Tagged: Navy

February 19, 2015

Changing of the Guard at MCAS Yuma

Since 2012, the first active F-35B squadron of the US Marines Corps has been based at MCAS Yuma. This first squadron is VMFA-121 “Green Knights”, which flew the FA-18D Night Attack Hornet out of MCAS Miramar in California before the transition...

assignments / Exercises / fighters / friends / Gallery / Marines / post

January 18, 2015

USS Bataan LHD-5 (Nick BIG 5) VMM-263 ends longest Navy deployment in 40 years and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit

The USS BATAAN LHD-5 is an amphibious assault ship of the US Navy, 40650 tons displacement, 257.2 meters long, 33.5 meters wide, 42.6 meters flight deck width, 8.2 meters draft, 70000 PS and 20+ miles an hour. Cost: 731...

assignments / fighters / military / navy / photocalls

December 7, 2014

Naval Air Facility El Centro Photocall – Fall 2014

On November 20, approximately 100 photographers arrived outside the main gates of Naval Air Facility El Centro (NAFEC). They were there for one of two annual photocalls held at one of the most active airfield in the country.Naval Air...

featured / fighters / military / navy

November 19, 2014

Photorecon.net visits the USS Nimitz and the F-35C.

It’s been almost 8 years since the first F-35 Lightning II (a.k.a. the Joint Strike Fighter) took flight, but after many delays and massive cost overruns the F-35 is finally nearing the end of initial testing. Soon, it will...

Airshow / fighters / navy

October 28, 2014

NAS Oceana Air Show 2014

With no military air shows last year, fans were anxiously awaiting 2014. Absence seems to make the heart grow fonder. NAS Oceana, VA is not just a weekend air show but rather a week-long event drawing aviation enthusiasts from...

fighters / military / navy

September 28, 2014

FIGHTER TOWN USA, TOP GUN at NAS Miramar

The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as Top Gun, is the ultimate Fighter School of the United States Navy and had its home at the former Naval Air Station Miramar in Miramar, California until 1996. Miramar...

Airshow / military / navy

June 5, 2014

Quonset Point’s Air Show in Top Form After Hiatus

After taking an uncharacteristic year off in 2013, the (almost annual) Rhode Island National Guard Open House and Air Show roared back to life in mid-May, 2014 with an entertaining combination of past favorite and first-time performers. The organizers...

air force / Airshow / Interviews

February 16, 2014

Dr Sky Interviews 56th Fighter Wing/ Base Commander Brig. Gen. Michael D. Rothstein

Here in Arizona and the “Valley Of The Sun”, we are very fortunate to have one of the largest training bases in the world, that turns out some of the best pilots in the US Air Force. Recently,...

fighters / military / navy

January 3, 2014

Topgun in the Mid-1980s: Building on the Legacy – Part Five

PART 5: Supplemental Notes Further Reading: Donald E. Auten’s Roger Ball! The Odyssey of John Monroe “Hawk” Smith, Navy Fighter Pilot, tells the story of an influential figure in Topgun and the Navy fighter community and provide additional information...

fighters / military / navy

December 20, 2013

Topgun in the Mid-1980s: Building on the Legacy – Part Four

(Sporty F-5E joins on his flight lead seconds after takeoff from NAS Miramar.) PART 4: The Only Constant Is Change All organizations either evolve or expire, and NFWS is no exception. In the years and decades after I left,...

fighters / military / navy

November 27, 2013

Topgun in the Mid-1980s: Building on the Legacy – Part Three

PART 3: Critical Decisions and Events of the Mid-1980s. I was an F-14 RIO who joined my first Fleet fighter squadron in 1981. In 1982 I attended the Topgun class as a student (by then it was five weeks), and in 1984 I was selected to return as an instructor. The following events and decisions occurred during my time as an instructor and contributed to Topgun’s evolution and continued validity.

fighters / military / navy

November 23, 2013

Topgun in the Mid-1980s: Building on the Legacy – Part Two

PART 2: Topgun’s Early Years: the Foundation (Navy Fighter Weapons School F-5E Tiger II gets close for a photo.) When considering why Topgun flourished, much credit must go to the enduring culture established by the earliest instructors and handed...