Battleship New Jersey (BB-62)

I was down in Philadelphia last weekend with my family  when we stumbled across the the Battleship New Jersey moored on the Camden side of the Delaware River as floating museum. I thought I would share some pictures of the ships weaponry today. Nothing really special with the photography, just something a little bit different then my usual posts. My youngest son Daniel had to help me with all of the names of the naval guns this ship has for I do not know them. 16 inch (406 mm)/50-caliber Mark 7 naval guns 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal guns 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 50 cal Browning 20 mm (0.79 in)/70 cal Oerlikon guns BGM-109 Tomahawk 40 mm (1.6 in)/56 cal Bofors guns 20 mm  

Veteran’s Day offering

10 First of all I would like to give thanks to all of the men that served in there countries military in times of need. War is hell and both sides of a conflict can testify to that. Thank you one and all for your sacrifice. Today I'm sharing a group of pictures that I have taken over this past year, of military vehicles, primarily World War II vehicle that I like finding when I can. I enjoy building 1/35th scale models of  them and other vehicle of that era. It is also really neat to discover them in person full sized for myself. One of these day I will have to put together a intro blog that is a revue of building some of the kits I still have to put together. All of these pictures come from an event from Hyde Park, NY, the 25th anniversary weekend of historic military displays and  World War II encampment in late May. My three sons, my nephew and I stumbled upon this event while camping near Rhineback NY, on the Hudson River. It was very entertaining and enjoyable event to witness. Also, very informative of the era. 1 A Willy's Jeep (basic version) and then a Willy's towing a 37mm Anti-tank gun. 6 A Willy's set up as a scout vehicle with a 50cal and a front cutter bar. 14 This is called a weapons' carrier and is also a Dodge 1 1/2 ton truck. In the last images here, it is towing either a M-1 Anti-tank gun (57mm gun) or a 6 pounder anti-tank gun. In the last two pictures with this vehicle, you can see my middle son, Nicholas, with the orange hat and my youngest, Daniel, in the white T-shirt talking to one of the reenactors. They loved this outing and all of the military hardware exhibited. 7129 Next is the deuce 1/2 ton carrier and cargo truck, the work horse of the Allied Armies in WW2. 23811 A Dodge 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton carrier (Power wagon). 19 A German BKW Motorcycle. This was the only German vehicle there. It was in really nice shape as well. 16 This gun I have no idea to what it is? 17 And last, my favorite military vehicle that was there. The M-3 Half Track, an armoured personnel carrier. 4223

Flying into the light

A C130 Herculie's  that was circling over the farm property as it was going back to the Broome County Airport to practice on the pilot's landings and takeoff's (touch and go's). I got him as he was going through this dark thick cloud and emerging out on the other side into the sun. I thought that it made an interesting picture and hung onto it until now. They are not the sharpest of images I've taken recently but I find them kind-a interesting and cool at least for me. Enjoy :)

Touch and go’s

A C-130 that was banking north wards to do touch and go's at the Broome County Airport June 17th as seen from a field at the farm property. This particular C-130 is from the Syracuse Guard unit I believe with it's distinctive orange tail. We see them a few time a week practicing in our aria. Go Air Force!!

An unexpected visit from and old girl

This past Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we had a visitor to the Broome County Airport that has not bean here in quit some time. I remember seeing this B-29 as a young boy so many years ago on it last visit. I'm probably just as excited to see her now as I was back then. "FIFI" is the last remaining flit worth B-29 in the world. Definitely one of a kind. She is part of the Commemorative Air Force based out of Texas. She is on a tour right now of North America for the rest of her summer season. Yesterday, today and I believe tomorrow she is in Rochester NY. From there she is heading to Albany and then I think Connecticut. I think you can find her schedule on ether of these sites if your interested if she is going to be near you.  www.airpowertour.org Twitter @CAFB2924Squad or Facebook B29B24Squadron. I'm also sure if you go to these sites that you will find more information on this plane as well as others. These are some on the images I took on my little excursion to the airport to see her, enjoy. O', they also a B-24 on tour too as well. The Diamond Lil.

The Thunderbirds at Rochester NY, 2014

Well, this shoot should look familiar. It's the header that I've bean using for the last couple months on my main page. This group of aircraft if you don't know are the United State Air Force's Flight Demonstration Team called The Thunderbirds. They were the main attraction at the Rochester Airshow last year. I aridgenaly thought that I would brake this post up into two seporit one but I changed my mind at the last minute. I hope you enjoy all 30 of these images of the USAF F-16 Thunderbirds as they preform and fly over the flit line at Rochester Airport, NY. I really enjoy going to airshows, maybe I'll find some to go to this year.  

Douglas DC-3

A Douglas DC-3 from last years Rochester NY Airshow. I probably have two or three more posted that I can still put up from that event. I love going to them mainly to see the older World War 2 era aircraft but I enjoy seeing all the plane to some degree. only made two shows last year, thank god right! Anyway, hope you enjoy these images of the DC-3.

Art Nalls F/A 2 Sea Harrier

Here are some more images from the 2014 Rochester NY Airshow. These 7 images are of Art Nalls and his F/A 2 Sea Harriers performance that Sunday. More information of this plane and it's pilot are on the back end of this post from the official Rochester Airshow site . Enjoy :)

Art Nalls Sea Harrier

The only civilian-owned Harrier jump jet in the world, otherwise known as an F/A 2 Sea Harrier, will be flying in the Rochester International Airshow. The Harrier will be flown by former Marine Corps aviator and graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School, Lt. Col Art Nalls USMC (retired). "Adding these thrilling demonstrations from the F/A 2 Sea Harrier to the already edge-of-your-seat headline performances by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will certainly mean even more family-friendly fun and excitement at this year's Airshow," said County Executive Maggie Brooks. "I think the Greater Rochester International Airport and Airshow promoter PEC Management for working together to build upon the success of our airshow year after year by securing some truly top-notch and unique acts." Retired United States Marine Corps Lt. Col Nalls purchased his Sea Harrier from the Royal Navy in Great Britain in 2006 and spent over 2 years restoring it before starting on the airshow circuit. He and his fellow aviator, Joe Anderson, also a retired Marine Corps test pilot, are the only two pilots authorized by the FAA to fly this unique airplane. The F/A 2 Sea Harrier can reach speeds in excess of 700 mph, in addition to the Harrier hover and flying side-ways and backwards. "This is a tremendous addition to the 2014 Kwik Fill Rochester International Airshow," according to Dave Cooper, the Airshow Coordinator. "At the Airshow in 2002, we were privileged to host the AV8B Harrier from the Marine Corps, and it was a huge hit with the crowd. But this is a rare treat to have Lt. Col Nalls join us for the show because he only does a limited number of Airshows each year and we look forward to hosting him this year."

More images from the Rochester Airshow of this year

These are some images of the Rochester Airshow from this past August. This segment of flight was dedicated to the Eastern Block Countries as these four aircraft took flight. I actually do not know their name or Countries of origin and such. I do know that the enouncer seed that they were all used as training aircraft for there countries.  Beyond that I just don't know but I hope you enjoy the images of them just the same. All of that was just before I was about to post this, I did find some information on the aircraft and through it in between the images. Sorry about that.

L-29

The Czechoslovakian L-29 Delphin (Dolphin) jet trainer prototype first flew in 1959 and went into production in 1963. Originally powered by a Bristol Siddeley Viper engine, the production aircraft were powered by Chech-designed M701 engine. The L-29 became the primary jet trainer for the east bloc countries, except Poland. Many L-29s were eventually imported to the United States and many remain airworthy today. Genesee Warbirds operates one L-29 Delphin.

Casa HA-200

The HA-200 "Saeta" (arrow) is a twin jet engine advanced fighter trainer and attack aircraft designed under the supervision of the famed Willy MesserschmittThe aircraft was built for the Spanish air force by Hispano Aviacion (HASA) in Seville, Spain. During their service life with the Spanish air force the Saeta were know for their operational reliability and high safety record. They were eventually decommissioned in 1982. Many were scraped, but many found their way to museums in Europe. A number of them made it to the United States and are still flying today. Genesee Warbirds currently has three flying examples including two A models and one B model, all on loan from private collectors.

Aero L-39ZA “Albatros”, flown by Scott Buster

Scott "Buster" Clyman L-39

Scott Clyman is currently a reservist for the US Air Force flying F16s. When he is not flying F16s overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan or Korea he can be found up in the air in the L39 or T6 for the American Air Power Museum. I have no useable images of this last V-tailed aircraft in the air, sorry. I was a very interesting plane!

Fouga Magister CM-170

The Fouga Magister is a French designed and built training and light attack aircraft. Designed in the early 50s production started in 1957 with over 900 aircraft produced. The Fouga was used by almost all the Western European nations with the last examples in Europe being operational in large numbers up into the 90s. Israel still operates the aircraft as the core of their flight training program. Know for its excellent handling and aerobatic performance many nations used the Fouga for their military display teams. Genesee Birds operates one of about 20 flying Fougas in the United States. The aircraft was the first aircraft to be donated to the museum.

The Trojan Horsemen

These fella's are know as the Trojan Horsemen aerobatic team. They are the only 6 plan T-28 formation/acro team in the world. They were at the Rochester Airshow this year but with only 5 ships. These images are a collection of shoots that I took on there second days performance. I did enjoy they're performance and I came away with some neat shoots. There performance was the only one that had blue sky and white clouds in it for the entire performance. I do prefer to have the blue sky in my images. Hope you enjoy these 19 images. Your all going to be happy that I only went to two airshows this year. I may have 6 or 7 post left from the Rochester Airshow to cap it off with some images of the Thunderbirds and some more modern aircraft. There is more information taken from the official Rochester Airshow at the end of this post. It give you some background on the T-28 aircraft.  

The Trojan Horsemen

The Trojan Horsemen are the only six ship T-28 formation/acro team in the world. They demonstrate the aircraft with a stirring patriotic "Salute to the Armed Forces" airshow in venues from West Texas to the Midwest and East Coast of the US. With the advent of jet aviation, higher powered training aircraft were needed to train new pilots. After WWII, North American Aviation began to develop the next generation, high performance, advanced trainer to replace the T-6 Texan. The T-28 Trojan entered production in 1950. There were three versions of this trainer aircraft that were initially produced by NAA. The Air Force version (T-28A) was powered by an 800 hp engine. The Navy and Marine Corps version (T-28B) was powered by a 1,425 hp engine. The T-28C was created with the larger engine and a tailhook to allow it to be used for carrier training. When production ended in 1957, a total of 1,948 of the three versions had been built. Given its high performance and durability, the T-28 was also pressed into service as an attack plane. In 1959, Sud Aviation in France purchased several hundred surplus "A" models for upgrade. Once the larger R-1830 engine and weapons carriage was added, these aircraft were used in Algeria during the early 1960s. Beginning in 1962, the Air Force began modifying T-28A's into T-28D Nomad tactical fighter-bombers. The T-28D had the larger engine and other modifications. The T-28D proved to be very effective in counter-insurgency warfare and close air support in the Vietnam war, and was used by both U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). The T-28 was used by the various branches of the U.S. Military from 1950 into the 1970's and last saw service in 1984 at NAS Corpus Cristi.