Monday, August 23, 2010

Drat!

Every once in a while I'm treated to a fleeting display of one of Cannon's AC-130s engaged in air-to-air refueling and I never have the camera at hand.  These sorts of ops always seem to take place around sunset and one can get some breathtaking views of the KC-135 and the AC-130 bathed in the setting sun as they hook up.  It can be a spectacular sight.

It was different this evening, in that I saw the guys setting up for the refueling operation and I had time to run inside to get the camera.  Well, true to form... the aircrews flew a different route tonight, deciding to operate to the northwest of Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park instead of passing directly overhead around 10K feet like they usually do.  This was the best shot I could get:


Figures, doesn't it?  I'm always a day late and about a dollar short.  But some day...

9 comments:

  1. Looks good to me. Somewhere I have a really old one of a KA-6D refueling an EA-6B. I will have to did it out and put it up.

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  2. Kids, dogs, and now airplanes - they never pose just right for ya. Still, a nice shot!

    Whenever I pass through Altus, I want to get a shot of the big airplanes taking off and landing. But I struggle with driving and taking pictures at the same time. Is that like texting while driving?

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  3. I think it's still a pretty spectacular pic!

    One of the coolest things I've ever done is getting to watch that process from inside the plane. An absolutely beautiful ballet!

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  4. Flew in a C-130 from Oki to Korea, and back, just myself and my conex box full of weapons. Being just an E-3, having a .45 strapped on…I was king…for a couple days.

    I remember it like yesterday even though it was 27 years ago. Thanks for the reminder.

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  5. Glenn: I'd like to see that pic... did it out! ;-)

    Is that like texting while driving?

    Depends on the camera, methinks. I've taken some great windshield pics (if I do say so, myself) using my point'n'shoot. I wouldn't try that with the SLR, tho.

    One of the coolest things I've ever done is getting to watch that process from inside the plane.

    OK, Moogie... how'd ya swing THAT? And were you in the tanker or the ac being refueled? If you were in the tanker, were you in the boomer's cabin? If so... you were REALLY fortunate!

    Small-tee: I'm glad to be of service, sir! That sounds like quite the memory and it was prolly quite the ride, too. My memories of C-130 flights aren't so much fun: sweatin' my ass off inside the ac while taxiing on the ramp in Thailand and then freezing my ass off when we got up to altitude. Rinse, repeat. And those things are NOISY, too.

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  6. Oh yea, Buck, exactly. Heat, cold, heat and the noise, oh the noise. I think I lost some hearing.

    Was worth every lost decibel.

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  7. In the tanker, conducting an ESGR Bosslift to Corpus. Totally cool!

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  8. Was worth every lost decibel.

    No ear plugs? The loadmaster handed out ear plugs to everyone as we boarded my rides...

    Moogie: OK... gotcha. I'm SO envious!

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