2019 Air Show Special
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Every year from March through November, millions of people hit the road to watch the excitement and thrills as military and civilian aero teams put their high-performance aircraft through their paces to entertain the crowds and perform at air shows all over the world.But you can add to the experience by monitoring the performing teams' radio communications. With a radio scanner in hand, you will experience a whole new perspective of the show that few attendees will experience. Larry lets us all in on the frequencies used by all participants in these shows in VHF and UHF civilian and military bands.
A Look Back at the 2018 Air Shows
By Brian and Jo Marie Topolski
Air shows offer a variety of aerial action and every year is a little bit different. Veteran air show attendees, Brian and Jo Marie, give us a look ahead at the 2019 season and a look back at what happened last year. Among the new teams to look for this year are the Royal Air Force aerobatic jet team known as the Red Arrows and the US Department of Defense F-35A Lightning II demonstration team. Brian and Jo Marie tell you where you are likely to hear communications from these teams as well as all of the others. The duo also takes a look back at the losses that occurred during last year’s air show season.
Photos from 2018: B-52 Stratofortress; Japanese Navy Type 97; Mitchell B-25
By Brian and Jo Marie Topolski
It’s hard not to be attracted to the impressive sight of a Blue Angels or Thunderbirds aerial demonstration. The number of planes in the air at once, the deafening sound of their pass across air show center are thrilling. But there are plenty of quality side shows as well. Brian looks closely at several examples of vintage aircraft and the role they played in aviation history.
In the Air for Sean D. Tucker’s Last Solo Season
By Kevin Burke
The dramatic photo on the front cover was taken by Kevin Burke, who has had the opportunity several times to fly in a chase plane following the daring aerial exploits of veteran air show pilot, Sean D. Tucker. It’s not an easy assignment and to get this kind of photo you need to have a good camera, plenty of experience using it and an ability to forget that you’re being held into the plane by a belt during a flight nearly as breathtaking as Sean’s.
Photographing USAF Thunderbirds’ Air Show Demonstration
By Kevin Burke
When you go to an air show, you’ll want to bring along your camera to try to freeze some of the drama for later viewing. But, there’s a trick to photographing moving objects, particularly when they’re moving at hundreds of miles per hour, at heights anywhere from 200 feet to 5,000 feet, under rapidly changing light conditions. Kevin has had a lot of experience doing so and has some tips for your next air show.
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Scanning Jackson County, Mississippi
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Atlanta Federal Mysteries and Super Bowl 53
MilCom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Monitoring Venezuela’s Military
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
Rejoice! WWV is Saved!
Shortwave Utility Logs
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
ESA Astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI and UK Space Agency’s Principia Education Campaign
Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
EMCOMM and DV Radio
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Antennas before Amplifiers
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
OTA-TV and the Mystery of HDMI
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
It’s a Gray Area
The World of Shortwave Listening
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Shortwave Listening in the 21stCentury
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Shortwave Still Offers Exotic Listening
Amateur Radio Satellites
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Amateur Radio Satellite Primer (Part III)
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
Still Learning with SDRs!
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
James Millen and the Toy Company
Antenna Connections
Dan Farber AC0LW
Flying High Again: Aircraft Antennas