2011 Airshows Galleries

2011 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography : 2011 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow. Photos of Blue Angels, Super Hornet, Otto, Team Geico, A-10 East and many others by Chris Buff of Aviationbuff Photography. More photos and an airshow brief will be uploaded soon, so come back often.

2011 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography

2011 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow. Photos of Blue Ange ...

Updated: Sep 12, 2012 5:53am PST

2011 Great Georgia Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography : Photos from the 2011 Great Georgia Airshow. This outstanding event took place on October 10 & 11, 2011 at Falcon Field, Peachtree City, Georgia. The show organizers really outdid themselves this year with some of the best military and civilian performers on the circuit. The military was well represented with flight demonstrations by the USAF A-10 East and NAVY F/A-18C Tactical demos along with both Heritage and Legacy flights. The US ARMY Black Daggers parachute team opened the show. Civilian performers included the new Heavy Metal jet team which fly 5 former Soviet bloc L-39 Albatross along with a Mig-17.Team Aeroshell filled the skies with smoke as they soared over Peachtree City and Rob Holland showed why he is the reigning aerobatic champion. Buck Roetman thrilled while performing the inverted ribbon cut. Warbirds were plentiful with a pair of P-51 Mustangs and a pair of F4U Corsairs. When it comes to Mustangs and Corsairs, two is ALWAYS better than one. The very rare Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless took to the sky along with the RAF themed C-45 Expediter and Kate replica Japanese torpedo bomber. Attendance seemed to be very good and the spectators were enthusiastic and appreciative of the performers. This show is very difficult from a photographers perspective as by mid-day, you will be shooting directly into the sun. As a result, your best photo opportunities are during takeoffs, landings and low passes and when the aircraft are around the approach and departure ends of the runway. The trees provide an outstanding backdrop during the low passes as well as takeoff and landings. If you are in Georgia during the fall, you owe it to yourself to check out The Great Georgia Airshow. All photos by Chris Buff of Aviationbuff Photography

2011 Great Georgia Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography

Photos from the 2011 Great Georgia Airshow. This outstanding event too ...

Updated: Feb 14, 2013 7:30pm PST

2011 Sky Country Lodge Fly-in by Aviationbuff Photography : 2011 Sky Country Lodge Fly-in & Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography. Oct 15, 2011 Ashville, AL

2011 Sky Country Lodge Fly-in by Aviationbuff Photography

2011 Sky Country Lodge Fly-in & Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography. O ...

Updated: Dec 05, 2011 8:52am PST

2011 Boshears Skyfest Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography : 2011 Boshears Skyfest, Oct 16, 2011 Augusta, GA

2011 Boshears Skyfest Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography

2011 Boshears Skyfest, Oct 16, 2011 Augusta, GA

Updated: Oct 30, 2011 2:51pm PST

2011 PDK Good Neighbor Day Open House & Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography : Photos and brief from the 2011 PDK Good Neighbor Day Open House & Airshow which took place on June 4, 2011 at Atlanta/Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK). A fun and enjoyable event, the Good Neighbor day show is easy to get in and out of and has plentiful parking & food as well as additional entertainment for the kids. This show featured an excellent lineup of civilian performers including: Team RV, Skip Stewart, Gary Ward, Greg Koontz, Chris Darnell in the FlashFire II, Greg Connell, Pat Epps, Larry King, Buck Roetman, Mark Sorenson & Jeff Moss as well as the Army’s Black Daggers skydiving team. The flying was excellent but the temperature was brutal for this early in the year, topping out in the high 90’s by mid-show. This kept the attendance under last years record numbers. On the day of the show, I had an early morning assignment to photograph the Team RV members before the show began. When the photo session was finished, I was offered the opportunity to ride along for the morning flight. My pilot was Jerry Morris. Jerry is an excellent pilot and a great host. I was able to grab some air to air shots which are included in this gallery. This was my first time in an RV and found that the bubble canopy offers great visibility, but it also casts a good amount of reflection from everything in the cockpit. I will remember to wear dark clothing the next time I am photographing from an aircraft equipped with a bubble canopy. For photographers, the lighting at this show is problematic for the high altitude passes earlier in the afternoon. By the time the headline performers are flying, the lighting is pretty good. This venue is also one of the few where you can capture a lot of the flying action with a 200mm to 300mm lens. By the way, I shot all of the flying from the control tower with my 80-400VR. While I was a long distance from the action, it gave a unique perspective to a number of the shots. I must give special thanks to Travis Reynolds for the wonderful access to the control tower and Kari Morris of Team RV along with the entire team for their help and generosity. Photos were taken with Nikon DSLR bodies and lenses. All photographs by Chris Buff of Aviationbuff Photography, located in Suwanee, Georgia USA.

2011 PDK Good Neighbor Day Open House & Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography

Photos and brief from the 2011 PDK Good Neighbor Day Open House & Airs ...

Updated: Apr 18, 2012 7:01am PST

2011 MCAS Beaufort Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography : 2011 MCAS Beaufort Airshow. This was my first time attending an MCAS Beaufort Airshow and I came away very impressed. In addition to the Blue Angels, the show featured demonstrations by Marine combined air and ground forces, Viper East, Heritage Flight and Legacy Flight. The show also included the Army's Golden Knights as well as a B-2 Spirit flyover. Civilian performers were well represented by Mike Goulian, Chuck Arron & the Red Bull helicopter, Red Eagle Air Sports, Patty Wagstaff and the Geico SkyTypers. The CAF Dixie Wing brought a marvelous selection of classic WWII aircraft and the show announcing was handled by Rob Reider. A wide array of aircraft were on static display to entertain the guests in between flying performances. From a photography standpoint, the lighting was decent at the beginning of the show and ended up excellent by the time the Blues flew. Low passes are a challenge as the combination of heat haze and the distance from the crowd conspired to make clear images difficult to capture. Higher passes were a bit easier but a 200mm or longer lens was necessary for most of the formations and my 400mm was not enough for solo performers. Even the Harrier filled less than 50% of the frame at 400mm. Attendance was quite good, estimated to be between 60,000 and 80,000 on Saturday, April 30th. My hats off the the Marines as there was good organization, sufficient seating and plenty of food choices for the attendees. My daughter and I had a great weekend and I look forward to the next MCAS Beaufort Airshow. Photos were taken with Nikon DSLR bodies and lenses. All photographs by Chris Buff of Aviationbuff Photography, located in Suwanee, Georgia USA.

2011 MCAS Beaufort Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography

2011 MCAS Beaufort Airshow. This was my first time attending an MCAS B ...

Updated: Jan 01, 2013 7:05pm PST

2011 American Heroes Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography : The American Heroes Air Show is a helicopter–only event designed to promote rotary-wing aviation’s role in law enforcement, public safety, communications, Search & Rescue as well as homeland security and national defense. The event was held on 9/10/2011 at Heritage Park in Canton, Georgia USA. This is a great venue to get up close and personal with civilian and military helicopters and is excellent for photography with good lighting through much of the day. In fact, this is one of the few aviation events where a long telephoto lens will not be necessary as most of the photo opportunities are best addressed with a wide to medium telephoto lens. Be prepared to practice your slow shutter speed shots as helicopters like the Robinson R44 are best shot at 1/20 to 1/60 to create the desired rotor blur.

2011 American Heroes Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography

The American Heroes Air Show is a helicopter–only event designed to pr ...

Updated: Sep 13, 2011 2:46pm PST

2011 Great Tennessee Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography : I attended the 2011 Great Tennessee air show on May 7, 2011 with fellow Smugmug photographer and friend Jon Berry. As you can see from the photos, the weather ranged from low, heavy overcast with rain to brilliant sunshine. The event featured a first-rate lineup including the Thunderbirds, 2 flight demonstrations by the mighty F-15E Strike Eagle and a Legacy Flight consisting of an F/A-18C Hornet and a pristine Corsair. Civilian performers included Mike Goulian & Rob Holland along with Jason Newberg. I have to add that the Thunderbirds were super-sharp for a show this early in the season and Major Mike Maeder amazed me with incredible power and athletic moves of the F-15E Strike Eagle. Photography was exceptionally challenging all day long. By the time the flying started, aircraft were flying directly in front of the sun with bright clouds threatening to blow out the images. Of course by the time the best part of the flying was underway it was dark and gloomy with a low ceiling and intermittent rain. Just when the Thunderbirds began to taxi for takeoff, one had to contend with bright, backlit clouds again. In fact, most of the shots you see with blue in them were taken when the aircraft flew near an open patch of blue sky. The aerobatic box is a long way from the runway at this show. I would advise having a 300mm telephoto as a minimum for flying shots. 400mm and up would be helpful. With the strong backlighting, your best bet for well exposed shots of high flying aircraft is during the initial approach or departure to the box. That said, very low passes can be successfully captured at show center. Despite the crazy weather, this was a fun and enjoyable show. Great job to all involved. Photos were taken with Nikon DSLR bodies and lenses. All photographs by Chris Buff of Aviationbuff Photography, located in Suwanee, Georgia USA.

2011 Great Tennessee Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography

I attended the 2011 Great Tennessee air show on May 7, 2011 with fello ...

Updated: Jan 27, 2012 9:29pm PST

2011 Peach State Vintage Days Fly-In by Aviationbuff Photography :

2011 Peach State Vintage Days Fly-In by Aviationbuff Photography

Updated: Sep 14, 2011 6:09am PST

2011 Sky Soldiers Practice Day by Aviationbuff Photography : Sky Soldiers Practice. April 9, 2011. Tara Field, Hampton, GA USA. I was lucky enough to receive another invitation to photograph the teams first practice session of the 2011 season. The Sky Soldiers team has added a 2-ship Cobra demonstration for 2011. Cloudy conditions persisted through most of the shoot but the beautiful Cobra gunships are still a great photographic subject. My thanks to the Jeff Moss and the Sky Soldiers team for a very enjoyable day. Photos were taken with Nikon DSLR bodies and lenses. All photographs by Chris Buff of Aviationbuff Photography, located in Suwanee, Georgia USA.

2011 Sky Soldiers Practice Day by Aviationbuff Photography

Sky Soldiers Practice. April 9, 2011. Tara Field, Hampton, GA USA. I w ...

Updated: Aug 19, 2011 1:05pm PST

2011 Thunder In The Valley Airshow Photos by Aviationbuff Photography : Photos of the 2011 Thunder in the Valley airshow. Columbus, GA, USA. March 2011. Performers included Skip Stewart, Patty Wagstaff, Mark Sorenson, Fowler "Big Dog" Cary and many more. This show is always a challenge to photograph due to the position of the sun which results in backlighting all day long. As a result, I tend to hold off shooting until the aircraft is making a low pass to improve the angle of the sun a bit. That said, this venue always features exciting flying from some of the best airshow performers. Photos were taken with Nikon DSLR bodies and lenses. All photographs by Chris Buff of Aviationbuff Photography, located in Suwanee, Georgia USA.

2011 Thunder In The Valley Airshow Photos by Aviationbuff Photography

Photos of the 2011 Thunder in the Valley airshow. Columbus, GA, USA. M ...

Updated: Feb 29, 2012 4:46pm PST

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