Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., is one of the largest fighter bases in the world. Aircraft from Nellis operate on the Nevada Test and Training Range, which offers more than 15,000 square miles of airspace and 4,700 square miles of restricted land. More than 75 percent of all live munitions used by the Air Force for training are dropped on the Nevada Test and Training Range. Many communities in ... Read More

  Dear Luke Supporter: The future of Luke Air Force Base is in your hands.  Help Luke retain its seven-decade tradition of training the world’s greatest fighter pilots.  The next 6-months are critical for Luke’s future as the United States Air Force evaluates the base as one of the key training sites for the F-35 Lightning II, a next-generation fighter aircraft that will replace F-16. If awarded the -35 training mission, Luke remains ... Read More

On January 14, 2012 just before noon the only flight-worthy EC-121 Warning Star throttled up its four 18-cylinder R3350’s and sent this Connie barreling down Camarillo’s runway; destination:  Yanks Air Museum, Chino airport.  Sliding the four throttles forward symbolized the completion of a seven year project to get this super constellation back into the air.  Completing the flight from Camarillo to Chino in about an hour, the Connie made ... Read More

Woo Hoo!  Airshow season is back, albeit to a slow start.  Cable airshow is the first airshow in the southern California area after the long and cold break since Nellis in November. Cable airport is a relatively small general aviation airport in Upland, California.  Like many general aviation airports in suburban areas there is quite the assortment of Cessnas, Pipers, and Cirruses, among others.  For one weekend, the lineup at ... Read More

After World War II ended, an abundance of surplus military aircraft found their way into the fledgling aerial firefighting industry.  The combination of a large payload and the high performance of many bombers, attack aircraft, and transports allowed enterprising companies to modify airframes with large tanks for carrying borate and water for dousing wildfires.  Some of these modifications were straightforward; large tanks were inserted into existing bomb bays and ... Read More

 On January 7, 2012 at 6:00 am, I made my way to the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, California. There, I was to be a passenger in the museum’s Cessna L-19 Birddog that was scheduled to be on static display the Cable Airshow in Upland, California. To say I was excited to fly in the Birddog, let alone to an airshow, and with my good friend at ... Read More

On January 14th the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, hosted  "A Legacy of Honor, Valor and Pride: A Tribute to the Tuskegee Airman" . Several hundred people turned out to honor the service and sacrifice of the warriors known as the Tuskegee Airman. On hand were several Tuskegee airmen from the Archer-Ragsdale, Arizona Chapter of the TAI. A presentation of colors was performed by re-enactors portraying Buffalo Soldiers. ... Read More

Aviation Nation 2011 turned out to be the best show I have attend in many years. Being held the second week of November usually is hit or miss with the weather normally cold and wet. Having it on Veteran’s Day weekend is risky as Vegas turns cold the week following Halloween but this year proved to be different. We attended the practice show on Friday and the day started ... Read More

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  In a press conference to discuss the future of the National Championship Air Races, the Reno Air Racing Association (RARA) announced on Wednesday the formation of a Blue Ribbon ReviewPanel to study the event. The panel will examine any possible changes or modifications that could bemade to enhance the already high level of safety established by the FAA and existing RARA procedures.  RARA also announced that, despite many challenges ... Read More

The Jolly Christmas icon arrived at this city’s Museum of Flight aboard a restored single-prop aircraft dubbed “Santa One,” greeting eager children and their parents with Mrs. Claus on a visit from the North Pole. Santa decided to travel by plane instead of his traditional sleigh because his reindeer are unavailable during daylight hours, he said, and also because they need to rest for next week’s midnight marathon around the world.

2011 Aviation Events - My Year In Review In 2011, my main focus in aviation photography was to cover the Centennial of Naval Aviation (CONA) from both the air show side of the celebration as well as some day-to-day operational coverage.  I attended six out of the thirty five CONA Tier One events, plus a few others that contained Navy, Marine and/or Coast Guard participation.  I took photos of all ... Read More

SEATTLE — Entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul G. Allen announced today that he and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan have reunited to develop the next generation of space travel. Allen and Rutan, whose SpaceShipOne was the first privately-funded, manned rocket ship to fly beyond earth’s atmosphere, are developing a revolutionary approach to space transportation: an air-launch system to provide orbital access to space with greater safety, cost-effectiveness and flexibility. The space flight revolution Allen and ... Read More

Every year 11,000,000 people look into the skies at airshows and see six blue and gold F-18s performing precision aerobatics representing the best the United States as well as the Navy and Marines have to offer.  The Blue Angels have been doing this since  June 15, 1946 and have been doing it well. The Team consists of 16 Officers and 110 Enlisted men and women from the Navy and the ... Read More

If you are headed to the Florida panhandle the Naval Aviation Museum is a great stop.  Located in Pensacola, it’s the nicest military museums in the country.  I haven’t seen all of them, but this one is superb.  There are over 150 aircraft on site as well as an IMAX theatre. The Museum was recently expanded and in November 2010 opened “Hangar Bay One” (which filled up quickly) behind the ... Read More

 ACC statement about reduction of single-ship demo teams in 2012 We face significant fiscal constraints and are making tough decisions about the best ways to continue providing combat airpower to warfighting commanders, which is what we do as the Air Force’s primary force provider. One decision we’ve made is to sponsor one single-ship demonstration team for the 2012 air show season, scaling back from the six teams we’ve historically sponsored – A-10 East & West, ... Read More