Utah Airshow

[Uilleann]

Over the weekend, the biennial 'Warriors Over the Wasatch' air show was held at Hill AFB. I was more prepared this year than in previous years, and had my camera gear prepped and ready to go for two solid days of shooting. Some 5,000+ frames later - it will take weeks to properly go through each image and see what's what, and process it all - I found a few early standouts. This is one of my favorites so far. Really happy with the light and shadow, as Gary Rower pushes his 1941 Stearman up and over in the mid morning sun. A very fun show!

[Steve Machol]

Wow, that's really cool!

[wassonii]

Can’t wait to see more!

[fjpod]

Nice shot. Digital I presume, (with over 5k frames). I've gone back to black and white film to bide my time.

[Uilleann]

A few more captures from the weekend (in no particular order):

[Uilleann]

Nice shot. Digital I presume, (with over 5k frames). I've gone back to black and white film to bide my time.

Digital is correct. I'm still sorting out my airshow game, and haven't *quite* perfected my scan/pan technique as yet. So it's a game of trying to manage shutter speeds (dramatically different for props and jets), exposure (constantly changing depending on angle, location of the sun, location of the a/c at that moment etc.), and of course, always trying to keep things tack sharp - even at the far end of a 150-600 lens. So much of the 2 days was spend in high speed continuous mode - spraying and praying as they say. :) By the end of the second day, things were getting more consistent, but this was more or less constant shooting for 16 hours. My arms are t-i-r-e-d!

[Uilleann]

Shots like this one are one reason I love airshows. Vapor forms over the wing roots, and trailing vortices form aft of the wingtips as an F-35A from Hill AFB pulls up into a turn from a low, high speed pass during Warriors Over the Wasatch.

[Chris Ryser]

Congratulations..........superb pictures

[Uilleann]

Thank you!

A few more shots from the second day. Generally better focus, and better light. Really pleased with the structure in the smoke, and the shadows in a few of these!

[fjpod]

exceptional

[Uilleann]

Gary Rower pushes over in his beautiful red and white Stearman, and Buck Roetman screams past just feet away in his striking yellow Pitts S-2S, after an incredibly fast climb by the two pilots.

[Uilleann]

Peeking up the backside of an F-35A



Bill Stein clearly loves to fly. But while most pilots are content with just going forward, Bill seems just as happy pulling lateral G's in his Edge 540. He spends more time traveling sideways, upside down, or simply backwards, than he does straight and level during his performances. And that plane - such incredible paint that shimmers and changes with the light and the angle as he's flying. It looks like an opal, or peacock feather.







Utah native Barry Hancock returned again this year with his unmistakable Yellow T-6G Texan. Not a small aircraft by any measure, but Barry uses its unmistakable 600 HP radial engine to maneuver it with incredible skill. Against the blue of the afternoon sky, his plane practically glows.



Nothing excites the kiddies more to sign up for military service than a giant, flaming jet truck...amirite?! Shockwave is a biennial favorite, and with three J34-48 engines generating 36,000 hp / 21,000 lbs of thrust - capable of topping speeds of 375 mph. Slightly faster than my lawn mower I suppose.



Gregory "Wired" Coyler taxis his beautifully restored T-33 to the active ahead of his performance. Greg's enthusiasm to fly was obvious, and shared by more than a few of us in the crowd that day.



Buck Roetman knows gravity exists...he just chooses to ignore it when he's performing. The engine on his Pitts S2S howling, he pushes backwards, through a tumble. It doesn't take much to imagine the smile on his face in that moment.



Closing out the day, the USAF Thunderbirds took to the sky in the late afternoon. They flew a smaller, 5 ship formation as the #5 solo (with their number painted on upside down, as they always fly the 2 ship opposing solo formations inverted) had an EPU failure. Apparently leaking hydrazine is still rather toxic. ;) The rest of the team flew a picture perfect routine.