Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport 11-24-2013
Article and Photos by Steven Valinski
After a long weekend of much-needed rain in the Valley of the Sun, the skies cleared up a little today. This prompted me to grab my equipment bag and head to the airport. Typically this time of year there is some military activity at “Willie” so there was a decent chance of something military there.
When I arrived at the airport there was an F/A-18D Hornet from VMFAT-101 “Sharpshooters” out of MCAS Miramar in San Diego, CA preparing for departure. There was also a few Harriers (from VMA-211 “Wake Island Avengers” out of MCAS Yuma) parked on the ramp. I was told another F/A-18 and a C-130 departed in the previous hour. Due to the winds runway 12 was in use so any departure shots were not going to be too dramatic.
I was able to get a few decent shots of the Hornet. After the Hornet left the Harriers prepared for departure. I decided not to photograph the Harriers from “The Hill”. The Harriers always take off on the easternmost runway, so, from “The Hill”, I would only get shots of the Harriers taxiing. I decided to move to a location off of Ellsworth Road and Pecos often referred to as “The Well” [GPS 33.292030, -111.634637] (I’m not sure why it is referred to as “The Well”. It does not look like what you would expect a well to look like).
The surprise of the day was a AH-1W SuperCobra from HMLA-773a based out of NAS Belle Chasse in Louisiana. It was parked and did not depart, but I was able to photograph it from the ramp. I also made my way down to ATSI, Inc. and took a few photos of their McDonnell Douglas A-4N Skyhawks. These are former Israeli aircraft that were purchased by ATSI for tactical aviation training.
It was a brief day of shooting, but there were a good amount of subjects in a short period of time.
Steven is from Long Island, New York and now resides in sunny Mesa, Arizona. Steven’s love for aviation began when he was a child with a fascination for WWII aircraft. This love of aviation was further fostered by his uncle, a long-time Trans World Airlines (TWA) employee who had a passion for all forms of aviation.
Steven’s interest in photography began when he was 16 years old when he received his first SLR camera, a Minolta XGA. It makes sense that eventually his passion for aviation and photography would merge into a love for aviation photography.
In addition to being the web designer, webmaster and chief editor of Aviation Photography Digest, Steven has been published in numerous magazines worldwide.
Steven has an M.S. from Boston University and uses Nikon photographic equipment.
Steven is a Nikon NPS member.
Steven can be reached at: [email protected]