I have reprocessed my Space Shuttle photos and prepared a display for each orbiter.

Space Shuttle Enterprise OV-101

Space Shuttle Enterprise OV-101 was used for five test flights of the last phases of the approach to landing at Edwards Air Force Base from August 12, 1977 to October 26, 1977. It was often displayed at the Edwards Air Force Base open house in the early 1980s. It is now on display at the Intrepid Museum, New York City.

Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102

Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102 was the first operational orbiter. It was delivered to NASA from Edwards Air Force Base on March 20, 1979. Its first mision was STS-1 which took off on April 12, 1981 from the Kennedy Space Center and landed on April 14, 1981 at Edwards Air Force Base. It conducted 27 successful mission before it broke up during re-entry at the conclusion of STS-107 on February 1, 2003.

Space Shuttle Challenger OV-099

Space Shuttle Challenger OV-099 was the second operational orbiter. It began as a structural test article before being converted to a fligh vehicle. It was delivered to NASA from Edwards Air Force Base on July 4, 1982. Its first mision was STS-6 which took off on April 4, 1983 from the Kennedy Space Center and landed on April 9, 1983 at Edwards Air Force Base. It conducted nine successful mission before it was destroyed in an explosion during launch of STS-51-L on January 28, 1986.

Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103

Space Shuttle Discovery OV-103 was the third operational orbiter. It flew 39 missions. It was delivered to NASA from Edwards Air Force Base on Noember 9, 1984. Its first mision was STS-41-D which took off on August 30, 1984 from the Kennedy Space Center and landed on September 5, 1984 at Edwards Air Force Base. Its final mission was STS-133 which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on February 24, 2011 and landed at the Kennedy Space Center on March 9, 2011. It is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Space Shuttle Atlantis OV-104

Space Shuttle Atlantis OV-104 was the fourth operational orbiter. It flew 33 missions. It was delivered to NASA from Edwards Air Force Base on Noember 9, 1984. Its first flight was STS-51-J which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on October 3, 1985 and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on October 7, 1985. Its final mission was STS-135 which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 8, 2011 and landed at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011. It was the final Space Shuttle mission. It is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center.

Space Shuttle Endeavour OV-105

Space Shuttle Endeavour OV-105 was the fifth operational orbiter, built to replace Challenger OV-099. It flew 25 missions. It was delivered to NASA from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale on May 2, 1991. Its first flight was STS-49 which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on October 3, 1985 and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on May 13, 1992. Its final mission was STS-134 which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on May 16, 2011 and landed at the Kennedy Space Center on June 1, 2011. It is now on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Space Shuttle Buran

Space Shuttle Buran was the Soviet conmpetitor to the North American Rockwell Space Shuttles. It made one unmanned orbital flight on November 15, 1988. It was displayed at the Paris Airshow in June 1989 mounted on the back of the Antonov An-225 Mriya. It was destroyed when the building it was stored in collapsed.

I have reprocessed all of the image files on the Lockheed Blackbirds A-12, YF-12, SR-71, D-21 display to provide improved color balance and higher resoliion.

Boeing B-52H Stratofortress 60-0050 has existed for more than half of the history of airplanes. It has been assigned to the 412th Test Wing based a Edwards Air Force Base for decades. It has performed at the Edwards Air Force Base Open House on many occasions. A couple of decades ago it was named Dragons Inferno.

President Trump arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor aboard Boeing VC-25A 82-8000 on May 5, 2020. He visited the Honeywell plant on the north side of the airport to inspect the production of personal protection equipment.

The Pre-production McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagles page has been updated with picture of the first two-seat Eagle 71-0290. It was originally designated TF-15A, then F-15B. It was modified with canards and rectangular two-dimensional vectored thrust nozzles to pariticpate in Activbe Eagle as the Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) Maneuvering Technology Demonstrator (MTD) and redesignated NF-15B. It was assigned to NASA and equipped with axisymmetric vectored thrust nozzles for the Advanced Control Technology for Integrated VEhicles (ACTIVE) program and then Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS).

Space Shuttle Atlantis OV-104 was the fourth operational orbiter. Its first flight was STS-51-J which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on October 3, 1985 and landed at Edwards Air Force Base on October 7, 1985. It flew 33 missions. Its final mission was STS-135 which was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on July 8, 2011 and landed at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011. It was the final Space Shuttle mission. It is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center.

Space Shuttle Challenger Ov-099 was the second operational orbiter. It began as a structural test article before being converted to a fligh vehicle. It was delivered to NASA from Edwards Air Force Base on July 4, 1982. Its first mision was STS-6 which took off on April 4, 1983 from the Kennedy Space Center and landed on April 9, 1983 at Edwards Air Force Base. It conducted nine successful mission before it was destroyed in an explosion during launch of STS-51-L on January 28, 1986.

I visited Sky Harbor on Sunday, March 15, 2020 to photograph Alaska's Boeing 737-990 N318AS Duisneyand and United's Boeing 737-824 N36272 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124-100M UR82009 visited Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Arizona on March 9, 2020.

I visited Sky Harbor on Thursday, January 30, 2020 to photograph the arrival of United's Boeing 737-824 N36272 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arriving from San Francisco. I also caught a couple of Southwest Boeing 737s, Frontier's A320 Poppy the Prairie Dog, a Fedex Express A300, and a JSX Emberaer EMB-135LR.

I visited Sky Harbor on Friday, December 21, 2019 to photograph the arrival of an Atlas Air Boeing 747-400 and an Atlas Air Boeing 767-200. I also caught a Boutique Air Pilatus PC-12 andd a Southwest 737-700. I returned to Sky Harbor later in the day to photograph the arrival of a Kalitta Air 747-400BCF and the departure of the Atlas Air 747-400. I also caught a couple of American 757-200s and an Emberaer EMB-135LR.

I visited Sky Harbor on Friday, December 20, 2019 to photograph the arrival of a Kalitta Air Boeing 747-400F.

I visited Sky Harbor on Thursday, December 19, 2019 to photograph the arrival of a Kalitta Air Boeing 747-400F. I also caught an Omni Air International Boeing 767 and a variety of single-aisle, twin-engine airliners.

Honeywell Boeing 757-225 N757HW engine testbed returning to Sky Harbor from a round-robin flight to Kansas City on December 18, 2019.

I visited Sky Harbor on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 to photograph the arrival of a Kalitta Air Boeing 747-400F. I also caught a Skywest Canadair Regional Jet, an American Boeing 757, and Frontier's Airbus A320 Pike the Otter.

I visited Sky Harbor on Monday, December 16, 2019 to photograph the arrival of a Kalitta Air Boeing 747-400F. I also caught a vaiety of other Boeing heavies, including a 757, a 767, a 777, and a 787. I also caught Southwest's 737-700 New Mexico One.

I visited Sky Harbor on Thursday, December 12, 2019 to photograph the arrival of a Kalitta Air Boeing 747-400F.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124-100M UR82023 visited Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Arizona on December 4 and 5, 2019 to pick up four Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters for the Indian Air Force.

Boeing 787-8 N787BX was the first 787 to visit Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It arrived from Mexico City on Friday, March 9, 2012 and departed for San Diego on Monday, March 12, 2012. On February 23, 2015 American Boeing 787-823 N800AN started flying route proving flights to St Louis, Chicago O'Hare, and Phoenix Sky Harbor. American Boeing 787-823 N801AC started flying route proving flights to Phoenix Sky Harbor in March 2015. United Boeing 787-9 N27959 and All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-9 JA837A have flown baseball team charters to Phoenix Sky Harbor. American Airlines and British Airways currently fly Boeing 787s to Phoenix Sky Harbor on a daily basis.

I visited Sky Harbor on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 to photograph United's Boeing 737-824 N36272 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arriving from Denver on its first visit to Phoenix in its new livery.

I have updated my displays of Union Pacific 844 and Union Pacific Challenger 3985 with grayscale and sepia tone images for a vintage appearance.

Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4 Locomotive No. 3985, August 20, 2000

Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 paid a visit to Southern California in August 2000. I chased it from Pomona to Yermo on August 20.

Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844 and the Grand Canyon State Steam Special, November 12 - 15, 2011

Union Pacific Steam Locomotive 844 pulled the Grand Canyon State Steam Special excursion train from Tucson to Phoenix on Saturday, November 12. Union Pacific 844 was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific. It is the only steam locomotive in the U.S. that was never retired. After ending freight operations, Union Pacific has kept it operational for excursions.

On Saturday, November 12, 2011, I caught the train near Recker Road in Gilbert. I waited for it to depart the Gilbert Station at the Guadalupe Road Crossing. I raced ahead of it to photograph it on the bridge across the Salt River.

On Tuesday, November 15, 2011, I waited for the train at the bridge across the Salt River. I caught it again near Recker Road and at the Florence Avenue crossing in Coolidge. I photographed the crew servicing it in Coolidge, and then headed down to Picacho to catch it crossing Milligan Road. I waited on the Highway 87 overpass for the train to depart from Picacho, then skipped the Casa Grande stop. I drove west on Interstate 8 to Gila Bend and backtracked on Highway 238 to the Maricopa Mountains.

Transit of Mercury: The planet Mercury passed directly between the Earth and the Sun this morning. This multiple exposure consists of eight exposures made at 8:43, 8:59, 9:29, 9:43, 9:53, 10:03, 10:20, and 10:41 AM MST. The next transit of Mercury visible fro the United States will occur in the year 2032.

I visited Sky Harbor on Monday, October 28, 2019 to photograph Alaska's Boeing 737-900 N493AS More to Love arriving from Seattle. I also caught an Air Transport International 767 arriving from Anchorage and an American Airlines 777 departing for London Heathrow.

British Airways concluded 747 service to Sky Harbor on October 26, 2019. They will be switching to 787s on October 27. Airliners flying regularly scheduled flights to Phoenix all have two engines, now.

I caught Alaska 737-890 N537AS Pixar Pier arriving at Sky Harbor on October 23, 2019.

I published three new calendars for 2020: Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Vintage Airplanes at Prescott, Arizona and Union Pacific Big Boy Steam Locomotive 4014 in Arizona.

Union Pacific Railroad's restored locomotive 4014 Big Boy is touring the United States. On October 16, 2019 it journeyed from Yuma to Casa Grande, Arizona. I caught it at Tacna, Aztec, Gila Bend, and the Maricopa Hills. It is pulling a train consisting of vintage Union Pacific rail cars:

Union Pacific 4014 Big Boy,
Union Pacific Centipede Tender,
Union Pacific Water Tender 814 Joe Jordan,
Union Pacific Water Tender UPP 809 Jim Adams,
Union Pacific General Electric ES44AC 2551,
Union Pacific Tool Car UPP 6334 Art Lockman,
Union Pacific Power Car UPP 209 Howard Fogg,
Union Pacific Baggage Car 5714 Lynn Nystrom,
Union Pacific Dome Car 7015 Challenger,
Union Pacific Baggage Car 5752 Promontory,
Union Pacific Deluxe Sleeper Car 1602 Green River,
Union Pacific Power Car 2066,
Union Pacific Dome Lounge Car 9005 Walter Dean,
Union Pacific Diner Car 5011 City of Denver, and
Union Pacific Business Car 99 Kenefick,

The North American A-36 Apache and early model P-51 Mustangs had a very different profile from the familiar P-51D. Here's a retrospective gallery of some surviving A-36A Apaches and P-51A, P-51B, and P-51C Mustanga.

Ernest A. Love Field at Prescott, Arizona hosted the Wings Out West Airshow on October 5, 2019. Static displays included Commemorative Air Force North American B-25J Mitchell N125AZ Maid in the Shade, United Express ERJ 170-200 LL N611UX, Honeywell Falcon 900EX N889H, Tour America Incorporated Falcon 50 N68LM, and Commemorative Air Force General Motors TBM-3E Avenger N53503. Commemorative Air Force Douglas C-53D Skytrooper N45366 D-Day Doll dropped paratroopers from the Liberty Jump Team. Commemorative Air Force Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress N9323Z Sentimental Journey, Commemorative Air Force T-6G Texan N257DB, Commemorative Air Force North American P-51C Mustang NL61429 By Request, and Vampire Airshows DH-115 Vampire T55 N593RH Vampy flew numerous passes by the audience. Aerobatics were performed by Extra EA330 N330ER piloted by Matt Chapman, Extra 540 N540WS piloted by Bill Stein, and MX Aircraft MXS N530RH piloted by Rob Holland. The show was concluded by two passes of Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker 59-1450 of the 161st Air Refueling Wing based at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Boeing VC-32A (757-2G4) 99-0003 Air Force Two visited the Valley of the Sun on Wednesday, October 2, 2019.

Honeywell Boeing 757-225 N757HW flew from Sky Harbor to Idaho and back on September 18, 2019.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress N69972 Doc made two revenue flights at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport on September 18. I photographed the second flight.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress N69972 Doc made one revenue flight at Phoenix Deer Valley Airport on September 17.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress N69972 Doc arrived at the Deer Valley Airport on September 16, 2019. It will make revenue flights on September 17 and 18.

I cought Aeronaves TSM Convair 640F XA-UJI arriving at Sky Harbo on September 10, 2019. I also caught Southwest Boeing 737-7H4 N918WN Illinois One and Guardian Flight LLC Beechcraft C90A King Air N447DB.

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You can see all of my calendars and books at my Lulu.com Lockett Books storefront.

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I attended the Edwards Air Force Base Open House with my father, Richard Lockett, on November 16, 1975. The displays featured a Boeing NKC-135A Stratotanker, Boeing T-4A, the Boeing NB-52B Stratofortress, the Martin Marrietta X-24B lifting body, and pre-production models of the McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle, General Dynamics YF-16, and Northrop YF-17.

Antonov Design Bureau An-124-100M UR82027 visited Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Arizona on July 28 and 29, 2019 to pick up four Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters for the Indian Air Force.

British Airways Boeing 747-436 G-BNLY visited Phoenix Sky Harbor on May 13, 2019. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of British Airways, it is painted in retro "Landor" livery dating to the period 1984 to 1997.

I visited Phoenix Sky Harbor on May 7, 2019 to photograph the first 737 to wear United's new livery.

I visited Phoenix Sky Harbor on May 5, 2019 intending to photograph Alaska's Incredibles 2 special livery. It turned out that the Incredibles 2 artork was removed sometime in the last two months. While i was there, I photographed a variety of 737s and airbuses.

British Airways Boeing 747-436 G-CIVB visited Phoenix Sky Harbor on April 30, 2019. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of British Airways, it is painted in retro "Negus" livery dating to the period 1974 to 1980.

Tragically, the last surviving Norhrop N9M was destroyed in a crash near Chino on April 22, 2019. Its pilot, David Michael Vopat, was killed in the crash. It was the only Northrop flying wing from the 1940s which was still flying.

British Airways Boeing 747-436 G-BNLY visited Phoenix Sky Harbor on April 19, 2019. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of British Airways, it is painted in retro "Landor" livery dating to the period 1984 to 1997.

British Airways Boeing 747-436 G-CIVB visited Phoenix Sky Harbor on April 4, 2019. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of British Airways, it is painted in retro "Negus" livery dating to the period 1974 to 1980.

Honeywell Boeing 757-225 N757HW flew from Sky Harbor to St. Louis and back on April 2, 2019. On its approach to Sky Harbor, it made an S-Turn to increase separation between it and the airplane landing ahead of it.

American Airlines has initiated Boeing 777 service to Phoenix Sky Harbor. American Flight 195 from London was served by 777-223 N770AN on April 1.

I attended the Beale Air Force Base Open House with my father, Richard Lockett, on October 31, 1981. The static displays featured the Lockheed SR-71A Blckbird, Boeing KC-97L Stratofreighter, and McDonnell-Douglas KC-10A Extender. Flying demonstrations included a Lockheed SR-71A Blckbird, Lockheed U-2R, and Boeing KC-135Q Stratotanker.

I toured the Pima County Air Musem on March 31, 1974 before its official opening.

I attended the Edwards Air Force Base Open House with my father, Richard Lockett, on May 17, 1972 which marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Air Force. The displays featured the HL-10 lifting body, and pre-production models of the Northrop YA-9A and Fairchild-Republic YA-10A Thunderbolt II.

I toured the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base with my father, Richard Lockett, on April 24, 1972. I then photogaphed an Arizona Air National Guard North American F-100F Super Sabre and a Continental Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10 at Tucson International Airport.

I attended the Luke AFB Airshow with my father, Richard Lockett, on April 19, 1972. The static displays featured a Douglas AC-47 Puff. Flying demonstrations included The USAF Thunderbirds flying McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom IIs.

New Display Archives:

New Display Archives

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