In a short period of time, the Lockheed 12A Electra Junior has become one of my favorite aircraft to photograph.  The elegant lines with a subtle yet distinctive touch of "art deco" renders it irresistible in my eyes.  I believe "eye candy" is the current phrase that sums up my feelings about this aircraft...it just seems "right".

Ron Alexander is well-known in aviation circles, and he loves the DC-3.  He's owned an original DC-3 for over twenty years now.  According to Ron, there were only about 300 aircraft built as true DC-3's.  The other 10,000+ aircraft were built as C-47's, the military version.  His was built as a passenger liner, and has remained so to this day.

As many of you may know, there has been a show of my work at Georgia's second-largest museum, the Tellus Science Museum, since the First of June.  It is a chronological timeline of aviation history, depicted in images beginning with the Wright Flyer, up to the present day F-22 fighter plane.  Contrary to public opinion, I was not present for the Wright Flyer image, so I can take no credit for it.  However, I was able to photograph a Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny" that is nearing restoration just outside of Atlanta.  The first image in the show, it is a  detail shot of the cockpit, complete with antique instruments.

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the Women in Aviation International (WAI) Conference, held here in Atlanta. To say it was an “eye-opening” experience would be an understatement. Not only was it a good chance to network for the attendees, but it was a celebration of everything positive in aviation. One thing that I noticed right off was the fact that probably a third of the attendees were military flyers. While this is no surprise to me, having been in the military in the 70’s and 80’s, the ratio to the overall number of attendees (about a third...) was a bit of a surprise. It is obvious that the military has come a long way in offering positions of leadership and responsibility to women, and it was also obvious that they have more than met these challenges.. Rarely have I seen a more intelligent, competent, and motivated group.

For those in the know, just the mention of “Oshkosh” brings an instant glimmer of recognition. It is simply the “Mecca” of aviation, at least in the United States. The largest General Aviation (GA) show in the country, it is said that at any one time, 10% of the GA fleet in the USA is at Oshkosh during the week of the fly-in. It is a fly-in, a trade show, an airshow, but it is also much more.

Bob "Punchy" Powell, who holds a piece of the cowling from his crashed P-51 Mustang.