It's a Blast

The MV-22 did a hover demo at NAS North Island during the opening CONA event this year. While the main action was away from the media tower and on the other side of the public and display ramp, it was front and center for the VIPs on USS Stennis. What impressed me the most was the amount of downwash from the big rotors and the exhaust blast. You can see how far up the Osprey is above the water and how much spray it kicks up. Note that the aircraft was in mid-sideslip to the right as the exhaust plume bends under the aircraft. When it ceased translating to starboard the spray was even larger.

Pity the poor groundcrew and grunts who are under the Osprey in a dirty, dusty environment like Iraq or Afghanistan. They all earn their pay every day.

Blues Moon

The Blue Angels opened the Parade of Flight during the CONA celebrations at NAS North Island on February 12. They did a simple six-ship formation pass as they are still training up at NAS El Centro and their season doesn't start for a few more weeks. Nevertheless, the Blues were a de rigueur component of this event.

As they made their single pass around the island following the bay and channel, they crossed in front of the Moon. I knew it was rising and so I had hoped to catch it in some of the shots that day. And indeed, I got one on this pass.

This is actually a crop of the 12x8 format to a 10x8. It looks pretty good in that size as all the elements balance each other out pretty good. No Photoshop work was done other than the cropping.

This is a shot of the full image. It's still not bad.

The last photo is a full height crop into a portrait format. I wanted to see what a cover shot might look like. (Well, we can dream, can't we?) Not quite as satisfying as the first shot, but still a decent image. A little PhotoShop tweaking could maybe bring this home. I may have to play around with it and see what happens.

CONA Sundowner

I had the good fortune to get media access to the opening event in the year-long Centennial of Naval Aviation (CONA) celebration. The kick-off occurred February 12th at NAS North Island. Not only did we get to shoot from a very advantageous spot on Saturday during the show, but we were able to acquire ramp access to MCAS Miramar, where most of the military aircraft participating in the Parade of Flight and CVW-9 flyover were staging from, and Brown Field, where the vintage warbirds were based.

I will post photos from those various venues over the next few days. This will include the specially marked "retro-camouflage" painted aircraft. Many of those were in attendance at North Island and were a thrill to see. Fortunately most were there on the Friday media-only day. The rest we were able to catch on Saturday before the public was allowed onto the ramp.

This Northrop (now Northrop Grumman) F-5N Tiger II is from VFC-111 "Sundowners." I was excited to see the full-color tail CAG (Commander Air Group) bird. Usually one airplane per squadron (maybe two) gets the full color treatment as it is reserved for the CAG to fly, if he chooses. It is also the squadron show bird, which is why some go all out on the schemes. In this day and age of gray airplanes it is a refreshing throwback to the Golden Ages of Naval aviation - the 1930s yellow wings and the 1960s vibrant colors in the squadrons.

This one has it all - brilliant tail and sharkmouth to boot: just like the F-14s and F-4s before them. It is one beautiful plane, and a Northrop one at that!