Aerial firefighting is a crucial asset and a dangerous job; a recent event in Australia showed the worst case during an already tragic bushfire season in that country. A Coulson Aviation C-130 aerial tanker crashed while on a firefighting...
The Nike Missiles: The early Nike-Ajax missiles came to Sandy Hook in 1954. They were a 2-stage missile that used a highly flammable and explosive fuel mixture of: JP-4 jet fuel; an HNO3 Oxidizer of unsymmetrical Dimetral Hydrozine...
The New Nike Missiles at Sandy Hook: The Cold War essentially started in 1946 with the beginnings of the development of the USSR Soviet strategic bomber force. The threat was now Soviet strategic bombers attacking New York City....
All photos by Scott Jankowski – mainly from the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 event, with additional file photos – Ed. On September 18th 1938 the first of an eventual 15,495 North American Aviation Texans took to the sky. The...
Run over the first three weeks of August, Exercise Pitch Black 2016 ran a “Media Embed Program” for the benefit of local and international media organisations, during the exercise. PHOTORECON was privileged to be invited to participate. Briefings were...
“PITCHING IN” Air Operations during Exercise Pitch Black 2016 This story begins in a secluded bush block near Darwin Airport – DRW/YPDN (Northern Territory, Australia) with barely a puff of breeze caressing the long, dry yellow straw-like grass through...
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...
(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,...
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.
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...
(F-5F, F-5E, and A-4 provided a wide range of threats to challenge Navy fighter pilots and RIOs.) Have you ever wondered how the Navy’s Topgun program became a world-renowned center of excellence in the serious business of air combat?...
The Royal Saudi Air Force attended Red Flag 10-4 with the F-15. The Saudi version is called the F-15S is a variant of the F-15E supplied to the Royal Saudi Air Force in the mid to late 1990s. Saudi Arabia...
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August 6, 2022
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The USAF’s 2016 Phinal Phantom II Tour
March 10, 2017
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A Look Back… Ken Kula’s 2016 Year In Review
January 16, 2017
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Photorecon attends the 2023 Reno Races
September 19, 2023
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Skip Holm attends last Reno Air Race
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