More Airshow from the Moody Open House...

Heck Frank...I don't know how I missed this thread. Wonderful photos of the A-10, and the shots of the Blackhawks are outstanding. Thank you for sharing them.

Thanks, Hunter. If I ever have to fly a jet, that jet would definitely be an A-10. Flying an A-10, a pilot can get in close and kick some serious butt and see immediate results. My kinda airplane!

Just as an aside: I was assigned to Moody from March 1967 to September 1970.

HUGE Ditto on the A10. Has Moody changed much since your time there?

When I was assigned to Moody, it was part of Air Training Command, home of the 3550 Pilot Training Wing. We graduated around 500 American, Vietnamese and Iranian pilots, I think, every three months. After fifteen years of being on a constant war footing, Moody is a very different place today. It seemed that all of the young enlisted men and women wore side-arms and at the main gate there were at least a half dozen heavily armed men and women. When I was there the main gate looked something like this:

Today, the main gate looks like this:

The whole place looks different and feels different.

Man those were some big numbers back then. 500 every three months. It's a shame how things have gone down hill in the world. I remember the only individuals on base that carried any type of firearm were the MP's. I hate to see where we are in 10 years. I forgot to ask you in the first thread...but what type of photo equipment do you use?

For digital, I shoot with a Pentax K-3. The lens I used for the airshow is a Pentax 55-300mm. For film (yes, film) I shoot with a Pentax ME Super I bought forty years ago.

Yeah, 500 pilots every three months. Of course, not all flew combat. Plus some became navigator/bombardiers and R.I.O.s, transport pilots, FACs.

Very nice equipment...I had to google it of coarse. Your photo taking skills are top notch Frank. I really enjoy when you post your photos.

Hunter, a friend recently pointed me to SmugMug as a place to post my aviation pictures. I have been with Flickr for almost ten years until I lost my password back in the spring. It's been quite an ordeal trying to get a new password for my account and not at all successful. I can't even access my Flickr page to close the account! Anyway, after I get set up on SmugMug, I'll be posting links to my aviation photography.

My first aviation photography trip of 2018 will be to American Aero Services on New Smyrna Beach Airport on January 6. American Aero Services is the winter home of the Collings Foundation B-17G and B-24J, both restored by Tom Reilly.

That sounds like an outstanding, and exciting trip. I look forward to seeing what you capture from your adventure. Have fun and safe travels.