Bollings field
I bought this rare photo from a collector of old photographs-he thought it was of an old field on the west coast but he could not have been further off. In fact, this is a photo of Bollings field, Washington's very first airfield which was built to protect the nation's capitol. If you look closely, you can see the capitol buildings on the other side of the Potomac river. This is the same airfield that Charles Lindbergh landed at (I've also read that he left from here too but I'm not sure) upon returning from his historic flight across the Atlantic. The photo was taken from the cockpit of a departing biplane and you can see part of the wing and wire in the bottom corners. At the back of the field there's some bombers parked but I'm not sure what type of planes they are-I'd like to find out if anyone knows. Later on, another field was built just north of this one called Anacostia. The large object in the middle of the field is a gigantic wind indicator. Again, not really on topic, but it's a great photo of an old airfield.
Ready to scramble
Another view from the ground-18 fighters that I can count. If you're interested in historic airfields, a great website to check out is at http://www.members.tripod.com/airfields_freeman/
Paul Freeman has put together a very cool index of little known fields in the US with some great photography as well. There's some great info there too about Bollings field.
Paul Freeman has put together a very cool index of little known fields in the US with some great photography as well. There's some great info there too about Bollings field.
Air Force One
I'm not sure if this photo was taken in Washington or not but it is clearly the presidential plane, and if you look closely, you can see the secret service agent standing sentinel on top of the coast gaurd hangar while the presidential entourage congregates on the apron-a neat shot of an early AirForce One. I picked this original photo up on Ebay a couple of years ago.
Smithsonian Institute
Any trip to Washington demands a stop at the National Air and Space museum where you'll find a collection of the most historic aircraft of the twentieth century. Make sure to incorporate enough pictures of your wife when photographing the aircraft to ensure you get to spend enough time inside. At left, the X-1 (first to break the speed of sound), SpaceShipOne (first private spaceship into space) Spirit of St.Louis (first across the Atlantic with one person) wife Ivana (blocking clear shot) :)
Hughes H-1
Howard Hughes H-1 racer is the coolest airplane of all time. It is stored in a small dimly lit room of the Smithsonian where it stands as testament to Hugh's genius a an aircraft designer-it was the last plane ever built by a private individual to hold a world speed record-everything since then has been military. Beech Staggerwing hanging above, a not too shabby design either.
Here's an interesting story the current owner of Hughe's Stratoliner passed on to me about the H1:
" . I'll never forget the first time I saw it as she was mounted above the floor with the landing gear retracted. It was almost impossible to see the gap where the gear folded into the fuselage, it was such a perfect and tight fit, just amazing. On a related note, I watched a biography about Hughes just after the dome was opened at Long Beach that included a newsreel clip of Hughes leaning against the Racer that had just set the world land plane speed record and belly landed in a beet field. The two props had their tips curled back which was very noticeable. Some years later I befriended the archivist who had his office in the belly of the QUEEN MARY who asked if I would like to see something interesting in the closet, yeah, sure. He opened the door and there standing on its roots were two bent propeller blades, I recognized them immediately from the Racer. I often wonder what happened to them, I'm guessing they went up to McMinnville."
Here's an interesting story the current owner of Hughe's Stratoliner passed on to me about the H1:
" . I'll never forget the first time I saw it as she was mounted above the floor with the landing gear retracted. It was almost impossible to see the gap where the gear folded into the fuselage, it was such a perfect and tight fit, just amazing. On a related note, I watched a biography about Hughes just after the dome was opened at Long Beach that included a newsreel clip of Hughes leaning against the Racer that had just set the world land plane speed record and belly landed in a beet field. The two props had their tips curled back which was very noticeable. Some years later I befriended the archivist who had his office in the belly of the QUEEN MARY who asked if I would like to see something interesting in the closet, yeah, sure. He opened the door and there standing on its roots were two bent propeller blades, I recognized them immediately from the Racer. I often wonder what happened to them, I'm guessing they went up to McMinnville."
