USA South West - Luke_AFB
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Arriving there we had a stop at the local McDo where I got a nice iced coffee with Hazelnut flavour. The approach to Luke was found quite easy, but for the first approaches we were placed not so good as we were standing directly under the approach. But that did not matter, as the chances to take photos there are nearly unlimited. Well, you only get F-16s, but they are flying nearly round the clock. This is no wonder as Luke AFB is the main training base for F-16 pilots, and as this type is used extensively within the US Air Force the demand for them is evidently very high. We even got tired taking photos, but for the 'number spotters' that must be paradise. Later in the afternoon the light got better and better and we tried some different viewpoints, away from the big streets near a flower field. With some irrigation channels around us we felt a bit like in Matsushima three years ago. Nearly at the end of the day we wondered about the heavily loaded F-16 turning in above our heads, but only to discover happily that these were the Singaporean F-16s, training also at Luke.
But at some time we did stop as the sun was to low, disappearing in the dusty air, giving already a yellow cast and soon disappearing behind the ridge in the east.
Luke AFB - Singapore AF F-16s
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Luke AFB - USAF training flights
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On the road again, direction south on the highway towards Gila Bend. At the local airport there we made a quick stop and tried some nightshots if the RF-101 Voodoos displayed there, which was quite a surprise to discover them in the middle of nowhere.
For dinner we had chosen this time the local "Subway" fast food restaurant, and after the waitress daughter came to help we were even able to order our food without speaking Spanish… And, what a shame, before leaving the city we found out that have missed the famous Gila Bend Lobster Festival only for some days.
The drive further on to Yuma was less spectacular...