Jones Beach Air Show

moose135

Well, I managed to survive another air show! We have an annual air show on Long Island on Memorial Day weekend, but I'm not one of those people who are satisfied going down to the beach one day to watch the show. No, it's a full week event for me, spending days at Republic Airport, photographing the various performers coming and going from a variety of vantage points. It turns into a week of great airplanes, outstanding performances, and spending time with good friends as we try to capture it all.

We started out with the USAF Thunderbirds arriving...





A special treat this year was an appearance by the Canadian Snowbirds. This was their first local appearance in some 20 years, and they didn't disappoint!





Chris Baranaskas made his return to air show flying at the show. Chris and his father Bob appeared at many airshows, Chris in this P-51 Mustang and Bob in a P-40 Warhawk. Bob was killed in the crash of his P-40 in April, while preparing for air show season. I've know both Chris and Bob for several years and you couldn't find nicer people. This was his first show appearance since his father's death and Chris made us proud this weekend.



Bill Reesman and the Red Bull MiG-17 returned this year.



I did venture down to the beach on Friday to catch practice. You get to see most of the performers, but without the massive crowds that the weekend brings. Here's an F/A-18F making a high speed pass on a humid afternoon.



The Thunderbirds heading out to the beach.



American Airpower Museum's L-39 departing for the beach.







No, Blue Thunder isn't the only helicopter that can perform loops - Chuck Aaron and his Red Bull BO-105 can also.



Much too soon it was over. Monday saw the Thunderbirds pack up and head to their next performance. We were treated to a C-17 arriving to pick up their support crew and equipment.






I'm left with a little bit of sunburn, about 4,000 images to sort through, and a ton of great memories. While the airplanes are the stars here, it's the people that make the show special.

moose135

The American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport hosts many of the air show aircraft. For the past three years, they have been kind enough to allow us to bring a group of photographers in after hours on Saturday to photograph the aircraft on the ramp for "History Under the Stars"...











A special word of thanks goes to the folks at the American Airpower Museum - they allowed us to roam the ramp, capturing our images, after a long day of dealing with air show aircraft and visitors. And I can't forget my good friend, and fellow SmugMugger, Fred Miller, without whom this night would not be possible. Fred and I always have great adventures, and I wouldn't be the photographer I am today without Fred around to challenge me.

Many more photos from both the air show and this special night shoot can be found on my SM site

black mamba

Hey Moose,

Real nice work here. There's nothing like a show of this caliber to get the blood flowing, is there?

Tom

Andy

Nikolai

Very cool!

JChurill

Real nice shots. Nothing like having that kind of access!!

Azzaro

Great set ....... Thanks for sharing....... azzaro

ian408

That Redbull MIG is spectacular as are the other "under the stars" shots--I really like the look you've achieved with the night shots.

DJ-S1

Excellent stuff!

Travism82

I love the Warthog photo, and the underside of the thunderbird! You must have quite the lens!

LightPlane Photo

Scha-WING!!! Incredibly cool! Very well done

Were these aerials done with a Canon 100-400mm L IS???

Milan

Very cool!

DaddyO

Fine photography. Just excellent work.thumb

Jack'll do

Absolutely outstanding...every single one of 'em. bow

moose135

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the kind words. The Jones Beach show is the highlight of my year for aviation photography. It's a busy week, lots of long hours, but when I see what I end up with, it's all worth it.

LightPlane Photo wrote:

Were these aerials done with a Canon 100-400mm L IS???

Yes they were. It's my standard "aviation" lens, I really like the results I get with it.

Just one more to add - this may be my favorite shot of the week.

Skippy

moose135 wrote:

Well, I managed to survive another air show! We have an annual air show on Long Island on Memorial Day weekend, but I'm not one of those people who are satisfied going down to the beach one day to watch the show. No, it's a full week event for me, spending days at Republic Airport, photographing the various performers coming and going from a variety of vantage points. It turns into a week of great airplanes, outstanding performances, and spending time with good friends as we try to capture it all.

Much too soon it was over. Monday saw the Thunderbirds pack up and head to their next performance. We were treated to a C-17 arriving to pick up their support crew and equipment.

I'm left with a little bit of sunburn, about 4,000 images to sort through, and a ton of great memories. While the airplanes are the stars here, it's the people that make the show special.

These are awesome Moose Airshows are exciting events to attend even if your not there to take photos, the atmosphere and the visual displays .... but if you are there to take photos it's definitely full of non stop photo opportunities.

They're all fantastic love the ones you've taken as the sun was going down, great colour in the sky.

The Formation flying is always a favourite with me
Thanks for sharing .... Skippy
.