Page 31 - 2021-03 Courier.pub

I began taking pictures of airplanes not long after accepting an offer to “Avoid
the Draft, join the US Air Force”, in 1967. After basic training (in Texas) I was
due to attend school on house/building painting; however, day before my
scheduled departure from basic my orders were changed and I was off to tech-

If anyone can read the numbers on the
aircraft in the background behind me
they could determine the types of aircraft,
as well as where they are located.

nical school (still in Texas) to become an aircraft mechanic. Duty
assignments stationed me at McClellan AFB, California; Bien Hoa
AB Vietnam; Holloman AFB, New Mexico; and Lockbourne AFB,
Ohio. Being an aircraft mechanic, and thus being around air fields
and aircraft most of time, led to plenty of aircraft photo opportuni-
ties for my basic Instamatic camera. After having the film devel-

Lockheed C-130Q, c/n 4901 delivered to the US Navy in the late
1970’s, went to the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion in 1991 and to Coulson, for fighting forest fires, in 2009. Pho-
tos taken at McClellan Field in 1912 (still in NASA markings) and
in 2020.

Bell UH-1H, c/n 12675, delivered to the US Army in 1970,
and to the Sacramento Metro Fire District in 2009. Metro
Fire operates two ex-Army UH-1H’s. Photos taken at Beale
AFB in 1996 and Mather Field in 2015.

oped at the local drug store, the pictures would be placed in an album, ar-
ranged (and rearranged as needed) by aircraft type.

After 4 years of military service, opportunities to photograph current mili-
tary aircraft was somewhat reduced, although my civilian job with the Ar-
my Corps of Engineers still provided occasional military base visits in
California, Nevada, and Arizona. I also visited many aviation museums
and attended air shows at various military installations and civilian air-
ports, carrying my photo gear which by now included two camera bodies,
four lenses, and enough film to keep Kodak happy. At first, I would just

March 2021 Page 31