A Russian Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter takes off at the "Warbirds on Parade" Airshow, which a few of us attended for a few hours during our Dallas GTG. My understanding is that this is the only flying Mi-24 in the US. It is operated by the Cold War Air Museum In Lancaster Texas. When I was at this airshow two years ago, I was told they were trying to get it flying again. They had a second Hind that had been driven under a low bridge when being transported to them and the engine was ripped from it's mounts. That one provided parts to get the first one flying. the damaged Mi-24 is now on static display between the hangars and they allow people inside the cockpit.
I was very pleased to have an opportunity to see it flying. This is one very impressive aircraft, and I would not want to be it's target.
Anticipated critiques:
-DOF to shallow, it will be suggested that I should have gotten the observer in focus as well.
-Issues relating to harsh overhead midday sun.
-faint smoke from the engines might be taken as a blotchy sky. (If this were advanced editiing, I would have done some burning on the smoke to make it stand out a bit better.
Post-challenge notes:
Made it just barely into my "happy zone" of 5.5+. I know what held this one back was the person in the foreground being slightly OOF and the midday sun. That and warbirds are not a subject of strong appeal for everyone. It had it's fair share of fans, and more important, I'm pleased with it.
Some more pics of this copter:
Statistics
Place: 23 out of 57 Avg (all users): 5.5300 Avg (commenters): 7.2000 Avg (participants): 5.4063 Avg (non-participants): 5.5536 Views since voting: 1113 Views during voting: 440 Votes: 200 Comments: 9 Favorites: 0
I liked this shot, but gave it a 5 due to the OOf person in the foreground.
I sometimes think that there is a masculine/feminine voting bias in scoring. I am not sure
I have the testosterone to appreciate the aircraft's charms.
Love the intense colors and the fact you can see the heat and the fumes from the Mig! Composition and color are excellent. Such an interesting capture imho.
Love the clarity and composition of the chopper. But it is the main focus. I would have liked to see the focus more on the bystander but still well done. 7
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