Luke Air Force Base (LUF, KLUF)

[Tower Guy]

Used every inch of this runway. by Harvey Brugger, on Flickr

[John S]

Nice as always Harvey.  Can't wait to get my 70-200 back from CRIS and get down there now that its cooling down. 

[Jonathan Navarro]

LANCER

[Tower Guy]

Looks good in B&W Jonathan!

[Tower Guy]

Another great day for flying. by Harvey Brugger, on Flickr

[Tower Guy]

Not a cloud in sight. by Harvey Brugger, on Flickr

[tajmahal250]

[/url]Flying Kangaroos by Thomas Backus, on Flickr[/img]

[Tower Guy]

Up, Up, and Away! by Harvey Brugger, on Flickr

[tajmahal250]

[/url]Italy's First by Thomas Backus, on Flickr

[Tower Guy]

Mission complete, dearm and taxi to park. by Harvey Brugger, on Flickr

[Tower Guy]

Armed and dangerous! by Harvey Brugger, on Flickr

[tajmahal250]

Finally got an F-16 two ship that I'm happy with.

[/url]Flock of Ducklings by Thomas Backus, on Flickr[/img]

[tajmahal250]

Not quite sure where to post this, but I thought I would share a story from when I was out at Luke today. I was parked at the corner of Bethany and Alsup trying to get shots of them landing on 3R. A white car pulled up behind me, and a younger man in a military uniform got out. Thinking it was the Air Force security police, I started to put my camera away and mentally prepared myself that I would have to cut my spotting trip short. Instead, as he walked closer, I noticed that his uniform wasn't American.

I immediately noticed the Japanese flag on his arm. He asked me in broken English, "Is this a good place to watch the jets?" We got to talking and he explained to me that he was an F-35 mechanic. He told me that a second (!) Japanese F-35 had just come in earlier today.

A little while later, I had to leave, but before I left, he reached into his car again, and pulled out his flight bag. To my amazement, he pulled off one of the patches and handed it to me.

[Tower Guy]

Heading down range. by Harvey Brugger, on Flickr

[Jonathan Navarro]