You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Photos of operational aircraft from bases, airports and "spotter" outings
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RichPittman
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You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by RichPittman »

Hi all
After see many great photos from the winter light out in the States, namely Ash Wallace, Matt Clements and Tony O,
this Year I planned a 2 Week visit for my Wife and I in February. Roughly a 75/25% Percent split of Aircraft and sight seeing.
Leaving behind the cold on Sunday 8th February for the Sunny and warm Days of California.
I will gladly help any one with location details etc and apologies to anyone who already knows the area.
Landing in Los Angeles we drove half way to El Centro, staying the Night in El Cajon on the outskirts of San Diego.
Monday 9th February 2015 El Centro... What would we be in store for on our 1st Day.
A early start to get to El Centro for 7 AM.
This base has no permanent assigned aircraft so its a lottery to which visiting Air Sqns are visiting.
Luckily VAQ129( Call sign Phoenix) and VFA122 (call sign Expert) were in town numbering 25-30 F18s as well as the Blue Angels on there winter work up.
ImageELcENTRO9THFEB2015 (8) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageELcENTRO9THFEB2015 (7) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageELcENTRO9THFEB2015 (6) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageELcENTRO9THFEB2015 (5) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageELcENTRO9THFEB2015 (4) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageELcENTRO9THFEB2015 (3) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageELcENTRO9THFEB2015 (2) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageELcENTRO9THFEB2015 (1) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Always nice to see and high on my wishlist C2 "Password 26" bashed the circuit for 45 minutes
ImageElCentro9thFebruRY2015 (8) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Yuma Tuesday 10th February 2015
Well aware of all the grey aircraft at El Centro and repeating the Days before photos. I decided to visit Yuma early on the Tuesday.
Yuma is 1 hours drive from El Centro but also 1 hour ahead in time so the drive between Yuma and El Centro loses no time.
Yuma's inner runway is/was under maintenance so no nice shots landing from the fairground location.
Not all was lost as some Cherry point Harriers were in town and I know they tend to stay low on departure for some reason.
Also nice photos available on the cross runway which the helicopters tend to use.
Imageyuma10thfebruary2015 (5) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imageyuma10thfebruary2015 (4) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imageyuma10thfebruary2015 (3) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imageyuma10thfebruary2015 (2) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

My 1st F35
Imageyuma10thfebruary2015 (1) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Happy with the av8, f35 uh1 v22 variety we headed back to El Centro for a few hours on base.
ImageeLcENTRO10Thfeb2015 (8) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageeLcENTRO10Thfeb2015 (6) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageeLcENTRO10Thfeb2015 (5) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

After this we went back out onto the approach
ImageeLcENTRO10Thfeb2015 (7) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

This Dusty crop hopper wowed us with some phenomenal flying in the field adjacent to the base :rock:
ImageeLcENTRO10Thfeb2015 (3) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

another new type for the holiday rounded off Day2 nicely
ImageeLcENTRO10Thfeb2015 (2) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageeLcENTRO10Thfeb2015 (1) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

My plan was to keep moving and get as much variety in the bag in good weather, so another early start from Yuma Wednesday Morning, 3 hour drive to get to Tucson International for 7am
Hoping for some Iraq f16 movement they took off in the 5 minutes of cloud LOL so had to wait for the return :smile:
ImageTucson (8) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageTucson (7) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageTucson (6) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageTucson (2) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

With the light on the runway becoming ever worse at Tucson and better at nearby Davis Monthan a switch was made between the bases.
I coudnt believe one of the sqns had deployed to Germany but there was still more than enough activity.
With these A10s on the proposed cut from service, again they were high on the wishlist.
ImageDavisMonthanfeb2015 (3) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageDavisMonthanfeb2015 (2) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageDavisMonthanfeb2015 (4) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageDavisMonthanfeb2015 (5) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageDavisMonthanfeb2015 (7) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

A visiting c5 and p3 that got spared there fate at AMARG as they both departed Davis Monthan again.
ImageDavisMonthanfeb2015 (6) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageDavisMonthanfeb2015 (1) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Already over the moon with the start to the holiday
Thursday the 12th saw us visit Tucson, Mesa Gateway and Scottsdale in Phoenix
ImageTucson (1) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Mesa with a visiting T38 about to depart minutes after we arrived
Imagen917nawilliams12thfeb14 by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

10 T45s operated out of Scottsdale for 2 Days prior to a 3 week weapons detachment at El Centro
Image165630scotsdale12thFeb2015 by Rich Pittman, on Flickr
end of part 1 , part 2 to follow
Last edited by RichPittman on Tue 03 Mar 2015, 3:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Always remember "If you cannot turn tight...you cannot fight!"

lozza
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by lozza »

WOW simply stunning :rock: :rock:

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RichPittman
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by RichPittman »

On Friday the 13th unlucky for some, I had planned the Bus tour at Pima for the AMARG experience.
Dont listen to anyone who says its not worth doing!
The Day started at Tucson, then the Museum then the Bus tour back to Tucson and Davis Monthan and then back to the Museum where the sun/shadows were in a different place to the Morning finishing the Day on the fenceline at AMARG
Just as I boarded the bus a B52 took off over the Pima museum.
This example had been in long term storage and had to fly gear down all the way to Louisiana as they hadnt been able to test the gear
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/21/us/ar ... -restored/

2 Sh60 were noted flying into AMARG/Davis Monthan for the last time during my stay in Tucson

ImageTucson (5) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (22) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (21) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (20) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (19) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (2) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (1) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (3) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (4) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (24) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (23) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr
Last edited by RichPittman on Tue 03 Mar 2015, 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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RichPittman
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by RichPittman »

With no drill weekend on Saturday 14th February I had it planned to over fly the boneyard in Tucson.
Even though there is less stored there than in the past its still a formidable sight.

I used Kelly Aviation out of Ryan Field after a good report from Patrick Stiphout who has used them previously.
The pilot done exactly as I wished and nothing was too much trouble flying circuits around the storage facility.

I had spied a E4 the Day previous sitting on the ramp at DM.
So this was airframe target number 1 :rock:
This E4 was supporting President Obamas trip to San Francisco and Palm Springs and was on SBS as "Johhny5"

After this the flight seems a blur, it was very difficult to point a lens out of a open window when flying and I have less keepers than I would have hoped for.
Imagepimaamarcoverflight (14) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (16) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (15) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (13) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (12) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (11) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (10) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (9) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (8) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (6) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagepimaamarcoverflight (5) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr
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RickIngham
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by RickIngham »

An incredible trip Rich :clap: Thanks also for taking the time to write some location info! Looking forward to the rest :cool:

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RichPittman
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by RichPittman »

Leaving Tucson behind nothing too significant was happening at Williams Mesa, often a hot spot for mil trade over the Weekend so we pushed North to Flagstaff.
The next Day (Sunday the 15th) we visited a meteor crater and the Grand Canyon before stopping at Kingman.
This left us a 536 mile leg to Fallon on Monday the 16th Presidents Day via the ET highway, somewhere the Wife wanted to visit :smile:

The long straight roads, weather and mountains were stunning throughout the entire holiday.
As we neared Tonopah, always on the look out for little civil airstrips that could provide a nice surprise we came across Tonopah airstrip and a nice O2 now civil operated

Imagetonopah16thfeb2015 by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Tuesday the 17th saw me finally visit NAS Fallon and top gun. Not overly busy as we just missed a carrier air wing and one was expected shortly after we visited. This base was just great.

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (15) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (14) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (13) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (12) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (11) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (10) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (8) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (7) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (6) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (5) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (3) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (4) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageFallon17th February 2015 (1) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr
Last edited by RichPittman on Tue 03 Mar 2015, 3:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Stu
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by Stu »

What a fantastic selection in great light thanks for posting them all up, Glad both you and Nicky had such good time :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Tonka 617
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by Tonka 617 »

Superb set of photographs :clap: :clap:

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tankbuster
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by tankbuster »

post of the year, stunning and what did your wife get to see for her 25%
Trevor C
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JonoUK
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by JonoUK »

Mighty set Rich, my two favourite shots are the double Warthog and the Reflection Hornet - brilliant set with some nice context :yahoo:

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RichPittman
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by RichPittman »

Now then after getting more than enough good weather and aircraft, where to finish but Rainbow Canyon.
We left Fallon behind early PM and made our way to Bishop for a Night stop.
Knowing Bishop had a large airfield that gets used fairly often for mil visitors I had to go and have a look see.
Nothing much there when I visited except this guy which im sure a few will appreciate.
Imagebishop17thfeb2015 by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

Imagebishop17thfeb2015a by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

The next Day Wednesday we visited Rainbow canyon
1st Day we had 17 passes with Coso71 being a major wow moment :smile:
ImageRAINBOWCANYON18THAND19THFEB2015 (4) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageRAINBOWCANYON18THAND19THFEB2015 (5) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageRAINBOWCANYON18THAND19THFEB2015 (6) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageRAINBOWCANYON18THAND19THFEB2015 (7) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

After hearing reports of death valley and the sight of the stars lit up at Night we spent the Night in Panamint Springs. Nothing fancy in the hotel but what would you expect miles from anywhere.
Thursday Morning we visited Rainbow Canyon again, nothing like Wales with 6 layers on, it was more like Weymouth on the hottest Day of the Year in the UK bliss :tumbleweed:
Apollo 12 and 11 stole the show operating from China Lake at present
ImageRAINBOWCANYON18THAND19THFEB2015 (3) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageRAINBOWCANYON18THAND19THFEB2015 (1) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

ImageRAINBOWCANYON18THAND19THFEB2015 (2) by Rich Pittman, on Flickr

The last 3 Nights were spent in Las Vegas, a world apart from the rest of the holiday but equally enjoyable.
I hope you have enjoyed the ride :smile:

Cheers Rich
Last edited by RichPittman on Tue 03 Mar 2015, 3:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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paullangford
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by paullangford »

Really enjoyed the photos and the description of your trip, thank you for posting, very interesting, a great read and a great set of pics.

Very much appreciated :worship:

now then......how much holiday time have I got left.......hmmmm

Paul :up:

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RickIngham
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by RickIngham »

Post of the year without a doubt :worship: sick with jealousy.
That China Lake F18 :drool:

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Pringles
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by Pringles »

Fantastic collection! :clap: Fantastic shots each and every one of them :clap:
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by timuss »

Errr WOW!!! Stunning set :drool: :clap: :clap:
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by Hasboman »

Wow wow wow wow!! Thread of the year by far! :worship:

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RichPittman
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by RichPittman »

Thanks guys but its not a thread of the Year at all. There is some amazing threads that come out of UKAR
Forgot to say it was 3350 miles in total :biggrin:
and for those who think my Wife would be bored, we met at Fairford :wink:

To finish the visit in Vegas I done this :snack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZea8BtIn5k

Madness! :drool:
Always remember "If you cannot turn tight...you cannot fight!"

TYPHOON3
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by TYPHOON3 »

One of the best varied set of photographs I've ever seen on UKAR,you must have had a great time,thanks for posting these amazing images.Really enjoyed looking at those. :clap:

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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by Trenethick »

Great set of images Rich and welcome back, you certainly saw some great stuff
Bob

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tankbuster
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by tankbuster »

RichPittman wrote:Thanks guys but its not a thread of the Year at all. There is some amazing threads that come out of UKAR
Forgot to say it was 3350 miles in total :biggrin:
and for those who think my Wife would be bored, we met at Fairford :wink:

To finish the visit in Vegas I done this :snack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZea8BtIn5k

Madness! :drool:


Chat up lines presumably were something like:

The Wingwalkers don't belong here
Have you noticed how the flight line goes back every year
I remember when this was end to end C130s
Bloody Fairground

Do you know there are 50 shades of grey on an F16

:grin:
Trevor C
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CH79
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by CH79 »

Mad indeed Rich! Excellent photography, locations and narration - hope your missus enjoyed it just as much as you :clap:
Cheers,
Chris

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shaggie
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by shaggie »

stunning set Rich ,love the canyon shots

IanH
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by IanH »

A glorious set Rich. Super variety and photography. Very well done.

Regards, Ian

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SamP
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by SamP »

Superb selection of images Rich, you've had one hell of a trip. Love the F-5s at Fallon, that Wessex is stunning, and as for the E-4, what a bonus! :drool:

I have got to get myself to the states soon.

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Fumbles
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Re: You hook em, ill clean and fry them... USA Road Trip

Post by Fumbles »

Awesome! Looks like a proper aviation holiday was had! Isn't Zip such a great guy? Can I ask how you got the elevated Hawkeye shot?

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