On 31 August 1958, I was in the right place and time to witness the very first flight and landing of the Vigilante. I had weekend duty at Lockbourne AFB in Columbus, Ohio when it made a brief hop from the factory at Port Columbus Airport to, Lockbourne.

Burning through the canyon after sunset.

165830 rolling down RWY30 for departure.

Built as a JRF-5 for the USN in 1942, this Goose was registered N1523V in 1955. In 1958/59 it was converted by Kaman to become the only K-16 tilt-wing experimental aircraft with YT58 turboprops for VTOL/STOL development work. Ground runs were carried out here at Windsor Locks in 1960 and in 1962 it was flown aboard a C-133 to Moffett Field for wind-tunnel tests. After return it was never flown. Given to the museum in 1965, by 1975 it had been restored and had its huge props fitted after 2000, but these have been removed again. The C-124 and C-133 behind were both destroyed in the 1979 tornado.

The NEAM has several Kaman helicopters in its collection, appropriate as they are a Connecticut company. A total of 184 SH-2s were built, the USN withdrawing the last of theirs in 2001

Suffering somewhat from long-term outdoor exposure, this 'Whale' was constructed as an A3D-2 and taken on charge by the USN in 1957, assigned to Heavy Attack Squadron 8 (VAH-8), NAS Whidbey Island, WA. After transfer there to VAH-13 then VAH-123, it was transferred to the NATC, NAS Patuxent River, in whose faded colours it is now on show. It was flown to the Bradley Air Museum. in 1976

On approach for a simulated carrier landing during the Growler demonstration at Airventure 2024.

The XFV-1 was in competition with the equally precarious Convair XFY-1 Pogo (my photo #21684) in 1954 for a high performance fighter that could be vertically launched from small platforms on ships. The sheer difficulty in flying these bizarre designs together with the rapid advance of conventional jets led to these projects being quickly abandoned. This was the second of two XFV-1s built and was not completed. Some sources say this survivor is actually the first (BuNo 138657), others that it was completed for display using parts from the first.

VX-9's Squadron jet with the low transition departure off runway 21. One of their last jets to carry the famous Playboy bunny motif on the inside of the fin.

'Vampire' F/A-18E visiting March Field on a Friday afternoon