Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

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Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

FlyingPhotog
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p.849 #1 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Couple of Herky Birds from today...

302nd AW .. Peterson AFB CO
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934th AW .. "Flying Vikings" Minneapolis MN
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Mar 19, 2010 at 06:50 AM

Donald Gray
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p.849 #2 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

In Memoriam

Dear MA2A friends

It is with tears in my eyes that I tell of the passing of my very dear friend Flt Sgt Gordon Nichols, RAF. 1922 ~ 2010

He died 18th March 2010

I was a snotty nosed little kid, one of millions, that Gordon and his crew were putting their lives on the line to ensure we kept our freedom.

I had the great privilege of meeting Gordon and his wife Olga 12 years ago. At 5' 6", he was a true gentleman. Gordon & Olga were devoted to each other and were married for 68 years.They received a congratulatory telegram from Her Majesty The Queen on their 60th anniversary.

Olga is in hospital, after a fall when she broke her pelvis & hip a few weeks ago.

Gordon was always talking of his crew & reunions over the years. He kept in his wallet, a tiny creased photo of himself which I borrowed to enhance for him.

He was a Bomb Aimer in a Lancaster Q 'Queenie' - He loved Queenie.

I enhanced and coloured the photo of him and created the montage of him in front of his beloved Queenie. I never let him know it was not 'his' Queenie...

Friends, I salute Gordon and all those other brave men & women who did their duty to their country in the great time of need.

Just pause for a moment & give thanks to God for folk like Gordon

Mar 19, 2010 at 12:15 PM

Jan-Arie
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p.849 #3 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

My Condolences Donald and may he have blue sky's forever

Jan-Arie

Mar 19, 2010 at 12:31 PM

Donald Gray
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p.849 #4 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Thank you

Mar 19, 2010 at 12:44 PM

futurshox
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p.849 #5 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Sorry to hear that, Donald, but delighted to learn about this gentleman. I will raise a glass to him tomorrow night, when I finish travelling.

Mar 19, 2010 at 12:51 PM

jbear2000
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p.849 #6 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

What a special tribute, Donald.
I'm sorry you have lost your friend - that's tough business - but the good news is as G. K. Chesterton said "Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it has a God who knows the way out of the grave." Those who follow Him always have another flight plan filed.

Mar 19, 2010 at 01:06 PM

JWilsonphoto
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p.849 #7 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Dear Donald,

Thank you for that most fitting tribute to your friend, a hero and a husband. Most have no clue what they endured for the cause of freedom. For one final time Flt. Sgt. Nichols has "Slipped the surly bonds of earth, reached out his hand and touched the face of God." May the Lord bring him into His Presence for eternity and watch over Olga until He does the same for her.

Sincerely,

Jim

Mar 19, 2010 at 01:44 PM

Donald Gray
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p.849 #8 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Jan-Arie, Jo, Jon & Jim

Gordon would be so pleased to know of your thoughts and words. My thanks to you all.

Dear Jim
Thank you for those very special words. They mean a heck of a lot to me. Your prayer for him and Olga is a perfect tribute for them.

I must admit that I have been feeling very sad today. I wanted (needed) to say farewell to him & felt that MA2A was a fitting place to give him a send off. I feel that Gordon is among friends here.

Mar 19, 2010 at 02:09 PM

jbear2000
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p.849 #9 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Without people like your friend Gordon and the machines they loved - we wouldn't be here. Certainly among friends - no question about it!

A dear friend of ours (our drummer's wife) is losing her mother this week and if not already gone today will almost certainly will be soon. She knows her Lord and looks forward to her coming home. But the pain my friend is going through right now in her personal loss is overwhelming her. I wrote this out to her the other day to help comfort her and tell her it's OK to weep (sometimes Christians want to brush the emotional aside when they shouldn't) I draw my thoughts from C.S. Lewis' comments on grief and pain along with my missionary friend in the Islamic country. I hope by posting these thoughts here, that you also will find comfort in grieving for your friend.

--
Do you remember what Jesus did? Let me take you there for a minute. It says that He wept. His friend had died and the most powerful man on the planet... wept!

Why? Was it because He was powerless to stop His friends death? Surely not! He could have healed him - even from afar. Was it because He couldn't raise him from the dead? Also not - as He most certainly called Lazarus out from the dead and restored him.

Was it because the world had gone wildly out of control? No - it was as it is today... broken and horribly damaged but still completely under His control.

Jesus wept - because there is no dignity in death. Death is the ultimate corruption of His creation.

Death was not how things should have been, His creation of men had rejected Him and because of the horror of sin they brought on themselves, death is the ugly consequence we all must suffer. He wept because this is not the way it should have been. Can you imagine how deeply it must have moved our Lord - to look upon that grave and weep in anguish over what had happened to the beauty of His creation?

The thoughts that went through His own head about the path he knew He would soon take to conquer death for all time. Knowing some will believe Him and others will yet reject Him. He wept.

It's OK to weep - when we weep, we are doing what Jesus did.

No other god has left the world with such Hope. No other god has promised He will personally wipe away every tear. No other god stands waiting for us to come home.
No other name than Jesus Christ has the power to conquer death. "Oh death, where is thy sting!"

G.K. Chesterton said it best: "Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it has a God who knows the way out of the grave."

In that there is hope and a way to find peace.

Mar 19, 2010 at 03:22 PM

bjacks25
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p.849 #10 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

FlyingPhotog wrote:
They're gearing up for Aerospace and Arizona Days this weekend at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ. Went down to shoot some arrivals today (and will be going back on Friday as well...)

Sharing a few I liked:

Comments & Critiques Most Welcome...!

Wow Jay, those are amazing.

Brian

Mar 19, 2010 at 03:33 PM

msalvetti
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p.849 #11 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Donald, a very moving tribute. I'm always touched by those WWII-era B&W portraits. There he is, just a kid. Maybe 18 or 19? Yet off to defend the freedom of his homeland. And let's not forget, for Britain it really was a struggle for freedom, trying to stave off invasion, standing alone after most of Europe had fallen. Such desperate times. "We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...."

Godspeed Flt. Sgt. Nichols. God bless and rest in peace.

Donald, thank you for sharing with us.

Mark

Edited on Mar 19, 2010 at 03:53 PM · View previous versions

Mar 19, 2010 at 03:34 PM

Jan-Arie
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p.849 #12 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Many time ill have been asking myself how does it come that my photo's ill shoot raw are not sharp at 100% ill still don't know today.
But going trough my Red Flag map today to my surprise there was one that was sharp at 100% hoorah

Most of the time's my photo's only look good and sharp at 50%

So here is a 100% crop of the rear end of the B1B

Among friends you say Donald let me ad a little to that if ill may.
The first time ill ran across the first addition of Mustangs air to air ill was a little sceptic.
Here is a man ( Jim ) posting his work on the web didn't know him at the time.
I had a look at his work as an warbird nut that i am ill immediately liked his work.
But my experience with posting my photo's on the various aviation sites was not so good.
The exception apart from a couple of sites.
Most of the time people didn't react or just plain burned you down to the ground.
So i was what they called a lurker for most of the time.
From time to time ill checked in to the site to see what was new and to my surprise many more people started to show their work.
And seeing the positive feedback idea's and tips going from one to another decided me to join the group and show some of my work that I in the course of the time had collected.
I enjoyed it for once not being burned down but was given idea's and tips on how to improve and even had the chance to give somebody else at tip or idea that was new for me.
Most of the photographic skills I have today are self learned and with the help of some people.
One of them is Roel Reijne which i have met trough the Internet and off course Marcel who joined me on many trips ( both did ) and there are one or two more but not that much.
Even that I have never met the most of them I still felt pretty comfortable and that is rare for me most of the time I'm stressed but that is now almost under control.
So at one moment the Isap symposium come to order at the MA2A treath here at FM and they all decided that it it was a good opportunity to meet each other.
At that time I really didn't now what isap was i heard the name before but that was it.
So I asked Jim what is Isap and he give me the link to the site and i checked it out.
Then I decided that i would join Isap give the link to Marcel and he also joined so that's when we decided that we would take the trip to Las Vegas and meet up.
I have to say when we arrived at the hotel and were checked in to the room and we went downstairs for something to drink.
We sat down in a group which had a couple of familiar faces but I was a little shy maybe scared to introduce myself and at one moment i hear them talk to each other mentioning our names and they were curious if we had already had arrived so i raised my hand and said here i am.
What then happened I had never expected we were welcomed so much that i was a little overwhelmed maybe that had something to do with some of the bad experience's that i had in the past.
But until today i'm very pleased and still a little surprised that you can have such good friends even if you never have met them.
So I'm very grateful for that so if you say Friends I can say we are good for it and everybody's welcome.

Jan-Arie

Canon EOS-1D Mark II 330 mm f/7.1 1/400 sec 100 ISO +1.0 EV

Edited on Mar 19, 2010 at 06:36 PM · View previous versions

Mar 19, 2010 at 03:40 PM

JWilsonphoto
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p.849 #13 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Well there you have it! Well said Jan-Arie, well said! If you really dissect MA2A, it's about the people. Sure we love photography and aviation and those are the passions that brought us together, but it's about our friendship now and I like that about this group. Something that struck me over and over during ISAP was how great it was putting faces and personalities to the on line identities I'd grown to know and love.

Jan Arie, it would be difficult not to like you right off the bat, that infectious smile and genuine warmth is a treat for anyone who has the pleasure of making your acquaintance. It's an honor to have you as a charter member of our group.

Oh, and on top of all that, you're a darn good shooter as well! Great B1 image!

Mar 19, 2010 at 04:03 PM

R.Reijne
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p.849 #14 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

mentioning our names and they were curious if we had already had arrived so i raised my hand and said here i am.
Jan-Arie

I imagine a big smiley grin on jan_arie's face....ha ha

Roel.

ps great B-1 pic..

Mar 19, 2010 at 04:27 PM

Rodolfo Paiz
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p.849 #15 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Jan-Arie wrote:
But going trough my Red Flag map today to my surprise there was one that was sharp at 100% hoorah

Most of the time's my photo's only look good and sharp at 50%

Just do what I do... print at 25%!

Jan-Arie wrote:
So here is a 100% crop of the rear end of the B1B

Though the phrasing is a little crass... nice ass!

Now, please post the full image, don't leave us hanging.

Mar 19, 2010 at 04:32 PM

Rodolfo Paiz
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p.849 #16 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Donald Gray wrote:
Just pause for a moment & give thanks to God for folk like Gordon

Amen.

Not much I can add to what's already been said here. But I stand with you on this day, as on other days. Godspeed to Gordon, and may he rest in peace.

Mar 19, 2010 at 04:35 PM

bobl
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p.849 #17 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Dear Donald,
Thank you for sharing your grief with us so that we can share your grief. I am so sorry for your loss. My condolences are with you and my prayers are with Olga. Please know you are held in extremely high regard in these parts.

I'm sorry, My Friend.
Bob

Mar 19, 2010 at 04:40 PM

waterflyboy22
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p.849 #18 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Donald-
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on your friend Gordon.
That entire generation of folks did things for God and Country that deserve our unending respect and admiration. Please let Olga know our thoughts and prayers are with her.

Mar 19, 2010 at 06:04 PM

Jan-Arie
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p.849 #19 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Rodolfo Paiz wrote:
Jan-Arie wrote:
But going trough my Red Flag map today to my surprise there was one that was sharp at 100% hoorah

Most of the time's my photo's only look good and sharp at 50%

Just do what I do... print at 25%!

Jan-Arie wrote:
So here is a 100% crop of the rear end of the B1B

Though the phrasing is a little crass... nice ass!

Now, please post the full image, don't leave us hanging.

Here is the original

Canon EOS-1D Mark II 330 mm f/7.1 1/400 sec 100 ISO +1.0 EV

Mar 19, 2010 at 06:31 PM

Jan-Arie
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p.849 #20 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Nice one from the Aussies

Canon EOS-1D Mark II 400 mm f/6.3 1/400 sec 50 ISO 0.0 EV

Mar 19, 2010 at 06:51 PM

Jon C.
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p.849 #21 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Donald,

I am truly sorry to hear about your friend. Your tribute to him was touching and clearly shows the respect and admiration you have for him. I believe, while he is physically gone from this Earth, his love and spirit with always be in your heart, as well as his loved ones. My thoughts are with you all in this difficult time...

Mar 19, 2010 at 06:51 PM

Jon C.
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p.849 #22 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Jan-Arie,

You take excellent pictures and I must say - this one is really top notch! I am biased, as I love the Bone, and you've captured it well.. and sharp as a tack!

Mar 19, 2010 at 06:58 PM

Jan-Arie
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p.849 #23 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Thanks Jon here another one I like just like flying Air to Air at his 5 o clock low again nice colours..

Last one for tonight going to visit a friend....

Canon EOS-1D Mark II 400 mm f/5.6 1/500 sec 50 ISO 0.0 EV

Mar 19, 2010 at 07:01 PM

KIE-Pics
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p.849 #24 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Donald, my heartfelt condolences on losing a friend, and also on the pain felt with the widow. I can not say that I know how you feel, I don't. I just remember the pain I felt after my Dad ( he was my great friend too ) passing away.

To all you guys posting the great pics of the last 30 or so pages : WWWOOOOOOWWW. I now even feel more daunted by the challenge posed here. The level is extremely high. Weather is improving here, I hope to be able to post some pics, even if only from the spotting platforms around Frankfuert airport.

Also a warm thank you to the all the MA2A"members" for the friendship, compassion, good humour and love shown in this thread, current issue Gordon, Donalds friend. This really makes this thread special. A special thanks to "Shooter" for being a stirling example and inspiration.

Goodbye, till I have something to post, from the (still) lurker
Ingo.

Mar 19, 2010 at 07:11 PM

Donald Gray
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p.849 #25 · Mustang Air to Air " The Sequel"

Yes, I have wept today. I have wept for Gordon, I have wept for Olga. I have wept at the warm loving respect and regard that you have given to him and accepted him as a flyer among friends.

Grief is a manifestation of the love one can no longer physically give.

Thank you. I am proud say 'thank you, My FRIENDS'
----------------------------

Lest we forget...

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

Mar 19, 2010 at 07:18 PM


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