Portland Aeronautical Expo

Friday afternoon as I was driving around town I saw a large Military plane in the sky for a quick second and then heard the unmistakable blast from a jet engine, then another one.  The Portland Jetport is close by but that services commercial flights. What where these planes doing in the hood?  They flew off toward the East and I went about my business.  A few hours later I was startled by more high pitched jets flying in the sky.  This time I could see them clearly and identified them as A-10 Thunderbolt Jets.  With this second sighting I figured something was going on. A quick search revealed that this past weekend was the Portland International Jetport Aeronautical Exposition. I was now not going to miss this show.  I did a quick scout of the Airport Saturday night and then was one of the first into the show Sunday morning.  Some of the Military aircraft that I saw on display were; A Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, A Sikorsky Blackhawk Helicopter, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and the A-10 Thunderbolt Jets. Getting up close to these incredible pieces of machinery is always impressive.  Sitting in the cockpit of the Blackhawk Helicopter and the KC-135 tanker was awe inspiring on one hand and scary knowing what mission they serve and what is involved.  For me I was like a grown kid in a gigantic toy store.  Speaking with the friendly crews you quickly get a taste for how delicate life is outside of the Airshow.  Putting a face and speaking with the crew was the best part. These men and women operate these technically amazing flying machines under the most adverse conditions.  It was nice to get close to the machines but sharing space with those who risk life everyday was even more powerful.  Pictured is the cockpit from the KC-135 Stratotanker taken with a Canon 14MM F2.8 Lens and the Jet Engines from an F-15 Fighter Jet.