Curious on the backstory behind the photos? This is the place. You'll find not only write ups on local outings, but also reviews of major events I’ve attended.
Flying Heavy Metal
Bruce Dickinson, frontman of iconic metal group Iron Maiden visits the Commemorative Air Force in February 2022.
Iron Maiden frontman, Bruce Dickinson, is no stranger to heavy metal, nor is the Commemorative Air Force B29 B24 Squadron. With a personal connection to the B-24 Liberator and an accomplished pilot himself, Dickinson was a fitting guest at the CAF's Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center in Dallas, Texas in February 2022 - home of the Commemorative Air Force operated B-29 Superfortress "FiFi" and B-24 Liberator "Diamond Lil."
In addition to touring the world for over 40 years with his iconic band, Bruce is a pilot and has accumulated over 7,000 hours of flight time since obtaining his license in the 1990s. He has previously flown Boeing 757s for a British airline, and most notably flew Iron Maiden on multiple tours around the world in Boeing 737s, 757s, and 747s affectionately dubbed "Ed Force One," a homage to the band's mascot, Eddie. In addition to commercial aviation, Bruce has forayed into the air show scene, flying his replica WW1-era Fokker Dr.I Triplane which was made most famous by German flying ace Manfred Von Richthofen, The Red Baron.
Dickinson's visit was not only special because of his passion for historic aviation, but also a deep personal connection to one of the two heavy bombers that call the Education Center's 30,000 sq ft hangar home. Bruce's great uncle served as a B-24 crewmember with the Royal Air Force's 200 Squadron during WWII. Bruce credits his great uncle for getting him into aviation and cherished the opportunity to get up close and personal with the world's only regularly flying example.
After touring the hangar, nose art gallery, and graciously agreeing to a sit-down interview, Dickinson was treated to a flight in a 1953 T-34A Mentor trainer operated by the CAF T-34 Sponsor Group where he was able to get some stick time prior to his spoken-word show at the nearby Majestic Theatre in Downtown Dallas.
A special thanks to our friends at Buffalo Airways for helping set up this wonderful visit and of course, thanks to Bruce for making time to come visit our beloved warbirds!
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport 1/16/23
Various traffic seen at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday, January 16th, 2023.
Various traffic seen at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Monday, January 16th, 2023.
Winter Storm Mara
Winter Storm Mara strikes Dallas Love Field.
A powerful winter storm wreaked havoc across much of the Southern half of the United States the past few days, with temperatures plunging well below freezing in North Texas since Monday. As I was stuck at a hotel near work, I was able to photograph a bit of the action taking place at Dallas Love Field which was greatly impacted by the deep freeze. While these freezes are not uncommon in many parts of the United States, North Texas typically only sees these large scale events once or twice a year at best so the infrastructure in place is not quite as capable of handling these long-lasting ice storms. The following photos show part of the team effort required to crank flights out in the midst of these brutal conditions. The system is finally winding down in North Texas at the time of this writing, with temperatures finally staying consistently above freezing tomorrow.
The Flying Subaru
A Subaru helicopter? Huh? Yep, you heard that right.
A Subaru helicopter? Huh? Yup, this is a Subaru Bell 412EPX. This is an incredibly modernized variant of the legendary Huey family with electronically controlled Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-9 engines, an improved main transmission, and a glass cockpit. The Bell 412EPX is a commercial version of the Subaru-Bell UH-2, formerly the UH-X, which was built to meet the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's requirement of a UH-1J replacement. Pictures below are N412EX flying at the Floyd Carlson Airfield in the Dallas/Fort Worth area yesterday morning. The Floyd Carlson Airfield was established in 2018 by the Bell Training Academy and is used for training customers critical, normal, and emergency procedures.
