This year marks the 70th anniversary of the raid which was the first strike against the Japanese homeland.  The National Museum of the United States Air Force has a B-25 that was restored by North American Aviation and presented to the Museum in 1958.  The aircraft was restored and painted to represent B-25B, Serial Number 40-2344 which was flown by Doolittle.   It's displayed as though it's on the deck ... Read More

The  B-25 known as Executive Sweet began it's journey from Camarillo, CA to Dayton, OH. The aircraft will be one of Twenty-five B-25 Mitchell bombers that plan to pay tribute to the Doolittle Raiders as they commemorate the 70th anniversary of their raid on Japan. The reunion will take place  April 17-20 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton,OH. On the way to Dayton, OH the B-25 will make several stops,providing an ... Read More

The MCAS Yuma played out a little different from the original way I was planning on doing the show. The weather people in San Diego had been predicting a large winter storm to hit Southern California with lots of rain, snow, and major winds, on the weekend for the schedule Yuma 2012 Airshow. I started to think that the show may be affected by the approaching storm. I had planned ... Read More

The smell of jet fuel still lingers in the air at NAS El Centro following the conclusion of the first major air show of 2012. The first show brought delight to many after what had been a difficult off season that focused more on teams cutting back rather than building up budgets. The air show austerity forced the shutdown of most of the Air Force singe ship demo teams ... Read More

Weapons and Tactics Instructor In October 2011, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma was once again home for the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course or as it’s more commonly known as “WTI.” I was fortunate enough to be invited to WTI (class 1-12) and experience the world-class training of Marine Corps aviators first hand. Over the course of several weeks, I would make three trips to MCAS Yuma. During these visits ... Read More

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft J-58 (JT11D-20) Characteristics’. Maximum Thrust           34,000 Lb Military Thrust              23,900 Lb Weight                         6,250 Lb Length                         215.940 In Maximum Diameter      55.43 In Sea Level Air Flow        326 Lb/Sec Compression Ratio       8.5:1 Total Pressure Ratio    2,93:1 Bleed Bypass Ratio      20-40% (above Mn 2.0 Only) Pratt & Whitney Aircraft J-58 (JT11D-20) Engine Milestones.   Program Milestones (Firsts) 1st Engine Rated for Continuous Military Operation (Military Thrust equal to 23,900 LbFn). 1st Engine Rated for Continuous Afterburning Operation (Afterburning Operation Duty Cycle limited ... Read More

My lone encounter with a large "wildfire" occurred  five years ago while I was visiting Southern California.  Watching a steady stream of tanker aircraft shuttle to and from a huge unnatural-looking cloud on the horizon, their bellies red-stained and streaked with fire retardant, fueled my interest in aerial firefighting.  The 2012 Aerial Firefighting International Airshow and Conference, held at Sacramento's McClellan Airport on January 25th and 26th, offered me ... 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

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

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.

PhotoRecon.Net recently attended the 2011 Alliance Air Show located down in Ft. Worth Texas. The event is held at the Alliance Ft. Worth airport about 15 miles West of Dallas. The show, which was estimated as bringing in a crowd of around 100,000 people over the two-day event, was cut in half after a thunderstorm came through Saturday night and dumped about a inch of rain that turned the grass ... Read More

The F-15E Strike Eagle Demo Team was performing at the Alliance Air Show in Fort Worth,  Texas over the weekend and our own Brandon Farris was there to record the event. We had worked in the past with the flight crew after the Chino Air Show back in May. The Demo Team had put on quite a show in the semi-humid coastal region of Southern California and the jet was ... Read More

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (September 15, 2011) – The United States Air Force Thunderbirds will take to the skies at the 2011 Fort Worth Alliance Air Show Presented by Bell Helicopter on October 22 and 23 at Fort Worth Alliance Airport. The show also will feature an amazing lineup of military and civilian performers as well as an aviation festival on the ground with static displays, interactive exhibit booths, fun food and more.

  Weather Grounds Much of NAS Oceana's 2011 Air Show   The 2011 NAS Oceana air show was a roller coaster full of ups and downs... though no fault of the organizers and participants.  Tropical moisture invaded the Virginia Beach area, and remained a major impediment to flying for the entire weekend.  During Friday afternoon's practice show, dark and foreboding thunderstorms raced just north of Apollo Soucek Field.  The storms crept closer, ... Read More