VCM-Photography

Welcome to VCM-Photography, a website designed and written by myself Vernon Metcalfe to showcase my photographic passion for military aviation and wildlife.

My aviation photography is orientated towards the dynamic aspect of military low flying, where aircraft are captured flying landlocked against the countryside, rather than airshow photography, where aircraft are captured against the sky.

My parallel passion is wildlife photography, encompassing all species, but with a preference for the ‘Big Cats’, which has taken me to places such as India, looking for the elusive tiger, Africa for the lion, leopard and cheetah and to the Brazilian Pantanal for the iconic jaguar.

Boeing EA-18G Growler low-level in the Jedi Transition. California, U.S.A.

Lion cub lying beside its mother Nkuhuma Pride, lion cub. Sabi Sands, South Africa.

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Trip Report May 2025

Friday 16th ‑ At 14:20 I departed London Heathrow on a British Airways Airbus A340 bound for Los Angeles, California, for a visit to the Kern River Vally, a valley and region of the Southern Sierra Nevada and start of the Sidewinder low flying route (between Waypoints A and B) where I planned to spend five days photographing low flying military aircraft.

Saturday 17th ‑ After an overnight stay in the Hilton Los Angeles Airport, I ordered a taxi to the new car hire complex located a short distance away to pick up my hire car for the trip. I had ordered a Toyota Rav4 or similar, but was given a Jeep Compass which was probably more suited for what I had planned for the first part of my trip.

In the early 1970's I remember being in the school library (showing my age here) and reading an article in a National Geographic magazine about the North American X‑15 hypersonic rocket‑powered aircraft and one of its pilots, Joe Walker. Around the same time, my uncle had a book called the Guinness Book of Records, co‑founded by the twin brothers, Norris and Ross McWhirter. In the book was an article about a futuristic looking aircraft, which I later discovered to be the North American XB‑70 Valkyrie, a prototype high‑speed experimental strategic bomber designed to fly at Mach 3. Ever since those school days I have taken a keen interest in the types, along with other X‑planes and NASA research aircraft and have always been keen to learn more about them through reading books and watching online videos.

The X‑15 and XB‑70 programs both suffered fatal crashes:‑
• Wednesday 15th November 1967. Major Michael J. Adams, one of only twelve pilots to fly the X‑15 was killed during X‑15 flight 191, when X‑15A‑3 (S/N 56‑6672) crashed northeast of the small Californian settlement of Johannesburg.

• Wednesday 8th June 1966. During a publicity photo formation flight, a Lockheed F‑104N Starfighter, S/N N813NA flown by NASA Chief Research Test Pilot, Joseph A. Walker (of the X‑15 magazine article) collided with the North American XB‑70A Valkyrie, S/N 62‑0207 (the second of two prototypes). The Starfighter exploded killing Joe Walker, while the Valkyrie having lost its two stabilizers and a section of its left wing entered an uncontrollable spin. The pilot, Alvin S. White managed to safely eject, but the co‑pilot, Major Carl S. Cross was killed when the aircraft crashed in the Mojave Desert, north of Barstow, California. The wreckage of Joe Walker's Starfighter landed approximately two miles northwest of the Valkyrie in two sections.

XB-70 Valkyrie aircraft profile artwork North American Aviation XB‑70 Valkyrie, S/N 62‑0207. Reference: Aircraft profile art by Dave Budd of www.photorecon.net

I have visited the X‑15 crash site and memorial on a previous trip, to see the location for myself and pay my respects to Major Michael Adams. The X‑15 crash site is widely publicised and relatively easy to access, but the Valkyrie and Starfighter crash sites are more difficult to access and took more research to accurately nail down their exact locations. A visit to the Valkyrie crash site was the task I had set myself for the first part of my trip. The Starfighter was maybe for another trip.

Today I was driving to Barstow where I had a motel booked for the night. After picking up my hire car I made a quick visit to the March Field Air Museum, located in Riverside County, between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley and Perris. I have visited the museum before, but decided to visit again as they had added a KC‑10A Extender, General Dynamics F‑16A Fighting Falcon, Northrop Grumman EA‑6B Prowler and a North American F‑86A Sabre to their collection.

March Air Force Musuem, Riverside County. Part view of March Field Air Museum.

After leaving the museum I headed north on Interstate 215 and Interstate 15 towards the Victor Valley in San Bernardino County where I joined the Highway 395 towards Kramer Junction. I took this route to Barstow because during my research on the XB‑70 Valkyrie I discovered the crash sites of other aircraft, one being the Bell X‑2 which crashed off the eastern edge of Edwards Air Force Base in the Kramer Hills, approximately fifteen miles south of Kramer Junction.

On Thursday 27th September 1956 the Bell X‑2, S/N 46‑674 piloted by Captain Millburn G. “Mel” Apt became the first manned aircraft to exceed Mach 3, but while attempting a banking turn back towards Edwards Air Force Base while still travelling above Mach 3, the X‑2 departed from controlled flight and tumbled violently out of control. Apt ejected using an escape capsule but failed to exit the capsule and use his personal parachute before it crashed on Edwards Air Force Base, killing him. The X‑2 fuselage continued to fly in a series of glides and stalls till it eventually crashed five miles away in the Kramer Hills. In June 2012, twenty yards south of where the X‑2 landed the Amateur Aerospace Archaeologists of Southern California erected the Capt. Mel Apt Memorial.

The crash site is only a short drive off Highway 395 (approximately 1.2 miles) along public off‑highway vehicle (OHV) routes ‑ also known as open areas, managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The crash site memorial was relatively easy to find, but during my visit the weather was overcast and windy, with gusts blowing sand and debris around which was not pleasant. I captured some photos, but the light was not ideal, and the wind made photography difficult, so I intend to vist the site again if I'm in the area.

The Capt. Mel Apt Memorial, Kramer Hills, California.

Sunday 18th ‑ After an overnight stay in Barstow I made an early morning start to try to find the XB‑70A Valkyrie crash site which is approximately eleven miles north of the town in the Mud Hills. Driving north out of Barstow on the Irwin Road, the first seven miles was on a paved road, till I turned onto the Copper City Road which was unpaved and required more care. I followed this road for a further six miles till I turned off onto an OHV public land route, which was also also an access route to some kind of military radar installation. As there was no cell coverage in the area and I didn't have a GPS unit to find the crash site, I printed off Google Map screen shots from my home computer and marked my intended route on them, following what I considered to be the most distinctive OHV routes through the desert. The area has a lot of desert tracks with some of them being rutted with steep adverse cambers, so I was thankful for having the Jeep Compass. My planned route was not as easy to follow in the field as I envisaged, and at some point I took a wrong turn, or followed the wrong track and lost my bearings. I backtracked and took different routes, but to no avail, the crash site kept evading me. Despondent, I decided to quit and head back to Barstow.

Desert off-highway vehicle route in the Mud Hills, north of Barstow, California. View of a typical off‑highway vehicle route in the Mud Hills, north of Barstow, California.

When I returned home to the U.K. I found a YouTube raw dashcam footage of the route from the start of the Copper City Road to the crash site. Watching the video I recognised some of the landmarks and realised where I had gone wrong. I must have come within 100 metres of the site. “So near yet so far”. If I decide to visit again, I will purchase a GPS.

After returning to Barstow, I started my journey to Kernville where i had accommodation booked for the next five nights. To compensate for not finding the Valkyrie, I made a detour via the X‑15 crash site near Johannesburg. Since my last visit, the X‑15 monument has had the original weathered wooden sign replaced with a modern plastic one. The flagpole with the metal flag and crude X‑15 model was no longer standing but lying on the verge of the dirt road. I don't know if it had been removed intentionally or had fallen over and needed repairing. After leaving the site I travelled to Ridgecrest where I had lunch before continuing my journey to Kernville.

X-15 crash site and memorial, near Johannesburg, California. X‑15 crash site and memorial, near Johannesburg, California.

Monday 19th ‑ My first day in the Kern River Valley hoping to photograph low flying military aircraft. Today I climbed the hill overlooking Fairview Campground via the Packsaddle. At 08:10 whilst walking up the path an F‑16D from Edwards Air Force Base routed through ‑ Typical. I completed the climb and arrived on‑site at 08:30. The first aircraft to appear at 11:34 was an F/A‑18F Super Hornet, BuNo. 165669 ‘DD‑214’ of VX‑31 “Dust Devils” Air Test & Evaluation Squadron from N.A.W.S. China Lake. This was followed at 11:41 by two USAF F‑35A Lightning II's of the 461st Flight Test Squadron, Edwards A.F.B. The first F‑35 was BuNo. 20‑5577 ‘ED’. I did not observe the serial of the second aircraft. The same F/A‑18F Super Hornet from the first pass in the morning appeared again at 11:45 and again at 11:36. No more aircraft were seen, and I left the hill at 14:15.

Tuesday 20th ‑ The hill on the inside of a right‑hand bend overlooking Calkins Flat Campground was my chosen hill for the day. At 08:00 I was in position and ready for action. The only low‑level pass of the day was an F/A‑18E Super Hornet of VX‑9 “Vampires” Air Test & Evaluation Squadron from N.A.W.S. China Lake. The Super Hornet pulled up as it approached my location and passed overhead. I did not observe its serial number. Mid‑morning I heard on the scanner there was an avoid between Point Alpha and Point Bravo because firefighting aircraft were using Lake Isabella (Point Alpha) to refill with water to fight the Democrat Fire in the Kern River Canyon. The avoid remained in‑place for the rest of the day, os so I thought. At 14:00 I decided to leave the hill. I had just arrived back at my car when two F‑35's routed through the valley.

Wednesday 21st ‑ Today I visited the location where it required me to attach a 1.4x Extender to my 600mm lens as the aircraft can be distant. I was in position by 08:00. It was a quiet morning till 11:11, when my scanner warned me of two aircraft approaching. I spotted the aircraft in the distance dropping down to low level and it was only as they got nearer that I realised that they were McDonnell Douglas AV‑8B Harrier II's ‑ Yes! BuNo. 164129 ‘DD‑88’ was followed by BuNo. 164549 ‘DD‑81’ both of VX‑31 “Dust Devils” Air Test & Evaluation Squadron, N.A.W.S. China Lake. I was really chuffed to have caught them, because the type is expected to be retired by the end of 2027 and the chances of me catching one on any of my short visits was very slim.
Other aircraft seen: F/A‑18E Super Hornet, BuNo. 166635 ‘DD‑213’ of VX‑31 “Dust Devils’ at 11:25 which passed overhead but dropped lower going into the turn at Calkins Flat and finally at 11:50 an F/A‑18F (no serial observed) which passed overhead. I left the hill at 14:00.

AV-8B Harrier Plus II, BuNo. 164129. McDonnell Douglas AV‑8B Harrier Plus II, BuNo. 164129 ‘DD‑88’ of VX‑31 “Dust Devils”, N.A.W.S. China Lake.

Thursday 22nd ‑ I returned to the hill overlooking Calkins Flat Campground and was in position by 08:00. All the aircraft today either passed overhead at a minimum altitude of 2000ft AGL or were entering the Sidewinder for low‑level flying at Point Bravo. I learned later there was an avoid between Point Alpha and Point Bravo due to helicopter firefighting training at Kernville Airport. I left the hill at 14:00 with no aircraft photographed.

Friday 23rd ‑ I decided not to venture up the hills today due to the lack of traffic throughout the week. Today I was driving to Palmdale where I had a hotel booked for the night. I started my journey with a leisurely drive over the Walker Pass to Ridgecrest where I stopped for a coffee before continuing my journey south to Kramer Junction. At Kramer Junction I turned west on Highway 58 towards Mojave, where on the way I planned to visit the Boeing NB‑52B on display outside the North Gate of Edwards Air Force Base. The NB‑52B known affectionally as “Balls 8” was a workhorse for NASA, serving as a launch platform for various research and test vehicles, including the X‑15. When I arrived at the NB‑52B there were signs stating that photography was not allowed. I have visited the site several times and photographing the aircraft has never been a problem ‑ Why now? I can understand the base being sensitive of photos taken of the gate security area, but why of an aircraft that has been displayed there since December 2004 and which must have had thousands of photos taken of it. Undeterred, as I was travelling to Palmdale and would be passing Rosamond, I thought I might as well pay a visit to the Century Circle at the West Gate of Edwards Air Force Base to see how the new museum which was under construction was progressing. Century Circle is part of the Air Force Flight Test Museum and gets its name from the six aircraft on display which make up the “Century Series” fighter aircraft of the 1950's and 1960's. The Air Force Flight Test Museum which required base access is no longer open as it will be moving outside the air base to the area at Century Circle where it will be accessible to the public. Construction of the new museum building started in November 2021 but had been delayed due to the COVID pandemic. WhenI visited in September 2023 to see how it was progressing, they had laid the concrete foundations and erected the steel framework for the new building (see Trip Report September 2023).

From Rosamond to Century Circle is approximately a nine‑mile drive along Rosamond Blvd, which routes along the northern tip of the Rosamond dry lake. As I left the unincorporated community of Rosamond and approached the dry lake and the road sign for Edwards Air Force Base there was a new warning sign stating: “WARNING U.S. AIR FORCE INSTALLATION OFF LIMITS TO UNAUTHORISED PERSONNEL ‑ VALID MILITARY OR CIVILIAN CONTRACTOR IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED BEYOND THIS POINT”. Obviously I did not proceed any further and turned around. Is Century Circle now off‑limits to the public? This is a question I have still to be answered.

Saturday 24th ‑ This morning I visited the Western Museum of Flight at Zamperini Field, Torrance, Los Angeles. The last time I visited the museum in September 2023 it was raining and they were hosting a presentation which made capturing photos of some of the aircraft on display difficult. I came away unhappy with photos of the Douglas A‑4A Skyhawk and Hawker Siddeley Harrier T.4. Luck was with me on this visit. Firstly the weather was suitable for photography and the Skyhawk and Harrier were in ideal positions for capturing photos, and secondly the Harrier T.4 which had been on loan to the museum since February 2015 from the California Science Centre in Los Angeles was due to be be returned within the next few weeks.

Harrier T.4, XZ145. Hawker Siddeley Harrier T.4, serial XZ145 ‘723’, Western Museum of Flight, Torrance, Los Angeles.