On the horizon I saw the deepest shades of blue that I had ever seen in my entire life. As my eyes tracked upwards, the blue’s blended into the darkness of space. As my pilot, Lt. Col. Jon “Huggy” Huggins just said, at this very moment, out of 6 billion human beings, I was the highest person in the entire world. The only other humans higher then me were the 6 astronauts in the International Space Station. And naively, my eyes looked into the darkness of space to see if I could see them.

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Fifty Five years ago on a dry desert lake in the remote parts of Nevada, this beauty took to the skies for the first time. Since that day, this marvel of an aircraft is constantly being reborn to adapt and excel in its’ ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) role. Here’s to the men and women behind this beautiful aircraft and to all of their hard work to keep this aircraft flying.

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Hey guys, just a quick post, but wanted to let you guys know to keep an eye out for the May 2010  issue of Combat Aircraft because  my image of the B-2 Spirit is featured on the cover.

It can be found on magazine stands all over the world! Be sure to check your local Barnes and Noble and Boarders bookstores for a copy. For more images and to read about my adventure at Whiteman AFB, click here

When looking at your favorite sectional map, the most intimidating part seems to be the concentric blue lines of the Class Bravo airspace that surrounds 39 of the nations busiest airports. In Northern California, our Class Bravo airport surrounds San Francisco International (SFO), with nearly 400,000 operations in 2009. And a mere 10 nm north of SFO lies one of the most beautiful skylines in the world, one that hundreds of millions of people visit every year. But to get to that paradise, you have to transition through the dreaded Class Bravo airspace.

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In a major announcement by the DoD last Friday, the Deputy Secretary of Defense recently signed a new policy regarding the use of internet based capabilities. Recently members from around the blogosphere had a chance to speak with Mr. Price Floyd, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, in another installment of the DoD’s Bloggers Roundtable and hear first hand how these changes will affect the Armed Services and its’ members.

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Day two was setting up to be a busy one. Our goal was to squeeze in two flights and get an intro to Spins and Aerobatics. With the same format as the previous day’s flight, we did a through briefing, hopped into the plane, Tim demonstrates a maneuver, Sagar demonstrates, repeat, head back to the airport and then debrief. It was hard to keep all of the information straight as each maneuver and flight built on the previous ones. But Tim was quite patient and reminded me that this was just an introduction.

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You look outside and all you see is the ground flying past you; greens and browns all blurring into one shade. A second ago you were performing an immelman in your new Pitts Special S-2B, and now you and your plane are in a spin hurdling towards the ground. Your instincts kick in, you pull the power back to idle, let go of the stick, look over the nose and figure out which direction you are spinning, full opposite rudder, stop the spin, and recover.

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With my ticket in hand, I was ready to fly to the far reaches of the globe. Or at least as far as my Piper Cherokee could go before I had to land for fuel or return the airplane to the flying club. But before I flew away, I noticed that somewhere over the last 7 months during my training I had accumulated a substantial list of people that wanted me to take them flying. Friends, cousins, co-workers, random cute girls in the bar, and a few not so cute ones.

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Last week, I had the chance to get some air to air images of San Jose Police Department’s Air Support Units’ EC-120. What made this a special shoot was that over the past few years, I’ve gotten to know the men and women of the Air Support Unit and consider them friends. If they are not patrolling the skies over San Jose, CA, they are selflessly supporting the community through programs helping kids with cancer or their fellow police officers. But today the camera was pointed at them.

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Half way around the world, four zebras cautiously wait near a watering hole not knowing the danger that lurks in the bush. Luckily the four pictured above are at the Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach Florida where their biggest concern is when the next feeding is. Last year I was treated to an afternoon adventure through the “safari” with my cousin. What a cool and unique experience! As we drove through the park, we were just a few feet away from these beautiful animals. Here are a few images from the day. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »