Hi all,

My name is Tim and I'm looking to buy a Jag, hence joining these forums to learn about them before choosing one.

I love this photography forum, as I do part time photography work as well. I am very jealous of the cars and locations that many of you have access to!

So I shoot aircraft as a part time job, mostly radio controlled but some real stuff too. I wanted to share some of my favourite aircraft with you.

I started out with my trusty 20D and I had the 18-55 kit lens. It was immediately apparent that I need some more range, so I bought the 75-300mm kit lens. I am a bit of a perfectionist and it did not take me long to realise that the quality was not really good enough at all. I toyed with the idea of buying some non-L series zooms but decided to go for the 100-400L. This lens is fantastic; my copy is extremely sharp, but it is definitely an outdoor lens (f5.6 at 400mm).

Now the body was letting me down, so when the 50D came out, I bought a new 40D as they were being cleared out. This saw a nice improvement in colour and speed of focus and shooting for me, and I lived with this combination happily until I was given the opportunity to buy a 1D Mark III for extremely cheap from my pro friend. I bought it and have not looked back; 10 frames a second is golden for those spectacular crashes.

Now, I enjoy the 1D with the 100-400L as my main camera and I combine my 40D with my 10-20 Sigma (or Wigma, ultra wide angle) for my ground work stuff in between flights. The 1D and 100-400L combination gets very heavy holding it above your head for 5 hours straight, two days in a row though.

I normally shoot 4-6 paid events a year, although I may do some unpaid stuff if I am feeling the itch. I have been doing this for around 5 years now.

I love that I get to share the time and effort that goes into these beautiful models. For the record, all jets in my photos are real scale turbines. The engines alone cost between $1000-$3000; the whole jets are often around $10k. There are some real radials and normal 2 and 4 stroke pistons as well. The planes can be as small as your forearm to several meters long.

So enough story, I waned to share some pictures of some of my favourite planes.

































I hope you enjoy my pictures.

 

i like you pics alot well done nice to see somthing diffrent.

 

Really nice, thanks for sharing.........very lifelike too in some shots

 

Very impressive - both the modelling and your photographs.

Graham

 

Very nice!

 

As a kid, waay back when, we spent many weekends building these things.

The smell of 'dope' to stretch the fabric, 'ether' to get the thing going, coupled with a large return spring to remove bits of the right index finger brings it all back.

But then, we used to run them in large circles, and rerun the Battle of Britain, whilst shooting at them with Air Rifles.

Your pics are good.

 

I took these at 2012 Wings Over Houston.

The Corsair has a real-life counterpart that's based on the same airfield, belongs to the Lone Star Flight Museum @ Ellington Field.

 

Thanks for the replies and comments, it's got me keen for the upcoming Christmas flying events.

Yeah I have memories of building planes with my dad with fabric and dope and all as well, good times. Thanks for sharing.

Nice one, looks like a great location and some nice models.

 

Excellent photography!

My dad has been flying model aircraft for close to 80 years (yes, eighty!) with the exception of a few years gap during the war and a few years before I was born. He started at the age of 7 and is now 86, something of a record here in Canada I think. He flies from the fields behind the house or at the local club depending on his mood and is out 2-3 times per week evenin the dead of winter. At one point in the late '60s he held the record for the largest flying model aircraft in the country with a 14' wingspan.

I've recently picked up the bug again and am learning to fly model helicopters but am finding that my previous experience with fixed wing aircraft is of little benefit. Much like hopping on one foot while you pat your head, run your stomach and balance a ball on your nose all a the same time.


Please post more pics if you can.

 

Aussie - here's your real Gunfighter Mustang. I shot this at 2009 Randolph Open House @ Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio TX. I was right at the end of the runway, almost directly above where each plane would make their final approach.

 

Wow, fantastic! Imagine how much change in technology he has seen in that time.

Certainly, I'll post some more shortly.

Great find! I hope it's still in better condition that the one I photographed. Love the Mustangs.

 

Alright, here are some more. So many beautiful aircraft to choose from.

 

Here is a photo of my 450 series helicopters.
(The main rotors on multi-blades, are removed for storage)

 

I built one before, never flew it, the guy who bought it from me said he took it out and crashed it on the first/only flight....oh well that's why I fly the real things, I didn't build it!

 

Nice helis, reyesl. vdubluv74 - haha yeah it happens Nice that you fly real things.

 

The builder did an excellent job on the weathering!

 

Brilliant pics & great models Tim !! I'm also an aircraft fan & do airshows & museums . I am also a member of our local air museum ( Jet Age Museum ) in Gloucestershire UK . I have a couple of cameras , but both are a bit aim & shoot !!

 

great pics all - thanks for sharing

 

Thanks, and nice pics Five Speed. What a shiny prop too!