Airspeed - The Magazine for Aviation Photographers

The Fun is Back!

Airshows return in 2021 Red Flag 2021 and much more!

Bradley Wentzel

WELCOME TO THE 2021 JUNE ISSUE OF AIRSPEED! Red Flag 2021 Johannes Winkelmann Rob Tabor Judd Slivka Larry Grace Jeff Krueger

2021 NAF El Centro Festival of Flight Larry Grace/ISAP President

The Fun is Back: Sun ‘n Fun 2021 Jim Froneberger Rod Cromer Luis Sales Bill LaFlamme Jason Skinner José M. Ramos Ken Hunt Rich Spolar Timothy Smith Ft. Lauderdale Airshow 2021 Jason Skinner The Final Flight of Tango Alpha Marc Schultz Light at The End of The Tunnel Dragos Munteanu Stinson SR-5 John Slemp Fishing For Planes in Southern California Bob Driver Tom Spanos

Member Showcase John Slemp Geoffrey Arnwine Kevin Hong Scott Slingsby Patrick Comtois Dragos Munteanu Meet The Members Judd Slivka Robert Allen

Mark Streit Keith Charlot Su Khoo

Rob Tabor José M. Ramos

Joseph Jenkins

Product Review: Platypod Ultra Kevin Hong Airplane Silhouettes John Ford FRONT COVER PHOTO: Johannes Winkelmann Two B-2 stealth bombers take off at dusk participating in Red Flag from Nellis AFB with the Las Vegas skyline in the background.

Camera: Sony ILCE-7RM4 Lens: Sony FE 200–600mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS ISO 8000 Shutter speed: 1/30 Exposure: f/5.6 Processed in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom BACK COVER: Jeff Krueger F-16 three-ship formation return during a Red Flag exercise.

Camera: Canon EOS R5 Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM ISO 400 Shutter speed: 1/2500 Exposure: f/5.6 Processed in Adobe Photoshop

Dragos Munteanu

NEW AND RETURNING ISAP MEMBERS Duane Adams

Sam Eckholm

John Love

Steven Schott

Robert Bonfield

Simon Fitall

David Martin

Jason Skinner

Scott Bruce

Jeremy Humphreys

Dragos Munteanu

Judd Slivka

Stephen Butler

Bill Ingalls

Ricardo Padovese

Charles Swancy

Bernie Campoli

Richard JackJames

Tim Peterman

John Taylor

Mark Chiolis

Joseph Jenkins

Joe Pulcinella

Charles Walters

Gordon Court

Philip Johnson

Robert Randall

Nancy Winkelmann

Samuel Dammers

Paul Kober

Matt Rainey

Anna Wood

Gary Daniels

Ora Lassila

Jim Roach

Kenneth Dono

Bill LaFlamme

Troy Rumpel

The goal of International Society for Aviation Photography (ISAP) is to bring together our members who share a love of aviation, and want to preserve its history through their images. Through our organization, members can seek to enhance their artistic quality, advance technical knowledge, and improve safety for all areas of aviation photography while fostering professionalism, high ethical standards, and camaraderie.

ISAP continues to help our members to better their photography skills, workflow, and set up resources to help with business questions that our members have.

Updates are being made to the ISAP website and member portfolio section, and we are showcasing ISAP members’ images and accomplishments on our social media pages.

The new Airspeed magazine will highlight ISAP members and their photography, experiences, and their passion for aviation from around the world. From military and commercial aviation, you’ll be able to see it all while learning about aviation photography, post processing tips in Lightroom and Photoshop, aviation history, air show reports, aviation museums, and more. We look forward to sharing our members’ images and articles with everyone.

Enjoy this issue of Airspeed!

Sincerely, Larry Grace, ISAP President Kevin Hong, Airspeed Editor International Society for Aviation Photography www.aviationphoto.org • www.facebook.com/ISAPorg Airspeed is a periodic publication of the International Society for Aviation Photography and is used to communicate news, functions, convention information, and other information of interest on the local, regional, and national scenes. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and should not be construed as the views or opinions of the International Society for Aviation Photography.

For fans of military aviation, Nellis AFB is one of the premier spots to see modern fighter jets up close. This Air Force base is not only the home of the USAF Thunderbirds and Weapons School, but it also hosts multiple large scale air combat exercises every year, including “Red Flag”, a favorite amongst aviation photographers.

7 and 8 is typically best. For landings on 21R (right break), anywhere between gate 3 (for tight turning Navy planes) and 7 (heavies) is best.

Landings on 21L are tougher to shoot, as the planes will generally do a turn left for the downwind leg, requiring a long focal length (~600mm) to get decent shots, with heat haze impacting picture quality.

Nellis AFB is about half an hour northeast of downtown Las Vegas, and easy to reach by car. In good weather, most takeoffs will be on 3L/3R, and landings on 21L/21R. For these, the best shooting location is the Motor Speedway on Las Vegas Boulevard. There is a fairly wide dirt strip along the Speedway to park, with numbered gates to orient yourself: for the FLEX takeoff - a takeoff where the planes will bank left over the Speedway, giving you a top view of the planes - the area between gate

When shooting at the speedway, make sure not to park on the base/ fence side, and remember that Las Vegas Boulevard has a fair amount of traffic - including trucks - so stay clear of the road when shooting.

The other popular location is along Cheyenne Avenue, East of North Nellis Boulevard. This location is great for takeoffs on runways 21L/21R and landings on runways 3L/3R. This area sees quite a bit of industrial

RED FLAG 2021 Article and photos by Johannes Winkelmann

traffic, and it’s not in the best part of Las Vegas, so keep this in mind when shooting in this area.

Besides those two main areas, there are plenty of options that can give different angles or better light, depending on the time of day and flight path. Heading further north towards the Nellis Dunes recreation area will give you a panoramic view of the Las Vegas Skyline, providing a great backdrop for your photos. And last but not least, the night launches while challenging to shoot - are a spectacular sight to see as well!

When shooting at Nellis AFB, telephoto zooms like a 100 - 400mm or 200 - 600mm on a full frame camera are the safest bet. You can get great shots at 200mm if you’re exactly in the right spot, but having that

extra reach is often necessary as takeoff and landing patterns will vary throughout the day. To stay on top of departures and arrivals, bringing a radio scanner is highly recommended. Finally, remember that Nellis is in the Nevada desert, and as such, it gets hot during the day, and cools down at night. Check the weather forecast, make sure you bring appropriate clothing, protection from the sun, and plenty of water!

Johannes Winkelmann

Johannes Winkelmann

Johannes Winkelmann

Johannes Winkelmann

Johannes Winkelmann

Johannes Winkelmann

ROB TABOR This was my first trip to Red Flag in quite a number of years and given the scarcity of shooting opportunities over the past year, I was very much looking forward to a week of shooting what Nellis threw my way.

With Nellis’ diverse mission, it usually offers a plethora of flying activity to shoot and on this trip, it didn’t disappoint.

With the exception of Monday, when the Flag was cancelled due to high winds, flying activity was almost non-stop from dawn until dusk and there were even a few Thunderbird practices thrown in as well. In fact, for me, some of the best shooting opportunities were before and after the day’s Red Flag activities.

Red Flag missions are also flown at night, which can present some interesting photo opportunities as well. Red Flag is normally held three times a year and is an experience I think should be on every aviation photographer’s bucket list. As always, what really makes these trips all the more memorable is getting to see and shoot with friends, both old and new, and getting to cross paths with fellow ISAP members. Can’t wait for this next year.

Rob Tabor

Rob Tabor

Rob Tabor

Rob Tabor

Rob Tabor

Rob Tabor

Rob Tabor

Rob Tabor

LARRY GRACE - ISAP PRESIDENT When the second scheduled Red Flag was announced for 2021, I made a call to two other ISAP members to join me in Las Vegas and we would spend a few days together photographing the exercise from outside the base along the road next to the speedway.

Photographers will gather along the road outside of the base to photograph the action. There are two locations that photographers will shoot from depending on the winds and which way the aircraft will launch and recover. This is where a scanner comes in handy or being with other photographers that have information.

Once it’s known you set up and wait for the action to take place. Now the flight path can change and you will see photographers do the Nellis Shuffle to get to the best location for either the take-off or recovery.

Photographers will put themselves at location to catch the flex departure or when the aircraft line up for landing. 21R or 3L is what photographers want to hear over their scanners.

For this visit I worked with the Nikon D850 with the Sigma 60 - 600mm lens. My settings were based on the weather and lighting. For the most part we had sunny and clear skies, however we did have a cloudy overcast day. We lost half day due to high winds in the area that cancelled afternoon flights and missions.

For this article I decided to showcase my images in black and white.

I worked with RAW files in Photoshop and Camera Raw and for the B/W treatment working with both setting in Photoshop and the Nik Plug in Silver Efex Pro.

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

JEFF KRUEGER

It’s the middle of March, I had just returned from four days of landscape photography around Organ Pipe National Monument in central Arizona.

I had just unpacked my photo gear and was settling in to start going through those images and I get a call, “Hey, you want to go up to Nellis AFB for Red Flag 2?” “Sure” I said and started repacking.

My wife just shook her head and then offered to let me take her new Enclave as it would be much more comfortable on the seven-hour drive than my Wrangler, which I gladly accepted. Stopping in Phoenix to pick up a fellow ISAP member, off we went to Las Vegas and my first ever Red Flag photo experience.

Arriving in Vegas late Sunday afternoon, we got settled in and ready for our first morning shoot on Monday. We woke up early Monday morning to the sound of aircraft taking off, a bit earlier than scheduled, so we grabbed our gear, a third ISAP member, and headed off to one of the more popular shooting locations based on the radio information we had.

We were rewarded with an hour or so of launches, A-10’s, F-16’s, a C-17 and an AWACS. This is when I was introduced to the “Shuffle”.

From our spot on Cheyenne St, we drove over to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on the other side of the base for recovery of the aircraft that we heard taking off earlier. We got some good photo ops and yet another ISAP member showed up, also his first time so as I was there earlier, Tom became the * New Guy as I was now a veteran of 3 hours…

Listening to the scanners, it became clear that the afternoon launch was cancelled due to high winds. We were getting gusts up to 40mph and a sustained 35mph. So that ended day one. On a positive note, we picked up a new member to ISAP. A photographer we ran into, not literally, on the morning shoot.

After missing the first launch on Monday, we were up at zero dark 30 and set up in front of the speedway across from the field. I was cold and of course my gloves were in my Jeep, 400 miles to the south. Dawn was still about a half hour away when the first group launched but we picked the right place and the flight flexed just past us for a perfect angle. High ISO shots, but a good position. As the morning progressed, more flights launched and we had lots of photo targets of opportunity from fighters to bombers. After the last morning launch, we “shuffled” back to Cheyenne St and as soon as we got there, we found that recovery would be back over the speedway, so back we went for a full afternoon of photography.

By the end of the day, my arms could barely hold and steady a camera.

So worth it. That’s what Tylenol PM is for!

Back at the hotel, several of us, including our newest ISAP member, got together for a beer and some image reviews. Larry, you know, our president, spent time showing us some post processing tips and tricks which those of us Photoshop challenged, enjoyed learning.

I had to get back to Tucson on Wednesday, so after the first morning launch on Wednesday, we packed up and headed back. Several ISAP members stayed the day and some the rest of the week. We would have liked to have stayed, but we both had to get home.

So, what did I learn? Well, there is the “Red Flag Shuffle” buzzing from one side of the base to the other in record time. Also, anything can happen and schedules are meant to be broken. I also learned that ISAP members all work together and help each other, from loaning gear to exposure compensation. Even trying to teach back button focusing in the middle of a shoot…well, attempted too anyway! For me, the former newbie, it was a fun few days, I learned a lot, and I will be going back.

Jeff Krueger

Jeff Krueger

Jeff Krueger

Jeff Krueger

Jeff Krueger

JUDD SLIVKA

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: Larry Grace pulls up in an SUV. Jeff Krueger and Rob Tabor were there, too, but it ruins the joke.

Anyway, it’s windy, like 35 knots windy down at the end of 21L. I’ve got dust in places I didn’t know had places. And here’s Jeff Krueger’s SUV. It parks next to me and Larry Grace pops out. And he asks to see what I’ve shot and so do Jeff and Rob. It’s a key moment in my Red Flag 21-2, and a key moment in the journey of my photography.

Because here’s this guy – these guys – and they’re taking the time to critique. Not to criticize, not to condescend. But to talk about edits and crops and RAW files. And occasionally to shoot the Weapons School A-10s that are too infrequently flying over.

The wind’s picking up and it’s a weather scrub. I’m supposed to go back to Phoenix for work, but I can’t. I’m learning too much. I call in sick so I can stick around for the next day. The wind dies down. I meet the guys at their hotel and we go over photos. It’s a classroom again, albeit one in a casino bar with a vague sports theme.

The next day, the clinic continues. This time between gates seven and eight along Las Vegas Boulevard. The learning doesn’t stop. Planes 2 and 3 in a four-ship are the best to shoot in the flex west because they break in the best spots. Adjust your exposure value for the gray paint and the saturated sky. Anticipate this. Plan that. It’s about four hours into the day, after the Red Flag launch, that I realize that I’m a better photographer than I was four hours ago. It’s a day of poetry.

I debated calling in sick for it again, but decide against it. But as I’m bouncing home in the dark, I’m grinning like a madman, a hard drive full of photos next to me. And I think of something Larry said to me about aviation photography that first morning while the wind was howling.

“When the bug bites you,” he said, laughing a little, “It does bite hard.”

Judd Slivka

2021 NAF El Centro F E S T I V A L Text by Kristopher Haugh NAFEC PAO Photos by Larry Grace/ISAP President

O F

The U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration team, the Blue Angels, are privileged to have called El Centro and the Imperial Valley their winter home since 1967 and is proud of the superb relationship they share with the surrounding communities in the Imperial Valley.

The great flying weather in El Centro plays a crucial role in the training conducted here.

Naval Air Facility El Centro’s (NAFEC) Festival of Flight is the first event of the Blue Angel’s air show season. Drawing a crowd of 10,000 - 20,000, it was the largest single-day event in the Imperial Valley, before COVID-19.

This year, NAFEC’s Festival of Flight took place on Saturday, March 13, 2021. Unfortunately, due to the continuing pandemic, NAFEC was not able to host guests and attendees onboard the installation. Instead, the base opted to attempt a virtual “on-air” show.

F L I G H T

Knowing that many locals knew exactly where to see the flying action from off base, NAFEC organized a number of aviation teams to perform nonetheless. These teams included the U. S. Air Force’s A-10 Thunderbolt II Demo Team, the U.S. Navy’s Leap Frogs and VFA-122’s F/A-18 TAC DEMO, and the Blue Angels.

To make the experience more personal and to help the Valley residents understand what they were watching from afar, the Public Affairs Department partnered with local radio station KXO 1230 AM and FM 107.5 to share the experience across the county via an audio narrative of the action. The base followed up the Festival with short video highlights to enable a safe, virtual, contactless experience.

In a first ever attempt, NAF El Centro hit a home run and proved once again why they are the Pearl of the Desert and the premier installation for the development of Navy and Marine Corps aviators.

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

Larry Grace

THE FUN IS BACK!

By Jim Froneberger, Editor, World Airshow News

2021

Seventeen months. That’s how long it had been since the last time I had walked through the gates of an airshow, but it hadn’t been just ANY seventeen months. It had been seventeen months with an unprecedented global pandemic, stay-at-home orders, travel restrictions, and bans on mass gatherings like airshows. The term “Zooming” had even come to mean something totally different than what we in the aviation and airshow world have always meant when we have used that word.

As Editor of World Airshow News, the leading independent print magazine covering the airshow industry, I had also been a first-hand eyewitness to the devastation the pandemic had wreaked on our small but close-knit industry. So, as I walked through the entrance to the 2021 SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida (held April 13-18), I didn’t know quite what to expect. Would it feel different? Would it feel safe?Might SUN ‘n FUN not be as much fun as it had always been?

Whatever questions or concerns I might have had before walking through that gate, however, simply vanished once my senses were assaulted with the sights and sounds of aircraft engines, blue skies, and thousands of aviation enthusiasts reveling in the return of one of America’s leading aviation and airshow events. Not only was SUN ‘n FUN still fun, but for the first time in over a year, for a few days at least, life seemed pretty darn normal again. Yes, there were signs saying face masks were required in indoor areas, and the exhibit buildings had more vacancies than normal, but otherwise, SUN ‘n FUN didn’t really feel all that much different than the many other years that I had walked across those spacious grounds under the warm Florida sun.

While SUN ‘n FUN was the perfect venue to kick off what we all hope will be a successful, rejuvenated 2021 airshow season, it was also noteworthy as the first public performances for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels’ 75th anniversary season, the first with their new F/A-18 Super Hornets

Commander Todd Royles, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Executive Officer, meets the media beside the team’s new C-130J support aircraft, Fat Albert.

With SUN ‘n FUN 2020 having been cancelled by COVID, the one big change in Lakeland since the last event in 2019 is the addition of Amazon Prime Air’s new cargo air hub on the northwest side of Lakeland-Linder International Airport. While Amazon worked closely with SUN ‘n FUN officials and airboss George Cline to coordinate their cargo flights with the airshow (even vacating their facility during the Blue Angels performances), the airshow did need to take a 20 to 30-minute break every afternoon to accommodate several arrivals and departures of Prime Air Boeing 737s and 767s.

SUN ‘n FUN always presents a wide variety of airshow performers, and 2021 was no exception. The USAF supplied the F-22 Raptor demo flown

by Major Josh “Cabo” Gunderson, who was joined for the USAF Heritage

Jim Froneberger

and new C-130J Fat Albert support aircraft. While Bert was not quite ready to demonstrate the capabilities of the C-130J, the Blues definitely looked good flying the Super Hornets. The Super Hornet performance is virtually the same flight profile the team had flown for the last few years in their legacy Hornets, but the new aircraft is louder, larger, and even harkens back, maybe just a bit, to the days when the Blues once flew the F-4J Phantom. The Blues flew six-ship low-show practice performances on Thursday and Friday, but only flew five-ship performances over the weekend due to “pilot availability.” Both the Blue Angels and SUN ‘n FUN spectators were surprised immediately following Thursday’s practice when the USAF Thunderbirds said a quick hello with a fly-over on their way to the Cocoa Beach Air Show, while the Blues were still on the runway taxiing back to parking.

Flight by Stuart Milson in the P-51 Mustang, and over the weekend, also

by Captain Haden “Gator” Fullam in the A-10 Thunderbolt II. The USAF C-17 Globemaster III demo and parachute jumps from the USSOCOM and the Army Black Daggers rounded out the military participation.

Civilian aerial entertainment included three days of warbird performances (Tuesday-Thursday) and a wide variety of aerobatic performers that included the AeroShell Team (4x T-6), Gene McNeely (T-6), Mike Wiskus (Pitts), Thom Richard (P-40), Greg Koontz (Decathlon), Michael Goulian (Extra 330SC), David Martin (Beech Baron), Jim Peitz (Beech Bonanza), the Phillips 66 Aerostars (2x Extra 300), Bob Carlton (Sub Sonex & Sailplane), Jerry Kerby (RV-8A and T-28), Patrick McAlee (Pitts), Rob Holland (MXS), Lee Lauderback (P-51), the Class of 45 (P-51 and F-4U), Paul Dougherty (Eagle), and Manfred Radius (Glider).

SUN ‘n FUN officials told local media that ticket sales for this year’s event were at or near record levels, and the crowds did seem large and enthusiastic. Clearly, the aviation community is ready to get out and enjoy airshows again. Here’s hoping 2021 will continue to see a lot more of the good, old fashioned type of “zooming” all across North America.

World Airshow News has been covering airshows for 36 years and is published quarterly. For more information and to subscribe, visit www.airshowmag.com

The USAF C-17 Globemaster III Demo Team from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington demonstrated the agility and capabilities of the Air Force’s premier strategic and tactical airlifter.

Jim Froneberger

David Martin performed aerobatics in his stock Beech Baron light twin, both with engines running and “dead stick” with both props feathered.

Jim Froneberger

Jim Froneberger

The SUN ‘N FUN Aerobatic Center occupied a new larger area in 2021, and Pitts Specials were well-represented.

Lee Lauderback, the highest time P-51 pilot in history with over 10,000 hours in the Mustang, taxis Crazy Horse2 after his aerobatic performance.

Jim Froneberger

Smokin’ over the top. The AeroShell Aerobatic Team rounds out their fingertip-to-diamond barrel roll.

Jim Froneberger

Michael Goulian was sporting a new yellow and black color scheme for Whelen Aerospace Technologies Extra 330SC.

Jim Froneberger

The Blue Angels are celebrating their 75th anniversary in 2021 with new-for-them F/A-18 Super Hornets, their first new jet type since they switched to the legacy Hornet back in 1986. Here they perform the Delta Slow Speed Flat Pass, a perfect opportunity to photograph all six jets in the tight Blue Angels Delta.

Jim Froneberger

ROD CROMER

Rod Cromer

Rod Cromer

Rod Cromer

LUIS SALES

Luis Sales

Luis Sales

Luis Sales

Luis Sales

Luis Sales

BILL LAFLAMME

American Dream P-40 Warhawk, flown by Thom Richard.

F-22 Raptor,doing a fly-by with its bay doors open.

Bill LaFlamme

Blue Angel #5 minimum radius turn.

Bill LaFlamme

Blue Angels Low break cross maneuver

Bill LaFlamme

JASON SKINNER

Jason Skinner

Jason Skinner

Jason Skinner

Jason Skinner

Jason Skinner

JOSÉ M. RAMOS

José M. Ramos

José M. Ramos

José M. Ramos

José M. Ramos

José M. Ramos

José M. Ramos

KEN HUNT

Corsair and Mustang making a pass just before the night show Wednesday.

Blue Angels break.

Ken Hunt

RICH SPOLAR

Rich Spolar

TIMOTHY SMITH

The absolutely stunning North American B-25J Mitchell “Panchito” image was captured on the 79th Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid on Japan April 18, 1942. The B-25 Mitchell is a flying legend and crewed by heroes.

This year’s USAF Heritage Flight featured a interesting trilogy of aircraft. An unexpected surprise on Saturday and Sunday of the Sun ‘n Fun airshow was from the A-10 Demo Team that joined in on the heritage formation flight. Many Thanks to the F-22 Demo Team, the A-10 Demo Team and Stallion 51 for this fantastic formation.

Timothy Smith

Timothy Smith

75 years ago the US Navy created the Blue Angels with the purpose to expose people to Naval Aviation and to encourage and inspire.

This “Delta Pass and Review” maneuver above Lakeland Linder International Airport at Sun ‘n Fun 2021 was exceptional and a privilege to capture.

FT. LAUDERDALE A I R S H OW

2 0 2 1

By Jason Skinner

A photographer hopes for clear blue skies and white clouds when they shoot. That is exactly what was presented on the beach at The Fort Lauderdale Airshow on the 8th and 9th of May. The wind prevented the SOCOM Para Commandos from jumping in on Saturday. But it created an awesome flyby opportunity with Mike Wiskus, his Pitts Special and the sea plane from Tropic Ocean Airways that would have carried the jumpers.

Maj. Garret Schmitz ran the Viper demo through its paces not sparing the afterburner one bit. The Geico Skytypers showed once again maneuvers perfected over 75 years ago during World War II. Not having an afterburner didn’t stop the Geico planes from racing the Miss Geico boat.

It was a high energy show through and through and bringing the heat this year was the Red Bull Air Force. The Red Bull team showed no fear with stunts from Aaron Fitzgerald and Kirby Chambliss flying the Red Bull BO-105 Helicopter and Edge 540. Aaron dropped wing suit flyers who performed synchronized formations before parachuting in at high speed to wow the crowd. There was a lone low pull skydiver who jumped from just 1000’! And all the way from Seattle the C-17 West Coast Demo Team showed how to put a moose through its paces. Finally, the US Navy Blue Angels closed out the show. An air show is always a great day especially at the beach!

Jason Skinner

Jason Skinner

Jason Skinner

Jason Skinner

Jason Skinner

THE FINAL FLIGHT OF TANGO ALPHA Article and photos by Marc Schultz

Aviation minded visitors to Leipzig-Halle Airport in Germany will enjoy a very special sight outside the gates of the terminal building. On display here is an Ilyushin IL-18, the first jet-powered turboprop commercial aircraft of Soviet design used in the German Democratic Republic. The IL-18, registered as DM-STA, shows its original “Deutsche Lufthansa” livery from the year she entered service in 1960. The museum aircraft thus embodies an extremely interesting chapter in German aviation history. Ten years after the end of the Second World War, the Allied authorities authorized civil aviation for the two young German states in East and West. Somewhat later, military aviation was also re-authorized under the strict supervision of the Allied liberation powers. As a result, both the Federal Republic in the West and the GDR in the East founded each a state-run airline under the label “Deutsche Lufthansa”. Thus, the name of the German pre-war airline was existent on both sides of the Iron Curtain.

This was not changed until 1963. In that year, the GDR decided against the background of a legal defeat against the West not to continue the brand name “Deutsche Lufthansa” and subsequently changed to the new designation “Interflug”. IL-18 “Tango-Alpha” exhibited in Leipzig flew for the last time on September 16, 1988. Her farewell flight on that day took her from the GDR’s government airport in Berlin-Schönefeld to what was then Leipzig’s famous Trade Fair airport. There she lives on and can be admired as a remarkable symbol of East German Civil Aviation history.

Shots in this set were taken in May 2016 with a Sony Alpha 6000 and a native Sony SEL1670 F4 lens.

Text and photos by Marc Schultz / www.flugsicht.com

Marc Schultz

Marc Schultz

Marc Schultz

Light at the end of the tunnel Article and photos by Dragos Munteanu

We know by now that 2020 was a totally different year for spotters.

In my past article I have mentioned how in Europe from a full typical summer we were left with no airshows due to the pandemic restrictions and impossibility to travel. This has resulted in a back to the roots approach – spotting at the fence of airports or airbases.

In this context you can imagine that our community was anxiously waiting for any chance for an organized spotting event in 2021. In Belgium the first event was organized by the Vlieg Club Ursel (Ursel Flying Club) respecting all the Coronavirus limitations and restrictions. Around 100 spotters were registered for an event which originally was supposed to happen in March. Terrible weather led to the original date being cancelled and a new date chosen for 23 of April. All in all this was a perfect development as the day was fully sunny and the Belgian Air Force could also take part. The spotters were safely distanced along the runway, masks were mandatory – everything was very safe.

Flying started at noon and operations took more than 5 hours for a day which really satisfied our craving for being at an airdrome and taking pictures.

Ursel is a reserve airbase of the Belgian Air Force (BAF), the field has seen action in WW2 and now it is mostly used by aeroclubs and flying schools. It has a long runway – almost 3 kilometers and nicely placed in a wooden area.

In terms of types we were able to see the last public appearance of CH-13, one of the Belgium remaining C-130 Hercules. The type is being actively replaced by A400Ms and Herky operations will come to a close by the end of the year. We saw the new livery of the BAF Agusta A109 Display Team - called Razzle Blades making a welcomed appearance.

Two Belgian F-16s came to have a few passes over the field and then the day was dedicated to propellers…Which came in all shapes and forms but nobody complained. We had the Red Devils BAF Display Team flying four SF260 Marchettis, several Pitts, SV4s (Stampe-Vertongen – a Belgian very successful trainer), a couple of Pilatus P3s, lots of Cessnas, a YAK-52, one YAK-3, a beautiful Lockheed 12A Electra Junior, a couple of T-6s Texans, one Bronco and lots more.

The finale was a wonderful Spitfire, the only one registered in Belgium – ending gloriously a wonderful spotting day. The event showed that we can organize events even in these difficult times. We all hope that with the vaccination programs growing in intensity a few bigger events and airshows will take place in Europe in the following months.

Stampe SV4-RS

Belgian Air Force (BAF) C-130 CH-13

Dragos Munteanu

BAF A109 Demo Team – Razzle Blades

Dragos Munteanu

YAK-3

Dragos Munteanu

Pitts S2

Dragos Munteanu

Stampe SV4

Dragos Munteanu

Supermarine Spitfire

Dragos Munteanu

On May 11th of this year, I had the opportunity to photograph a beautifully restored Stinson SR-5 Reliant, owned by Harry Ballance, Jr. of Atlanta. Harry has a hangar at Peachstate Aerodrome in Williamson, Georgia, and when I arrived, he was found with mop in hand, taking care of an early-morning plumbing problem. It proved to be an indication of Harry’s gentle nature, which belies his lifetime of accomplishment.

After a brief stint in the US Army as an Infantry lieutenant, Harry began a 35 year career at Delta Air Lines, retiring as the number two international captain. With his kids graduating and his retirement secured, he figured he could afford another plane. He decided to seek out an aircraft his dad had purchased new in 1934, and in 2006 he flew home the vary same Stinson his dad had once owned.

Mark Streit

Upon closer examination, it was decided to overhaul the 300 hp Lycoming radial engine, and of course, one thing led to another, and it soon became a full-blown aircraft restoration effort. A new stainless steel firewall was installed, the instruments were overhauled, and new fabric and paint eventually found its way to the airframe. Along the way, hand-crafted aluminum fairings were crafted and installed, and Harry is quick to point out that the fairings and wheel pants are aluminum. They were so perfect that the 2019 vintage aircraft judges in Oshkosh actually deducted points from his judging total, as they thought they were fiberglass.

Sr-5

STINSON

Article and photos by John Slemp

The interior is finished in cream-colored leather, and the metal panel was painted to resemble a vintage wood-grain pattern. Harry also had shoulder belts installed, and a fuel-flow meter is much more accurate and reliable than the original sight-glass gauges. A set of modern radios rounds out the panel improvements, and one of the most endearing features of the aircraft are the roll-up/roll-down windows in the cockpit.

The cockpit image was lit with two Profoto “beauty dishes” mounted on Profoto D1Air strobes,(one through each of the side windows), along with a Profoto A1X on-camera strobe, mounted atop the camera, with the light bouncing off the ceiling.

A Canon 5D MkIV camera with a 17-40mm F/4L USM lens, set at 17mm were used at 1/200th second at F11, at ISO 160. It was mounted on a Enduro carbon-fiber tripod, with a Manfrotto geared tripod head, tethered to a Macbook Pro laptop, using Capture One Pro software. It should be noted that the geared tripod head allows for very subtle movements, which really streamlines the process of getting the desired image framing, since I didn’t have room to get behind the camera to view the image through the lens. A ball-head would not allow the same amount of control. Additionally, tethering allows for full control of the camera settings, and the once the shutter button is fired using the software, the image appears in about 3 seconds, allowing for quick adjustments as necessary.

All of the images were processed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic, with retouching done in Photoshop as needed.

John Slemp

John Slemp

John Slemp

John Slemp

John Slemp

FISHING FOR PLANES

IN SOUTHERN C A L I F O R N I A Article and photos by Bob Driver and Tom Spanos

Southern California is traditionally a region that hosts numerous airshows each year, but COVID-19 resulted in the cancellation of all the events in 2020. As the months ticked by the desire for aviation photography continued to grow among some of the California photographers, especially hard core people like us. Then the light came on that all the aerospace businesses and organizations around Southern California might provide alternative opportunities.

Candidate sites for aviation day trips include Mojave Air and Space Port, Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Camarillo Airport (home of the Commemorative Air Force’s SoCal Wing) and Palmdale Regional / Air Force Plant 42 Airport. Just like the days of yore with Star Wars Canyon there’s no schedule of when, or if, anything will be flying. Only on rare occasion will you get a tip that plays out. This makes for the modern aviation photographer’s version of “going fishing”. Some days you can sit there for hours and come home with an empty memory card. On other days it seems to be non-stop aircraft photo passes for over an hour.

Our focus has been on Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) because of its more convenient location and what appears to be a higher probability of air traffic. This is because some aircraft may be temporarily stationed at one of the various aerospace companies located at Plant 42, plus Edward Air Force Base is 23 miles away and Point Mugu NAS is 70 miles away.

Aircraft from these two other military facilities frequently use PMD for pattern work, touch and goes.

There is no given place to shoot from since the ever present winds in the Antelope Valley frequently shift which direction takeoffs, landings, and touch and goes happen. But there are numerous roads surrounding the airport fence line to park on and wait. The different locations also provide varying angles to possible flight paths, longer shoots to get level images or closer in to get more of a belly shot. The artistic debate on which is best continues on an almost daily basis, or the photographer’s mood that day.

There’s also an unofficial etiquette about shooting from the roads.

Because of the aerospace companies collocated at Plant 42 it’s best to keep the cameras focused on the airborne aircraft to avoid collecting images of the contractor’s facility. There’s a constant stream of sheriff and company vehicles roving the adjacent roads and it’s best to not become an unwelcome visitor. Not unusual for security to stop by and remind people to only collect images of planes and sky.

Bob Driver

Situational awareness is important since there are no available schedules of flights. The FlightAware app and adsbexchange website are helpful to see what some of the traffic is in the area and might be heading towards PMD. It’s not perfect since it doesn’t show all military flights, but a good portion still show up and provide insight to the details of the aircraft and which direction to watch. The most helpful item is a scanner tuned to the single channel used for air traffic control by the Palmdale Tower. This gives you about 2 minutes advance warning. And if you’re lucky you’ll hear the tower provide an “option” for the runway which almost always means a touch and go leading to another photo pass. It’s not an airshow but a very good alternative for the current state of things.

Bob Driver

Bob Driver

Bob Driver

Bob Driver

TOM SPANOS

Tom Spanos

Tom Spanos

Tom Spanos

Tom Spanos

Tom Spanos

MEMBER SHOWCASE!

Scott Slingsby

When was the last time you saw a warbird pushed off into the weeds? What was once a common sight in the 50s and 60s just isn’t seen that much anymore. That was until I flew into Santa Theresa airport in New Mexico.

It was Christmas morning 2018 and I was doing my checkout in the Challenger 350 for my company when we were dispatched to Santa Theresa for a passenger pick up. We had plenty of time before departing so I was on my way to the other end of the field camera in hand.

What I found was this Douglas A-26 OnMark Marksman, a converted A-26 Invader than now included full pressurization and DC-6 windscreens. Some of the other goodies that were installed in the conversion are a full galley and toilet. Not bad for early executive transportation.

Camera equipment and settings Camera: Nikon D700 Lens: 17-35mm f2.8 ISO: 200 Shutter speed: 1/200 Exposure: f/8 Processed with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop

John Slemp

A Gwinnett County (Georgia) MD 500E Police helicopter on the ramp at Briscoe Field (KLZU) in Lawrenceville, Georgia. This was created for my portfolio in late November, 2012, on a very mild fall evening.

The pilots were kind enough to start the engine, thus enabling the capture of the rotor spin. The red moon was the result of lens flare, with the moon being added later in Photoshop. As a “Thank You,” I delivered a large print to the county aviation department, which still hangs in their offices.

Camera equipment and settings Camera: Canon 5D Mark II Lens: EF70 - 200mm f/2.8L IS USM ISO: 800 Shutter speed: 4 sec Exposure: f/5.6 Processed with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop

Geoffrey Arnwine

A-10C Thunderbolt II in the process of being refueled by a KC-10 Extender over the desert range of Mojave on the way to Travis AFB. Camera equipment and settings Camera: Canon 7D Mark II Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM ISO: 200 Shutter speed: 1/1250 Exposure: f/7.1 Processed in Adobe Lightroom

Keith Charlot During the St. George Warbird & Jet Fly-In hosted by the Western Sky Aviation Warbird Museum located at the St. George Regional Airport in St. George, Utah. I had the opportunity to fly with some of the jet and piston powered aircraft in attendance.

Vegas Warbirds North American Aviation SNJ-5 Texan N2550 flown by John Anson and Dan Christman piloting his Russian Yakolev Yak-52 N52EX above the beautiful southern Utah backdrop.

Camera equipment and settings Camera: Nikon 7000 Lens: TAMRON SP AF 28-75mm F2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical IF Macro A09NII ISO: 200 Shutter speed: 1/200 Exposure: f/16 Image processed in Adobe Photoshop

Mark Streit 2018 Wings Over North Georgia event at Richard Russell Airport in Rome, GA. Two of the Air Combat Command demo teams were there.

The A-10C Thunderbolt II Demo Team with the demo flown by Major Cody “Shiv” Wilton from the Davis-Monthan AFB. Major Wilton was taxiing the Warthog in some late afternoon light coming from behind me and monochrome just seemed like the right option on this one Camera equipment and settings Camera: Canon 5D Mark IV Lens: Canon EF100 - 400mm L II IS USM ISO: 100 Shutter speed: 1/320 Exposure: f/9 Processed in Adobe Lightroom CC 2019 w/ the Topaz DeNoise AI plugin.

Patrick Comtois

The colorful cowling on this T-6 was just begging to be photographed.

Getting low with my ground level tripod, making sure to compose for the clouds which drew me in, I locked the ball head in place, set the timer for 5 seconds so as not to introduce movement and got the shot. Getting low gives a unique perspective making it more than just a snapshot.

Camera equipment and settings Camera: Nikon D4s Lens: Nikkor 70 - 200mm f/2.8 ISO: 100 Shutter speed: 1/400 Exposure: f/4 Processed in Photoshop and Lightroom

Rob Tabor

F-117 at Aviation Nation 2007.

Camera equipment and settings Camera: Nikon D2Xs Lens: Nikon 200-400 f/4G VR I ISO: 100 Shutter speed: 1/250 (VR On) Exposure: f/5 (-1/3EV) Processed in Adobe Lightroom CC/Adobe Photoshop/ Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2

Su Khoo

Piaggio P180 Avanti at SkyPark POB, Gloucester Airport, UK Camera equipment and settings Camera: Canon 6D MkII Lens: Tamron 28-300mm f3.5 - f6.3 Di VC PZD ISO: 100 Shutter speed: 1/400 Exposure: f/11 Processed in Adobe Photoshop

Kevin Hong / ISAP Editor

I had a great time shooting the P-51 Mustang Glamorous Glen III at night with a few friends at the Commemorative Air Force Houston Wing. This was the first time I had an opportunity to use the Lume Cube 2.0 LED lights under the wings. Controlling the brightness with the iPhone remotely was definitely a time saver to make adjustments without running back and forth. Other lights used were five bigger LED lights around the plane.

Camera equipment and settings Camera: Canon EOS 7D MkII Lens: EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM ISO: 100 Shutter speed: 1/2 Exposure: f/2.8 Processed in Adobe Photoshop

Dragos Munteanu

As autumn sets in the vegetation gets to be a great background. A Belgian Air Component F-16 Fighting Falcon is approaching the runway at Florennes Airbase in Belgium on a sunny November day.

Camera equipment and settings Camera: Nikon D500 Lens: Sigma 150-600C ISO: 100 Shutter speed: 1/1000 Exposure: f/6.3 Processed in Adobe Photoshop and NIK Collection

José M. Ramos

Sprinting along the deck as Expert 202, an F/A-18E Super Hornet from VFA-122 traps aboard, this “Green Shirt” sailor from Nimitz’s deck department will ensure the cross-deck pendant will retract smoothly as the cable is reset back in battery for the next recovery, just 1 minute after the previous jet’s landing.

Camera equipment and settings Camera: Nikon Z6 Lens: Nikon 24 - 70mm f/4S ISO: 250 Shutter speed: 1/1600 Exposure: f/5.6 Edited in Photoshop

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MEET OUR MEMBERS

Robert Allen

JUDD SLIVKA I guess I’ve always been lucky.

At least photographically, I have a way of falling off the table and landing peanutbutter-side-up. When I was a newspaper reporter, I worked with amazing photographers, and though I couldn’t shoot a lick, I got to see the world through their eyes. As a journalism professor, I worked daily with a woman who had been the AP’s primary photo editor for 9/11 imagery and my two closest friends on faculty were a professor who won two photo Pulitzers as the Miami Herald’s photo editor and a Pulitzer photo judge.

So I’ve been lucky that way, in that I’ve been around a lot of photographers more talented than me. But I’ve been unlucky in that it doesn’t just rub off. It takes work. So that’s why I’m here. My day job is running the digital content (we call it “everything-but-TV-content”) at the NBC station in Phoenix. It’s a job about multitasking. I suppose that’s why I like aviation photography: It’s about anticipating and doing and once you’re in the moment, there’s not a lot of time to question what next.

But also, and we must be honest here, I was always just a kid who loved planes.

Most of my good photography is thematic, and it’s taken from drones. I was the first director of aerial journalism at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, and my job was to teach students and media outlets around the world how to tell stories with drone and satellite imagery. That’s a lot of landscape photography and videography and that’s been consistent for the last five years. I’ve flown drones in every kind of weather, on all sorts of missions (Pretty pictures?

Check! Training a computer to recognize dead bodies? Check!).

My personal photography is observational, usually juxtaposing natural or historical landscapes with how humans have altered them.

Back to the peanut-butter-side-up thing: I got involved with ISAP when Larry Grace, Jeff Krueger and Rob Tabor pulled up next to me one windy morning while I was shooting at the end of Runway 21L at Nellis Air Force Base during Red Flag 21-3.

It was two days of constant learning from all three of them.

I joined ISAP from my phone, sitting in my car, waiting for a wind hold to end.

I am, at the moment, a Sony shooter. I started in Nikons, moved over to Canons when I went full-frame and then went to Sony when the university I was teaching out converted to Sony.

I shoot with an A7RIII and for aviation seem to be shooting the most with the Sony 200 - 600mm/5.6-6.3. When I’m not shooting flying stuff, I’m usually using the Sony 24-105/4 or the Sony 50/1.4. This paragraph is getting incredibly nerdy.

Let’s continue: I shoot almost entirely in RAW, unless I know I’m going to need to transfer to social media during whatever I’m shooting. Even then, I’ll often shoot in RAW and just edit it in SnapSeed on my phone or iPad.

4 TO THE CORNER: Four Blue Angel F/A-18E Super Hornets finish a maneuver during a February 2021 practice at NAF El Centro, California.

(Sony A7riii/ 600mm/ 1/5000 /f/6.3)

As far as workflow, I use whatever works in the moment. I catalog and do basic edits in Lightroom and have been lately been doing fine-editing in Photoshop. Sometimes I’ll detour into Topaz Sharpen or Topaz DeNoise if the shot needs it. If I’m shooting landscapes, it’s almost always bracketed exposures, so Aurora HDR makes my life easier.

Judd Slivka

I’ve spent a lot of time as a teacher, though more time as a student, and I like to think that we learn when we teach. So I love teaching people what I’ve learned and asking about what I don’t. So I guess end with “What advice or tips would you share to someone new to aviation photography?” I am new to aviation photography, so I guess it’s this, that I tell myself often: “You are going to fail more than you are going to succeed. But the key to succeeding is learning why you failed and making sure you don’t do that again.”

TALES OF TAILS: Stored airplanes seem to stretch forever at Phoenix Goodyear Airport in Litchfield Park, Arizona during March 2021.

(Sony A7RIII/31mm/ 1/160/ f/14)

STARS AND STEEL: Rough rivet work and shiny steel are the hallmark of a Hungarian MiG-15bis Fagot at the Commemorative Air Force’s Airbase Arizona in Mesa, Arizona. (Sony A7Riii/71mm/ 1/125 / f/4)

Judd Slivka

Judd Slivka

TUBE FULL OF BOXES: A Prime Air plane departs Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport during the gloaming in June 2020.

(Sony RX-10IV/220mm/ 1/500 f/4)

ROBERT ALLEN Welcome to Robert G Allen Photography.

I’m a professional multi-disciplinary commercial and editorial freelance photographer based in Boise Idaho.

Although my photography career has primarily been as an event photographer, due to the current COVID pandemic, many corporate, wedding and sporting events have been canceled. The one silver lining is that this has given me time to turn my camera on to other subjects that I enjoy shooting, one of them being aviation.

I developed an interest in photography soon after digital cameras came onto the market in the late ‘90s. My early experiences primarily involved photographing family events (birthdays, outings, celebrations etc…).

From there, my photo activities expanded into event photography for organizations and others outside of family.

My approach to composition and post processing is straight forward.

My preference is to capture images utilizing naturally occurring available light and color, only occasionally utilizing supplemental lighting if needed. If warranted, I will remove minor distracting elements within a composition. I do not do sky replacement or make misleading changes to the photograph that would materially alter the scene as it originally existed.

As for equipment, I bleed yellow! I use Nikon equipment exclusively. I have all of the current crop of full frame Nikon DSLRs. What is my favorite camera to shoot with? Of course, it’s the D6. I don’t think the newly announced Z9 will be able to out focus or produce better images than this beast. I always shoot in RAW to maximize image quality and post processing options. I use Capture One and the newly announced Nikon NX Studio for all post processing.

Although I have been shooting aviation for many years, I have only recently taken it more seriously. And that included joining ISAP and setting up my online member portfolio. I learned about ISAP from Nikon Ambassador Moose Peterson’s book, “Takeoff: The Alpha to Zulu of Aviation Photography”. I primarily shoot commercial aircraft at the Boise airport and some GA aircraft at a local general aviation airport nearby. And of course, I never try to miss a local Blue Angels or Thunderbird airshow. My ultimate goal would be to add some air-to-air photos to my portfolio! I look forward to attending future ISAP activities and meeting other members.

If you want to see more of my content, you can visit a few of my websites below: www.Aviation-Photos.com www.RobertAllen-Photography.com

Robert Allen

Robert Allen

Robert Allen

Robert Allen

JOSEPH JENKINS My name is Joseph Jenkins and I live in Eastvale, CA for those of you that have no idea where it is I basically live under the flight path for the Chino Airport, which is home to the Planes of Fame Air Museum and their yearly airshow.

I’ve spent most of my life living in and around the Chino Airport and have many fond memories of growing up and sitting in my backyard and seeing the old planes go flying through the air. My love of aircraft and aircraft photography really came from this close proximity to history and just being able to look up into the sky and see that history still flying. I’ve been interested in photography since I was in high school and I photographed events for my school from rally’s to sporting events and just about everything in between. I’ve done a few special events such as weddings and other photo shoots, but I am by no means a professional.

Just an amateur that loves to hit the shutter button.

I made the jump to mirrorless about 7 years ago from a Nikon DSLR and purchased a Sony A6000, I was hooked at that point with Sony and everything with their system. The simplicity and how light my kit was being a big factor. However, since then I have upgraded my cameras and lenses and now my kit is probably just as heavy as my Nikon DSLR was.

My current setup is the A9II with the 100 - 400mm and 1.4x tele extender attached to it. This gives me a nice focal range of out to almost 600 and has the added benefit of being small enough of a kit to fit into my backpack when I travel. When I shoot underwater or non action shots I use the A7RIV with a variety of lenses to capture those moments. I usually shoot in RAW so I can have as much detail as possible in the photos as I take them into Lightroom to do my editing and touch-ups. I don’t go much into Photoshop, mostly because I haven’t learned it as well as I should have and I still find it to be a daunting program.

I’ve found the community around aviation to be so welcoming and everyone willing to share their knowledge, that when I heard about this organization after looking at Larry Grace’s page I decided to join and become a member of the community. I’ve found that sharing knowledge is just as good as receiving it and always enjoy sharing tips and tricks with my fellow photographers when out shooting. The biggest tip I would share with someone new to aviation photography is find the most comfortable/easy to carry chair you can. Your going to spend a lot of time on your feet and having a nice chair to sit in is always welcome.

Joseph Jenkins

W E I V E R T C U D O R P n Hong

hotos by Kevi

Article and p

I would like to give a special thank you to Scott Kelby and KelbyOne for introducing us to this simple and easy product. Sometimes the simplest products can help photographers shoot from different angles and make our lives easier. Some of you may have heard of this and could be using it out in the field. The product is called the Platypod Ultra. It’s been out for a couple of years but never got one or experimented with one until now. We will try to get more reviews of products done in the future.

What’s in the Box Inside the box you’ll see an assortment of items that come with a flat metallic tripod base. A carabiner clip, belt slot, and threaded titanium bolts in a nice pouch.

One of the things not in the box is a ball head. This is one of the things you have to supply on your own so I just used one of my Manfrotto ball heads to test this product. Sticking out of the base is a titanium bolt to securely screw in your ball head. Just remove the rubber cover and you can fasten the ball head of your choice to the base.

There are four spikes in a pouch with round nut locks to place through the base. The black rubber on the spikes are for placement on a delicate surface like on a car or places you don’t want to scratch. On the other side you can use the spikes to place firmly into the grass or sand at a sporting event. I thought this was a brilliant idea.

For this test I didn’t get a lot of time to use the spikes but were able to take advantage of a flat surface at the airport shooting a P-51 Mustang.

Time was short beating the sun. One of the things I did notice right away was not being able to get the right angle to set my camera. Of course depending on what camera you have you can angle your LCD screen to see where you want to point your lens. However, in this instance I couldn’t really do that since Canon decided not to do the rotating LCD screens anymore.

Even though I had to get down low and adjust my ball head to the right angle I wanted, the Platypod definitely helped me speed things up and get some shots I would not have been able to get without it. With the right angle and the help of a rotating LCD screen I’m sure I would have been able to get some better shots.

For all things considered I was very happy with the Platypod Ultra. If you are interested, there are many Platypod kits and accessories you can find at www.platypod.com. You can also find them at B&H Photo Video and other camera stores online.

Visit the YouTube video www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYNwv3X4iE KelbyOne has about the versatility and usage of the Platypod.

Kevin Hong

On the base there are many symbols and holes slotted for different functions. I think it’s a brilliant way for people to understand the concept and not add any additional instructions to complicate this very simplistic product.

Delkin’s New BLACK CFexpress™ Type B Cards Deliver Up to 1700 MB/s Sustained Speeds

POWAY, CA, MARCH 30, 2021 – Delkin Devices, a manufacturer of flash storage solutions and camera accessories, announced today the newest addition to their top-selling line of memory cards: BLACK CFexpress™ Type B memory cards.

Specially designed to meet the ever-growing demands of today’s broadcast, cinema and photography industries, Delkin’s BLACK CFexpress™ cards leverage today’s latest technology in order to provide the fastest speeds on the market.

Other competing CFexpress™ Type B cards may state a maximum write speed, but BLACK takes things further with sustained sequential write speeds of at least 1400 MB/s (higher depending on capacity).

This sustained speed versus potential write speeds is what guarantees flawless cinema-quality video capture, including DCI 8K RAW 12-Bit @ 30fps (2600 Mbps) in the Canon R5. This is especially valuable during events like weddings, sport meets, concerts and other situations you cannot redo. The cards are also capable of offloading data at speeds reaching up to 1730 MB/s, ensuring the quickest, most efficient data transfer from card to computer for immediate file access and sooner post-production.

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Each BLACK CFexpress™ Type B memory card has undergone extensive testing to ensure full functionality and performance in today’s high-end cinematic hosts, including ones from Canon® (C300 Mark III, C500 Mark II, 1D X Mark III & R5) and Nikon® (D6, Z6 II & Z7 II). Select hosts originally designed with native support for XQD cards can also accept CFexpress™ Type B cards via firmware upgrade.

In addition to their “Lifetime Warranty” policy, Delkin continues to offer a unique built-in insurance policy for their BLACK memory cards, known as the “48 Hour Replacement Guarantee”. Delkin will replace any non-working BLACK card within 48 hours or less (not including weekends - in the US and UK), prior to receiving the non-working card. Cards can also be replaced over-the-counter at any authorized Delkin BLACK reseller. Additional information on Delkin BLACK can be found here: www.delkindevices.com/delkin-black/.

ABOUT DELKIN DEVICES, INC. Delkin Devices’ consumer group manufactures storage devices and digital accessories for the photography market. Delkin has been in business since 1986 and has offices in both the US and UK. If you would like more information regarding this product or any other Delkin product, please contact Jenn Sherry at jsherry@delkin.com.

SUPERIOR MEMORY TRUSTED BY CAREER PHOTOGRAPHERS www.delkindevices.com | 800.637.8087 | 858.391.1234

AIRPLANE SILHOUETTES

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Identify these aircraft. The answers are found next to the Kenyon Gyro Ad.

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All four USAF Air Combat Command Single-Ship Demonstration Teams fly together in a rare special formation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 20, 2020. Consisting of an F-22 Raptor flown by Maj Josh “Cabo” Gunderson, an F-35 Lightning II flown by Capt Kristin “BEO” Wolfe, an A-10 Thunderbolt II piloted by Maj Cody “ShIV” Wilton, and an F-16 Fighting Falcon flown by Maj Garret “Toro” Schmitz, this unique formation serves as a representation of all the men and women who serve in our Air Force all across the world. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Sam Eckholm).

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LIOE Design is a product company that manufactures their own product designs. Located in Seattle, WA all their products are aviation inspired from their Aero Ti Chopsticks.

Every product has a story. A reason why a product looks the way it does from function and practicality to aesthetics. All our products are designed with the belief that everyday goods can be extraordinary. We strive to ensure the user is getting the most unique experience and to create a everyday item in a completely re-imagined way. We design to spark imagination and creativity even in the most creative people. Creating products that inspire design.

1) Air Squadron playing cards This deck of cards has artwork of modern jets and aircraft.

The inspiration was to create a deck of cards unlike other cards, the Kings and Queens are B-2 Bomber and SR-71. The Jokers are the A-10 and F-22. Every card is unique creating the perfect deck for an aviation enthusiast or card collector!

2) Stealth Pen The Stealth Pen has a unique, aluminum uni-body design with four total components making it lightweight as well as easy to assemble and disassemble. The slotted design offers a futuristic touch and cuts down on the weight of the pen while allowing the user a glance at the inside ink cartridge.

3) Titan Business card holder The Titan is aero-inspired minimalist light-weight card holder. The pattern on the front of the card holder is reminisce of a futuristic space door and inspired by the nose of the B29 Super Fortress. Titan has a dark gunmetal gray color and is made from aircraft grade 6061-T6 Aluminum.

LIOEDESIGN.COM Visit their website to learn more about their products

15% discount for ISAP members

For details visit the ISAP newsletter or member log-in section of the ISAP website.

Jim Wilson Photography International Distributor for Kenyon Stabilizing Products 214-796-9743 jw@jimwilsonphotography.com

Answers to Airplane Silhouettes 1. Avian 2 180B Gyroplane Canada 2. BAC Type 221 UK 3. Bell X-5 USA 4. Antonov An-74T Coaler*USSR 5. Blohm & Voss P 179 German

Kevin Hong The Professionals Source Professionals in the world of imaging rely on the professionals of B&H for their equipment needs. We have experts ready to give courteous service with a phone call, a click of the mouse or a personal visit.

Our SuperStore We pay tribute to the wealth of possibilities available for photography, videography and other media industries. We make the wonders of technology available through our complete lines of photo, video, audio, lighting, pro accessories, computers, data storage, optics, entertainment, projection and surveillance devices, to which we add a wonderful, personal experience for professionals, hobbyists and consumers alike.

History We opened our original storefront in 1973. Our reputation for extensive inventory and intelligent conversation about photography began with our first customer. We grew from a small photography shop in Manhattan’s Financial District to a major supplier of photo, video and audio equipment on 17th Street, with customers returning again and again for our low pricing and high reliability. The new millennium’s explosion of affordable technology for pros and consumers alike brought new lines of computers, home entertainment, and consumer devices at our location or online at www.bhphotovideo.com We continue to expand to meet your needs with showrooms, classes, educational and social media, and more.

ISAP Merchandise

If you wish to purchase any ISAP merchandise please email info@aviationphoto.org Send your name and current address and you will be invoiced via PayPal. Shipping cost will be added to your invoice.

Members with an international address will have a higher shipping rate.

ISAP Challenge coin - $10 + shipping ISAP safety vest (Small to X-Large) - $28 + shipping ISAP safety vest 2XL - $31, 3XL - $34, 4XL - $38 + shipping ISAP membership patch - $5 + shipping Limited patch version with Velcro backing - $10 + shipping

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www.aviationphoto.org

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WWW.THINKTANKPHOTO.COM

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ISAP Board Members President and Board Chairman Larry Grace Vice President and Vice Chairman Jim Wilson Treasurer Gary Edwards ISAP Board Member George Kounis ISAP Board Member Kevin Hong ISAP Staff Member John Sepp ISAP Staff Member Craig Swancy Chairman Emeritus Jay Miller Airspeed Editor Kevin Hong

Airspeed is a periodic publication of the International Society for Aviation Photography (ISAP) and is used to communicate news, functions, convention information, and other information of interest on the local, regional, and national scenes. The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and should not be construed as the views or opinions of the International Society for Aviation Photography (ISAP).

Please contact us at info@aviationphoto.org Airspeed is a publication to showcase our members’ work in capturing aviation events.

Images should be sized at a minimum size of at least 5100 x 3300 (17” x 11”) @ 300 dpi. We would like your largest landscape file size format for our full page spread in our featured magazine. Please submit up to 10 images per article and your text in a Microsoft Word document. Email your article and images by using www.wetransfer.com and send to info@aviationphoto.org (Up to 2GB).

Members can submit images for review for a future cover or back page display or would like to inquire on doing an article for Airspeed contact us via email at info@aviationphoto.org We look forward to your submission and to showcase your articles and images.

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