The Antonov An-124 Ruslan is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. It was designed by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrainian SSR, then part of the Soviet Union. The An-124 is the world’s largest serially manufactured cargo airplane and world’s second largest operating cargo aircraft, behind the one-off Antonov An-225 (an enlarged variant of the An-124) .
Wingspan: 240′ (73 m)
Length: 226′ (69 m)
Introduced: 1986
Designer: Antonov
Here at Minneapolis/St Paul Airport on 3/25/13
When President Obama paid a visit to Minneapolis to give a speech on gun control Larry Grace was there at the airport to snap images of Air Force One.
Larry is president of the International Society of Aviation Photographers and does have access to airport events here in Minneapolis and around the country.
Here is another image in John’s ongoing aviation series:
Submitted by Member John Ringquist
Below is an image of a B-17 refueling in the bright sun before they fly more passengers at the Wings of the North Air Expo that are part of my aviation series.
Submitted by Member John Ringquist
John Ringquist has added two versions of the Boeing Dreamliner to his series of aviation images he has started.
“I was very impressed with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the EAA Airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I took some wide angle shots of the front of the plane. This image was cleaned up in Lightroom 3 and then in OnOne software, saturation was increase and a darkened vignette added. This really give the image impact and great contrast between the white and the blue.
Member John Ringquist is starting a new series of aviation “photo art” . The idea is to use artistic backgrounds and techniques to separate the traditional photo from all other pure aviation photography. Rather than soften the image and blur the effects like photo painting usually requires, John is pushing up the color saturation while trying to keep traditional focus on the primary subject.
The first image in this new series below is titled “Lil’ Red” :
A second image in this series it titled “Mustang Spinner” :
The images are indeed art, and John has promised more images to come in this series.
Submitted by Member John Rinquist
Below are some wonderful images from this year’s annual EAA held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin:
Submitted by Dynolights Member Larry Grace
If you don’t already know it, there is an annual airshow held in OshKosh, Wisconsin that usually is the biggest one held in the United States. There are two Dynolights members who attended this year. The first to report back is John Ringquist who submitted the images below:
The show featured Boeing’s new 787 aircraft that flew into Oshkosh on Friday morning, 7/29. The 787 is called the Dreamliner and is the latest from Boeing. The 787 was wildly received and walkthrough tours began almost immediately which literally had very, very long lines to tour. This particular aircraft was one of six in testing phase. You’ll notice the cord hanging from the tail of the aircraft. This is an unobstructed pitot tube for calibrated air speed. The plane left Oshkosh approximately 6:15 pm.
Submitted by Dynolights Member John Ringquist
During the Eden Prairie Air Expo the CAF Red Tail Squadron P-51B Mustang was on display. Below is an image of Brad Lang, son of a Tuskegee Airman, arriving in a P51-C Mustang during an aviation event promoting the Red Tail Project. Brad is an airline pilot, an accomplished aerobatic pilot, he also volunteers for the CAF Red Tail Project flying and supporting the CAF P-51C Mustang to promote the legacy of Tuskegee Airmen.
Brad’s father was a Tuskegee Airman. Unfortunately the late Donald Lang Sr. didn’t dare dream of going into aviation as a profession, even after his days with the Tuskegee Airmen. It wasn’t an option during segregation for the first African-American military aviators, no matter how accomplished he may have been.
The leader of the CAF Red Tail Squadron, Brad Lang, say of the new CAF Squadron: “Our mission has always been focused on educating people about Tuskegee Airmen. They were talented and courageous aviators who were fighting the Nazis in the air and the military’s segregationist policies on the ground during World War II. The Airmen and their crews painted the tails of their fighters red and, as they proved their skill and daring in the skies over Italy and Germany, white bomber pilots stepped back from their own prejudices and began requesting the ‘red tail angels.’ Adding the word “Squadron” to our new name reflects the fact that hundreds of people support our desire to tell the Airmen’s story by making donations and volunteering.”
To learn more about the P-51 Mustang and the Tuskegee Airmen go to http://www.redtail.org/
Submitted by Dynolights Member Larry Grace
Stinson L-5 Sentinel
The USA light aircraft L-5 Sentinel began life as the pre-war Stinson Model 105. The model 105 was nicknamed Voyager, built by the Stinson division of Consolidated Vultee. When World War II broke out, the Voyager was redesigned and then entered into service as a liaison aircraft. It also flew in the artillery spotter role and as an air ambulance. The later model L-5s had their fuselages modified to accommodate one stretcher patient.
The L-5 was manufactured between October 1942 and September 1945, during which time a total of over 3,896 of these unarmed, two-seat aircraft were built for the United States armed forces, making it the second most widely used light observation aircraft of the war. Personnel in all service branches commonly referred to it as the “Flying Jeep”.
The L-5 was primarily constructed from steel tubing and plywood covered with doped cotton fabric. This image was taken at the Eden Prairie Air Expo as it was being guided to a parking space on the ramp.
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the then-United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). It was primarily employed by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and military targets. The United States Eighth Air Force based at Thorpe Abbotts airfield in England and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy complemented the RAF Bomber Command‘s nighttime area bombing in Operation Pointblank to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for Operation Overlord.[4] The B-17 also participated to a lesser extent in the War in the Pacific where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping and airfields.
B-17G-110-VE, N3193G, was delivered to the U. S. Army Air Corps as 44-85829, then transferred to the U. S. Coast Guard as PB-1G, BuNo 77255 in September 1946. It served at NAS Elizabeth City, North Carolina until May 1959. Ace Smelting Incorporated of Phoenix, Arizona bought it on May 11, 1959, gave it its current registration, then sold it to Fairchild Aerial Surveys of Los Angeles, California the same month.
Aero Services Corporation of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania acquired it on August 2, 1965 and sold it to Beigert Brothers of Shickley, Nebraska on October 1, 1965. Aircraft Specialties Incorporated of Mesa, Arizona bought it on March 19, 1966 and flew it as tanker c34 and later tanker #34. It was flown to Hawaii in January 1969 to appear in the movie Tora Tora Tora. Globe Air Incorporated of Mesa, Arizona acquired it along with B-17G-85-DL, N9563Z on February 18, 1981.
It is now named “Yankee Lady” and flies for the Yankee Air Museum at Yspilanti, Michigan
Submitted by Dynolights Member Larry Grace
