Thematic Photographic 82: "2009 - The Year that Was" v.5.0 - Air Show

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"Aero L-39 Albatros"
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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"Grumman F14-D Tomcat"
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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"MX Aircraft MX2"
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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If you thought 900 photos in 3 days at Topsail Island was excessive, you should have been along for my trip to the Winston Salem Air Show in September. Try 1200 shots in three hours. There was a lot of repetition I'll admit, but it seemed that there was no direction I could turn and not find something to point the camera at. Shortly after I (finally) arrived, a pair of Czech-built Aero L-39 Albatros trainers looking for all the world like those fake MiG's in Top Gun started buzzing the field with the PA announcers trying their very best to sound Russian. With a North Carolina drawl. It was amusing. The F-14 in the center frame wasn't up there with Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards flipping off battling the evil fake MiG's, though. this one was sitting quietly on the ramp as a static display. (There was, however, an F-15E fly-by earlier in the day. I saw them go over as I sat in traffic waiting to get to the airport.) On a less bellicose note, two time World Champion stunt pilot Rob Holland dazzled the crowd with a show in his tiny MX2 stunt plane. The MX2 has a carbon fiber skin over an airframe that's rated to ⁺/_- 12 G's. And you can have your very own starting at around $350,000 USD. Equipped the way this one is, you can probably tack on another 60 G's -- the kind you pull out of your wallet, not out of a turn. There was a homegrown feeling to this demo however, since MX Aircraft is based in North Wilkesboro, NC (my sister in law's hometown) less than an hour's drive from Winston Salem. The punch line? Despite all those G-forces, when Holland egressed the aircraft other than a helmet and a parachute he was dressed just like I was. Shorts and t-shirt. That's what you call acclimated to high-G maneuvers.

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Edifice Rex #8

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"Oh go ahead. I'm sure everyone else does."
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

Edifice Rex Tuesdays on Why? What Have You Heard?

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Sky Watch Friday #62: Vintage Sky

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"Trojan Horsemen"
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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Welcome To Machines #5

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"Plane and Simple"
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

Welcome To Machines Sundays on Why? What Have You Heard?

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Thematic Photographic 76: "Orange" v.3.0 - Tangerine Trees and Marmalade Skies

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"Shiny, Happy Airplane"
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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I don't think I'll get any argument about the color of this airplane (if you're wondering WTF? see yesterday's post) captured at the Winston Salem Air Show in September. What I would get an argument on is the make and model. Happily, I have no problem admitting that I don't know this information, which pretty well short circuits any argument potential. I can tell you that it's a closed cockpit biplane similar to the ones flown by the Red Eagle Air Sports team I featured a few weeks ago, but other than that I have no clue. It looks like it would handle stunt/aerobatic work, but on this day its mission profile was simply sitting on the ramp looking shiny and orange.

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Thematic Photographic 74: "Red" v.1.0 - Red Eagle

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"Express Elevator"
Winston Salem, NC - September 2009 (Click to embiggen)

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This week's Thematic Photographic theme is "Red", and being a regular on Ruby Tuesday I sort of feel like I'm cheating. Be that as it may, I figured there wasn't a better way of opening than a "Red" week than with the team from Red Eagle Air Sports. This shot is of the eponymous Red Eagle aircraft, piloted -- and at least partially designed -- by Buck Roetman. In addition to holding virtually every rating the FAA has as a pilot, Roetman is also a licensed Airframe & Powerplant mechanic (which, trust me, is not an easy credential to get) and has a long history in auto racing as well. Both he and his wingman Dan McClung (pilot of the Talon Eagle, which is just barely visible at left) are certified as Air Show Competency Evaluator (ACE) for the International Council of Air Shows. These two don't measure their experience in flight hours, they measure it more in flight years. Acording to his bio on the team website, McClung has over 35 years as a professional pilot flying everything from this stunt biplane to a Boeing 767, including over 400 "traps" (carrier landings) while flying A7 and A4 aircraft for the US Navy. Roetman's bio didn't give this kind of detail on his flight experience, it was more focused on his design and fabrication work.

I had the opportunity to see the team in action at the 2009 Winston Salem Air Show and the one thought that kept circling in my head was "You have really got to trust your wingman" to do some of the things these two were doing. Bubble-to-bubble passes with the canopies nearly touching, multiple loops with the landing gear nearly touching (tricky since one must perform an inside loop and the other must match his speed in an outside loop -- meaning they can't actually see each other). It was precision flying on a level to rival the Thunderbirds or the Snowbirds or the Blue Angels. Not the same kind of precision, and while I'm sure the pilots would argue over which requires the greater skill to those of us on the ground that's sort of like arguing the relative merits of a Ferrari over a Rolls Royce.

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