Picture of the Week: AVweb’s Flying Photography Showcase

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Submit a Photo |Rules |Tips |Questions |Past Winners

Each week, we go through dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of reader-submitted photos and pick the very best to share with you on Thursday mornings. The top photos are featured on AVweb‘s home page, and one photo that stands above the others is awarded an AVweb baseball cap as our “Picture of the Week.” Want to see your photo on AVweb.com? Click here to submit it to our weekly contest.

*** THIS WEEK’S WINNERS ***

That old holiday spirit seems to be upon us all this week – as evidenced by the outpouring of great “POTW” submissions we found in our inbox today. Among the sunsets and skyscapes, we found quite a few holiday cards and festive photos this week – but rather than run them, we’ll save them for next Thursday, when AVwebFlash (and “POTW”) will hit the streets on Christmas morning. Yes, we’re planning to make next week’s edition of “POTW” an all-holiday affair! Light the menorah, trim the tree, and send us your best and brightest holiday-themed airplane photos. We’ll share as many as we can right here on Christmas Day! (Be sure to get your photos in by Tuesday morning to be considered for the holiday issue.)

Oh, and look for some answers to last week‘s ID challenge underneath the pics!

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copyright Dwayne Clemens
Used with permission

Sunset Smoke

Dwayne Clemens of Benton, Kansas leads us into the skies this week with this photo of Greg Largen smoking up the air over Stearman Field.

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Used with permission of Michael Hays

Air Harbor Morning

Giving Greg a tough run for the top spot is Michael Hays of Bainbridge Island, Washington.

That should tell you what an embarrasment of riches we had this week – this shot is our Number Two pick!

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Used with permission of Todd Walter

NASA Low-Level Fly-By

Just to drive that point a little further home, we point out that a chance photo of the NASA 747 Space Shuttle Transport (submitted by Todd Walter of League City, Texas) is in the Number Three spot!

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Used with permission of William Fons

St. Lucia Approach

We’re not sure why William Fons of Brookfield, Wisconsin never invites us anywhere – but at least he thought to send us this photo of the “very welcome sight” that greets arrivals at George Charles Airport in St. Lucia.

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copyright Jeffrey P. Jacobs
Used with permission

Wingman

Jeffrey P. Jacobs of Vancouver, Washington flies us out this week.

Don’t forget to send those holiday-themed photos, so we can brighten up everyone’s Christmas morning with lights, snowmen, Santas, airplanes, and all those other fine traditions!


Last week, AVweb reader David Lippincott asked for your help in identifying this plane adorning a patio in Taiwain. We received quite a few well-informed guesses (some informing us that the ID would’ve been easier if we’d linked to the correct plane during the first few hours of Thursday morning). Here’s a sampling:

“… looks to me like a Kate.”
– Larry Fries

“Converted NA T6 Texan dressed as a Mitsubishi Zero left over from Tora, Tora, Tora.”
– Paul Esser

“It is the A6M8 variant of the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (Zero Fighter), Allied code name Zeke. Looks like the dihedral has been bent to a zero angle.”
– Sam Hawkins

“The aircraft in the photo is a North American AT-6 converted into a replica of the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen ‘Zero’, specifically the A6M5 variation where the Nakajima Sakae 21 radial engine was modified with individual ejector exhaust stubs for greater thrust augmentation.”
– Nelson Tirado

I thought it might be an SNJ/T-6 but the canopy is too high. My guess is that its a movie prop; maybe from Empire of the Sun or Pearl Harbor.
– Kevin Korterud

O.K., I`ve worked on real Japanease Zeros, and I can tell you the canopy is Zero, but the ‘engine cowling’ is part of a washing machine or something. Also, the dihedral angle of the wing, or rather lack thereof, is wrong for a Zero. This is some kind of mock-up made of gosh only knows what.
– Chris Ball

We were thinking T-6 Texan SNJ ourselves – but there are a lot of niggling details to suggest there’s been at least some modifications, as the folks above point out.


Remember how we said at the outset that this was an outstanding week for submissions? Well, that translates into a home page slideshow sagging under the weight of great photos. When you finish up here, head over to AVweb‘s home page and scroll about 1/3 of the way down the page to view ’em all!

Click here to submit your own photos to “POTW.”

A quick note for submitters: If you’ve got several photos that you feel are “POTW” material, your best bet is to submit them one-a-week! That gives your photos a greater chance of seeing print on AVweb, and it makes the selection process a little easier on us, too. 😉

A Reminder About Copyrights:
Please take a moment to consider the source of your image before submitting to our “Picture of the Week” contest. If you did not take the photo yourself, ask yourself if you are indeed authorized to release publication rights to AVweb. If you’re uncertain, consult the POTW Rules or or send us an e-mail.

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