Eye in the sky: Scan Eagle
February 24th, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Erik Hildebrandt
The “hootch” appears out of the fog as if part of a movie set. Complete with an outdoor dart board, BBQ grill and kitschy patio lighting strung along the edge of Hesco cubes, the smell of fresh high-dollar coffee lures you in from the pre-dawn dampness. This is base-ops for INSITU/BOEING Scan Eagle operations in southern Iraq. Manned by a crew of three contractors, their job is to launch/recover and maintain a small fleet of nimble UAVs called Scan Eagle. With a 10 foot wingspan and legs long enough to remain airborne for over 10 hours, the menacing-looking swept wing airplane is largely derived from off-the-shelf technologies found in the RC (radio control) modeling world. But for a system that may have common components, the Scan Eagle program is providing the Navy with some very uncommon imaging products. It was Scan Eagle that kept an eye on the Maersk Alabama Captain when he was taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2009, and today, just off the coast of Iraq/Kuwait, Scan Eagle is patrolling the waters around the Al Basrah Oil Terminal or (ABOT). This gallery depicts a night time recovery using the unique capture system whereby the air vehicle actually flies itself into a vertical recovery rope which will slide down the leading edge of the wing and wedge into a specialized hook that catches the plane and then holds it in place until it can be safely lowered to the ground. After refueling and service, the aircraft is then launched early the next morning for another full day of surveillance ops using an ingenious pneumatic catapult. There is a GCS or ground control station at this land-based site as well as out on the oil platform itself. The shore-side GCS controls the plane for launch and recovery, while the ABOT GCS handles the operational phase of the mission. When the mission is complete, the ABOT GCS sends Scan Eagle back to shore and the in-flight control hand-off is done prior to recovery back on land. It is obviously an amazing system doing great work for the Navy.
Erok
Nimitz night ops
February 23rd, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Erik Hildebrandt
After going through most of the 150,000 images from the trip of a lifetime in January, I keep coming back to a series of photographs made during night flight operations on the Nimitz. The low-light capability of the Nikon D3 series of cameras is simply incredible. In this edit, keep in mind that these are all hand-held photos taken with shutter speeds around 1.5-3.5 seconds. The sensor is so sensitive, that in many of the frames, you can actually see stars in the sky. These pictures come as close communicating the real thing that I have ever been able to capture. Being on the deck at night is one of the most primal environments to experience from every standpoint: noise, aircraft, danger keep your emotions keyed up and your senses hyper sharp. The results from this session have inspired me to push my low-light experimentation even further. Stay tuned for the ongoing exploration of life after dark.
Erok
Rare Super Hornet backseat ride in theater with VFA-41
February 3rd, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Erik Hildebrandt
Rare U-2 Invitation
February 1st, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Erik Hildebrandt
I have never been “invited” to do anything with the USAF before. That is one reason so much of my time is spent working with the Navy, they are simply more agreeable and accommodating when it comes to civilian media requests. In this case however, I was amazed to not only be invited to tag along on the unique recovery profile of the legendary U-2 Dragon Lady, but the squadron CO said it would be fine with him for me to photograph the entire evolution (with a few conditions).
Running two identical Pontiac G8 GTO sedans rigged with enough comm gear to talk to the moon, we prepositioned the two cars at the approach end of the runway just off the taxiway. As the slow-moving, single engine 50-plus-year-old airplane crossed the fence, both cars accelerated to nearly 100 mph in just a few seconds. Once behind the gracefully hovering black recce bird, the lead vehicle made altitude calls to the pilot who is unable to adequately view the runway ahead — 10 feet … 6 feet … 3 feet … 2 feet … 10 inches … 2 inches … down — and then the plane rolled to a gradual stop, eventually dipping one wingtip until the ground crew could install the orange taxi wheels for the ride back to the hangar. Once the engine shut down, the ground crew pushed the sunshade over the cockpit, and the canopy came open to reveal the yellow pressure suit clad pilot. These are the same suits made by David Clark that are flown on the Space Shuttle and the now extinct SR-71 Blackbird. The first thing to come out of the cockpit is the stash of red-bordered TOP SECRET profile documents, which I obviously was not allowed to photograph. After the scene was sterilized of classified material, I was able to shoot the pilot being helped out of the jet and ceremoniously welcomed back by his squadron mates.
Typical missions last upwards of nine hours at altitudes greater than 60,000 feet. Truly, this was a rare glimpse at the deployed operations of one of the tightest secret communities on the tip of the spear. Thanks to these unnamed crews, conducting secret ops at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.
Erok
