Heritage Flight America's Air Force Celebrates 100 Years of Aviation

Created in anticipation of the 100-Year Anniversary of Manned Flight in September of 2003, this amazing collection of photographs and words captures the pure art and magic that is military aviation. Renowned for his ability to bring his readers "inside" some of the most inaccessible communities in aviation, photographer and writer Erik Hildebrandt has outdone even himself by cracking the code of silence of the United States Air Force. With over 200 original color images made exclusively for this title, Hildebrandt was afforded unprecedented access to the newly formed USAF Heritage Flight Program. Over the course of a single season of air shows, Hildebrandt commanded dedicated photo missions from such outstanding air-to-air camera platforms as the C-130, B-25 and P-51 Mustang which resulted in a body of work unimaginable considering the constraints of time and the weather. The USAF Heritage Flight was officially chartered during the 2002 summer season and is the result of over 10 years of careful development. This one-of-a-kind program consists of the current military demonstration pilots from the A-10 Warthog, the F-16 Falcon and the F-15 Eagle communities; as a unique twist, these demo teams are paired with one of 12 civilian pilots each flying a vintage WWII or Korean era fighter. These distinctly different aircraft types are then flown in formation at air shows in commemoration of the men and machines that have contributed to American freedom over the past 60 years. The vintage aircraft types include the P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-38 Lightning and F-86 Sabre jet. Beyond the historical significance of the aircraft themselves, the civilian pilot roster for this program reads like a who's who in American aviation and space exploration. The landscape format of Hildebrandt's two previous titles, Blue Water Ops and Front Row Center, have proven a successful layout for presenting the largest and most vivid photographs ever made in the air-to-air arena. His techniques for capturing these airborne subjects are praised by those in the business as some of the most innovative and creative methods that afford the readers a true sense of being in the actual formation flight.Hildebrandt, Erik is the author of 'Heritage Flight America's Air Force Celebrates 100 Years of Aviation' with ISBN 9780967404035 and ISBN 0967404037.