Yesterday at Van Nuys

[evangilder]

I was hoping to get up and fly a bit yesterday at Van Nuys, but it was not in the cards. Mother nature was not cooperative. The skies above Van Nuys were not bad, but 2 of the guys were going to be bringing their planes over from Whiteman, which was socked in.

Disappointed? A bit, but I made the best of it by experimenting with lights and shadows.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Great pics man!

 

[Gnomey]

Excellent Eric!

With the weather here rarely being bluebird I love experimenting with the light (and clouds) to see what effects I can get. Some of best pictures have come from doing this.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

The ole Condor Squadron - very cool!

 

[evangilder]

Kind of the opposite for me, Gnomey. We don't get that kind of cloud cover often, so I got to play around with that. I love the contrasts you can get from the differing clouds.

Joe, I have been in communication with the current president of the Condors, who is interested in making me more active with the group. You know me, I am always up to fly and snap some shots.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Joe, I have been in communication with the current president of the Condors, who is interested in making me more active with the group. You know me, I am always up to fly and snap some shots.

Very cool - you need to hook up with them when they do their Dec. 7th flybys at Mojave.

 

[syscom3]

Excellent Pics!

 

[wilbur1]

Great shots eric very nice

 

[Gnomey]

Kind of the opposite for me, Gnomey. We don't get that kind of cloud cover often, so I got to play around with that. I love the contrasts you can get from the differing clouds.

Yep I do as well except I do it more often than you . You can also get some interesting effects playing around with the in Photoshop (particularly if you only adjust the levels in the clouds). Cloudy sunsets I particularly enjoy photographing as you can get some very interesting reflections from the clouds (and from any water in the area).

 

[Thorlifter]

Kinda cool how they painted that one to look like a Fw-190. Or, at least, that's what it looks like to me. Maybe it's just the spinner that reminds me of a 190.

 

[evangilder]

They have 2 groups that are represented with the Condor Squadron. The USAAF 31st FG for the Americans and JG-54 of the Luftwaffe. They fly mock dogfights and attacks throughout the year, as well as memorial flyovers and a host of other events.

They did the Dec 7th from last year in April this year because the weather was crap in Mojave. They have also moved the venue this year because of some FAA regs and some other things. I won't make it up for the one this year because it's a heck of a schlep for me, and they don't have any back seats open. The "bombers" are in the back for the event in a week.

 

[Doubl3Ac3]

wow man you got some amazing pics there. i've always liked the simple black and white pics the most though

 

[Njaco]

That first B/W pic looks like it was taken on the set of "The Great Escape"! Great stuff!

 

[thewritingwriter89]

Gorgeous pics, evanglider, especially that one with the T-6 facing the thunderstorm.

 

[Wildcat]

Great pics mate!

 

[Airframes]

Some dramatic stuff there Eric! I particularly liked numbers 3 and 4.

 

[pbfoot]

I've read a book (dangerous thing) about Harvards and T6's and am confused are those T6's and if they are do they have the rear seat that is rotatable . I'm trying to learn how to tell the difference in the 2 birds

 

[Wayne Little]

Excellent pics Eric!

 

[evangilder]

Thanks guys. The T-6/Harvards had quite a number of variants. There are some T-6/SNJ models that have a rear seat that swivels. That was for training rear gunners in TBM and other aircraft. If they have the swivel seat, the rear canopy folds up inside the cockpit between the seats and you have an unobstructed view out the back. While not used for gunnery training anymore, they make excellent photo platforms.

Not all of these have the swivel seat. It should be noted that most of the time, the stick is removed in the rear cockpit with swivel seats because you can jam the stick with the seat once you swivel it, and that is not recoverable.

 

[timshatz]

Cool shots. Great perspectives!