping that many airplanes in position, especially with 30 knot gusts was challenging. Someone else called in with an unspecified problem and landed safely at Palm Springs. Brett and I followed in the last of the T-34s coming in to Palm Springs.

On final approach to Palm Springs

We said our final goodbyes to the folks at the Palm Springs Air Museum and each other before heading for home. We flew for a bit next to Ron Alldedge as an element of 2 ships before splitting into 2 single ship flights for home.

Ron and Paula on the wing, homeward bound


Marc set the auto-pilot and took a little break to enjoy some smooth air on the way home


Home at last. On final approach to Camarillo Airport

It was a great weekend of fun and flying. I want to thank all of the pilots for some great formation work and for the great opportunities to get some photos. I also want to thank the army of volunteers at the Palm Springs Air Museum for the hard work, support and hospitality. Thanks to Cannon Aviation Insurance for the sponsorship. I will be editing my photos from the event this week and should have them posted soon. I will add the link here when the photos get posted to my website. Shooter out...