Aviation Photos - Post your "AirPics" here!

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One of my personal favorite aircraft is the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. A 6-piston engine/4-jet engine beast of an airplane it must have been something to see it take off or land. Next to the B-36 is it's reason for being.

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This is the North American B-45 Tornado, the USAF's first jet bomber.

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The Martin B-57 Canberra. The B-57 has the distinction of being the only foreign-sourced aircraft ever bought by the USAF. That garbage can really irked me.....

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The Convair B-58 Hustler. The Hustler was the USAF's first supersonic bomber. It carried both it's weapon and some of it's fuel load in the pod. It was only in service for a few short years...technology rapidly making it obsolete.

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Here is a North American F-86 Sabre. The F-86 was the USAF's first swept-wing fighter. It served not only with TAC (Tactical Air Command) but also with SAC. Early in it's history SAC did have a number of fighter units assigned for escort of it's bombers.

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A McDonnell F-101 Voodoo. Voodoo's served as fighters, fighter/bombers, and recon aircraft.

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A Lockheed U-2. It was an amazing airplane that had an altitude and range that no other aircraft was capable of.........

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......until this little lady came along. This is the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The SR-71 was a triple-sonic recon aircraft, designed and built in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Along with the rest of the Blackbird family-the A-12, the YF-12, and the D-21 drones-there has never been anything built since then that has even come close to matching the Blackbird's performance.



It was taken out of service due to 'cost considerations' and the fact that orbiting satellites are just as effective. I disagree....when a hotspot flares up somewhere in the world an SR-71 can get intelligence far faster than a satellite can. More importantly an SR-71 is far more flexible in routing than a satellite is. A satellite moves in a fixed orbit, an SR-71 can overfly any spot on the globe. But what do I know.....

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This is the Douglas C-124 Globemaster. Even though the C-5 Galaxy is far bigger at least that aircraft looks like it can fly. The C-124 looks like the only way it would clear the ground is if someone detonated some TNT underneath it!

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Another one of my favorite aircraft. This is the Douglas C-133 Cargomaster. This was the USAF's first aircraft to use turbo-prop power plants. Only 50 saw service with 3 USAF squadrons. There are only a handful left, even fewer that still fly.



In the background is a Boeing EC-135 sitting in the run-up area of one of Offutt AFB's runways. As this was before 2001 there were no guards around the fence line, or around the aircraft, but I wonder if this aircraft was standing duty for Operation Looking Glass. Operation Looking Glass was a flying command post that had the capability to launch our nuclear missiles and remain in contact with our military and civilian command forces. It flew continuous airborne alert missions that began in 1961 and ended in 1990. Between 1961 and 1990 there was always an Operation Looking Glass aircraft in the air 24/7. After 1990 Operation Looking Glass then alternated between ground alert and airborne alert missions until 1998, when the US Navy took over the mission with it's E-6B aircraft.



My parents moved to Omaha in the early 1990's, after the 24/7 airborne mission had been downgraded.

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Another view of the EC-135. The Offutt tower is in the distance. I apologize for the darkness of the photo...but it was worse before I put it through my photo editor!

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A sampling of early strategic missiles.

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Unfortunately this is the only shot I have of the SAC Musuem since it moved indoors. It's an awesome facility, most definitely worth a visit.

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In the mid 1990's a friend of mine and I flew in his Cessna from northern NJ to Reading, PA for their annual warbird show and WWII re-enactment weekend. There were 2 gorgeous B-17's there. They were open to tours and were fully equipped as they were back when they were built new.

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This is the other one.....

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This is an N3N-3 trainer used by the US Navy. It was built by the Naval Air Factory...one of the few, if only, governement sponsored aircraft factories.

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Here is a line of Stearman PT-17 trainers.

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Here is a USMC SNJ-5 Texan trainer built by North American

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Along more modern lines is this Boeing/BAE T-45 Goshawk trainer for the US Navy.

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The US Navy version of the DC-3 was the R4D.