Miramar Air Show 2023!
America’s Air show is hosted at none other than MCAS Miramar! The famous location of the Navy’s Top Gun School! This year I went to check out the planes with my friends Jess and her husband Pat, who are both active members and could give me a lot of cool insight about the planes and the goings on around the base.

We were greeted by a A400 which is actually a Royal Airforce plane from the UK!
Then we got to see a Nasa F-18. This one was really special. I think she may have escorted the shuttle around during the STS Era. You can see by the round intakes that she is actually a Legacy hornet. No longer suitable for combat, She has a new life as a vehicle for Science!
Then we saw a few T-38’s! the black one is for U-2 Pilots. I think its hard to get a lot of time inside a U-2 so those pilots train in T-38’s quite often,
Here are some more views of the A400

An F-35C on display for all to see!
There were several hangin’ out! my friend said they reminded her of sparrows the way they stand.

A Few C-130’s were there!
We spent a lot of time hanging out with this KC-135 Stratotanker, It was nice and shady under the nose gear, and offered a good reprieve from the scorching sun!

This one is from Marche Airforce Reserve base!
And I really love this Pilot and his girlfriend up on the tail having they’re lunch!
We also saw a DRONE! here is an MQ-9 Reaper looking ominous with its perfectly solid nose, reminding you that it doesn’t need windows to see you.

We also saw Doc! which is a rather famous still flying B-29 Superfortress.
There were some other aircrafts without wheels! these motorcyclists were FLYING over this monster inflatable ramp. They were just close enough for my 70mm Tamron lens to capture up close!
Unfortunately my lens was just not quite long enough to get super close to any of the flying birds. Which is a shame because Vicky Dazzled us with her piloting skills in a old Boeing Stearmen Bi plane!
Some more cool exhibits1 here is an Oshkosh supporting an array of Patriot Missiles, and a CH-53 Sea Stallion!
I finally got meet RUDY36! These guys are fly over Burbank quite often. and I finally got to see one up close. I talked to the pilot and she said that recently one of these birds had broken down north of LA and they had to ferry parts back and forth which explains all the recent sightings!
Some nice old planes including an Ercoupe!
You better believe it was bright and hot. So Jess cooled down with some dip and dots. Mean while I got to check out some Viper Inert missiles!
Pat wanted to check out the Cal fire planes. here is an S-2 Tracker that has had a turbo prop conversion! Careful for the HOT LOAD though!

On our way out we saw the blue angles zooming by. I actually got to drive along side them for a bit since the exit was on a tiny little road that paralleled the runway.
Griffith Observatory
A week ago I went on a hike to the Observatory and brought some Lomography 800 with me. I happened to arrive just at golden hour and got some lovely picks of Los Angele’s best educational telescopes!

Here’s what it looked like on the way to the top.
I accidentally took the wrong way and walked up the road for a bit. but I was greeted by a really cool Camaro!
There was also enough light get a photo inside. normally I can’t take indoor photos with this lens on film
The lighting was exceptional today!

And here is the skyline on the way back down, I had to lean over off the trail to get a shot through the leaves. but it was totally worth it.