A tribute to the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum

Located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum showcases the history of US Marine Corps aviation. A few days ago it was announced that the museum would close its doors on April 1st, 2021 permanently due to 'financial costs'. I have been lucky enough to visit the museum twice while at El Toro end more recently whilst at Miramar. It was on my itinerary for my March 2020 west coast trip but then COVID-19 intervened...

Origins

The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum opened in 1989 at MCAS El Toro and remained there until the base closed in 1999. Since then, it had been located at MCAS Miramar. It boosts an impressive collection of aircraft, ranging from World War Two Wildcat and Corsair fighters to modern-day F/A-18 Hornets. 

The end..?

For the museum itself? Yes. MCAS Miramar is no longer prepared to spend money on the museum, choosing instead to invest in 'higher priority missions' such as safety gear. However, museum staff are appealing this decision. As for the collection, the museum has stated that they wish to redistribute their aircraft, with the nearby San Diego Air and Space Museum and the USS Midway Museum mentioned as possible recipients. So hopefully this will not be the end of the 40+ aircraft currently in the hands of the museum.

The exhibits

I thought I'd celebrate the museum by showing some of the photos I've made there over the years as a tribute. Enjoy!

1993

1997

2018

Winter

With a full week of snow - almost unheard of here - last week really was a winter landscape photographers delight. 

My Pentax 645Z fitted with a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar/6x7 105mm f/2.4 lens 

As with my first outing, I decided to go to the Naardermeer en brought along my Pentax 645Z. This time I went medieval manual focus and I chose one of the 67 series of lenses, the 105mm f/2.4.

Location: Naardermeer
Camera: Pentax 645Z
Lens: Super-Multi-Coated Takumar/6x7 105mm f/2.4

I really enjoyed using the 105mm again. Yes, it is a big son of a gun but big is better when you are using gloves as this makes focusing a lot easier. I used one of those Pentax-built 67-645 adapters, with these the aperture ring on the lens works properly i.e. no opening the lens up for focusing and then stopping it down.

Brothers

Later that same day I went out for a small stroll and brought both digital Pentaxes. Again, I went manual focus with the 645Z, now fitted with a Carl Zeiss Jena MC Biometar 80mm f/2.8. The 645D was equipped with the SMC Pentax-FA 80-160mm f/4.5, a very nice all-round lens. Originally developed for the Pentax 645N 120 film camera this works like a charm on the digital 645 bodies. 

Location: Naarden
Camera: Pentax 645Z
Lens: Carl Zeiss Jena MC Biometar 80mm f/2.8

Location: Naarden
Camera: Pentax 645D
Lens: SMC Pentax-FA 80-160mm f/4.5

The last photos in this series were taken in the Naarden Citadel.

Location: Naarden
Camera: Canon EOS 90D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM

Tripod: Manfrotto 144B frame with a Manfrotto 804RC2 head