Death Valley Fighter Jet Captured!

You may remember last year I got the rush of my life when a fighter jet at Death Valley National Park buzzed right over me. The Ultimate Rush?

I went back to the same spot the other day and this time, I had my camera ready. Now I did not have a fighter jet fly right over me but this one was fairly close. The sounds of its engine penetrated my psyche but I did get some decent photos. I planned to video a jet flying over me but it never happened again while I was there for 2 days.  More photos of my Death Valley trip to follow soon.

dv-jet_8819

You don’t really hear the jets until they get close but I spotted this one coming in fast so I had time to grab my camera.

 

A fighter jet from nearby China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center flies over Death Valley National Park, California
The  fighter jet is stationed at  nearby China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center.

 

A fighter jet from nearby China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center flies over Death Valley National Park, California
You may not be able to tell, but I enlarged this image in Photoshop and the pilot was looking right at me. There is a second pilot in the back. I believe this is a F-16. I wasn’t using my zoom lens so he was pretty close.

 

A fighter jet from nearby China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center flies over Death Valley National Park, California
You want to be in continuous shooting mode to maximize the number of exposures you will get.  These jets move by really fast!

 

A fighter jet from nearby China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center flies over Death Valley National Park, California
As he passed me, the jet headed towards this mountain range, turning to the right and around Eureka Dunes.  It’s a pretty tight maneuver.  The sound from the thrusts of its engine reverberated off the  the side of the mountain.

 

A fighter jet from nearby China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center flies over Death Valley National Park, California

This all happened in less than 10 seconds.