2019 Quad City Airshow

After a hiatus of a couple of years, the Quad City Airshow rebooted this year, so we went and checked it out. It was a hot day; the temperature was 95º with a heat index of 107º, but there was a breeze and we brought our own shade. There were lots of cool static displays to check out: 

This is the first time they've had a C-17 Globemaster at the QC show. This monster can haul military trucks and still has enough power leftover to be able to takeoff/land on very short runways. The cargo bay can handle 170,000 lbs. of equipment and the overall length of the plane is half a football field. It was cavernous inside:

It was really difficult to capture the whole plane in a single picture. I even tried taking a panoramic shot on my phone:

It's too tall:

Cynthia tried it, too:

The After Shock jet-powered fire truck was on display before the show started. It reaches speeds of around 400 mph:

I liked the wooden prop on this old plane from the 1930s:

People were allowed to walk through/climb inside a lot of the static displays:

The rest of my airshow photos are posted here: Quad City Airshow album

The umbrellas kept us from melting on a very hot day:

Also, the gyros at the airshow were awesome. There are always a lot of food trucks to choose from, but that one is always the right choice.

Quad City Air Show 2015

Finally posting some of the photos I took at the air show on May 9th. The first one is my absolute best air show shot to date and the most technically perfect action shot I have ever taken. I was super pleased when I saw this photo:

It may not blow anyone's mind, but that shot right there is the result of LOTS of practice and years of air show photography. Just the right balance of light/dark, crisp focus, and a fast enough shutter speed to stop jets traveling over 300mph at low altitude. One of the things I've learned about air show photography is that the histogram always looks bad when pointing up at the bright sky, so you have to rely on your own eye and judgment to get the proper exposure.

OK, now that I got that one out of the way, here's the rest of 'em. Let's start with the V-22 Osprey:

And this hot chick:

We walked through the C-130 Hercules and even though it looks big from the outside, you don't realize how large it is until you walk through it. It was too dark inside for decent photos, unfortunately.

Army Humvee:

The bomb squad was there showing off their bomb disposal robot:

A WWII B-25 Mitchell:

This is the Grumman TBM Avenger, a WWII torpedo bomber:

The T-33 was flown during the 50s and 60s and is a cool jet to watch:

Some University of Iowa aircraft:

A WWII T-6 Texan:

The Shockwave! A jet-powered semi with 3 afterburners:

I don't remember what this was called, it was just a small stunt plane:

Vietnam War-era trainers:

Some more stuff:

Fat Albert! A jet-assisted takeoff C-130 Hercules:

And of course the Blue Angels. They're the most entertaining to watch. When I lived in Pensacola (where the Blue Angels are based) I saw them frequently flying their routine out over the gulf.

Cool.