STARING CONTEST: THE UNBLINKING GLOBAL HAWK
June 29th, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Erik Hildebrandt
With a mission duration well in excess of eighteen hours, at altitudes twice that of commercial airlines, the RQ-4 Global Hawk seems more evil spirit than weapon system. Imagine the unnerving sense of dread that must pervade the rank and file of insurgents with the knowledge of this invisible, aerial stalker. What may be worse psychologically is the uncertainty: Global Hawk is only there to watch and listen. The fallout of its silent mission may be an immediate realtime offensive — or it may be days away. What is for sure, is that if you are not hiding in a cave, you are being watched.
USNTPS: EQUAL PARTS BRAINS BALLS
June 17th, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Erik Hildebrandt
There is certainly a mystique and sense of elevated experience when you talk about “test pilots”. On a recent adventure to NAS PAX River to document the stable of dissimilar aircraft at the Navy’s Test Pilot School, I learned it takes a special breed of naval aviator to want to put their life on the line in the pursuit of pushing the envelope. And pushing the envelope is exactly what test pilots are trained to do. All of these images were made from my personal Cessna O-2A Skymaster with Doug Rozendaal at the controls while I sat in the back operating remote still and HD video cameras situated in under-wing camera pods.
