T-6 Bombing competition

[evangilder]

The Condor Squadron had their annual bombing competition today. A target is placed along the runway. The guy in the rear seat drops the bomb at the moment the signal is given by the pilot.

The bomb is actually a 5 pound bag of flour with the ends taped to prevent premature rupture. The come in at various altitudes, depending on the comfort of the pilot. Some were lower than others.

Me, I was 200 feet from ground zero with cameras at the ready.

Here is a sample of what 250 miles of driving and about an hour and a half of shooting netted me.

 

[Wildcat]

That would be a blast! Fantastic pics Eric!!

 

[Heinz]

Great shots Eric!

Great fun but also some great looking planes!

 

[evangilder]

The winning bomb run! I was mostly shooting the airplanes but I did also shoot a few of the drops. The only direct hit on the target I actually caught, though a fraction of a second late. It you look above and behind the target, you can actually see the pieces of wood that the bomb took out!

 

[Heinz]

Nice series of shots Eric!
Great bit of aiming!

 

[evangilder]

Cheers, Heinz. That was the only direct hit this year. Apparently, those guys have now won three years in a row. To give you an idea of how low some of these guys were, I add these 2 pictures that are only resized for the web but as they came out of the camera.

 

[wilbur1]

Great shots eric, man those guys are low! how fast do you think they were going?

 

[evangilder]

It varied from pilot to pilot. I am guessing that they were running about 150-ish. It was a really cool experience.

 

[wilbur1]

I'll bet man i would love to see that!

 

[Micdrow]

Very cool shots Eric, really nice job!!!!

 

[evangilder]

Thanks guys.