Inside EAA Photo Flights

Ever wonder where the EAA gets pictures of all those pretty airplanes for their calendars and magazines? Well, if you come to Airventure with a showpiece, you might find out. David Hipschman, the new editor of Sport Aviation, has the pleasure of walking around the show and leaving notes for airplane owners saying the EAA would like to photograph their airplane. The note invites the owner to a briefing where they learn how to fly in formation with an EAA photo plane. The briefing starts at 9:00 am where the pilots are shown each of the standard positions they’ll have to fly — in trail, low right, “plan-view” — and how communications will work in the air. Subject planes then take off late in the day and fly to Wautoma Municipal (Y50) where the ground photos are taken. Then each subject meets up in the air with the photo ship for 45 minutes of formation flying. Depending on the light and the clouds, the flight could be 500 feet over the lake or at 10,000 feet above the clouds. To hear what it sounds like at that briefing and during formation flight, listen to our podcast later this week.