MH-60 Helicopter parade during Day 1 of the Naval Base Ventura County Pt Mugu 2023 Airshow, which included the Thunderbirds, Blue Angels, CAF SoCal, Vicky Benzing Aerosports, and more. This was an also special because it was an all female pilot parade of the helicopters.
Shots from around the yard at Planes of Fame, just messing around and taking some random shots.
History on the Corsair
Going back to 1938 when the US Navy put out an RFP, it needed to have 4 requirements:
1. It had to fly a thousand miles, range of a thousand miles
2. It had to carry four guns
3. It had to have a stalling speed no higher than 70 mph
4. was maximum speed
The winner was the company Vought located on the east coast
They came up with this design, but in order to achieve the speed, they decided to go with a brand new prototype engine from Pratt & Whitney, which was the XR2800 engine that the prototype was capable of 1800 horsepower
The production model came out with 2000 horsepower
That’s what went into this airplane
And the design of the plane itself, you’ll notice that it doesn’t have rivets
It is a very smooth skinned airplane and that’s because Vought went with a new thinner aluminum and they use spot welding
So that achieved a much more even airflow a little bit higher speed as well
With the 2800 engine they went with a large Hamilton standard propeller 13 feet 4 inches
So how do you get a Navy airplane that is designed to land on aircraft carriers with that high of a propeller
So that’s where the inverted gull wing design came in
Lift the nose of the use launch, get the propeller up
But the challenge then is how do you develop landing gear that’ll accommodate carrier landings
So with the speed, with the propeller wash of this massive propeller, the prop wash created a problem going over the wing
So the left wing would stall before the right wing it became a real challenge
As well you’ll notice that the cockpit is far back, the gasoline tank is there in front so that was a challenge for carrier pilots and landing
The stall speed coming in on an aircraft carrier needs to be a little bit low so we’ve designed this plane to be quite fast
It was one It was the first airplane as a matter of fact in I believe 1940 to break 400 miles an hour
But in order to develop an airplane that was passed, they sacrificed low landing speed
So these things had to be figured out and consequently through Navy trials, the Navy decided not to use the Corsair
Changes made by England
Number one, for carrier landings rather than a straight-on approach, they came up with a circular approach for the pilot always keeping the carrier in sight
Number two, they raised the seat another seven inches providing the pilot a little bit better visibility and they They also came up with this bubble canopy
So it wasn’t until the fall of 1944 that the Navy finally accepted the Corsair
But in the meantime, the Marines, of course, did quite well with it in the South Pacific and in the Central Pacific as wel
The plane was acquired by the planes of fame in 1970 and it was restored to flight in 1975
And it is one of the oldest corsairs that is still flying
The nickname for this airplane was the “Instant Eliminator.”
Had a kill ratio of 11 to 1 by the end of the war.
2 T-33s for the price of one flying at the Pacific Airshow. This is Acemaker and Greg Coyle performing at the show.
C-17 Globemaster III on a flyby at the 2022 Pacific Airshow. Really impressive what this big beast can do and how quickly it can take off and land.
Early morning shot of the USS Carl Vinson in port at San Diego Harbor. This is the third of the Nimitz Carriers to come out. She is named after congressman from Georgia in recognition for his contributions. This carrier while having a long and illustrious carrier is also the carrier the F-35c fell off into the South China Sea. 
Shot with the Sony A7RIV and the Sony 24-105 Lens.
It was an overcast and slightly rainy day at Bolsa Chica the last time I was out. I walked the area and caught some birds in flight and getting their morning breakfast. During the time out the sun never made an appearance, so while it was basically a white box for the whole shoot and no highlights, it didn’t make for great photography. I was out with the Sony 200-600 and the A1. Granted I didn’t really need the high frame rate of the A1, the 200-600 is always a nice lens to shoot with.
I was at Bolsa Chica Reserve over the weekend and came across two ducks eating. I like this image for the symbolism and have used it as my background now for my Zoom meetings. I also use it to explain when things aren’t going the way they should and other teams arne’t planning correctly. I shot this with my A1 and the 200-600 lens. A little bit of post processing in Lightroom.
B-52 Stratofortress flying at the 2022 Pacific Airshow. Affectionally known as the BUFF(BIG UGLY FAT FELLOW). These planes have been flying since the 50’s and were a big part of our nuclear deterrent back in the days. There was a time that we would have several planes up 24 hours a day ready to drop bombs on Russia if the need arose. This planes only makes 3 passes during the airshow, because the turn radius is so long.
Found this little guy in my backyard checking out my dog. 🙂 Just kidding, it was looking for something else to get a hold of and eat. Shot it with the A1 and the 200-600, shutter speed was a little fast for something that wasn’t moving. I should have slowed it down to lower the ISO and reduce the noise.
Joseph Jenkins 