Bill Westphal's Photo Gallery

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b17_6.jpg
167 viewsView from the Bombardier's Position. It was really neat sitting in the chair up there.
Pricjly_Phlox_1024.jpg
166 viewsLunchtime walks provided a refreshing break from the hard work being done at the Earth Station.

Prickly Phlox
b17_1.jpg
Nine-O-Nine165 viewsNine-O-Nine is Maintained and operated by the Collings Foundation
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm and she was in pretty nice shape. I beleive this is a B-17G model. The Collings Foundation is a Non-Profit Group so the cost of our ride was Tax Deductible. This was a Birthday Present for My Father-In-Law. Of course I HAD to go along. We flew out of the Burbank Airport.
jeep1.jpg
First Trip163 viewsIt was the first trip to Dumont for Andy's Jeep. It felt right at home being in the desert.
water-hole.jpg
Lowe Fire 1161 viewsA small brush fire in Altadena, CA, 8/26/07, was brought under control quickly by Angeles National Forest and Los Angeles County Fire Crews. Due to the rough terrain, the fire was fought primarily from the air with the support of Camp Crews. In this photo, one of the new BlackHawk Helicopters used by Los Angeles County Fire snorkels water from a "Pumpkin" set up at a nearby Helispot. The BlackHawks can carry 1,000 Gallons compared to 300 carried by older Helicopters.
Photo by my Brother Dan Westphal.
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Minotaur 4160 viewsSeptember 22, 2005 marked the first Vandenberg AFB dusk launch in nearly three years. The Minotaur booster Lifted off from south Vandenberg just after 19:24 PDT, the start of a 16-minute launch window.
This fourth photo gives you some perspective and an idea of how much this filled the sky. It was awesome. The Pasadena Courthouse and a large tree are visible in the foreground. Venus can still be seen about 10-15 degrees above the horizon.
b17_9.jpg
159 viewsThe radio looked so simple. No "bells and whistles". It must have been tough sending CW (morse code) while they were in flight. It was pretty bumpy.
dadb17web.jpg
Bob Westphal159 viewsThis is the photo I was trying to recreate. As you can see i didn't get it exactly right. This is my Dad in front of a B-17 in Europe.
Thanks to the wealth of information available on the Internet, I found out that "WALLAROO" was part of the 303rd Bomber Group and flew 35 Combat Missions before being shot down Jan 14, 1944.
Glad my Dad wasn't on it.
second_stage.jpg
Minotaur 3158 viewsSeptember 22, 2005 marked the first Vandenberg AFB dusk launch in nearly three years. The Minotaur booster Lifted off from south Vandenberg just after 19:24 PDT, the start of a 16-minute launch window.
This third photo shows the second stage continuing to burn. Venus can be seen in the lower left.
Lupine_1024.jpg
157 viewsSilver Bush Lupine
air_show.jpg
Air Show156 viewsTaken 9/30/05
"Air Show" is how the Firemen refer to the Air Tankers. This retardant drop is on the Burbank Fire which started yesterday, 9/29/05.
Draconids_1.jpg
Draconid Meteor 1156 viewsThe October Draconids, in the past also unofficially known as the Giacobinids, are a meteor shower whose parent body is the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. A Draconid meteor shower is expected to happen in early October of 2011, and the best nights for viewing are expected to be October 8–10. The Draconids are best viewed after sunset in an area with a clear dark sky. They are swift and short in length. The Altadena WeatherCam caught this one the evening before the expected peak.
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