F117 Stealth Fighter FlyBy

Now that I am retired I have more time to work on the PhotoArtFlight blog. These are images taken years ago with an early Digital Nikon D1X camera with a 400mm lens. The Nikon D1X had a cropped 1.5x sensor so the field of view would be ~600mm. I used to photograph a lot of Aviation images at airshows. Before Digital Cameras I would shoot 20 to 3o rolls of Ektachrome film so you were always reloading the camera with film. Digital made it easier to get the shots without reloading the camera and getting better and more images as the planes wizzed by. The F-117 Nighthawk was the world’s first operational stealth aircraft. The F117 subsonic twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed’s secretive Skunk Works was not really a Fighter aircraft but more a ground attack aircraft. F-117s saw extensive combat use, from the incursion into Panama in 1989 through the Persian Gulf War of 1990–91 to the Iraqi War of 2003–11. It was fun to have the chance to photograph the F117 Stealth Fighter up close!

Different Flight Subjects

Many, many years ago I did a lot of aviation photography. Since I was a young child I always liked things that flew. Before getting hooked on photographing birds, I enjoyed photographing aerobatic and military planes. As I was cleaning out old backup drives I found a few images so I thought I would post some just to show a little different flying subject matter. These were all from air shows, some on military bases & others at smaller airports. Some would limit you to 1 camera, 1 lens, especially after 9/11. But you could sometimes get permission to add to that.

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The U.S. Marine Corps C-130 Hercules, “Fat Albert,” assigned to the U.S. Navy “Blue Angels” flight demonstration team, uses Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) bottles. Fat Albert kicks-off each show with an assisted takeoff, demonstrating the C-130’s ability to get airborne in minimal time and distance, simulating conditions in hostile environments and on short, unprepared runways.

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Fat Albert climbing above clouds

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F16 high speed FlyBy (just under Mach 1)

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F15 High Speed Pass

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A10 Warthog Ground Attack Aircraft

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A10 FlyBy

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Thunderbirds F-16 Flyby

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F15 FlyIng out in the setting sun

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F117 Stealth Fighter Flying out in the setting sun

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Blue Angels Demonstration Team starting a “Starburst”

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Blue Angels FA-18 Flyby

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A10 Flyby

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A10 waiting for smoke to clear

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Simulated A10 ground attack on field (coordinated with ground effects crew)