|
McDonnell Douglas FA-18 Hornet (16-8940)
Normally, this is a photo I would not post on to FA's gallery site. But this picture is not a normal photo.
This was snapped 23 hours ago, at 1:30 PM on Sunday afternoon, July 29, 2018. The weather over Reno was perfect. The sky was all blue, there was not even one weather-related cloud in it. The sun was shining. The temperature at the airport was 102 degrees.
But this was the view as "Thunder One Tree," this VAQ 135 (Electronic Attack Squadron One Three Five) "World Famous Black Ravens" EA-18G Growler (168940 - NAS Whidbey Island), was rolling out on KRNO's 16R just after landing. The downtown Reno skyline is barely visible in the background, and even as close as it is, the Growler is a bit hazy. Heavy, thick, choking smoke coming from two massive wildfires in California (the Carr Fire in Redding and the Whaleback Fire in Susanville) and one huge fire in Nevada just north of Reno (the Perry Fire at Pyramid Lake) blotted out the high afternoon sun and covered the entire area. So this photo is actually the best quality it was possible to take in all that smoke.
There were three Growlers arriving. The smoke was so thick that all aircraft were on instruments to land at RNO because they could not see the airport until the last few moments of the approach. For the first time ever, I saw a multi-ship flight of military warbirds spaced out by the tower during their approach, with Thunder One Tree landing first followed about a minute later by Thunder One One and then, landing last about thirty seconds later, Thunder One Two.
These were my last captures of a very long day. My eyes were watering profusely and I was having trouble getting a good breath of air. Very reluctantly, I turned my back on the opportunities to snap even more arriving military metal and went home. To the best of my ability to recall, this is the first time I've ever let Mother Nature make me say "Uncle" and quit.
This is also the first photo of 168940 to be entered into FA's photo gallery. I regret that it isn't an ultra-primo shot.
Comments
REGISTRO DE ACTIVIDAD
¿Deseas un historial completo para 16-8940 a partir de 1998? Compra ahora. Recíbelo dentro de una hora.
|
Fecha | Aeronave | Origen | Destino | Salida | Llegada | Duración |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Recent History Data | ||||||
Los usuarios básicos (¡registrarse es fácil y gratis!) ven un historial de 3 months. Únete |
Please log in or register to post a comment.