USAF Thunderbirds
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Living next door to an operational airfield has it's perks when the airshow comes around we got our on display over the back garden.
Crop of an R3 image with Topaz Sharpen AI used.
Aerospace Valley Air Show at Edwards Air Force Base 2022.
McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle
92-0364
United States Air Force
USAF 48FW
Royal International Air Tattoo
RAF Fairford, UK
14 July 2022
From September 2018. . .or the world before COVID - 1984. McConnell Air Force Base Open House/Air Show in Wichita. The USAF Thunderbirds were the featured performers.
Experimenting lower shutter speeds on fast moving jets. Only a few keepers but I am beginning to like them.
92-1094 an LC-130H-3 from the New York ANG in the blue hour. Most noticeable of the H-3 upgrades are the Hamilton Sundstrand NP2000 eight-blade propellers.
USAF F-16C Fighting Falcon
91-0413 '4'
57th Wing
USAF Demonstration Squadron Team 'The Thunderbirds'
Nellis AFB, Nevada, USA
F-16C Fighting Falcons of the USAF Thunderbirds perform at the 2022 US Air Force Academy Graduation, Colorado Springs, USA
With the Air Festival this past weekend at nearby Martin State Airport I was able to snap of some fighter plane captures in addition to birds along Middle River.
Captured here at slower shutter speed to show the props in motion.
Phase 2 of the Air Force Thunderbirds inaugural winter training trip was being held here at Fort Huachuca. For the last 2 weeks residents of Sierra Vista, AZ have been witness to their extraordinary talent and bravery.
Thanks for all the views on in Explore. Grateful to share this amazing experience with all of you!!
North American 51D Mustang Bum Steer NL20TF 463187 FAB 521 FABo Assigned to USAF s/n 67-14866
Photo taken at EAA Airventure Wittman Regional Airport Oshkosh Wisconsin USA July 2019
2AA_2461
My first proper look at the USAF's newest Stealth fighters at low level came early on Friday morning after a semi-fail being in the wrong spot for them the other week.
This was the second jet of a 3-ship, already sporting some dirt on the top-side!
© Ben Stacey All Rights Reserved - Any use, reproduction or distribution of this image without my explicit permission is strictly prohibited.
US Air Force Reserve Command's Lockheed C-141C Starlifter
67-0027 from the 459th AW seen at her very dull and wet home at Andrews AFB, Maryland during the 2001 'Openhouse'
Most of the USAF's C-141A fleet of 'Lifters' were 'stretched' to B models to increase their load carrying capabilities
Later they were upgraded as C models. Those remaining were eventually retired and replaced by the C-17 Globemaster III
All Starlifters were operated by the USAF bar one which was produced as a potential civil option but was never sold as such - eventually being acquired by NASA as a flying laboratory.
Scanned Kodak 35mm Transparency
Senior Airman Loren Bell inspects a piece of shrapnel, an after effect of his work.
Not all warriors wear green: Air Force JTACs earn respect
JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Airmen called Joint Terminal Attack Controllers or members of the Tactical Air Control Party are aligned with Army units and are every bit as tough and hardened as Army infantrymen.
JTACs and TACPs live, eat and march the mountains with the infantry and stand ready to call in close air support for the troops they are embedded with.
"Eighty percent of our deployment is spent in the field," said Airman 1st Class Adam Green, a native of Chandler, Ariz. "Day to day we're out with the 'Joes' on the ground playing cards or getting in contact and putting bombs on the target."
"We bring the fast movers to the table – fast carriers that carry a lot of ordnance, like A-10s," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Derek Wilson from Sacramento, Calif. "There's no better feeling than being in a firefight and having an A-10 arrive choc-full with bombs."
"[We have artillery support] but nothing is going to put more firepower on the battlefield than a 1,000 pound bomb or multiple 1,000 pound bombs," said Green. "That's what we bring."
Calling in bombs on the enemy is not as easy as making a telephone call.
"In a firefight you have to de-conflict fires and airspace; you have guys on the ground yelling at you to get bombs on the target; you have to know the rules of engagement," said Wilson. "You have to bring in those bombs within the perimeter of war. You have to keep a calm head."
The two Airmen did not exaggerate their roles or the austerity of their living.
"These guys spend more time outside the wire than inside," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Christopher Mann, from Jacksonville, Fla. "Green spent 48 days in a foxhole up in the mountains and Wilson spent six months with (other governmental agencies) before we got here. You're not going to see any other career field in the Air Force spend that much time outside of the wire."
The role of the weapons systems they support is huge on the battlefield. Many times all it takes is a show of force. Just the roar of aircraft getting closer saves lives by intimidating the enemy into breaking contact. It allows friendly forces to act on the change of momentum and pursue or close in on and kill the enemy, said Mann.
"Within months of finishing (technical training) school, these Airmen see combat," said Mann, a onetime instructor at JTAC school. "When I was teaching at the school, I use to tell these guys 'you're going to be in combat. You're going to see friends die, maybe not your Air Force friends, but the Soldiers you become friends with.' But of the 800 students I trained, I never talked to one who said 'this isn't for me.'"
Earning the respect of the infantrymen is a process. Short of dropping bombs and neutralizing the enemy, the airmen prove themselves by keeping up, doing their share, and knowing their job. It's a process they're happy to do.
"Yeah, he has to prove himself," Mann said of an airman fighting alongside the infantry. "But, that's how we get our foot in the door. They will earn respect through their knowledge."
"When you first get to an Army unit there is an aspect of having to prove yourself," said Green. "You're surrounded by these 11-Bravos (infantry) and you have to prove yourself. But once you do your job, they appreciate you being there. All it takes is the first time."
"Some people want to look down on us because we're Air Force," said Wilson. "You walk up to the top of a mountain - we keep up with a ruck heavier than most - and all of a sudden things hit the fan and we go to work. We neutralize the enemy and they're glad we're here. It's gratifying."
These Airmen, some of the few in the Air Force that can be seen wearing berets, Army combat patches and Army awards, get a serious sense of gratification from their work.
"It kind of saves the day, so to speak," Green agreed. "It's a war out here and only so many guys in the Air Force are there to take it to the enemy. That's what's satisfying."
"The best part of our job is being out in the field neutralizing the enemy," said Wilson. "Getting bombs on the target, that's what it's all about."
"There's no other job in the Air Force where you're going to get that kind of first hand action," added Green.
For all the effort involved in earning respect, these "blue Soldiers" benefit from the challenge in a true display of character and insight.
"It's a challenge working with the Army," said Wilson. "You have to prove yourself. You can't let them see you slip or they will hold that to you. You have to be at the top of your game the whole time. Not just because you don't want to slip but because you could potentially get someone killed."
The dedication these Airmen displayed is an uncommon one. Although Army units now serve 15-month deployments, these Airmen have only six month deployments. That didn't stop these Airmen from serving their year, however.
"These guys volunteered to stay along with the extension," said Mann. "That says a lot about these guys. This has been the fifth or sixth deployment for Wilson. (Wilson and Green) are doing a phenomenal job. They both have supported every major contingency operation in the past year."
"I saw a poster that said, 'we need a few good Airmen to join the Army,'" Green recalled. "I shipped off to school not knowing what we really did. I didn't really know what we did until I got down range. Now I know exactly what we are doing."