Another kind of bird

[Ian Cassell]

I don't know what happened -- I posted this earlier and it just vanished!

Anyway ... this is from the Luke AFB Airshow this past weekend

Canon 7D
Sigma 100-300mm/4 @ 300mm
1/1000 sec f/9 ISO 320 HH

Levels, sharpening and a little crop for comp in CS6

That's not chrome -- that's polished aluminum!

F-86 Sabre

[Christopher Miller]

That's one shiny plane! Thanks for sharing.

[Randy Stout]

Ian:

That is one fine looking f-86! I think it must have been an early attempt at a stealth plane, and that is why the original post disappeared

Randy

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Hahh I got it! Cool shot and some pretty shiny aluminum. Couldn't miss that one in the sun.

[Diane Miller]

Cool shot of a cool plane! Korean War vintage.

Sandy, this is the plane that had just the very tip of the nose visible in the picture of your father you sent me, wondering if my aviation-nut husband could tell you what it was and I said, hey, that one is easy even for me -- the nose is so distinctive.

[Sandy Witvoet]

Hi Ian...Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! ...and THANKS, Diane for "perking" my memory! (A few months ago, Diane and her husband helped me ID this plane that my Dad flew when he was in the reserves.) Here is what "his" plane looked like (yep, kinda hard to tell with all "the guys"...) in 1956. (Dad is top row, second from the left.)

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, Folks. I think the Sabre was one of the prettiest planes at the airshow. Your dad flew one, Sandy?

Here's another look (although the head angle isn't perfect ).

[Kerry Perkins]

Nice shots Ian! Love this plane.

[Sandy Witvoet]

SMOKIN' HOT SHOT, Ian! (Love the "****-Er Bust..." on the plane on the left.) These beauties, I'm sure, look better than when they "rolled off the line"! BTW... head-angle works ok with me!
Yeah, Dad flew them a bit while in the reserves. (likely, the one from my post above was from Selfridge AFB north of Detroit.) He was a pilot/captain in WWII.... and trained bomber pilots...was stationed at a few AFB's in the SW-US. Wish I had some pics of that era!
I am looking forward to the Airshow here in TC in July.... They fly over the bays here, so In-Flight photo ops are usually pretty good. (if the weather cooperates!)

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks again, all! That's really cool, Sandy. It would be great if you could find some of those pics from the post-WWII period.

Here's another and I'll stop. I have a zillion more images from the show of other planes as well. Unlike birds, planes don't get scared and fly away when you try to take their picture.

[Diane Miller]

Seeing two together is amazing! I shudder to think what it costs to restore and keep one of these beasts flying. It's all warbird nuts, or the occasional non-profit organization like the Commemorative Air Force. And we think we have an expensive hobby.....

[Ian Cassell]

Yes. I can't even imagine the cost of fuel for a bit of air time in one of these beasts! (It has a 437 gallon fuel tank plus 2 under-wing 200 gallon tanks)