"Pilot Maker Day", December 9, Camarillo Airport

[evangilder]

I posted the flyer for this in my photo thread, but wanted it in this thread so anyone local can come out. It looks like it is shaping up to be a neat event.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Very cool.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

so just how many pilots will you make? or is this just annother excuse for a chance to fly

 

[evangilder]

Do you need an excuse to fly?

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

no but you're going a long way to cover up the fact you want people to come and watch you show off in an aircraft

 

[evangilder]

Nope, it's a fundraiser for the museum, the more people we get, the more money we can make.

 

[mkloby]

Good luck w/ the fundraiser tomorrow!

 

[evangilder]

Thanks Matt. It looks like they have added the T-34 to the schedule. Not sure which aircraft I will be in for photos yet. It is forecast for partly cloudy today, so hopefully they won't be too thick.

 

[evangilder]

Well, let's just say today did NOT suck.

 

[evangilder]

Oh yeah, air to air! I took about 400 pictures are to air and am still sorting through. Here are some preliminary edits. The weather ended up being perfect for the flying. We got a little drizzle in the morning and it is now pouring rain. The clouds made for some great contrast. Enjoy these guys.

 

[Wildcat]

Excellent Eric! More please!

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!

 

[mkloby]

Sweet formation pics! Were the pilots former military guys? I love formation flights - one of the huge differences between military and civilian flight.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

nice pics, i love seeing models next to the real thing.........

 

[evangilder]

Actually, I can't be sure if any of these guys are former military. But 2 of the guys are air racers. Terry, in the yellow SNJ was being checked out for formation during that flight. You can tell that the other three guys were used to formation flight. The grouping was pretty tight, yet when the air got choppy, they all knew to separate a bit and which way to go.

The nice thing for me is that I was invited to the pilot's briefing beforehand. That way, I knew who was going to be in which slot and what the manuever were going to be, etc. I had no input to that, which is proper as I was just a passenger. I knew that if they did what they had to do, my job would be easy.

 

[evangilder]

More shots...

 

[Wildcat]

Awesome pics! Whats that camo bird in the last photo besides the B-25?

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Great Shots Eric!! Nice to see you in the air!!!

 

[lesofprimus]

Frickin great stuff Eric....

 

[evangilder]

Thanks guys. I am definitely getting the hang of this camera. Yet I am still amazed at the quality and clarity of the images considering that I am using the low end lens on the Nikon. The camo bird is the Percival Prentice. I have never seen that airplane moved from that spot, sadly. If you look closely, my car is parked just to the front of the left wingtip in that shot (black Camry). They had all of us working the show park inside the airfield. That's a first for me.

The guys I flew with were top notch pilots and it was a real treat. They did all the work. All I had to do was shoot.