Two Somethings You Don't See Every Day

 As I was sitting around deciding what I wanted to do, I heard the distinctive sound of a propellored aircraft.  So I looked in FlightRadar and I saw that the B-25 from Willow Run was wandering around.  I decided to head over to Willow Run to catch some pictures of her.

They were also taking their Huey out for wandering around.

I like the sound of these but they should have a loudspeaker that plays "Fortunate Son" when they are flying it around.

The B-25 came in from about the spot I expected it to.

It was pretty cool to catch.  With the sale of the B-17, I guess this will have to do.

I hope they don't see this one.

I still wish they would have kept the B-17 though.

It was a nice enough day though.

Then the Huey appeared.

She wasn't going over the same runway.

If I had known that, I would have went over to their hangar to try and catch her there.  But if I did that, I would have missed the B-25.

My Continuing Quest for the White Wha...err, Owl

 I decided to go to see if I could see the snowy owl at Willow Run again tonight.  It was sunny enough but it was a bit on the windy side.  Therefore, I wasn't sure if I could see it.  Plus, there is a good chance he's decided to head back up to the Arctic.

No owls but I did see these turkeys.

I was kind of surprised he stuck around for pictures.  Usually they head for the woods as soon as I stop.

After a few trips around the airport and a trip to the other airport because I thought I could catch some planes on the 27s, I stumbled across a herd of deer.

Again, I was surprised at how long they stood around.  I thought they would beat feet for the woods.

I kind of like this shot.

And one more of a pair of deer with one being fairly vigilant.

I didn't catch the owl.  I'm coming to the conclusion that it probably isn't going to happen this season.  But I guess I will keep the knowledge that there was one at Willow Run this year.  Usually they return to the same area as before, so maybe I will see one next year.

Searching for the Willow Run Owl

 I heard that there was a snowy owl hanging around at Willow Run.  Actually, I saw pictures of it.  Well at first, they were labeled as "Wayne County" and eventually someone spilled the beans.  I went looked around the other night.  I didn't see the owl then but I figured I would try again.

Before going to the spot for the owl, I thought I would get some pictures of the B-52 that is parked in front of the new Yankee Air Force hangar.

I think they have been trying to restore it but I also think it is when they have time and money project.

It still looks pretty cool.  I would like to get a picture in front of it like an older picture of me.

A closeup of the nose.

A closer view of the cockpit.

Pulled out.

A different angle for the cockpit.

A closeup of the engine.

I kind of went wandering around the airport.  There were a couple of ponds that were enough for ducks to swim around.

And I kind of like this shot.

Close to the area where the snowy owl supposedly hangs out, I saw this guy.

It is a red tailed hawk.

I figured since I wasn't going to get any owl pictures, I might as well take a few of him.

He landed for a little bit.

And then he was back up in the air.

Another shot of him gliding.

And one more of the hawk before heading off.

A Herky Bird Comes in From Goose Bay

 This morning I saw that the An-124 was going to come into Metro but as I looked up the flight information and figured out when it would arrive, I saw that it was going to be landed before I could get out of work.  I looked again just before I could get out of work, I saw that the An-124 had landed but I found an acceptable substitute.

The substitute came in the form of a Lockheed 382 which is the civilian version of the C-130.

This particular one is a sort of stretch version of the normal C-130.  It looked pretty cool.

The plane was coming in from Goose Bay but I'm not sure what it was carrying.

At any rate, it is a cool looking aircraft.

One more shot before it landed.

A Gulfstream III at Willow Run

 After I go through taking pictures of the P-8, I saw this plane sitting near by.  I thought it looked pretty cool, so I grabbed a picture.

This is a Gulfstream III, I'm not sure who it belongs to.

I wish I could have gotten pictures at Willow Run earlier.  There were a ton of business jets there.  They were for people who were attending the Michigan-Ohio State game (which Michigan won btw).  While I was taking pictures of this and the other plane, it sounded like O'Hare.  In the roughly 5 minutes that I was taking these pictures, there were at least 5 planes that took off.  I'm not sure how many were waiting, but there were quite a few.  It was pretty cool.

A Special Treat

 Like I said in my last post, I wanted to get a picture of the plane they used to do the flyover.  I didn't see it on the way over to Metro.  As I was at Metro, I was thinking that it was in a different spot than I expected, so I looked at the other side of the airport and found it.

The picture it not from my favorite angle for plane pictures but this was the only angle that I could get.

The P-8A Poseidon is the newest patrol aircraft for the US Navy.  It was developed from the 737 airframe and was meant to replace the P-3 Orion.  Studies to replace the P-3 were began in the 1980s.  Lockheed was contracted to produce the P-7 which was an improved version of the P-3 but that contract was cancelled in 1990 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.  In 2000, the Navy decided to do a second competition to replace the versatile P-3.  Lockheed submitted an even more improved version of the Orion.  British Aerospace submitted an improved version of the Nimrod but withdrew as they couldn't find a US production partner.  Boeing submitted this design.  In 2004, Boeing was awarded the contract.

In 2009, the P-8 first flew and it was introduced to the fleet in 2014.  Boeing also has contracts from the Indian, Australian and British Navies for this plane.  As of this year, 174 have been built.

This particular aircraft belongs to VP-62, which is a Naval Air Reserve squadron that operates out of Jacksonville, Florida.  It is the first Naval Air Reserve squadron to operate this plane and it was introduced to this squadron in April of this year.

Thunder Over Michigan - 2023 Part I

 It was the day of the air show.  I couldn't wait to get there.

An F-35 taking off.  More about that later.

First up was a demonstration of the KC-135.  

The Air Force had a need to replace the KC-97 aerial tanker.  The KC-97 was a propellor driven plane that was sort of based on the B-29.  The Air Force was looking for a jet.

The KC-135 was based on the Boeing 707 airframe.  And it first flew on August 31, 1956.

The plane entered operational service the next year.

This version of the KC-135 is nothing like the original version.  This one has more powerful engines and improved avionics.  Given the issues they are having with the replacement tanker,  this could end up flying a few more years.

Apparently this is the 100th Anniversary of aerial refueling.  And this plane has flown for almost 70% of it.

Next up was a P-51 Mustang.

The P-51 Mustang is almost the perfect plane.  The wings are designed with maximum lift with minimal drag.

The engine was originally developed by the British because it was originally going to be a British plane.

The Americans took the design and improved it.

A heritage flight with the the T-33.  More on that plane later.

The P-51 Mustang was an earlier model without the bubble canopy.

They could almost do a heritage flight of mustangs.

The P-51 doing a fly by.

Next up was a demonstration of the T-33.

The T-33 was developed from the P-80 Shooting Star.

The P-80 Shooting Star was developed in part by famed aircraft designer Kelly Johnson.

The P-80 first flew on Junuary 8, 1944.  It would become operational the next year.

The P-80 remained in service for 5 years and 1,715 were built in that time.

The T-33 was a trainer based on the P-80.  The fuselage was lengthened to accommodate two spots.

It first entered service in 1948.  It served many allied nations and was finally retired in 2017.

A C-47 coming in for a landing.  The C-47 is the military version of the DC-3.

A pair of P-51s.  The top plane is an older model.  The bottom plane is a newer model with a bubble canopy.

Another picture of the two planes.

A B-17 Flying Fortress coming in for a landing.

Next up was the Canadian CF-118 Hornet.

It is based on the American F/A-18 and has many of the same characteristics.

It was pretty cool to see.

One more shot.

The F-35s came back.

These are the F-35B variants which are used by the Marines and RAF.

It can take off and land vertically, although we didn't get to see that.

Next up was the F-22 Raptor.

This was pretty cool to see.

It is amazing what this plane can do.

I like this shot.

A pass with afterburners and it was loud.

Nice vapor trails.

Making a quick climp.

A pass.

The weapons bay open.

I love this.  It looks like it is engaging a cloaking device.

The vapor trails very evident.

A nice climb.

Another pass.

The FF is for First Fighter and it is based at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.  This squadron used to be based at Selfridge.

I love this shot.

Vapors coming out of the intake.

ONe more.

Then it was used to do a heritage flight with the P-51 Mustang.

I believe this represents the beginning and current point of the US Air Force.

The P-51 Mustang was one of the first planes that the Air Force used.

The F-22 is used by the current Air Force.

Both planes are feared in their respective eras.

ONe more pass before the break off.