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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SEATTLE— Santa Claus ditched his sleigh Saturday and flew in a 1952 de Havilland Beaver.

Santa and Mrs. Claus fly past the Seattle Space Needle. (Photo by John Harrell)

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.

“Rudolph and Dancer and Prancer and the rest, they’re resting up because they’ve got a big night” on Christmas Eve, he said.  “And it’s daytime, and they can’t fly in the daytime,” he said.

Santa waves to his adoring fans. (Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren)

Santa and Mrs. Claus had smooth sailing on approach to runway 13-R at King County International Airport (KBFI, “Boeing Field”), whose tarmac abuts the museum, on a chilly, partly-cloudy morning.  The clear air afforded the Christmas couple wide views of the Puget Sound region on their approach past downtown Seattle and the Space Needle.

Santa Claus is familiar with Seattle from the air, since he sees the city from his sleigh once a year.  But a mathematical analysis by NYCAviation suggests that his customary airspeed on Christmas Eve is far faster than the Beaver flew en route to the museum, in order to allow him to visit the countless houses of the world in a single night.

Santa One passed by the downtown core at only about 120 miles per hour, according to Douglas DeVries, vice chairman of the board of trustees for the Museum of Flight and the pilot of Santa One.  While that’s a minuscule fraction of the average speed of Santa’s sleigh, DeVries called it “rocket-speed for a Beaver.”

The aircraft’s 59-year history has taken it to Hawaii, the Sound region, British Columbia, and points north, said DeVries.

It was badly damaged in Hawaii while a production piece in the 1998 feature film Six Days Seven Nights, said DeVries.  The plane’s cockpit was compromised, he said, and its starboard wing had folded back toward the fuselage.

DeVries purchased the aircraft from a wrecking yard in Colorado, he said, and spent six years restoring the plane to airworthiness.  He replaced almost all of its fuselage skin, except for one piece of the original, which he retained as a memento of the plane’s former life.

He also gave it its new tail number—registry N67DN—as a tribute to the movie it had helped make, DeVries said.

Santa Claus could almost have hopped aboard the airplane in 2008 when DeVries attempted to fly it to the magnetic north pole.  DeVries’ trip was hindered by an iced-over waterway at a refueling stop, which prevented the ski-equipped airplane from landing there.  DeVries finished the 12,000-mile arctic trip, but he would have to wait to speak to the North Pole’s chief resident in person.

Such a meeting took place Saturday, with Santa and Mrs. Claus seated in the mid-cabin row aboard DeVries’ restored Beaver.  Removing their headsets, the Clauses climbed out of the plane to the welcome of their young admirers, who had turned out in scores for their arrival at the museum.

Moments later, the queue to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus inside the museum wrapped around much of the lower-floor exhibit.  Elves in bright red and green ushered children forward to meet them beneath the cut-out USAir fuselage that forms part of the museum’s collection.

Santa’s helpers had been dispatched ahead of Santa One on an advance team, said Alexa, a 14-year-old elf, while ushering the long line of children awaiting their turn with Santa.

Alexa’s presence was “part of an elf exchange program,” she said.  “I’m sent down here [from the North Pole] to make sure which kids are naughty or nice, and then I report back to Santa.”

She prefers Seattle to the North Pole.  “It’s always cold up there,” she said.  “Yeah, I like snow, but I don’t like it constantly cold.”

“My favorite part was sitting on Santa’s lap,” said Christopher, 5, of Puyallup, Wash., after his turn visiting Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

News of DeVries’ North Pole attempt in 2008 made its way to the Claus workshop, said DeVries.  “Santa heard that we were trying to get to his house three years ago in the Beaver,” which helped inspire the Claus couple’s interest in stopping at the museum, DeVries said.

“What Doug wants for Christmas,” joked wife Robbi DeVries with Santa present, “is his fuel back.”

The fuel, all 2,400 pounds of it, is still waiting to be reclaimed from the unreached stopover point, the pilot said.

Santa Claus did not immediately comment.

Santa checks out the de Havilland Beaver prior to departure. (Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren)

Notes – Character actors Clyde Bock and Mary Jane Donaldson contributed significantly to the unfolding of this story.

On November 17th 2011 Photorecon was an invited guest of APSOCAL http://www.apsocal.com/ to attend the  NAF El Centro Photocall.  The chance to attend this event is one we look forward to, as this has to be the closest access to live military flight operations anywhere in the world. The event was able to take place due to a wonderful working relationship between  APSOCAL http://www.apsocal.com/ , AZAP http://azaerophoto.com/ and  PAO Michelle Dee. This relationship has afforded great access to the active runways  at NAF El Centro for a few years now. Ms. Dee and the entire staff at NAF El Centro go out of their way to help the attendees capture some of the best photos of our Navy and allied nations training the pilots of the future, along with keeping senior aviators current. This time out we had our usual T-45 trainers, F-18′s both legacy and super bugs and C2 COD aircraft.  Our visit also coincided with the CAF conducting  training at NAF El Centro. The Canadians were sending up F-18s all day, along with a lone c-130 conducting touch and go landings. The day turned out great with safe flying, great people and good photo opportunities.

Photorecon would like to thank  all the guys at APSOCAL and AZAP, and especially the PAO staff at NAF El Centro. We cant wait  till the next photo call.

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The Scottsdale Air Fair returned Nov. 5th and 6th after an almost 11 year hiatus, due to the events of September 11 2001. I remember this Air Fair as one of the best in the valley, fast jets and good people.

The 2011 Scottsdale Air Fair lived up to this. On hand were many local aircraft including the Deer Valley Warbirds, flying the Nanchang CJ-6 aircraft. They performed a flawless close formation flight with smoke and tight turns.

The Deer Valley Warbirds  are all pilots with a lot of military flying experience,with a few of the members serving as current airline captains with major US carriers. The CJ-6 aircraft are painted in eastern bloc colors with Bort  numbers  on the nose,they looked spectacular performing in the clear Arizona Skies.

The city of Scottsdale went all out to bring in an armada of aircraft both military and civilian, all this done while the airport remained open for normal flights. One of the most unique aircraft on display was the Red Tail P-51,  painted to honor the Tuskegee Airmen who fought color barriers in World War II to fly as fighter pilots in combat. This aircraft is making its way across the country with the CAF Red Tail Squadron Rise Above  Traveling Exhibit.Visitors to the display could enjoy the moving Rise Above Experience and then take a ride in the flight simulator. The tour is a must see,check them out at http://www.redtail.org

This year’s show featured 3 F-18 Super Hornets from VX-9 China Lake,CA .  The Marines sent several helicopters from HMLA 367, one AH1W Super Cobra, AH1Z Viper and a UH1Y Venom, along with a classic CH46E (FROG) from HMMT 164.

Two of the  Super Hornets performed a demo flight, albeit on the low side of its performance level.  Considering the noise abatement procedures in the area it was still good to see 2 super bugs over Scottsdale.

One surprise of the day was a VFA -122 Super Hornet that landed and parked near the other military static display aircraft.  The events continued into the evening including  a dusk hot air balloon lighting and a concert by the the Bellwethers. http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bellwethers/74633715834

The show was a great success and one can only hope that this event will take place for many years to come. I would like to personally thank Alexandria Pierce and the entire staff of the Scottsdale Air Fair 2011.

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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 enveloped many times in thick vapor producing many wonderful shots of the super fast jet flying thru cloud-like conditions. We are excited to be able to visit with them again.

Major Michael “CASH” Maeder, Air Combat Command’s Strike Eagle Demonstration Team pilot and Commander and his WSO Captain Steven “BUDA”  Bofferding  put on a wonderful show where ever they perform.  They traveled to Texas after having recently done shows in Moscow, San Fransisco Fleet Week and Sacramento.

Visit the team here..

http://www.acc.af.mil/aerialevents/strikeeagle/index.asp

http://www.facebook.com/f15edemo

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, finally affecting the airport as the Blue Angels were in the middle of their practice show, and ultimately deluged the grounds only a few hours before the evening’s twilight show was to commence.  Amazingly, there was a break in the rain, and a limited evening air show occurred.  A vivid rainbow appeared for a moment across the city of Virginia Beach, too.  The skies remained waterlogged, and a rare “vapor show” by the Blue Angels’ C-130 (Fat Albert) at sunset gave room to be optimistic, although the weekend’s weather forecasts  weren’t calling for  ”prime” conditions.

Saturday morning, an elderly C-9B Skytrain II and a modern Boeing C-40A Clipper were to open the show with a series of fly-bys.   Although the morning dawned with a high ceiling and decent visibility, conditions deteriorated soon after sun rise, and ugly, low-based clouds rolled in before the flying was to commence.  The decision was made to have each jet make an IFR approach to allow it to pass in front of the crowd.  Both crews performed a PAR approach to get below the cloud base, perform a touch and go landing, and then depart the area.  The air show operations personnel and announcer Rob Reider somehow patched ATC’s PAR frequency into the show’s public address system, and the spectators had front row seats to listen to both jets being “talked down” through the PAR approaches, complete with some “edge of your seat” audio from ATC (“well right of course, correcting…”, “on course, on glide slope”, and so on…).  Both jets’ landing lights came into view just short of the runway, exactly on course for their touch and go.  The synergy of sight and sound proved to be quite entertaining, and offered a bit of intrigue as one wondered where you’d first see a jet break out of the clouds.

Soon, rain began to fall, and for the rest of the weekend, intermittent stretches of flyable weather gave way to rainy and misty conditions, with lots of low scud in the area.  As safety was paramount, there was much coordination between the air boss, base weather officials, and performers as to what the next 30 minutes worth of weather would bring… such as if there was any lightning nearby or heavy precipitation on the doorstep. Some acts did fly, although the airfield attack sequence and fleet flyby were cancelled on Saturday.  All was not lost though, for a few of the pilots in their solo jets were able to fly (Air Force F-16, Marine Harrier, and Navy F-18 Hornets), and some serious vapor was squeezed from the air.  If you dared to expose your camera to the elements, some great opportunities for action photos were present.

The static display ramp was rather full, containing aircraft ranging from a triple-kill New Orleans-based ANG F-15C and various Centennial of Naval Aviation “throwback” schemed planes to local flying schools’ civilian aircraft.  Representatives from most of the numerous Navy and Marine flying units based in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach areas were congregated within a long row of tents, creating a shopping mall for squadron memorabilia.  You could purchase anything from “challenge coins” to shirts, DVDs, models and a multitude of other mementos.  You could talk to a wide range of Navy and Marine service members at the same time, and even with some of the service members’ spouses who staffed the booths while their opposites were deployed around the world.

Most of Friday’s practice show and part of the evening show was completed, but the much of the remaining weekend’s flying display was curtailed.  Those pilots and aircraft that could fly gave spirited performances though, complete with loads of vapor.  Both a pro and con, for some spectators it meant getting “up close and personal” with a plane, even though it meant standing under its’ wing while waiting for the rain to stop.  For others, instead of turning their gaze skyward to watch aircraft in flight, it offered a chance to talk with the people who live and work aboard the base.  There was still a lot to do at the NAS Oceana air show, even if the flying was condensed by some up and down weather.

Ken Kula

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Thank you Ken for a Great report hope your gear is dry once again. Joe ………………………………………………………………

In his eighth year working with Rolls-Royce and The National Aviation Heritage Invitational Joe Jones/Airmail Greetings was elated to report, Mission Accomplished, AND this one is going right into the Smithsonian A&S Museum too!!!!

In celebration the 25th anniversary of Voyager’s world record-breaking non-stop flight this original commemorative artwork was developed by Airmail’s Joe Jones and presented by Director, Ken Perich and the National Aviation Heritage Invitational to fittingly honor Voyager’s pilot, Dick Rutan and his historic flight.

Dick Rutan and artist, Joe Jones will be available for poster signings and to meet with the public throughout the 2011 National Championship Air Races and Air Show, at Reno’s Stead Field September 14th through 18th.

Directly inspired by the personal accounts by this aviation legend shared first-hand with Jones, Rutan explained that there were many pivotal and dangerous points along this historic flight. Each could have made a fitting composition in itself. From the moment Rutan taxied the lumbering, fuel-filled composite aircraft across the ramp, her wingtips dragging on the ground with her massive 110′ wing-span, Rutan and Yeager held their breath as she grudgingly launched skyward fully loosing their first winglet shortly after launch. Designed with only one rudder control surface she would also soon lose her other winglet later in the flight.

Navigating the globe, Voyager’s crew encountered flight threatening weather many times while surviving on mere hours of sleep. Among many special moments as ‘PIC’ Pilot In Command, Rutan recalled the feeling of the point of no return as they pushed forward over a seemingly endless ocean. As there was some question to the life of the main bearings in the Continental engines – ditching over water was a real concern. Fortune on their side, immediately after the completion of this historic journey the bearings give out just as they landed back at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Be on hand Sunday, 18th at Reno, just before the NAHI award ceremony as both Dick Rutan and Joe Jones will personally be presenting General Jack Dailey, director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum an autographed and framed print to the Smithsonian A&S to be put on permanent display in Washington DC. Blue Skies indeed!

Joe was gracious enough to sign one of his wonderful prints to Joe and Photorecon…watch for pics of Joe and Joe coming soon!!!

If you knew Joe Jones, as many of you do, you will quickly realize what a devoted artist he is and that creating aviation art is truly what he was born to do. As his mentor, world renown aviation illustrator James Dietz, said as he shook Joe’s hand for a photo during a visit to Dietz’ studio in Seattle, “Joe, I’m passing you the torch,” Jones did not fully realize at the time the huge commitment and responsibility that went along with the honor. He does now… he has gratefully excepted the challenge and responsibility!

Aviation illustration is not just making pretty pictures of aircraft. It’s about painstaking research and attention to the smallest detail in the hope of telling each story honestly, accurately and with full respect and integrity. It’s about bringing each story to life as if you were right there yourself to fully help share and preserving our rich aviation heritage.

To do that it takes much more than just a passion for airplanes and technical skills. An artist must truly live and breath aviation every single day. Jones realized early on, to truly do this type of work with any sense of justice and dignity, one must become an aviator themselves to come close to having the ability and experience to visually capture the history, adventure, freedom, joy, discipline and achievement associated with flight. For Jones, it has quickly become the richest life one could ever imagine.

http://www.airmail-greetings.com/

When I was informed by the Blue Angels PAO that I was selected to fly on Fat Albert during their show at Miramar, I was more than overjoyed.  I was bouncing off the walls.  To be honest, the few people I did tell about being selected seemed unimpressed but I knew the truth.  I knew the wild ride that was ahead of me, because I trained for it, practiced it, and lived it for several years.  I was a little kid dreaming of a cone filled with 16 towering scoops of ice cream and I was going to eat it all. Soon, I would get my “fini-flight.” I missed out on having my last flight in my beloved C-130 that I never officially received while I was a Flight Engineer in the United States Air Force.

After a hard landing in a C-130 Hercules that cracked vertebrae and popped a few discs in my spine, I thought I would be out of the flying rotation for a couple of months at the most.  Those few months absolutely tore me apart.  The men and women of my squadron were tired from constant rotations both to Afghanistan and Iraq and one less person flying meant that someone else had to pick up the slack. I felt that I was letting them down by not doing my part.

A few months turned into a few more months and after all the pokes, prods, and x-rays came back looking like I was in one piece again, the doctors were baffled why the pain was growing worse seemingly every day.  Long story short, a year later, I was diagnosed with a rare disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS).  The AS had been sparked by the blunt trauma force that blew out my spine and caused the spine to slowly grow together in a process that is more painful than words can describe.

Despite all of that, I submitted waiver after waiver with the Air Force to continue to fly with each one coming back denied.  The reality was starting to set in, that I would never fly again in the US Air Force.

 The big day finally arrived! My group got escorted out to the aircraft. Almost instantly, the enlisted crew of Fat Albert Airlines got to work prepping the aircraft for flight.  Flight Engineer Gunnery Sergeant Ben Chapman enthusiastically gave us an initial passenger briefing and informed us that for the most part, this would not be their typical aircraft flight.  We would be pulling 2.5G positive and also negative Gs allowing complete weightlessness at the top of the initial climb.

After his brief, I made my way up to the flight deck of the blue, gold and white painted C-130T (BuNo 164763).  Fat Albert was much like the final version I flew on in the USAF except for the fact that this one had all the pipes and plumbing for her original job of air refueling helicopters and harriers.

When I walked up to the crew entrance door, the smell hit me.  There is nothing in the world that smells like a C-130.  Years of living in the dirt, open to the rain , puked on, spilled food and drinks, human gasses, and the heat of the onboard systems cooking the dust, she smelled just as I remembered…beautiful!

Her flight deck looked a bit newer then the ones I was used to, but to many people this would look like an ancient airplane from this vantage point.  This was not a “glass” cockpit; the C-130 was designed from the outset to be tough, reliable and an unstoppable workhorse.

The rest of the crew arrived and now it was time for the flight briefing.  The aircraft commander for today was Captain Benjamin Blanton.  The Captain got his crew in line much like the tight formation that the Blue Angels are known for.  Captain Blanton started off with crew introductions and gave a short explanation of what each member’s duties were in the aircraft. He then talked us through every step of the flight and informed the crew, that for any reason, any member could call a “knock it off” if anyone saw an unsafe flight condition.

Captain Blanton then handed the briefing back over to the Flight Engineer, Gunny Chapman for seating assignments.  Along for the ride there was a film crew from the Discovery Channel, a local TV news channel, and several young Marines.  One young Marine, clearly not knowing what to expect, decided to wear a flack vest and was therefore picked to sit up in the bubble located centerline on the wings where there is normally an escape hatch.  Although I know it was the best seat in the house, this young Marine won this prize for no other reason than that he made the Gunnery Sergeant laugh his ass off when he saw him dressed for combat!

One Marine was picked for each of the two paratroop doors.  These doors where fitted with a makeshift seat to look out the large square windows.  This configuration was much like what our loadmasters handmade to battle the hours of standing in those doors. Our loadmasters had a view of the rear of the plane which the flight deck did not possess.   They were the eyes and ears for the threats, such as Shoulder launched Missiles and early on, Anti-Aircraft Artillery that we would encounter.

Finally, a Discovery Channel crew member and I were picked to sit on the flight deck.  Perhaps that over-prepared Marine wasn’t so lucky after all, I was finally back! I was in my old home, the flight deck of what is the most recognized and famous C-130 on Earth.

It honestly did not hit me how much I missed this plane until the checklists started to be called off.  There is nothing like the rhythmic calling off of checklist items as there is in a multi engine, multi crew airplane.  So much is done by audible cue that each member tweaks their voice as to not to sound like anyone else on the crew.  Flight Engineer Chapman starts to call out the before start checklist.

Electrical control Panel….”Set “(Called out by the Flight Engineer)

Radios……”On “(Called out by the Co-Pilot – for today Major Edward Jorge)

The crew continued to set the flight deck for flight while following the direction of the checklist. The Flight Engineer then went into what can only be described as a rhythmic tap dancing of his right hand over the upper panel …starting the auxiliary power unit and fuel panel in preparation for engine start.

“Before Start checklist is complete…”

“Engine start checklist”

Captain Blanton energetically called out “Clear Number 3 Engine”  “Three clear… Three is turning” answered back by the flight mechanic.

And then the plane started to come to life.  The airplane rocked slowly to the left and right as the #3 engine (the right wing’s inboard engine) started to turn.  All the while, the two pilots and the flight engineer looked for anything that would be atypical of a normal start.

Then almost to himself, the Flight Engineer calls out the engine starting flow while he moved his head up and down to follow the indications on the engine gauges as they had occurred. “RPM; Fuel flow; Ignition; Oil Pressure; Hydraulic Pressure; Parallel; Starter; Series; Peak T.I.T.” (Turbine Inlet Temperature).  As soon as the pilot heard the last utterance from the Flight Engineer’s mouth he called “Clear #4” and all remaining engines were started this way.

“Engine Start Checklist is Complete”

The crew ran a few more checklists as we started to taxi out toward the runway.  All crew members busied themselves visually clearing and scanning the surrounding area to make sure that our wings were clear of the Helicopters parked around the ramp leading to the runway.  The pilots were talking and spotting the M1A1 tanks that were used in the MAGTF (Marine Air-Ground Task Force) demo a few minutes prior.  Major Jorge sang his high praise for the deadly beast and both pilots agreed which brought back memories of my time with my crew just making ordinary conversation as we prepared for take-off.

We edged closer to the hold short line before the runway and then were given approval from the tower to line up on the runway.   The crew prepared for flight and the ‘Before Take Off’ checklist was begun in earnest. Again, my headphones came to life with the symphony of crew voices answering to the checklist callouts.  Once again, hands were moving in tune with the voices preparing the flight deck for flight: touching, turning, flicking and pushing the several dials, knobs, buttons and switches.  Finally, I heard the phrase I had been waiting for, “lineup checks complete.”

We were cleared for takeoff and now the show began.  The engines were brought up to full power again.  The engineer looked over his engines, making sure they were good to go.  The pilot released the breaks.  The instant we started moving, the copilot, in what I can be only described as his air show voice, yelled out

“FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT Rolling!”

Then in a matter of seconds he called out “80 knots”.  After the pilot had two positive indications of the 110,000+ pound aircraft lifting off the runway, he called for the gear to be raised. The pilot kept ‘Bert just feet off of the runway to gain speed for what we used to call a zoom maneuver. The entire time Co-Pilot Jorge is calling off of the radar altimeter and the air speed indicator making sure that the pilot was  safely off of the runway,  “One foot, 140 (knots), one foot, 150, three feet, 155, two feet, 160”.

Instantly the pilot informed the crew that he was pulling back on the yoke for the rocket-like 45 degree climb. We got thrown back into our seats until the pilot reached 1100 feet, and then promptly threw the yoke forward to level out the aircraft. For a few seconds, we were weightless. (Damn, I have missed this!)

Honestly, the rest of the flight was almost a blur.  I did not remember each pass and maneuver that followed in the next few minutes.   What I did remember were the same characteristics of the pilots leaning left and right, hands all over the windows looking way back, scanning left and right in low level high banked turns like we had done countless of times into a dozen or more airfields similar to  Forward Operating Bases in Afghanistan.

The pilots continue yanking the yoke left and right, hitting 60 degrees of bank while also pulling 2+ Gs.  All the while, nimbly keeping the plane on time, and safely choreographed for the show.   We did a few passes and then brought the plane back around.   After gaining 1200 feet of altitude and slowing the plane down with full flaps to 95 knots, the pilot threw the nose down to what is arguably the best thing about the C-130, the assault landing, short field capability.  Again, the Co-Pilot was yelling out the radar altimeter and airspeed much like he had done on the take off roll to aid the pilot flying.

The pilot guided the plane on her steep dive to the runway for a precision touchdown to ensure that the plane stopped in about 1500 feet, but more importantly, right on the air show center. The Navigator was cleared to open the top escape hatch to raise the US Flag and the entire group of passengers in the cargo compartment erupted in cheers.   Some were cheers of joy, and I am sure that some were just happy to be back on earth after that rollercoaster ride in the sky.

After we rolled back to the parking spot and engines were shut down, we hopped out.  Captain Blanton asked me if I had a good time.  “Hell yeah” I said with a grin spanning from ear to ear. “For me, that was therapy.”

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I would like to thank Cpl. Posy of the MCAS Miramar Public Affairs Office as well as MC2(AW) Jen Blake of the Blue Angels Public Affairs for making this flight happen for me. I would also like to thank both the Maintenance crews for the hard work keeping the planes flying and also the ‘Bert’s Operations crew for one hell of a ride.

All original photographs can be seen at TacAirPhoto.com

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Here Dr. Sky speaks with owner Steve about his aircraft

Watch this video to see an insiders look into the Golden Age of Air Travel!!

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Manufacturer: Spartan

Model: 7W Search all Spartan 7W

Year built: 1937

Construction Number (C/N): 11

Aircraft Type: Fixed wing single engine

Number of Seats: 5

Number of Engines: 1

Engine Type: Reciprocating

Engine Manufacturer and Model: P&w R-985 SERIES

Aircraft

Registration Number: N20200

Mode S Code: 50315742

Certification Class: Standard

Certification Issued: 2004-01-14

Air Worthiness Test: 1956-09-24

Last Action Taken: 2008-11-18

Current Status: Valid

Owner

Registration Type: Partnership

Address: Danville, CA 94526

United States

Region: Western-Pacific

Dave arrived last Saturday and spent a lot of time around the unlimited pits, at times speaking with the crew of the ghost. We have gathered lots of images and video footage which we still need  to edit.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families who  lost loved ones and the many injured who are still being treated at this time.

A  very special thank you to all the first responders both civilian and uniformed, who selflessly braved danger to assist the injured.

You are the true HEROES of the day.

For now we have posted a few links until we can get back home on Monday.

http://www.facebook.com/JimmyLeeward

 http://www2.leewardairranch.com/racing

http://www2.leewardairranch.com/racing/galloping-ghost-specs

http://www2.leewardairranch.com/racing/history/cleveland

Taken from the website.  http://www2.leewardairranch.com/about-us

Leeward Family