The Shuttle Endeavor flew all over So. Cal. today on its way to it's final destination the California Science Center. It was very hazy but I got this shot as it approached the Queen Mary about 2 miles from our condo. I was on the roof and shot with my Nikon D 40 with 200 mm lense in manual focus and auto exposure. The local TV coverage was excellent and it was a thrilling day for all of us that had participated one way or another in the Space programs.
Best, Paul
Attachment 73053
Came through the SF Bay Area this morning. Large and low, with fighter escort, but I could not determine what the fighter was.
Here's my picture:
Taken from the event at NASA Ames (Moffett Field). They snuck up behind the crowd over highway 101, instead of over the runways as everyone seemed to be expecting. To their credit, it was better for the lighting. The chase plane looked like an F-15 to me. Canon T1i, 55-250mm lens (EXIF says I was at 146mm).
Two F/A-18B's from the Dryden Research Center accompanied the shuttle carrier and Endeavor around California today. These are pictures from LAX. Attachment 73056Attachment 73057
These first 2 were from her stop here in El paso Tx, (Biggs AAF)Attachment 73066Attachment 73067 Attachment 73062Attachment 73063Attachment 73064Attachment 73065 just a few pictures of the Ole Gal
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The pictures caused me to recall... Fast Eddie. He created Edwards AFB for FSXA and made a shuttle transport. It's a step up for the GA pilot, like me!
The last picture may not appear to be anything special, but... I really don't fly anything fast and high. Only a few times have I tried heavy iron and generally it ended with bad things happening. (Think clogging the entrance to Pearl Harbor because I landed a few hundred feet short..., etc.) So I was glad to get the "special cargo" down safely!
Here are a few I grabbed from near the "Proud Bird" (which cashed in on the event so closed its parking lot....)
This was its first past off in the distance, camera straining through the haze at 400mm.
First pass over the South Complex at LAX
On Final now with it all dangling...
One of NASA Dryden F18 Escorts:
Canon 40d - 100-400m L USM.
Looking at your pics, we were probably stood next to each other!Originally Posted by jonraptor
I was at the LAX Employee Parking Lot E, it was a great atmosphere. Did you see the people pull over to the side of the 105?! I bet the CHP were not best pleased.
i watched on tv all morning,the first part ,it was escorted by a darkish colored F/A-18,then while over sacramento,it was deffinantly an F-15 with a belly tank,(F-15 is USAF?,F14 is,was USN?)and over so-cal it was to F/A-18s,someone on tv said there was a F-16 at one point,but i never saw it,also Ace Beale,was on goodday sacramento,a local morning tv show,reason i mention him,,he was one of the pilots of the 747s that carried the shuttle and he gave great insight into the flight yesterday,was fun to hear him.
I headed up to Palmdale and Plant 42/Dryden to catch the flyby there. I didn't want to bother with the zoo that is Los Angeles traffic, and wanted to opt for the early morning light. I was able to drive the 70 miles home in plenty of time to cook myself lunch and watch Endeavour return from the Bay Area live on TV.
We definitely got the better lighting situation but the LA guys here got the much more dramatic sky, that's for sure. Great shots all.
Sadly my first, and last view of one of the vehicles. My uncle was with the program for many, many years (Rocketdyne SSME) and always offered to take me to the Cape for a launch, and as it happened, I never inquired further and got the ball rolling. Anyway, having missed that opportunity, I was determined not to miss this final flight. Very bittersweet to see.
Passing in front of a contrail that at one time could have been hers, Endeavour flies into history:
Nikon D60 and 70-300VR I, backed off all the way to 70mm
Just not right get to a resting place , they then cut it in half
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