Vapor Shots!
Almost any aviation photographer appreciates a good photo showing vapor coming off of an aircraft in flight. Vapor is formed when moisture is wrung out of the air due to a combination of humidity and air pressure… the more...
Photorecon Main Content
Our F-16 Scrapbook Series, Part 1: U.S. Operators
The first official flight of the General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon occurred on February 2, 1974. An unplanned hop occurred a few days earlier, during taxi testing, but that’s a story to be told later. Originally designed as...
How did the ‘Bambi Bucket’ get its name?
All photos by the author A New Jersey Army National Guard UH-60M Blackhawk of the 1-150th Aviation Battalion of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst training with a ‘Bambi Bucket’. This lightweight, strong, flexible fire fighting bucket is utilized for fighting forest...
Our A-10 Thunderbolt II Scrapbook
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an attack and close air support jet operated exclusively by the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard. The twin engines are in pods to the rear of the...
Our Special Use Lockheed C-130 Photo Scrapbook
The original YC-130 prototype first flew on August 23, 1954… that means we’re coming up on the 67th anniversary of the event. Originally designed as a cargo and troop transport with medivac mission capabilities, the basic C-130 airframe has...
Looking Back, the 2007 Otis ANGB Air Show
The 2007 air show at the Otis Air National Guard Base (located near Falmouth, Massachusetts on Cape Cod) was the last of its kind. The following year, the tenant 102nd Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard would...
Special Military Color Schemes, Volume #2
This is the second of many volumes of specially painted military aircraft photos from our Photorecon.net photographer team. You can hover over each photo for an overview of the aircraft type, operator and/or special occasion.
Remembering the Doolittle Raid
One week and seventy-nine years ago, a formation of U.S. Army Air Force North American B-25 Mitchell bombers launched off of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet to deliver a counter-attack against Imperial Japanese Forces. (The formation above was a...
Looking Back, the 2008 Rhode Island International Air Show
The 2008 Rhode Island International Air Show was a wide-ranging celebration of military and civilian aviation. Some of the highlights were: the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows were completing their North American Tour, and arrived with their nine-plus...
The Red Arrows: Ambassadors of the Royal Air Force & the United Kingdom
With a thundering roar, nine red and white jets streak overhead from behind the airshow crowd. The jets trail patriotic red, white, and blue smoke as they climb skyward with the crowd craning their necks as they look upward...
Airline Colors, Scrapbook #1
We’re at the beginning of a new monthly feature on our sister publication CivilAviationWorld.com featuring airline color schemes of the past and present. The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated most airline operations in 2020 and into 2021, and we are...
A Look Back: The 2017 Defenders of Liberty Air Show
Before I was a Media Contributor, I was an avid air show photographer attending 8 to 10 shows a season. In addition to my annual driving-distance shows, I would take one trip that was a fly-and-drive, going someplace I...
