Trip Report October 2024

On Saturday 5th October accompanied by my wife I flew into Los Angeles on a British Airways Airbus A380 for my last military low flying photography trip of the year. I was again visiting the Kern River Valley, a valley and region of the Southern Sierra Nevada and start of the Sidewinder military low flying route (between Waypoints A and B) where I planned to spend five days photographing low flying military aircraft.

British Airways Airbus A380. Our flight from London Heathrow to Los Angeles LAX.

Sunday 6th ‑ After spending the night in the Hilton LAX hotel, we collected our Nissan Rogue hire car and headed north away from Los Angeles over the San Gabriel Mountains into the Antelope Valley towards Palmdale, Lancaster and Mojave.

Warning sign outside Kernville.

After stopping for lunch in Mojave we continued north on California Highway 14 towards Ridgecrest and the turn‑off for the Walker Pass. Driving over the Walker Pass towards Kernville the temperature gauge in the car was reading 100°F, which was unusually high for the time of year (The average temperature in Kernville for October ranges between a high of 76°F to a low of 49°F). Thankfully, the forecast for the week ahead was for the temperatures to start dropping nearer to normal.

In the following report I have omitted any aircraft that passed overhead unless it was something different from the usual Air Force F‑16's and Navy F/A‑18's that frequent the area.

Monday 7th ‑ Today we climbed up to the vantage point overlooking Fairview Campground via the Packsaddle. We made an early start while the path was still in the shade, arriving on‑site at 09:00. The first aircraft to appear at 09:29 was a F‑16D, BuNo. 87‑0392 ‘ED’ of the 416th FLTS from Edwards A.F.B. which pulled up as it appeared around the bend in the valley. There was a three‑hour lull till two F/A‑18E Super Hornets, BuNo. 168865 ‘NF‑306’ leading BuNo. 166841 ‘NF‑302’ of VFA‑115 “Eagles” from N.A.S. Lemoore appeared at 12:30. The next aircraft to appear at 13:26 was a F‑16C, BuNo. 86‑0371 ‘ED’ leading a F‑16D, BuNo. 89‑2169 ‘ED’ of the 416th FLTS, Edwards A.F.B. At 14:47 a T‑38C Talon, BuNo. 64‑13197 of the 445th FLTS, Edwards A.F.B., painted white and adorned with USAF Test Pilot School markings passed overhead. Throughout the day the temperatures were like yesterday and sitting in a location with no shade was very tiring, but as the afternoon wore on the temperatures subsided slightly as dark clouds started to appear from the south. At 15:00 a large crack of thunder was the alarm call for us to get off the hill and soon the heavens opened with a torrential downpour.

Tuesday 8th ‑ My wife did not join me today as I was climbing a hill which was not to her liking. I made an early start to ensure I reached my vantage point while the hill was still in the shade. It was a hard climb made difficult by the weight I had to carry. Apart from my camera equipment and Helinox chair (ultra lightweight strong and comfortable chair I highly recommend) was the amount of water I had to carry to ensure I stayed hydrated throughout the day. At 08:30 I was in position and ready for any aircraft to appear. The temperatures today felt slightly cooler than yesterday, but it was still hot. The first aircraft to appear at 09:02 was a F‑16D, BuNo. 87‑0392 ‘ED’ of the 416th FLTS from Edwards A.F.B. which passed overhead. This was followed at 09:54 by a F/A‑18F Super Hornet, BuNo.166621 ‘NJ‑136’ of VFA‑122 ”Flying Eagles” (Fleet Replacement Squadron) from N.A.S. Lemoore. A nice catch five minutes later at 09:59 was a F/A‑18E Block III Super Hornet, BuNo. 169706, marked as ‘801’ of the Kuwaiti Air Force.

F/A‑18E Block III Super Hornet, BuNo.169706, marked as ‘801’ of the Kuwaiti Air Force.

For the remainder of the day, I had a steady flow of passes with the following aircraft seen: ‑ Two F/A‑18E Super Hornets, BuNo. 169952 ‘NE‑201’ leading BuNo. 169963 ‘NE‑204’ of VFA‑113 “Stingers” from N.A.S. Lemoore at 11:28. Two F‑35C Lightning II's, BuNo. 170541 ‘NJ‑450’ leading BuNo. 168031 ‘NJ‑426’ “Rough Raiders” (Fleet Replacement Squadron) from N.A.S. Lemoore at 12:07. A Sikorsky MH‑60S Knighthawk, BuNo. 165759 ‘DD‑463’ of VX‑31 “Dust Devils” Air Test & Evaluation Squadron from N.A.W.S. China Lake routed past north to south at 13:25. At 13:30 the Knighthawk had just disappeared when a F‑16D, BuNo. 85‑1572 ‘ED’ of the 416th FLTS passed overhead. The last aircraft seen was a F‑16D, BuNo. 87‑0383 at 13:39. The F‑16D had no squadron markings so I assumed it was from the 416th FLTS, Edwards A.F.B. but there is an opinion on social media it could be an airframe from Groom Lake. I left the hill at 14:00.

Wednesday 9th ‑ Today we visited a location I have tried before where it required me to attach a 1.4x Extender to my 600mm lens as the aircraft can be distant. The following aircraft were seen: ‑ F/A‑18E Super Hornet, BuNo. 169736 ‘NE‑300’, CAG aircraft of VFA‑192 “Golden Dragons” from N.A.S. Lemoore at 09:58. F‑35A Lightning II, BuNo. 17‑5272 ‘WA’ of the 6th Weapons School, Nellis A.F.B. at 11:06. At 13:00 I heard an aircraft approaching Point Alpha and the pilot stating his intentions to drop down to 200ft at 400 knots. I then heard him say he was slowing his speed to conserve fuel. When the aircraft appeared, I immediately recognised it as the retro gloss‑black painted “Vandi 1”, a F/A‑18F Super Hornet, BuNo. 166673 ‘XE’ of VX‑9 “Vampires” from N.A.W.S. China Lake. A second F/A‑18F Super Hornet, BuNo. 169975 ‘XE‑444’ also of VX‑9 was following close behind, which was also followed by an EA‑18G Growler, BuNo. 168384 ‘XE‑500’ of VX‑9. The last aircraft to appear at 14:16 was a F‑16D, BuNo. 85‑1572 ‘ED’ of the 416th FLTS from Edwards A.F.B. We left the hill at 15:15.

F‑35A Lightning II, BuNo. 17‑5272 of the 6th Weapons School, Nellis A.F.B.

Of note: During the morning two Lockheed Martin/Boeing F‑22 Raptor aircraft returning to Edwards A.F.B. from the Huntington Beach Airshow held the previous weekend stated their intentions to fly the length of the Sidewinder. They stated they would fly between Waypoints Alpha and Charlie at 2000ft then drop down to low‑level. I learned later some photographers had known of their intentions and captured some nice photos of them as they passed Haystacks (near Lone Pine) in the Owens Valley. A shame I didn't know, as I have never captured photos of a F‑22 Raptor ‑ at all.

Thursday 10th ‑ Today we returned to the vantage point overlooking Fairview Campground and arrived on‑site at 08:45. The following aircraft were seen: ‑ F‑16D, BuNo. 86‑0050 ‘ED’ of the 416th FLTS from Edwards A.F.B. at 09:42. High pass by a F‑15C, BuNo. 83‑0027 of the Fresno Air National Guard at 09:48. Northrop T‑38C Talon, BuNo. 64‑13197 ‘ED’ of the 445th FLTS, from Edwards A.F.B. marked as USAF TPS at 11:25. Two F/A‑18E Super Hornets, BuNo. 169964 ‘NE‑205’ leading BuNo. 169967 ‘NE‑210’ of VFA‑113 “Stingers” from N.A.S. Lemoore at 12:51. F‑16D, BuNo. 85‑1572 ‘ED’ of the 416th FLTS from Edwards A.F.B. at 14:10, and finally a Northrop T‑38C Talon, BuNo. 65‑10437 ‘ED’ of the 445th FLTS, Edwards A.F.B. at 14:32 which pulled up as it was taking the bend in the valley and passed overhead. We left the hill at 14:50.

Friday 11th ‑ We returned to the location we visited on Wednesday. A quiet day with the only low‑level pass being a F/A‑18F Super Hornet, BuNo. 165923 ‘NJ‑125’ of VFA‑125 “Flying Eagles” from N.A.S. Lemoore at 09:37. Two F‑15C Eagles, BuNo. 83‑0013 and BuNo.86‑0165 of the Fresno Air National Guard appeared ar 10:29 but they passed high. We left the hill at 13:45 and started the drive back to Palmdale where we had a hotel booked for the night.

Photographs from my trip can be viewed at: 2024 ‑ Sidewinder USA Military Low Flying.

Part of the Kern River Valley north of Lake Isabella.

When filling the car with petrol in Kernville, I received a text from British Airways informing us our flight from LAX on Saturday evening had been cancelled due to operational issues and they had rebooked us on the next available flight on Sunday evening. Oh Joy!

Saturday 12th ‑ As we were in Palmdale, we made a quick visit to the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark located near the United States Air Force Plant 42. I have visited the museum before, but I wanted to see if there was anything new. The only addition was an F‑16C which is a composite of BuNo. 84‑1228 and BuNo. 78‑0105. The aircraft has no undercarriage and is supported on a wooden frame.

General Dynamics F‑16C, BuNo. 84‑1228. Joe Davies Airpark, Palmdale.

After leaving Palmdale we returned to Los Angeles to drop off the hire car and check‑in to the Hilton LAX hotel for the night.

Sunday 13th ‑ A waste of a day as far as I was concerned. We couldn't do any sightseeing as we had no transport, so the day was spent relaxing till it was time to get the hotel shuttle bus to LAX to catch our evening flight back to the U.K. One consolation: We were handsomely rewarded by British Airways for the cancellation and our accommodation for Saturday evening was reimbursed.