I wanted to let everyone know that the Galleries that were hosted on Smugmug have been closed. I’ll be working on a alternate way to display photos for everyone. As much as I loved Smugmug and can’t sing their praises enough, it was much more than I needed and could not justify keeping the account. I hope to get something up soon so please keep an eye out for updates and I’ll be trying to keep updates coming. Thanks to everyone that comes to the site to check out my photos.

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A free Saturday, nice weather and a bit of cash in pocket I decided that I needed a aviation road trip. So I was to head south to the Southern Museum of Aviation in Birmingham Alabama then to Shelby Country Airport to catch a Collings Foundation Tour stop.  Stop one was at the Saturn 1B at the visitor center just over the Alabama boarder. While the 1B is 224 ft tail it was the 363 foot Saturn V that got us to the moon and back. I stood there thinking I can’t believe that the V is 139 feet taller. The Southern Museum of Aviation has a B-25C that was recovered out of a lake Murray in South Carolina in 2005 where it crashed in 1943. The crew was able to exit the aircraft before it sank and all survived. While the museum has all but 1 of the engines of the aircraft only the cockpit, nose and several other items are on display. I hope that at some point the rest of the aircraft is put on display. It was  surprising large collection of aircraft with many out side for display. It was well worth the trip and I plan to return when I have more time to take a longer tour.

The Collings Foundation is always a treat. How can seeing a B-24J, B-17G and P-51C not be a great time. I was hoping to catch the end of ground tours and get to see a few takeoffs and landing for the rides they offer in the aircraft. I was treated to Jim Harely taking up the P-51 and doing an incredible pass but do to competing events in the area they had no flights for the evening. It did provide a great chance to catch up with Jim and a couple of people that I’ve met over the last year.

Check out the photos from the Southern Museum of Aviation Here

Check out Pictures of the Collings Foundation Here

Filed under: Aviation Events, Uncategorized
Tags: 41-12634, B-17G 44-83575, B-24 Liberator, B-24J 44-44052. B-17G Flying Fortress, B-25C, Biringham, Lake Murray, mustang, P-51C, Saturn 1B, South Carolina

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What a great day to enjoy a walk around Radnor Lake Natural Area. The weather was warm and the sun shown for a little while before being taken over by the incoming front. The squirrels and birds were all over. The deer where up to doing the fall things and helping create a new generation of deer.  The first 2 weeks of November are my favorite time to visit the park because of the colors, cooler temperatures and the increased animal activity.  was able to walk a ridge trail and make two loops around the lake before the sunset. Can’t wait for another walk in the woods!

More Pictures can be enjoyed here

Filed under: Hikes, Uncategorized
Tags: buck, fall colors, forest, nashville, Radnor Lake, squirrels, Tennessee, turkey, walk in woods, White tail deer, woods

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It is not often one gets a chance to see eight B-17 Flying Fortresses gathered together in one place. Toss in to the mix a B-24 Liberator and a few early model P-51 Mustangs and you have yourself a once in a life time event or once in several year event. That was the attraction of the 2010 Thunder Over Michigan Airshow put on by the Yankee Air Museum. My weekend started very early Friday morning. I had a nine hour drive to  Michigan and I wanted to get there early enough to catch some of Fridays arrivals, practices and catch up with many of my airshow friends. After several hours running around the airport to be at the active runways sunlight was fading and dinner was calling. To our dismay the Outback Steak House we normally eat at was out of Business. So we relocated to Johnny’s on Bellville lake.  Good food, local brews on tap  and great views over looking the lake. After far to little sleep it was time to head out for the early morning photo tour, which check in started at 6:20am (my Central time zone body was not happy about this because it was 5:20 to me). But when the line of eight B-17s and 1 B-24 came into view it was all worth it and lack of sleep was not longer a thought. The weather and show Saturday was great. One down side of the show was that the B-24 had to land and not fly for the show due to a mechanical problem.  But the eight b-17s did countless passes which was a great treat before gathering up for a loose, very loose, formation flyover. This was followed by a Missing Man Formation with 3 B-17s and P-51.  The other high light of the day was getting to see a F-100 Super Sabre fly. Not to many opportunity to see that.

Sunday once again started very early and with little sleep. that day there would only be 7 B-17s on the lineup. Texas Raiders was having some gear problems that need to be addressed before it left for a Veteran Reunion in Nashville, TN. Once again we witnessed an incredible performance by the Horsemen, a P-51 acrobatic team, John Mohr in his Stock Stearman, and the F-100. The Bomber flight also had a added bonus. The Collings foundation crew got the B-24 fixed and was going to give us a special treat. They had a M2 .50 cal machine gun ready to shoot blanks why flying over the mock battle going on. Being warned about this happening I was ready to try and get some pictures of the muzzle flash. Needless to say I took a tone of pictures and only got one shot with the flash in it, but I got it.

Once again the Yankee Air Museum put on a great show and I had a great time. Next year should be another can’t miss year. I can’t wait to see what the Navy and YAM has in store.

Pictures of the weekend:

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Filed under: Aviation Events, Uncategorized
Tags: 42-103293, 43-12252, 43-3634, 44-29939, 44-44052, 44-543, 44-73856, 44-74391, 44-83514, 44-83546, 44-83575, 44-83872, 44-85718, 44-85734, 44-85740, 44-85829, 61-0002, 67-22581, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-17 Gathering, B-24 Liberator, F-100F, n836d, P-51 Mustang, Thunder Over Michigan, Yankee AIr Museum

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Sunset over western PA's Vineyards and Lake Erie on the return trip from Geneseo, NY

On the way home from the 1941 HAG airshow at Geneseo I decided to take a short side trip to see the progress of the continuing restoration of B-17G 44-85813 at the Champaign Aviation Museum AT Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio. The B-17 Flying Fortress known as “Champaign Lady” is undergoing restoration to fly. It will take another several years but the work that has already been done is staggering if you consider what the group started with.

B-17G 44-85813 Champaign Lady

B-17G 44-85813 Champaign Lady

The jig to start building the Radio Room from scratch had been built and the construction was well under way. Some parts, like the radio room, of the aircraft are missing and have to be made from scratch or parts from other airframes need to be used to complete this aircraft. My wife and I received a in-depth tour of the restoration building from an gentleman named Ward ,  I could be mistaken about his name, and heard many story’s not only of the restorations but also his time in the Navy during the Korean War. Even thought there was lots of work to be done on the aircraft and they were getting ready to move the whole operation to the main museum hanger everyone was very friendly and we were made to feel welcome in the shop. It was a great stop and well worth the side trip to see it. Click here for more pictures

B-17G 44-85813 Champaign Lady

Filed under: Aviation Events

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The second weekend in July is one of my favorite times of the year. In fact I’m looking forward to it the 2011 show already. What makes this so special is not only the 1942 Historical Aircraft Group (1941 HAG) but the War Bird Information Exchange has one of its largest gatherings during this weekend. Over the years some great friendships have been formed and as we gather at airshows those bonds only get tighter. The weekend starts a little after noon on Friday and general ends late Sunday afternoon. It is a great experience to get to the show early in the morning and hang on the field with old friends and new friends late into the night. Watching the sunset on a turf field is something that must be experienced.

There is a feel to this show that is unlike any other I’ve heard of, it is like a family reunion in the best kind of way. Oh, yes I should talk about the aircraft too. It is almost all WW2 aircraft, ranging from trainers to four engine bombers and everything between. They fly all day and generally after the show pilots take full advantage of the last days light to get some more flying in. I now have to drive 13 hours to get to the show and it is every bit worth the trip. It is the great show on Turf!

Check out pictures here

Friday and Saturday

Sunday

Filed under: Aviation Events
Tags: A-20, A-20H 44-0020, airshow, B-17G, corsair, F-16C, FG-1d, Firefly, fly fortress, Geneseo, Helldiver, Lc-130H, Lysander, Memphis Belle, mustang, New York, P--51c. P-51D, SB2C-5, Skyboss, TBM-3, Warbird, WIX

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After a few weeks without Kelly, as she was on tour with Undue Favor, it was time to head up north to hookup with her for the weekend. We were going to be in the Connecticut area and I knew that there was a aviation event going on so I held my breath and crossed my fingers in hope that we could go. It worked out that we could attend the show in the morning but have to leave before the main shows flying happened. It was still a chance to see 6 corsairs together so I was on it. When we arrived we found out that 2 of the corsairs would be flying in around noon. Even though it would cut any leeway out of the travel time for practice I decided that it was worth happening. The day was not entirely about the corsair, just 95% about it. Flying started off with a T-28 flown by Joe Edwards. Followed by a UH-1H of Fairfeild Police Department.

Just before 1 pm “Skyboss” arrived and made a few passes before landing followed shortly by “Marines Dream”. Tom Duffy flying Marines Dream made an incredible carrier approach to the runway and landed. It had to be one of the coolest landings of a Warbird I’ve seen. With the last corsairs on the line and parked it was time we made a run for the gate to head to Spencer, MA. I was sad to leave before the mass Corsair flight but more happy to have been able to spent the morning at the event. More Pictures of the Event can be viewed here: Corsairs Over Connecticut Gallery

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After leaving Ashville I was off to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I was going to enjoy a day of hiking and camping with a friend. It was to late to hike that Saturday so after a few stops to enjoy the views, catch some wildlife with my camera, get some food and campsite it was time to crash for the night. After a very enjoyable night around a campfire.

The next morning it was off to Cades Cove to make our way to the trail head to Gregory Bald. Due to a road closure we would be taking the longer route to the bald which was fine with me as I wanted to at least once make the complete route around the cove. On our way in we say several deer and one bear that was having a feast high up in  a tree. Due to the sun and me learning my options with the new camera it was just OK shooting.

After getting run off by ranger it was off to the trail head. It was a great hike to the top. There were not many views on the way up which was fine because when we finally broke the tree line it was an incredible view that was only magnified by the clear cool day. The wind on the other hand made it a bit chilly. It was not hard to stand in awe of such a beautiful site.  We moved to the the south side of the bald with less wind exposure and ate lunch. It was time to head down and face the drive out of the park and head home. On the way down we had a coyote cross our trail. One of the few times I’ve ever seen a coyote in the woods. When we reached the car and headed out of the cove we were greeted by traffic.  It seemed a bit funny to be hiking for about 12 miles and see next to know one then be stuck in traffic only minutes after getting back into the car. I have to admit I love the fact that so few people while in the Smoky Mountains get more than a few hundred feet from their car. It makes the experience for hikers so much nicer. Check out more photos in the gallery section.

Click Here for Gregory Bald Pictures

Filed under: Hikes, Uncategorized
Tags: Black Bear, Cades Cove, Elk, Gregory Bald, Smoky Mountain National Park, White tail deer, wild flowers

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Flint, Christy Nathan and Kelly

I took a trip out to Asheville, NC with Undue Favor to kick off their tour up to the Northeast last weekend. They played at a church called The River. We all had a great time of fellowship with everyone at the church and it was encouraging for me to be able to talk with several people including the pastor about what they they are doing there and were the Lord is leading them. They have a great ministry starting up there and I think the Lord will bless it in a big way. The Friday night show was opened by Flint Zeigler. He is a great story teller and a very talented musician and songwriter. I Can’t wait to hear his next project which he should be starting soon. Undue Favor went on after Flint and played a great set of music off their new CD “Ages Pass” and their first CD “Life Amazing”. I was able to try out the video function on my camera and I hope to be able to post some video at some point. I’m still  figuring out the whole video thing as up to this point I’ve been stuck in the still world. Saturday morning Kelly and Christy were interviewed for a TV show that the River puts together on Christian Artists. I’ll be sure to post a link when that is to air. More pictures and video to come!

Filed under: Undue Favor Events
Tags: Asheville NC, Flint Zeigler, The River, The River Church, Undue Favor

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I just love that quote from John Muir. Yes I’m heading to the Mountains today. I’ll be traveling with Undue Favor as the play a gig in Asheville, NC tonight and have an interview Saturday morning. When those two things are done they head to West Virgina and I head into the Great Smoky National Park to do some hiking and camping. Should be a great time out in the woods and picture taking.

Find out more about Undue Favor @ www.UndueFavor.com

Filed under: Hikes, Undue Favor Events

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