Custom Ride

Last weekend seems to have been the opening of the Autumn events calendar.  On Saturday, I got to see vintage airplanes at the Atlanta Warbird Weekend and then went on to take in vintage cars at the UPS-United Way Car & Bike Show.

This was a beautiful custom motorcycle on display.  Low, sleek and shiny – with a fantastic orange paint job, this was a real eye-catcher!

UPS-United Way Car & Bike Show
GM Innovation Center
2010 Warsaw Road
Roswell, Georgia, USA

Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro

#motorcycle #custombike #carshow #UPSUnitedWayCarAndBikeShow #RoswellGA #GMGeorgiaInnovationCenter Gm Georgia Innovation Center Roswell, Georgia United Way Car Show – Atlanta

Aleutian Tiger

Had to go do some research to find the answer to this riddle.  All of the P40 aircraft on display at the Atlanta Warbird Weekend were painted with the Flying Tiger “shark face” except for this one.  This P40k Warhawk is painted with the insignia of the 11th fighter squadron, 343rd Fighter Group that was based during WWII at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Alaska.

This group was known as the Aleutian Tigers because their assignment was to defend the Aleutian Islands.  The group was commanded by Lt. Col. Jack Chenault, the son of General Claire Chenault who commanded the Flying Tigers.  No wonder there were similarities!

DeKalb–Peachtree Airport (PDK)
2000 Airport Road
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro
16mm @ f/18 – 1/60 sec – ISO 100

#P40K #AleutianTiger #aircraft #warbirds #vintage#WWII#DeKalbPeachtreeAirport #AVG#CommemerativeAirForceAtlanta Atlanta Warbird Weekend PDK – Dekalb Peachtree Airport Commemorative Air Force Commemorative Air Force Dixie Wing North Georgia Photography Club #Atlantawarbirdweekend #AWW16 #keepemflying

P-51 Mustang

Another reason why I’m wishing I had signed up for a ride at Atlanta Warbird Weekend.  This is about the coolest of all WWII planes and they were giving people rides!  I can’t believe I missed out on that.  Oh well, at least I got some good images…

P-51D North American Mustang “Red Nose” – the plane that started the Commemorative Air Force and has been assigned to the Dixie Wing since 2002. The North American P-51 Mustang is a long range fighter plane that is a veteran of WWII, Korea and other conflicts. In late 1943, P-51’s started to escort the long range bombers over Nazi Germany to fend off the feared Luftwaffe and helped paved the way to Allied Air Superiority over the European Theatre. Known as the “Little Friends” to the bomber crews, the P-51’s along with P-47’s and P-38’s greatly reduced the bomber losses.

DeKalb–Peachtree Airport (PDK)
2000 Airport Road
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Featured image:
Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro
110mm @ f/11 – 1/125 sec – ISO 100

#P51Mustang #aircraft #warbirds #vintage #WWII#DeKalbPeachtreeAirport #AVG #CommemerativeAirForceAtlanta Atlanta Warbird Weekend PDK – Dekalb Peachtree Airport Commemorative Air Force Commemorative Air Force Dixie Wing North Georgia Photography Club #Atlantawarbirdweekend #AWW16 #keepemflying

Out for a ride

Part of the Warbird Weekend which I unfortunately did not get to participate in, was rides in some of the vintage aircraft.  I watched jealously as the vintage planes taxied for takeoff, circled around the field and then touched back down during the day.

Checking out all the insturments before lift off to another ride

North American LT-6 “Mosquito” (T-6 Texan, SNJ, Harvard) – Originally configured as an SNJ-4 (Navy version), this plane was restored to honor our Korean War Veterans as a LT-6 “Mosquito”, used for forward air control and close air support. Of course, this was the plane that every pilot – bomber or fighter – had to master before they were assigned to front line aircraft like the B-17, B-24, P-51 or Corsair to name a few.

North American LT-6 “Mosquito” ready to go

DeKalb–Peachtree Airport (PDK)
2000 Airport Road
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Featured image:
Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro
300mm @ f/10 – 1/320 sec – ISO 100

#NorthAmericanLT6 #Mosquito #aircraft #warbirds #vintage #WWII #DeKalbPeachtreeAirport #AVG#CommemerativeAirForce Atlanta Warbird Weekend Atlanta Warbird Weekend PDK – Dekalb Peachtree Airport

Bombs Away

The focus of the Atlanta Warbirds Weekend was on the Flying Tigers anniversary but there was much more to see.  A group of larger aircraft was at the opposite end of the field from where the P-40 fighters were located.

There were two massive cargo planes, The Placid Lassie and the Tinker Belle and a bombing trainer, the Tantalizing Takeoff.

Crowds gathered around the big planes for a closer look

 

1941 Beech AT-11 “Tantalizing Takeoff”

The trainer, a Beech AT-11 was very interesting.  You could easily walk up and view the cockpit and the bombardier’s seat.  The trainer is set up as a miniature version of the B-17 Flying Fortress.  I’m sure it was much less expensive to train in one of these than to take one of those giants out!

DeKalb–Peachtree Airport (PDK)
2000 Airport Road
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Featured image:
Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro
18mm @ f/18 – 1/20 sec – ISO 100

Curtiss P-40 “Flying Tiger”

Yesterday, I went out to DeKalb-Peachtree Airport to see the Atlanta Warbirds Weekend which featured a gathering for the 75th Anniversary of the Flying Tigers.  This was a very interesting and informative event which included several of the P-40 Flying Tiger aircraft, surviving members of the AVG and many other displays of World War II memorabilia.

The day included educational sessions and rememberances from veterans of WWII.  I guess I knew some of the history of the Flying Tigers but really only remembered the famous nose art which may be the case for most people.  Flying Tigers is actually the nickname of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) which was a group of 3 squadrons of Army, Navy, and Marine pilots and flight support staff that operated as part of the Chineese Army in 1941-1942 prior to the US entry into the War.  These pilots are legendary for their success in fighting the Japanese and the Flying Tigers were quickly put forward as heros with a John Wayne movie being made to promote support of the war effort.

I will share more images from this event but wanted to get one out there for today.

DeKalb–Peachtree Airport (PDK)
2000 Airport Road
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro
22mm @ f/11 – 1/125 sec – ISO 100

 

Up close and personal

I found this image of one of the engines at the Southeastern Railway Museum which I hadn’t shared previously and thought I would put it up.  This was from a trip with the North Georgia Photography Club about a month ago.

The museum, which is located in Duluth, Georgia, has a fairly sizable collection of railroad engines, rolling stock, and other transportation equipment.  Below is their description of this engine:

1026 – GP7 Locomotive – Georgia Railroad
This locomotive was built in 1950 by EMD. It was acquired from the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum in 2004.
Status: Stored Serviceable

Southeastern Railway Museum
3595 Buford Highway
Duluth, GA 30096

Nikon D7100
Tamron SP 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Di II
16mm at f/8 – 1/80 sec – ISO 100

Remembering Summer, looking forward to Fall

Yes, Summer is full of flowers and butterflies and many other happy things but, let the hot temperatures go away for a while, Please!

This black swallowtail butterfly was seen at Gibbs Gardens in August and unfortunately, the weather hasn’t changed much since then.  I am ready for Football season and Autumn leaves but mother nature’s not done with summer yet.  Oh well, I will be mourning the loss of warm weather when January rolls around so, I guess we all should just enjoy it while we can.

Gibbs Gardens
1987 Gibbs Drive
Ball Ground, Georgia, USA

Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro
100mm @ f/5.6 – 1/1000 sec – ISO 640

#GibbsGardens #BallGroundGeorgia #Georgia #butterfly #swallowtail #south #southern #gardens #Nikon #WithMyTamron

Lavender Lily

The water lily garden at Gibbs Gardens is so tranquil and beautiful that I had to put one more image from there out.  The background is darkened to make the flower stand out more since I wanted people to see it rather than the water.

Gibbs Gardens
1987 Gibbs Drive
Ball Ground, Georgia, USA

Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro
300mm @ f/6.3 – 1/1250 sec – ISO 640

#GibbsGardens #BallGroundGeorgia #Georgia #WaterLilies #LilyPond #reflections #flowers #south #southern #gardens #Nikon #WithMyTamron

Last day of Summer?

This image was actually taken last month but it sure feels like we’re still in the middle of Summer around here!  I think it’s supposed to be in the 90’s today.  Technically, the first day of Autumn is tomorrow so maybe this is the last day of summer.

I have a funny feeling that the hot weather is not going to disappear by the end of the week.  Oh well, I guess we can just enjoy the flowers and watch the hummingbirds until they decide it is time to move one.  I am looking forward to fall though!

Gibbs Gardens
1987 Gibbs Drive
Ball Ground, Georgia, USA

Nikon D7100
Tamron 16-300 Di II VC PZD Macro
300mm @ f/6.3 – 1/1250 sec – ISO 640

#GibbsGardens #BallGroundGeorgia #Georgia #WaterLilies #LilyPond #reflections #flowers #south #southern #gardens #Nikon #WithMyTamron