FighterControl

Thirty-Five years this month I, dad a couple of friends took our first adventures to the USA for a 3-week trip to the west coast & what delights we photographed.

Flew into LA & the next Morning we attended NAS Point Mugu air show. One aircraft we all wanted to photograph were US Navy A-3's which were dying breed. So, to drive through the main gates & witness three Whales lined up next to the car park was very special & still lives long in the memory. The following day was Edward's show which also had some quality items all in there gorgeous red & white test schemes. Anyway, here are some of the highlights from that weekend. The rest will follow.

#1

138944\20 KA-3B VAQ-34, NAS Point Mugu, Ca by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#2

138944\20 KA-3B VAQ-34, NAS Point Mugu. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#3

161587/XF-35 F-14A VX-4 'Evaluators' NAS Point Mugu. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#4

151939\14 HH-46D Point Magu Search & Rescue Flight, NAS Point Mugu. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#5

160586\NE-700 S-3A VS-38 'USS Ranger', NAS North Island. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#6

158360/1 F-4S VX-4, NAS Point Mugu, Ca. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#7

158360\1 F-4S VX-4 'Vandy 1', NAS Point Mugu, Ca. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#8

158360/XF-1 F-4S VX4, NAS Point Mugu, Ca. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#9

66-0377\ED NF-4E 6512th Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Ca. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#10

69-6194/ED A-7D 6512 Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Ca by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#11

66-0289\ED NF-4E 6512 Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Ca by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

#12

65-0713\ED YF-4E 6512th Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Ca. by Stuart Freer - Touchdown Aviation, on Flickr

Some gems in there and I regret never having been to Point Mugu. Always a soft spot for the Black Bunny.

Thanks for sharing these with us some great shots. Never did Point Mugu either, but did manage to get to Edwards.

Beautiful

The red and white colour scheme of the Edwards test wing is iconic

Lovely. I suspect those ED Phantoms were the former Thunderbird ones - short gun muzzles and original hard wing - which were never converted back to original spec for operational use.

Yet another stunning set

Thanks so much for posting, Stuart

Paddyboy

What a selection!!! The F-4s are the stars of the post, naturally . Thanks for sharing, and....more please!!!

Wow, the canines jewels!