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

Steve Kates aka Dr. Sky showed up at the Reno Races for the first few days. As aircraft were arriving early so that NAHI had time to position them we spotted this Polished to the Hilt Spartan Executive come up and shut down it's engine. What a wonderfully restored private aircraft this was!! He contacted the owner/pilot Steve and set up an interview with him and the aircraft for ... Read More

Vacations are to unwind and relax; nothing can relax me more than being in the company of great people and historic aircraft. This is why I always perform an online search for any museums and airfields in the area I will be visiting. With a family vacation to Florida planned for the last week of June 2011. I started my search and soon found the Valiant Air Command in ... Read More

At precisely 0830 hours I was ushered into the office of the Commanding General of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), Tom “Stash” Conant. Major General Conant, dressed in a tan flight suit, took a minute to finish up some last minute business with his aide (Captain Aaron Bohl). I took this time to stand in awe of his office that was a wealth of USMC aviation memorabilia and ... Read More

STS-135 MISSION OVERVIEW - Dawn approaches after space shuttle Atlantis completed its historic final journey to Launch Pad 39A from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building. Atlantis was secured, or “hard down,” at its seaside launch pad at 3:29 a.m. (EDT) on June 1, 2011.The milestone move, known as “rollout,” paves the way for the launch of the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station,targeted for July 8. STS-135 ... Read More

A three day Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF) Symposium and Reunion, themed "Honoring the Past...Forging the Future", occurred at NAS Jacksonville Florida April 4-6, 2011.  Special activities included an opening day Centennial of Naval Aviation (CONA) fly-in, the display of current and future technologies in maritime patrol, and social events like dinners and a golf tournament.  Key speeches were given by Vice Admiral Allen G. Myers, Commander, Naval ... Read More

On April 14, 2011 VMA 214 Black Sheep hosted a historic squadron reunion at MCAS Yuma. The reunion was attended by three of the five remaining original Black Sheep Squadron members (Ed Harper, Jim Hill, and Harry Johnson). In addition to these legendary figures, other past and present squadron members, and other VIPs attended the event. Several books have been written about this famous squadron, its pilots, and it’s Commanding ... Read More