Lockheed F-35C (16-9600)

There were a total of four CAG F-18s that also participated in the afternoon mission. I've already posted pics of two of those CAG aircraft and I will post shots of the other two during the week.

Fantastic timing and capture, Gary! How do you get so close to the runway?

Thats a great shot Gary! Smokin! :)

Another masterful shot, superb clarity. Your latest military pics are nothing short excellent.

Sweet!

Gary..................

Like a 6 Star Photo here. Love the wind sock in the background.

Echoing Gavin's comments.

Great shot Gary. I assume you have some inside info as who was in the hot seat that day. I am sure you know that the name on the nose wheel door isn't always the person flying it. Will admit I'm not sure how they determine who's name is stenciled on it but there are way more pilots than there are A/C. Either way the trip from Fallon out to Lake Tahoe was breathtaking. Additionally the minor League ball park in Reno is amazing. Is the drag strip still down the road from the base?

@Joe Wood: Allow me to offer a couple of insights, if I may. In a previous life, I was an Aviation Fire Control Technician (fancy verbiage for an electronic weapons systems tech), working on A-7E Corsair IIs. I'm showing my age here, seeing as how the A-7E was replaced by the FA-18, and the F-35C is going to supplement/replace the Hornet/Super Hornet.

Anyhow, some of this might be nit-picky, but I don't intend it that way...
- It's the name of the aircraft's enlisted plane captain that is painted on the nose-wheel gear doors. A plane captain is assigned to a particular aircraft, and that a/c becomes that p/c's bird.
- Pilots/RIOs have their names painted on the canopy rails under their respective locations. And you are correct - the name of the pilot on a particular flight does not necessarily agree with the name on the canopy rail. The pilot flies whichever bird squadron ops assigns to him/her.
- Names are painted on squadron aircraft by seniority. The Carrier Air Wing commander gets the 'nuts' bird i.e. _00; the squadron skipper gets _01, the XO gets _02, and on down the line. The most junior pilots (usually LTjgs) have to wait their turn as pilots (usually Lieutenants) finish their first sea tour and rotate to a shore tour, and are replaced by more junior pilots.

I hope that I didn't insult your intelligence or get preachy on you. Sometimes my fingers just don't know when to shut up.

Just one correction to your info, David. You stated, "It's the name of the aircraft's enlisted plane captain that is painted on the nose-wheel gear doors." Not on the F-35s. On the F-35s, there are no names on the canopy rails. Instead, it says, "Warning - Do Not Cut Canopy Within Three Inches Of Canopy Frame." The pilots name(s) are on the nose wheel gear doors.
Also, I am very grateful for the comments by both you and Joe. And of course, Joe and you are correct in pointing out that the pilot's name on the a/c does not necessarily mean that it is THAT pilot who is flying it when I snap the pic. I am aware of that and I won't bore you with a super long-winded explanation; but let it suffice to say that when I first began posting photos of military metal (a dozen or so years ago) I was (quite) often urged to provide the name(s) being displayed on the rails. So when I began to do so, I would also add a NOTE to clarify that the names I was including did not necessarily mean that the name matched the pilot. But as years passed, it became a Pain in the A__ to keep adding that NOTE, so I stopped doing it. Today, I often see that other contributors who post photos of warbirds provide little, if any, info about the aircraft or where the photo was taken, so I (sort of) figured I was providing more than most do by researching the info about the home port of the squadron and by providing the info about the names shown on the rails. So hopefully you understand why I discontinued adding a blah-blah-blah disclaimer about the names. Hey, much Thanks to both of you for taking time to Comment. I'm not a pilot, was in the USAF for 20 but never worked ON or IN any of the military metalbirds, and I'm dang sure no expert on anything to do with aircraft. In fact, I'm only an amateur photog, too, so I don't claim to be knowledgeable about anything. So I always appreciate when folks are willing to help me learn. (Wave)

Wow. jaw dropping. one of the best photos anywhere found on this site Gary.