Fagen Fighters WWII Museum hosted Scott Slocum’s AeroMedia Group this past weekend, which was packed with flying and aerial photography. Everyone at the museum expressed how much they appreciated the time and talent Slocum and his crew gave in capturing their F6F Hellcat, P-40 Warhawk, and P-38 Lightning. As they noted, “These guys really have it down to a science for getting photos, which makes the whole experience fun for everyone.”
Slocum owns two Beach Barons, and uses them both for these photo missions to give photographers an opportunity to shoot air-to-air, grow their skills, and teach them more about aviation photography. Over the weekend, Bernie Vasquez flew one of the ‘photo-ships’ while Scott flew the other. The process worked so smoothly: while one of the Barons flew in formation with whichever warbird was flying at the time, the other orbited the area awaiting their turn. When the photographers in the first Baron completed their shoot, the second Baron took its place in formation with the warbird, while the first aircraft returned to base to pick up the next selection of photographers for their turn with the warbird, and so on. This helped minimize the time that warbirds needed to remain airborne, saving both fuel and engine hours. The museum flew three different air-to-air sessions like this, with each one lasting almost two hours. The photographers also had the opportunity to shoot some static pictures of aircraft on the ground and also to practice ground-to-air shots.
One of the best moments involved watching the P-40 and P-38 flying in formation. With fewer than ten active P-38s in the world today, it’s special anytime you see one fly, but to see a Lightning in formation with another significant warbird is even cooler! Once the air-to-air sorties were completed, the museum opened up an aerobatic box for the afternoon, so that pilots Evan Fagen and Ray Fowler could have some fun showing these warbirds off to those gathered on the ground.
The museum were pleased to be able to host so many visitors on the ground over the weekend too. But if you missed this week of flying, there will be more! Just keep an eye on the museum’s Facebook and Instagram feeds for more updates! You can also sign up for the Fagen Fighters newsletter to receive news, updates, and get some insight into the WWII warbird parts which the museum has in store for sale/trade!
Renowned photographer, Scott Slocum, created Air to Air Adventures to provide others with the opportunity to participate in an aerial photo-shoot in a safe and professional environment. They photograph rare and historic aircraft flown by expert pilots over the best backgrounds during the best lighting conditions. Furthermore, the profits from these photo-shoots help participating museums keep their aircraft flying, so it is a win-win for everyone involved! To learn more about this service, please visit www.air2airadventures.com.
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