I was
invited to come up to the Trojans and Hoover event by Viper during a
lunch with Viper, Mule and Magic a few weeks after the Rebel Flight
photo shoot. I wasn't sure what to expect, but made the arrangements to
drive up to Paso Robles on Friday morning, stay overnight and drive
home on Saturday evening. My journey began Friday morning at 4 AM (The
things we do for airplanes!) with a 200 mile drive up to Paso Robles. I
was heading down the road to the Estrella Warbird Museum at about 8:30
when I heard the familiar sound of the Trojan radials. They were
already up and flying!
I was greeted and brought
onto the museum grounds by one of the museum volunteers. They knew I
was coming (the photo guy, as I was referred to as). The next 2 days
were filled with flying and fun. The kinship and friendship of the
crews is one of any group of people that share a common interest and it
binds them together well. Good hearted jabs were around on the ground
and a lot of kidding around, but once in the cockpit, they were all
business and were very professional.
A BIG thanks goes out to
the army of volunteers at the Estrella Warbird Museum for their hard
work and dedication to helping all of us out. Their hospitality and
graciousness was first rate! I would also like to thank all of the
pilots for giving me great shots and give particular calls out to the
pilots who dragged me up into the sky and brought me safely back to
earth; Michael "Viper" Maloco, Mark "Magic" Matye and Wayne "Kila"
Watts. I'd fly with you guys any time.
NOTE: These image are NOT public domain, there are all
copyrighted. See copyright notice below.
Copyright notice: All images on this site are copyright
Van Gilder Aviation Photography. Images are not to be
reproduced, electronically or in print without expressed written
consent. If you wish to use any of the photos on this website,
contact us via e-mail.
