On top of the World
Added 2024-12-04 15:00:12 +0000 UTCI love the unusual look of the exhaust chimney on the rear end of all the F-16 shelters on the airfield near my studio. And I persuaded Celia Cassiel to climb on top where we shot these.
Perhaps the chimney requires a bit of explanation:
When you back an F-16 fighter jet into a concrete structure and have to scramble it out of there fast, there is only one way:
Start the Jet engine.
This will have the side effect of putting out a massive superhot flame 10-15m / 30-50ft behind the jet, which would instantly cremate everything in its way, but also create create toxic fumes.
To avoid this, they left a massive hole behind the jet, leading up into the chimneys you see in the picture.
I assume the steel cables are some grounding mechanism, as all the shelters have them.
Anyway, I gave Celia a lift-up, and we tried a few different options.
I learned two lessons here:
Light is not very forgiving, so it’s best to choose an early or late time of day for lower light.
Being limited and only able to shoot from the ground is not optimal, so bring a ladder.
Having that ladder, it will be significantly easier to get the model up there and down again.
Stay tuned for a series with another model where I took my advice.
