Full Tilt Boogie!

What do you do when you are piloting a brand spanking new multi-million dollar MV-22 Osprey and the winds begin to gust in excess of 40 mph?



You try and ride it out ... going nowhere fast...



...and when the gusts are beyond limits you put it down quickly - somewhere -- anywhere!



Once safely down you then check your instruments - and your shorts ... wait for the gusts to subside ...

... take back off ...




... and land it on the runway alongside the F-18 jockeys who you hope didn't see what you almost just did.




-Steve

Aggressors In Amarillo

Out at the airport (Rick Husband/Amarillo Int.) today there was a free air show - of sorts. The pattern was filled with military aircraft, including two F-18s on their way to Red Flag - two V-22 Ospreys doing test work ( with one of them almost loosing it in the high winds) several assorted KC-135 tankers from Altus AFB, OK and even a Navy E-6 (TACAMO) doomsday aircraft.

Here are a couple shots of a Navy Aggressor FA/18 from VFC-12 NAS Oceana all decked out in a Russian paint scheme. These guys play the bad guys at Red Flag, and true to form he flipped me the bird when he saw me taking pictures of him!

I had a great day none-the-less. I'll post more later.

-Steve