United States - Texas - Lackland AFB Airshow 2008 - Lackland AFB, San Antonio - 11/01/08

[dr101z]

Here ya go! 

[dr101z]

The Saturday edition of Lackland Airfest 08 is over and it was a great day to be at an airshow.  The weather cooperated throughout the day but it was a little warmer in the afternoon than expected but still a far cry from how hot it would get when Lackland would hold their show in May.  November is a much better time of the year for an airshow in south Texas.

Once the aerial acts started up around before 11:00am or so things kept on rolling all the way through the Blue Angels performance.   All of the acts went up and did their thing and there were even a few surprises.  A KC-135, KC-10 and a C-5 pulled out of the Reserve ramp across the runway and took off late in the morning.  The KC-10 and C-5 returned later during the show with both doing over head breaks right after the other.  Another surprise during the show was a pair of  P-51's showing up in the afternoon with both pulling up together for a landing break after a low initial approach.  They pulled into the hot ramp at the north end of the field and are supposedly doing a routine on Sunday. 

Anyway, on to a few pictures...

[dr101z]

...and for Galaxy5007 here's a shot of the C-5 that launched and recovered during the show. 

More pics to follow...

[tropicdiver]

Day 1 is over and I'm beat and back home in Austin. I've got some 1,700 photos to plow thru. Man, I sure have a hard time with those westward view airshows, especially as the day gets later.

I need to get to bed, so I can get up early and head back down there, tomorrow. Here's a couple, as I figure it will take me at least a  week, maybe more, to go thru my photos.

Here's a few of the F15 that flew, today.

[Ztex]

Topic,

WOW! That first shot is great! 

[Galaxy5007]

Sweet shots everyone!  Thanks for the tail shot!  Anyone see 9007 there by chance?

[timothyp219]

Here are a few that I shot. 

[Benjamin Welch]

Great stuff everybody! I was able to attend on Saturday and had a wonderful time. Although there were a few times when nothing was airborne. A fantastic show nonetheless! 
Here are a few of my shots...

[tropicdiver]

Here's some from both days featuring Tora Tora Tora.

[gomezjm2003]

Up here in Fort Worth, we have enthusiats photospotting planes as NFW (Carswell Field) taking off and landing. Does anyone do that there at LAFB/Kelly Field? There is alot of different aircraft (fighter/traning jets & lots of cargo planes) photo opportunities and was wondering if it had the same enthusiasm?

[Galaxy5007]

When I was down there, I took a crapload of pictures, C-5s, C-17s, KC-135s, a 767 from Uzbekistan, F-16s a couple of T-38s.  I'm really surprised there isn't a Lackland section in the base visits myself.  There are alot of spotting locations around the runway, so I don't get it!  If I lived down there, I'd be there pretty regularly taking pics.

[thetford569]

When I was down there, I took a crapload of pictures, C-5s, C-17s, KC-135s, a 767 from Uzbekistan, F-16s a couple of T-38s.  I'm really surprised there isn't a Lackland section in the base visits myself.  There are alot of spotting locations around the runway, so I don't get it!  If I lived down there, I'd be there pretty regularly taking pics.

I'm one of those Navy Ft. Worth spotters...when I went to San Antonio I spent two afternoons at Lackland and got nothing as what had been flying had landed by the time I got there.  One day I sat in a neighborhood South of the runway thinking it would be a good spot but nothing arrived.  The next day I was on the north side of the field sitting along the service road of whatever freeway was up there.  One T-37 arrived and was too far away for any good photos with a 300mm lens.  There was a perimeter road along the fence that was much closer to the runway and I went over there to look but I saw signs all on the fence that stated "No Photography."  I was kind of concerned with trying to spot there given the signs.  Are there really good places to photograph from there that I don't know about?

Brandon

[Galaxy5007]

I missed the "no photography" signs.  I was down there at the end of March, so maybe they just put them up.  I shot a few shots off a side road on the east side of the runway.  It was off of Frank-Luke drive. between sam houston blvd and davy crocket rd.  I also spotted at the north end of the runway near the Rt 90 exit.  Nothing flew during the weekend I was there, it was all during the week when I had caught a bunch of stuff.  Apparently the USAF is cracking down at a bunch of bases for no photography, since they claim its a "security risk".  Its been 7 years since 9-11, and they are just now putting the breaks on some bases...just stupid if you ask me.  And then they open the base up for an airshow, and you can take all the photos you want of "flightline" areas.  I had SFS yell at me at Dover AFB last time I was up there for taking pictures from a spot that I took pictures from for 6 years, and now its all of a sudden a problem.  Thanks to the morons of the world, us photographers have to suffer     Time to start a petition to send to Obama when he gets sworn in..."Allow pics of military planes anytime on US soil!"  Funny how "strict" they are here at home, but how laxed it is overseas, especially Ramstein.
Its pretty much a drive around and see if you can find a good spot where you won't get "yapped" at. 

[gomezjm2003]

I missed the "no photography" signs.  I was down there at the end of March, so maybe they just put them up.  I shot a few shots off a side road on the east side of the runway.  It was off of Frank-Luke drive. between sam houston blvd and davy crocket rd.  I also spotted at the north end of the runway near the Rt 90 exit.  Nothing flew during the weekend I was there, it was all during the week when I had caught a bunch of stuff.  Apparently the USAF is cracking down at a bunch of bases for no photography, since they claim its a "security risk".  Its been 7 years since 9-11, and they are just now putting the breaks on some bases...just stupid if you ask me.  And then they open the base up for an airshow, and you can take all the photos you want of "flightline" areas.  I had SFS yell at me at Dover AFB last time I was up there for taking pictures from a spot that I took pictures from for 6 years, and now its all of a sudden a problem.  Thanks to the morons of the world, us photographers have to suffer     Time to start a petition to send to Obama when he gets sworn in..."Allow pics of military planes anytime on US soil!"  Funny how "strict" they are here at home, but how laxed it is overseas, especially Ramstein.
Its pretty much a drive around and see if you can find a good spot where you won't get "yapped" at. 

I have some family in that western side of San Antonio (Edgewood area) and when i've visited that area, I think a good place to take pictures at LAFB/KSKF is that Baseball Stadium near the corner of TX-151 & US-90. I have watched some aircraft takeoff and land, either direction, that's a good spot since many time the planes fly directly over the stadium. There is really no security either in that parking lot, so just an idea for future spotters.