The skies were beautiful over Camarillo.
We briefed the flight and prepared for a 6:40 AM takeoff. The formation consisted of four T-34 Mentors and two Nanchang CJ-6As. We were performing 2 flyovers for the start of the marathon, land in Santa Barbara for breakfast, and brief the flight for the finish of the marathon. For this flight, I would fly in the back seat of the T-34 leading the second element, flown by Marc Russell.
Flight element 1 ahead as we prepare for takeoff from Camarillo.
After takeoff, we flew west toward the coast before heading north toward Santa Barbara. There was a line of broken clouds off the coast that we climbed above. The morning light and the clouds below gave me a beautiful canvas to compose my shots.
Gil Lipaz and his father Michael in the Nanchang CJ-6A
Ron Lee and Betsy over the clouds
While the clouds provided and awesome backdrop for the creative photography, it also posed a potential hazard for the pilots as they needed to find a safe hole in the clouds to go through to be able to get below the clouds for the flyovers. Alpha flight, lead by Michael "Viper" Maloco, found a place to safely bring everyone through.
The whole formation turning over the clouds as we locate a safe place to go below them
Once through, there were enough breaks in the clouds to give additional creativity to the photos. I expected the air to be a bit turbulent once we got below the clouds and closer to the ground. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was relatively still and calm. The pilots did a great job station keeping and the formation looked nice and tight.
Ron Alldredge in his T-34 Mentor below the clouds
The two passes went smoothly and we broke into two separate flights to prepare to land at Santa Barbara. Our flight element shifted from the Vic formation to an echelon left. This gave the flight the ability to perform a break that would give the proper interval for landing properly spaced apart.
Gil Lipaz and Ron Lee off of our wing, inbound to Santa Barbara Airport
Alpha flight on final approach
We landed at Santa Barbara and debriefed our flight before going to breakfast. Over breakfast, we briefed the next flight, which was a little more complicated. We were to perform a flyover for the finish of the marathon, then 4 aircraft would split off from the formation to head south to San Pedro to fly over the battleship USS Iowa, that is now on display in San Pedro. I would be switching airplanes to another T-34 Mentor flown by Ron Alldredge.
Since Marc and Michael would be departing the flight to land in Camarillo to prep for the Sunday flights, we formed up in a larger Vic. The four aircraft that were flying over the Iowa flew in a diamond, and the other 2 aircraft would join on either side of #4 (back of the diamond) to form the Vic for the finish line flyover. They would then leave the formation for a couple of more passes over the finish line in a flight of 2 as we flew toward San Pedro.
Here you can see the reflection of four of the aircraft in the flight in Ron's helmet.
Once the Santa Barbara flyover was done, Michael and Ron peeled off as we headed south. We transferred from the diamond formation to the fingertip right. It was a a bit of a distance, so we flew in a loose formation as we headed south over the valley, LAX, and around the Palos Verdes peninsula.
Heading south toward San Pedro
Ron Lee leading the flight south. Gil and Michael Lipaz in the airplane next to us.
I had seen the Port of Los Angeles and San Pedro before, but not from this angle. With the beautiful weather and a great formation, it was quite a sight to see. We made 2 passes over the Iowa before departing the area to head for home.
Inbound for the first pass over the Iowa
Gil Lipaz pulling up and out for the missing man formation over the Iowa.
The flight home was like a scenic overhead tour of Los Angeles. We passed a lot of local landmarks like downtown, Dodger Stadium, Griffith Park, the Getty Center, the Hollywood sign and many more.
Gil Lipaz passing over Hollywood. You can see the Hollywood sign at the top center of the photo and the circular building at the bottom is the Capitol Records building.
To me, there is no greater honor than to be part of these flyovers to pay tribute to all who serve, and all who served. So for all of you who have put on the uniform to defend our nation, THANK YOU!
That was just the first day of the weekend we had flying and honoring our veterans.
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