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Posts Tagged ‘aircraft’

Look, up in the sky

Posted in aircraft, Autumn, Patriotism, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 13, 2018| 5 Comments »

I was startled on Friday when exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to hear a loud roaring noise overhead. I looked up and saw a large group of vintage aircraft flying in formation. Even though I zoomed out as far as I could with my 150-600mm lens, I could not fit all of the aircraft within the frame until they were flying away.

According to a press release from the Culpeper Air Fest, in an operation known as the Potomac Flight, a group of World War II aircraft on Friday, 12 October did a flyover down the Potomac River from Culpeper Regional Airport over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery to honor Disabled American Veterans as a tribute to the services and sacrifices veterans have made for our freedom. Those of us who live in the Washington DC area know that the airspace over the capital region is tightly controlled and I can only imagine all of the bureaucratic impediments that had to be overcome to make this overflight possible.

I am not very good at identifying vintage aircraft, but the press release cited above indicated the overflight would include T-6 Texans and a C-47 aircraft.

Potomac Flight 2018

Potomac Flight 2018

Potomac Flight 2018

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Osprey over the Potomac River

Posted in Photography, Travel, Urban, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 17, 2015| 7 Comments »

As I stood at the waterfront in Georgetown last Friday, I heard a rumble approaching. Was it an aircraft? Was it a helicopter? Suddenly a loud, slow aircraft appeared low in the sky above the Potomac River. It was probably the strangest looking aircraft that I had ever seen.

I had read about the MV-22 Osprey, but had never seen one. The Osprey combines the functionality of a helicopter with that of an aircraft and has tilt rotors that allow it to perform vertical takeoffs and landings.

This Marine Corps aircraft was at the tail end of a small flight of helicopters that was heading toward the White House. Perhaps it was providing additional security, given that it was September 11 when I took the photos, or may have merely been transporting part of the President’s entourage.

The first two photos show the Osprey in flight. I was pleased to be able to get these shots despite the fact that I had only a 24-105mm lens on my camera at the time. The third shot is of one of the other helicopters in the group. The “white top” helicopters are usually associated with the Marine Corps detachment that supports the President. The final shot shows a couple of the presidential helicopters as they fly toward the White House.

I thought about cloning out the small jet in the first photo, but decided that I like the way that it almost looks like the Osprey is stalking the jet.

MV-22 Osprey

MV-22 Osprey

presidential helicopter

presidential helicopters

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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