Atlantic City Airshow - 8/19/09

[moose135]

I've been meaning to get down to the Atlantic City air show for a few years now, and finally was able to do so this year. Since summer weekends are busy in AC, they hold the show mid-week, to bring in additional visitors. Estimates put the crowd at 750,000! The USAF Thunderbirds headlined the show, but there was one of the widest varieties of performers I've seen at an air show. As with most beach shows, the lighting was horrible, but I managed a few decent shots...

#1 - For photography, a little humidity is always a good thing. For this photographer, not so much:whew
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/624965660_uxMMo-L.jpg

#2 - Navy E-2C Hawkeye
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625402662_RjVNw-L.jpg

#3 - My "Hometown Heros" - HH-60 Pave Hawk from the 106th Air Rescue Wing, NYANG, based at Long Island's Gabreski Airport.
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625402034_p6hBg-L.jpg

#4 - USMC CH-46 Sea Knight kicking up some spray.
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625402573_2e6Wk-L.jpg

#5 - USAF Thunderbirds two-ship pass
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625404690_j2wyS-L.jpg

#6 - US Army Golden Knights parachute team
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625403204_JeNzM-L.jpg

#7 - F-22 Raptor making some vapor trails
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625737277_a88Rn-L.jpg

#8 - USN Legacy Flight, made up of an F/A-18F Hornet, and an F4U Corsair. The Corsair is owned by the American Airpower Museum (my second home!)
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625738348_FXoNQ-L.jpg

#9 - A little sideways flying!
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625739151_M57or-L.jpg

#10 - The Thunderbirds close the show
http://moose135.smugmug.com/photos/625740045_6xcD4-L.jpg

More photos here: http://moose135.smugmug.com/gallery/9342477_W5EZL/1/624965660_uxMMo

[Bud1880]

Very nice shots John but I especially like the Corsair and the F/18 together. The Corsair was always one of my favorite planes. :thumb One thing though that really caught my eye were the two people on top of Bally's. What a view that must have been for the airshow. :D

Bud

[TangoJuliet]

Great Shots! They turned out better than most of my shots from the Blue Angels at Pensacola last month. All of the smoke was rolling into the beach :doh .

[SLRdude]

VERY nice!!

I am a sucker for planes. :rofl:rofl:rofl

The heritage flights are awesome.... here is one from the DFW show last fall.
(the Golden Knights... I am almost certain I have a pic of the same exact guy too lol)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3022/2944479535_1e4f02dc18_o.jpg

[adbsgicom]

Great images!!
Yeah, I saw the guys on Bally's too. Wonder how you get those seats? Perhaps maintainence staff picking the opportune time to check the roof for leaks...

What focal length were you shooting (adjusted for camera crop)?

[black mamba]

Hi Moose,

Got yourself some good shots here. I'm a little surprised to see they had such a good turnout. The number of fans, as well as planes flying in for show, at the recent Sun 'N' Fun extravaganza in Lakeland, FL was way off. Particularly noticeable was the fewer number of old Warbirds that showed. A couple of the pilots I talked to said they were cutting back on their exibition schedule because of the economy. Sad to see it.

Tom

[Fred W]

Hi Moose. I was probably not that far from where you were shooting based on your pictures. Yea, the heat and humidity were brutal and the light was harsh but it was a good show !!!!! I was worried that we would get a thunder storm instead of Thunderbirds. :D :D

I checked your gallery, Sweet !!!!!

[goldenstarphoto]

Hey Moose,

You have some real great photos here and on your site! I also wanted to give you a thanks for your work on the Wounded Warrior Project. I was never in harms way, but I have friends who either never came back, or didn't come back the same as they left......so, THANK YOU on their behalf!

[moose135]

Thanks for the kind words! It was certainly worth the heat, humidity, and sunburn.

Andrew, these were all shot with a 40D and 100-400mm lens.

Fred, nice work on your shots as well. I was about 2 blocks south of show center, Texas Ave, I believe. Had a guy near me with a Nikon 600mm lens on a tripod, if you saw him, I was in that area all day.

Doug (Cathy?) I appreciate that - the WWP does some outstanding work. As a veteran myself, it's good to see them caring for those who need it.