In The Wild - April 2002

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The Mojave desert is the site of nearly continuous military aircraft operations. The R-2508 Restricted Airspace Complex stretches from Bishop to Edwards Air Force Base and from Tehachapi to the Nevada State line. Approximately 18,000 low level test and training missions are conducted within the R-2508 Complex annually.

Under the R-2508 Complex, the Saline Valley, adjacent to Death Valley, is used by military aircraft to transit between China Lake NAWC, Edwards AFB, and test ranges in Nevada. Aircraft from Fresno ANG Station and Lemoore NAS aircraft use the area for training.

I spent a week in early April camping in the Saline Valley photographing military jets, mostly Hornets.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18E Super Hornet performs a missed approach to a small dirt runway known locally as the Chicken Strip.

Link to Boeing's web page about the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Link to the Lemoore NAS web site.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet pulls up after flying past our camp.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet of VFA-25 based at Lemoore NAS.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet #111 of VFA-122 based at Lemoore NAS.

Link to the Navy's Fact Sheet for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Link to the VFA-122 Flying Eagles web site.

Boeing-Rockwell B-1B Lancer.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas TAV-8B Harrier.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet #411 of VFA-25 based at Lemoore NAS.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet #404.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet, 185675, #101 of VFA-122 based at Lemoore NAS.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F-15A Eagle of the 412th Test Wing based at Edwards AFB.

Visit the Air Force Flight Test Center web site.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet #400 of VX-9 based at China Lake NAWC.

We were hiking in the Narrows below Squaw Flat in the Inyo Mountains when a trio of Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas FA-18C Hornets came flying up the canyon at low altitude. I was carrying just my 28-70 zoom lens.

This was shot with a 70mm lens, not my usual telephoto.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet #121 of VFA-122 based at Lemoore NAS.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet climbs up toward camp from the valley floor.

Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornet #121 of VFA-122 based at Lemoore NAS.

This panoramic view from Hunter Mountain in Death Valley National Park spans over 360 degrees. The valley in the center is Hidden Valley. Racetrack Playa is just to the left of center. My campsite is in the Saline Valley to the left of Racetrack Playa. The highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada are just visible over the Inyo Mountains on the left. Death Valley is to the right.

You can buy a 4-inch by 37-inch print of the Hunter Mountain panorama for $18.50 in the Lockett Photography Store.

Link to the In the Wild index page for more pictures of jets in the desert.

Go to home page of the Goleta Air and Space Museum.

Send a message to Brian.