On May 5^th and 6^th, the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino California is going to open its hangar doors and roll out some of the finest examples of restored aircraft in flying condition from years past.  This year’s airshow honors the turning of the tide in the Pacific in 1942.  The airshow is scheduled to feature over 40 historic aircraft performing for all those in attendance; in addition to many other fascinating exhibits and demonstrations.

The Planes of Fame airshow is THE airshow to go to if you happen to like anything that flies and has used by various militaries across the world in the last 70+ years.  The flying collection during the show includes aircraft from World War II and on; including an F-4 flight.  The list of performers and aircraft flying in the airshow is too long to put here and really is better viewed on the Planes of Fame website:  www.planesoffame.org

Many of the aircraft scheduled to fly are one of only a small number of flying examples.  The Planes of Fame airshow usually has a majority of the flying P-38; at least one of only a few Tigercats; more Mustangs than just about anywhere else; and this year Planes of Fame has merited a spot on Sean Tucker’s performance schedule.

The staff at the Planes of Fame Air Museum were more than gracious, including amazing access to aerial photography of a couple of their fabulous machines.  Having the opportunity to go up in the air and shoot a P-38 Lightning along with a P-40 Warhawk was an amazing experience from a Cessna 195.  Many thanks are due to everyone at Planes of Fame for their generosity in opportunity and welcoming attitude.

Simply put, the Planes of Fame airshow is amazing.  Every year I go, I look at the whole experience as a privilege to see these rare machines flying.  Unfortunately, as time goes on these aircraft become fewer and fewer and you just never know when they might not be around for the next performance.  See you at the show!

The Planes of Fame Air Museum is located at Chino Airport and located online at www.planesoffame.org  For more information visit their website or call 909-597-7576

Almost all aviation photographers have one dream, crave one chance, an event that can make or break a career, and that is to be able to shoot Air 2 Air! Shooting an aircraft while up in another aircraft. This is where the magic really happens. Most photographers never get the chance at this, but on April 27th, 2012, I did.

Now, while I have flown in C-130’s, CH-53’s and CH-46’s, when I served as a grunt in the U.S. Marine Corps,  I was really excited about the opportunity that was to befall me.

The Collings Foundation is a historical group based in Massachusetts, and they own several World War II, Korean and Vietnam Wars era aircraft that are available for Air Shows, and other events. Every year, the Foundation puts on a Country-wide Tour called the Freedom Tour, where they travel from State to State, from airport to airport, and attendees, are given up-close tours of the planes, and even the chance to go for a flight on them for a fee.

The planes include the B-17G Flying Fortress “Nine O Nine” , the B-24J Liberator “Witchcraft”, the only one left in the world that’s capable of flight, and of course, the P-51C Mustang, named the “Betty Jane”.

Finding out about the tour in March, I made contact with Hunter Chaney of the Foundation, and  I was able to secure a flight on the Witchcraft, when they would be moving the planes from Gillespi Field in El Cajon, CA. to Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, CA.

Arriving at Gillespi Field, I met many of the great volunteers and employees, who keep the show going. Wonderful people who all share a love of these warbirds, their histories, and love of Country. I also met several men who were former P.O.W.’s from WWII, some of which had actually been shot down by the Germans while flying in a B-17 or B-24. Truly as said before it’s our Greatest Generation of Americans.

Once, I was in the B-24, and we were ready for flight, we rumbled down the tarmac, and everything seemed to be shaking and creaking as the old girl made her way to the end of the runway. Suddenly, the roar of the engines drowned out any other noise, and we were rolling down runway, and then suddenly we were airborne and quickly climbing in attitude.

After several minutes, we given permission to stand and move from our seats, and the Mustang came along side of the B-24, and I started shooting away. Now I will say this, thank god for the Vibration Reduction (anti-shake) device in my lens. I shoot with Nikon, and I was using the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens. While the bomber was a fairly steady platform to shoot from, it still was bouncing quite a bit, as I stood at the waste gunners windows, while the Mustang flew along side. Sure I could have shot at a very fast shutter speed to get sharp images, but the propellers on the Mustang would not have looked natural, and the VR helped me get sharp images with slower shutter speeds.

We flew towards the ocean passing MCAS Miramar along the way, and finally out over the Pacific and then north along the coast, even if the P-51 had not been present, it was still a beautiful day to fly along the coastline. After 20 minutes in the air, we landed at Palomar Airport, with a big bang, and standing, waiting for the those planes to arrive, were several hundred people, who wanted to tour the planes.

I want to thank Hunter Chaney and the rest of the Collings Foundation for giving me my first Air 2 Air experience, but for also preserving these wonderful warbirds, and to Joe Kates of Photorecon, who’s advise I sought and used while in the air.

Riverside Airport is packed into the middle of suburban Riverside, surrounded by houses on all sides.  While the main runway is just large enough to accommodate a C-17, the traffic pattern still seems more like driving directions than flying.  There is something nice about the smaller, local, airshows; there is a certain down to Earth quality about them which just is not a part of the large military airshows.

The weather this year was much less than ideal, cloudy and drizzly most the day.  The weather caused the show to start late, which provided ample time to shoot the static displays.  The whole flight line was filled with static displays, many of them warbirds.  Inside the crowd line there were numerous general aviation aircraft as well as local police equipment on static display.  The show got off to a little of an unannounced start after some remote control airplanes filled the gap between the scheduled start and the actual start.  Once the wing walking and Dr. D’s Taylorcraft aerobatics got underway, there was no doubt the show had started – too bad the weather didn’t get the notice and clear the clouds out.  Shortly thereafter, Jon Melby took off in his Pitts biplane to show that the Pitts and biplanes in general are not the most current technology but are still very capable in terms of aerobatic performance.  Doug Jardine followed Jon Melby putting his much more modern Sbach 342, a big horsepower carbon fiber monoplane, through punishment – the clouds weren’t going to keep him on the ground.  This performance also demonstrated how much punishment a person can take at the controls of an airplane; modern airplanes can be designed – and often are – to be more capable in maneuvering load factors than well trained pilots.  Next John Collver took off in his T-6 “War Dog” to perform maneuvers which appeared lazy in nature after Doug Jardine’s performance – even though the maneuvers he performed are considered advanced training.

At this point a Riverside Police MD-500 helicopter put on an aerial demonstration, most of which seemed like a demonstration of helicopter performance rather than standard police helicopter flying.  The helicopter then joined in on a mock police chase around the runway and taxiways, finally picking up SWAT officers and a police dog to apprehend the mock suspect.  After all the chasing excitement, there was a reasonably large fire on the other side of the runway – a second MD-500 with a water dropping attachment came in to put the fire out.  After the fire was out, the two helicopters performed some loose formation flying.

After all the police excitement had settled down, five T-6’s took to the air to put on a formation flying demonstration.  They flew a normal traffic pattern and as they came around on each lap they were in a different formation.  While the wing walking demonstration was getting into position at the end of the runway, a L-39 Albatross came in to make a handful of reasonably high speed banana passes for the crowd before disappearing.  The schedule called for a F-16 to perform the high speed passes, but with weather delays the crowd was given a L-39 on a seemingly more flexible schedule.  By this point, the weather was starting to clear – ever so slightly.  The Just In Time Skydivers climbed to altitude while Jon Melby and Doug Jardine went back up to give the crowd another glimpse into the body-straining life of an aerobatic pilot.  The performances put on by those two were equally impressive as their earlier performances.  The Just In Time Skydivers jumped, still limited by the weather.  John Collver again took to the air, and while the maneuvers were seemingly easy I’d venture a guess there was nothing easy about them.

While John Collver was performing, the distinct sound of jet engines a long way down the crowd line could be heard.  Scanning around to see where the sound was coming from showed the P-38 Honey Bunny pushing back from the rope as well as the A-10 taxiing out.  As the two aircraft taxied out for the heritage flight, the crowd got a glimpse of the ultra-rare P-38 Lightning.  The A-10 and P-38 spent a fair amount of time forming up on their own and working out the details of the heritage flight, in the meantime Tim Weber went up in his Geico-sponsored MXS to give Doug Jardine a run for his money in the aerobatic sense – Tim’s performance did not disappoint.  The A-10 and P-38 performed their heritage flight, with each aircraft putting on a little something special at the end of the heritage flight.  As the heritage flight landed and pulled off the runway, a group of warbirds commenced their takeoff roll.  The group included a Hellcat, Bearcat, Wildcat, and a Mustang.  The flight of four took up an orbit around the airport, all nearly evenly spaced for a seemingly continuous sound of glorious piston engine power.  This spacing allowed for excellent photo opportunities of all the airplanes, never having to compromise and decide quickly which aircraft to shoot.  The Mustang seemed to be lagging behind the group of Grumman cats, setting up for an awesome pass; the mustang came in for a low firewall pass much like a pilot would do down a German airfield during World War II.  The whole experience was amazing, especially the sound of the Merlin engine.

Depending on how you look at it, the last performer in the show or the first departure of the show was the C-17.  It was really amazing to see such a large aircraft on the runway after so many smaller aircraft had been flying throughout the day.  The C-17 was so large, it had to back up the crosswind runway to the main runway, and then back up the main runway to the approach end.  There was not enough room at the airport for the C-17 to taxi around like a normal airplane.  The C-17 didn’t even hold the brakes to wait for the four Pratt PW2000s to spool to full speed, the acceleration was nothing dramatic, a slight pull back, and the behemoth took to the air.  A couple passes later and the C-17 was headed back home to March ARB, just a couple miles away.  As is the case with most airshows, there is a push to get home after the show is over so sticking around after the show “ends” is quite the treat to see all the static aircraft leave.  The Cessna 195 you were admiring on the ground has to takeoff and return sometime, might as well see it take off, right?  Occasionally the pilots would come back around after taking off for another pass or two; the Lightning based at Chino had only a five minute flight home and if you were up in a P-38 you’d take two more trips through the pattern too.

Overall the Riverside airshow was a fun time, even if the weather was less than ideal. I’ll be going next year for sure; there are just too many cool things to see at this show.  Thanks are due to all the people who worked to make the Riverside airshow a success.

By Matt Shinavar

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 excellent opportunity for the public to see and fly in  this wonderful aircraft . The first of the planed stops was today at Glendale, AZ.

The aircraft arrived about 10:00 AM, after a short flight over Sun City, AZ and the North Phoenix Valley.  The plan to over fly the Sun City area was a good one, as many WWII veterans live in the area.  The visit was hosted by, Glendale Areo Services FBO and the New Left Seat West Restaurant.

The aircraft was available for tours for about 6 hrs, providing wounderful photo opportunities against the blue sky of a wonderful AZ day. The aircraft will stay overnight and depart for Albuquerque ,NM at around 8:00 am on Tuesday 4-10-12.   Executive Sweet   is planing to return to Glendale ,AZ on 4-23-12  as it makes its way back to Camarillo airport.

For more info   http://www.aafgroup.org/

The planed stops along the way are as follows.

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 on driving into Yuma early on Saturday morning from San Diego, and meeting with the Public Affairs Officer, along with the other Media types to shoot the show, but while at the NAF El Centro 2012 Airshow, the weekend before, I learned that the Marines were having an unofficial Media day on the Friday before the show. With the weather coming and my thinking that it might interfere with the actual show, I contacted the PAO office at MCAS Yuma, and got put on the Media list immediately for the Friday practice show. I have to say, this PAO office was one of the best that I’ve dealt with, a big thank you to Captain Reidinger, Gunnery Sergeant Dunk, Corporals Bopp and Diamante.

Arriving Friday morning, I met with approximately 15 other photographers and news crews. The photographers came from as far as Europe, and as close as Yuma, itself.
The day was beautiful with no clouds in the sky, temps in the low 80’s and a cooling breeze sometimes blowing through. It was a perfect day, and the Marines gave us full access to the flight line. Most of the static displays were not in place yet, but that was okay, because we were able to walk up and touch the US Air Force Thunderbirds F-16’s, and the Marines Aggressor Squadron’s F-5 II’s. Performances from Tora, Tora, Tora and CAF groups were awesome, and to see these old war birds still flying, they just hold one’s attention, when you see a P-51 Mustang in a steep dive or a F4U Corsair streaking by just above your head.

The Navy’s F/A 18 Demo Team is never boring, nor are the Marine’s AV-8B with it’s noise and hovering abilities. The Marines F-5’s put on what appeared to be extended fly-bys, and what a joy it was to see as each plane, painted in different camouflaged colors.

It was finally late afternoon and time for the Thunderbirds to fly. The paint scheme on those F-16’s alone make it a great time for watching them fly, as they pull off maneuver after maneuver, and after having just seen the US Navy Blue Angels the weekend before, it was just amazing few days out in America’s southwest deserts.

It all started on May 22, 1912, when Lt. Alfred A. Cunningham reported for flight training at the Naval Academy at Annaplois, it wasn’t until August 20, at Marblehead, Massachusetts, that Cunningham soloed in a Curtiss B-1 Seaplane and became Naval Aviator number 5. Since then, Marine pilots have done their job to defend America and each other, with names like Col. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington (Medal of Honor awardee) of the Flying Tigers in China, and the infamous VMF-214 “Black Sheep” squadron of WWII, and Lt. Col John Bolt, the only Marine aviator to achieve the title of “Ace” in both WWII and the Korean War; and remains to this day the only Marine “Jet Pilot” ace.

Because of these men and many more, 2012 brings us the 100 year Anniversary of United States Marine Corps Aviation, and no place is that history better represented, than at the little known Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum, based at MCAS Miramar, in San Diego, CA. This museum is probably the best kept secret in the aviation world, which is not something this museum wants.

Every branch of the U.S, Armed Forces is allowed only one official museum, and is funded by Congress. The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum has undergone a rigorous certification process and is one of only three certified Marine Corps Command Museums. The museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the primary purpose of preserving the history of U.S. Marine Corps aviation

The museum was originally founded and based at MCAS El Toro, in Orange County, CA but with base closures in the 1990’s El Toro was shut down and NAS Miramar, became MCAS Miramar, after the U.S. Navy’s move to Fallon, Nevada (including it’s famous “Top Gun” school). Along with the Marines came the Command Museum in 1999, opening in the year 2000 to the general public.

Steve “Smitty” Smith (USMC Ret.) is currently the Curator of the Museum. He started working at the museum, back when it was located at MCAS El Toro, where Smitty was stationed and he decided to volunteer at the museum. He worked as the museum’s librarian, and then he became the Assistant Curator. After the museum moved to MCAS Miramar, Smitty was promoted to his current position. Along with Asst. Curator Leon Simon (served in the US Navy), both men are responsible for all of the aircraft maintenance, and restoration, along with over 100 volunteers who either work in the museum as docents, or work in various positions from the gift shop, office, to restoring the planes that are acquired from the military. Most volunteers are former and retired Military. Former US Senator and Retired Marine Colonel John Glenn is the Chairman of the Board of the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum Foundation that runs the museum.

The museum currently has approx. 40 planes and vehicles that are either displayed outside of the museum, or in its restoration hanger nearby. Most planes date from the WWII era to the Present day, and the helicopters from the Korean War to the present. Inside the current building, housing the museum are rooms full of Marine Corps aviation history with paintings, pictures, documents, and other displays showing that the Marine Corps’ proud history and tradition isn’t only held by the Marines hitting the beaches and fighting on the ground for over 236 years.

The current plans are for a new two story 90,000 square foot building to be built as soon as the Marines make a final decision on the museum. They have already decided where the new building will be built and funding does not seem to be an issue, it’s strictly some red tape that is slowing down the process of getting the final okay’s done. The new building will house a library, a small theater, a gift shop, and more rooms for the many displays. Modern technology will be made available to watch videos and other films. There will be more room for more planes as “Smitty” is constantly attempting to add more to the museum’s inventory.

The museum, while located on MCAS Miramar, it has its own entrance, and is located directly across the street from 8604 Miramar Road. From I-15, proceed west for 1.3 miles and turn left into the parking lot. From I-805, proceed east for 3.9 miles and turn right into the parking lot. Look for the American flag and Marine Corps flag on the fence, and the museum is open from Tuesday through Sunday (except on Federal holidays) from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Main website: http://flyingleathernecks.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Flying-Leatherneck-Aviation-Museum-Hangar/115458738559141

NAF El Centro is just about in the middle of nowhere, it is always hot, and there are no permanently stationed squadrons.  Having said all that, the El Centro drew a huge crowd and had top notch performances; not to mention the El Centro plays host to the Blue Angels’ season opener.

The aircraft on static display were interesting and varied; this is one of the few places I can think of where the static displays varied from a P-51 to a Super Hornet, a B-52 to a T-6 Texan II, or a Spitfire to a S35 Bonanza.  Guests were welcomed up the rear ramps of a V-22 Osprey and CH-53 Sea Stallion to get a close look at some of the transports our soldiers are well acquainted with.  Airstairs were positioned next to the open B-52 cockpit window where guests could see the elusive eight throttle levers of a B-52 and more steam gages to monitor than a power plant.  Next to the left wingtip of the B-52 the Metal Mulisha had setup two ramps 75 feet apart and were doing their own aerial display on dirt bikes.

Walking to the crowd line at El Centro is a fair bit different, in that the crowd area is dirt rather than the standard concrete ramp.  Not having the sun reflected back up at you as well as the slight cushion under your feet from dirt was a nice change of pace from the standard concrete.  Even if dirt is, well, dirty; the whole area was packed with people eagerly watching the aerial performances.

The airshow started with the Leapfrogs parachute team bringing the SEALs and American flag down from altitude while the Star Spangled Banner was sung.  Shortly after the C-2 Greyhound jump plane had recovered, Bill Cornick took to the skies in his Pitts biplane putting on an amazing gravity defying acrobatic performance.  Spencer Suderman took off in his Meteor Pitts – so named because it shoots along like a meteor – and proceeded to put on an aerial display as well as a little harassment of the Rocketbilly Jet Truck who, after succumbing to aerial abuse and a number of coats of smoke oil, throttled up and ripped down the runway at 300 miles per hour.

After the back and forth between Spencer Suderman and the Rocketbilly Jet Truck, a Super Hornet from VFA-122 took to the air wowing the crowd with the capabilities of the Navy’s latest active duty fighter.  From the high speed pass, g-inducing maneuvers, and low speed capabilities of the aircraft, now is as good time as any to have the US Navy running interference.  After the Super Hornet recovered, another launched along with a Bearcat for a heritage flight.  The Bearcat being deployed in the mid 40’s and the Super Hornet in the late 90’s, the advances in just over 50 years is absolutely amazing.  After the Super Hornet and Bearcat had landed, I noticed a guy walking out in front of the crowd wearing an orange flight suit and helmet.  He could only be a victim; well, a mock victim for the NAS Fallon search and rescue demo.  As I was putting the pieces together, the distinct sound of a MH-60 throttling up came across the field as the Longhorn crew came zipping across the deck to hoist their crewmate – confirming my suspicions.  It is always amazing to see how well the UH-60 series helicopters perform at low heights above the ground, easily managing high speeds and steep banks.

After the NAS Fallon SAR demo, the Leapfrogs again took to the air again putting on a parachuting spectacle; some of the Leapfrogs performing today were the actual actors in the movie Act of Valor.  After the last Leapfrog had landed, Bill Cornick and Spencer Suderman took to the air for an acrobatic race.  Acrobatic racing is a relatively new craze, there is a set of ten standard acrobatic maneuvers – whoever finishes first wins.  Surprisingly enough, there is a fair bit of strategy involved; energy management is paramount so finishing one maneuver in a longer time than your competitor isn’t exactly bad, you could have more energy going into the next and come out ahead.  The lead in the race must have changed at least 6 times based on how the two pilots managed their energy sometimes by as much as half a maneuver – both pilots were in nearly identical Pitts biplanes.  After the race concluded, the high energy and dynamic performance continued – Tim Weber took off in the Geico-sponsored MXS, a very modern all carbon fiber acrobatic monoplane.  The MXS is reported to have a max load factor of 16g’s, only 10g’s being pulled on a routine basis – at only 10; I’d feel like 1900 pounds for an instant.  With full span ailerons, the roll rate is one and a half revolutions per second, which should be enough to centrifuge all the blood to your head after it is drained out in a wild high-g pitch up.  With the dizzying MXS performance, it was time to bring the wild maneuvers back down to reality, slowly.  Torrey Ward in his Glassair took to the skies with a performance not pushing the absolute limit as much as the MXS, but still very impressive compared to most airplanes in the world.  Once again increasing the separation from absolute performance, it was time for the pre-Blue Angels C-130 demonstration.  Normally Fat Albert does the honors, but not this time…  Fat Albert, with the strenuous mileage each year, is undergoing maintenance so Ernie did the honors.  Ernie, like Fat Albert, is a legacy C-130 on loan while ‘Bert undergoes a little work.  Ernie performed the same routine Fat Albert does, showing there is no modification which makes Fat Albert any more capable than any other C-130 supporting the war fighter – a real testament to this aged cargo plane’s performance; although, Fat Albert does have that snappy paint job to distinguish it from other C-130’s.

Now for the moment everyone had been waiting for, the 2012 season opener for the Blue Angles.  Per standard practice, the precision by which the pilots walked out, the preflight checks were completed, and engines started was impeccable.  There was no unnecessary gesture, everyone was orderly, and everything was done with the utmost speed without sloppiness or mistake.  To say the preflight routine was perfect would be an understatement; an indicator of the care and pride our Sailors put into their job.  Everything went off without a hitch until Blue Angle 5 told the Boss there was a problem and was quickly shuttled off to Blue Angel 7 on the other side of the ramp as the other five taxied out.  Boss called for a last minute wind check before having the guys push the throttles forward bring the four-ship formation into the air.  They make it all look effortless.  Blue Angel 7 (or was it 5?) booked it down the taxiway to line up and wait along with the other solo Blue Angel.  Shortly after the diamond passed overhead, 6 and 7 each took to the air.  As with all other Blue Angel performances I’ve seen, the four-ship diamond performs what appear to be the laziest of maneuvers – except the separation with which they fly makes every lazy maneuver all but impossible to everyone but the most skilled pilots.  The two solo pilots put on their individual performances, each equally impressive in their own right – including two sneak passes, no doubt a crowd favorite.  Finally all six formed up in the delta formation to show while each person has a specific job to do, at the end of the day we’re all on the same team.

Sure El Centro is in the middle of nowhere, hot, and dirty but I know I’ll be going back next year.  Thanks are due to all the men and women who put in thousands of hours to make El Centro 2012 a success.

The author can be contacted at matt.shinavar@gmail.com

Simply stated, Red Flag is an exercise that involves the majority of aircraft types in the United States Air Force, air assets from the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and foreign air forces. The purpose of Red Flag is to improve combat effectiveness and efficiency through simulated air combat. Red Flag is held at Nellis AFB because of the incredible range facilities. In the desert outside of Nellis are almost 3 million acres of land and 5,000 square miles of airspace.

Of the many nations that have trained at Red Flag since it’s inception in 1975, Red Flag 12-2 would be no different. Participating in the exercise would be the Royal Saudi Air Force flying their F-15 Eagles and the Republic of South Korean Air Force flying their F-15K Slam Eagles. The Korean F-15’s were unique is that they were brand new aircraft. And when I say they were brand new, I mean they started operating at this Red Flag with 10+ hours on each airframe. The Koreans had picked them up from the Boeing Plant in Missouri and then flew them straight to Nellis for Red Flag.

At 9:30am, Nellis Public Affairs First Lieutenant Ken Lustig briefed the photojournalists on the media day schedule. During the briefing we learned that we would be able to take photos from in between Nellis’ two main active runways. After the briefing, the fifty photojournalist were taken by bus to the active runways. Once there, we were given another briefing that identified to us where we could and where we couldn’t take photographs. This area was roughly the size of several football fields and was plenty of space for fifty photographers. The designated area allowed us to float between each runway and catch any aircraft departure and/or arrivals.

My first photograph of the day, turned out one of my favorites of the day and it wasn’t even an aircraft participating in the Red Flag exercise. The aircraft – the S-3B Viking assigned to VX-30 “Bloodhounds.” The Viking, painted in a vintage Battle of Midway paint scheme (for the Naval Centennial) did a single touch and go pass, and then departed. What a great way to start the day!

The Red Flag launches started at 11:50am and continued for almost an hour. Aircraft that launched included an E-3 Sentry, F-15’s (including USAF, ROKAF, and RSAF), F-16’s, B-1B’s, and KC-135’s. Several hours later, the recoveries started.

A thank you goes to the Public Affairs staff at Nellis Air Force Base, including Captain Jessica Martin, First Lieutenant Ken Lustig and Ben Newell. Once again, they out did themselves with organizing an exceptional media day.

Here is a video shot and edited by   Mr. Cam Inglis.         Thank you Cam for the gerat video.

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. Mesa, Arizona Mayor Scott Smith gave opening remarks, followed by a moving memorial prayer by Chaplain Porter, to honor those brave warriors who have gone west.  Mr. Richar Toliver, of the Archer-Ragsdale chapter, spoke about the history and legacy of the Tuskegee program. The success of the Tuskegee airmen opened the doors for future generations of African Americans, who wanted to serve their country. The sacrifices made by the men of  the Tuskegee breaking down racial discrimination, helped to inspire both men and women to serve.

This was very evident by the evenings key note speaker and award presenter Major General Marcia Anderson (The highest-ranked woman of color in the U.S. Army).  During the award ceremony Mr. Mel Rohden spoke the words of  Martin Luther King. The event was very moving and a wonderful way to pay tribute to the legacy of these great men.

After a short meet and greet with the honorees, we took our seats and enjoyed a screening of the movie “Double Victory”  Tuskegee Airmen tell their story,  a George Lucas  documentary companion to the upcoming Red Tails film. Red Tails Directed and produced by George Lucas, will be in  theaters January 20th 2012. http://www.redtails2012.com/

Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/RedTails?sk=wall

Honorees:

Fred Archer  (1921-1988)

Natahiel Carr, Sr. (1921-2005)

Vernon Haywood  (1920-2003)

Lincoln Ragsdale,Sr. (1926-1995)

Luke Weathers (1920-2011)

Bob Ashby

George Campbell

Charles Cooper

Thurston Gaines

Ivie Giles

Asa Herring

Rudolph Silas

Howard Williams

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