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Sightings: Hazy's Hits
A photo gallery of airplanes at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center.
By Michael Klesius
airspacemag.com, November 17, 2009
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Photographer Dane Penland might have the coolest job in the world.
He’s the sole photographer on site at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in northern Virginia. As such, he has the entire museum, and sometimes the original Air and Space Museum in downtown Washington, D.C., as his office space.
Working in such cavernous surroundings (Hazy is almost four times the size of the original museum) with such huge subjects, Penland has become a master of lighting, using an array of strobes that he often has to position throughout the airplanes, as well as behind, beneath, and above.
He made this image of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a Mach 3 reconnaissance jet that still seems ahead of its time for design and performance. This aircraft accumulated 2,800 hours of flight time over 24 years of active duty with the U.S. Air Force before setting a speed record on its final flight. On that day, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yielding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida flew it from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in 64 minutes and 20 seconds, averaging 2,124 miles an hour. At the conclusion of the flight, they landed at Dulles International Airport and turned the Blackbird over to the Smithsonian for good.
Check out the gallery at right for more of Penland’s beautiful shots.
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Comments
Don't forget another first for the B-29: the most expensive weapon system of World War II, even more than the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb -- over three billion dollars. (Manhattan Project cost about two billion.)
Posted by Franklin D Moore on December 19,2009 | 09:25AM
did I miss something ? I had flying model Newport 28 or did the model mfg just change the spelling. EDITORS' REPLY: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieuport_28
Posted by Richard Kurtz on December 19,2009 | 11:17AM
Dane, Thank you for shooting this fantastic aircraft of history. The lighting must have taken a bit of time to set but looking at the results. It's magnificent. I would like to know if you had considered adding some gels for very different effect? Thanks again!
Posted by Sergio Maraschin on December 19,2009 | 08:29PM
Very nice, sleak and incredibily beautful. Like to see other variations of this shot and again like the Enloa gay Add some gels to this one too!
Posted by Sergio Maraschin on December 19,2009 | 08:33PM
i thought your display of warbirds in this online issue was great keep them coming
Posted by stephen j zagorski jr on December 20,2009 | 04:12AM
Good pictures and info. especially liked the B 29. I was stationed at Chanute Field after the end of WWII and they had a number of B29 and B50 parked ther for some time. Thanks dkt
Posted by Donald Townsend on December 20,2009 | 08:34AM
Nice pictures...I think I took better ones when I was there the other year. Not to brag but these are just some really poor mag' photos. Would you people like to see the ones I took? EDITORS' REPLY: Readers wanting to share photographs of any aerospace topic may visit: http://www.airspacemag.com/reader-scrapbook/reader-scrapbook-form/
Posted by Michael Dravuschak on December 20,2009 | 05:23PM
I am looking for an SAR aircraft circa 1960. These short stubby little "Dumbos" were deployed in the central Pacific/Kwajalein for seaplane duty and search and rescue. I want to say S-16, but I"m not sure thats the number and I haven't been able to bring up anything relevant. Any ideas? Thanks, Navy Brat
Posted by billy howard on December 24,2009 | 08:48AM
Responding to posting by Billy Howard of 12/24/09 of a 1960s SAR aircraft. The SA-16 Albatross was used as SAR by both the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.
Posted by Robert R. Borradaile Sr. on February 3,2010 | 12:20PM
Responding to Billy Howard 12/24/09 about SAR a/c flown in the 60's. I believe the correct designation was HU-16 and was a GRUMMAN A/C. I flew one when I was stationed in Rosy Roads in 1970.
Posted by Bob Hollerbach on February 3,2010 | 09:36PM
I would love to see something about the B-32, which supposedly was to be the replacement for the B-24. I saw one once at a distance at Mountain Home AAF Base, Idaho, in 1945-46, where I was stationed.
Posted by Stephen F. Orban on February 26,2010 | 11:13AM