Fargo, North Dakota.
Other than the blue sky, I could almost have left this image in color, and it would still have almost qualified as a “Monochrome Monday” photograph. The image above was captured at the Fargo Air Sho in 2015 where Miss Mitchell was a featured performer.
Miss Mitchell still flies and has an illustrious history serving in Italy and North Africa in World War II. This post is the confluence of three themes. One of the photo challenges I participate in on Facebook this week is #historic. Obviously, Miss Mitchell meets that criteria. It’s obviously Monday, so Monochrome Monday applies as I converted this image many months ago to monochrome via Lightroom. Finally, Ben Huberman’s Daily Post feature is “Shine“. The reflections on the nose of Miss Mitchell clearly demonstrate the shiny, highly reflective aluminum finish.
Some historical facts about Miss Mitchell include an unblemished wartime career with no fatalities in over 130 missions, an uncommon record. Built by North American Aviation, about 9,000 aircraft were built. Today, only about 30 survive, unlike Miss Mitchell, many no longer fly and live in museums around the country.
Powered by two 1,700 horsepower Wright R-2600 engines, the aircraft can climb to its service ceiling of 24,000 ft. (7315 m). A full load of fuel can carry Miss Mitchell 1,350 miles (2172 km) at a cruise speed of 230 mph (370 kph). Most of these facts were gleaned from the website maxair2air.com (more photos and details about Miss Mitchell can be found here.)
John Steiner
Flare Legend Adventures
Beautiful shot, John. Wish I had been there to see this baby- sorry, Miss Mitchell- fly. I love the artwork on her nose.
Exciting image, John! Great in monochrome.
Thanks! Always love classic aircraft.
Hi John. It’years since I’ve been to an air show but they’re such a good time out and enjoyed seeing your pic. And reading your post too of course! There are some awesome pics at the link in your post too. I don’t think we treat our vintage aircraft here with the same love and respect as seems to be the case in U.S., giving them a personality as a showgirl or superhero and maybe even as a villain. Interesting history with this one. I might reblog another time for some of my blog visitors love this kind of thing. Cheers 🙂
Nose art on military planes reflect the personal touch that crews gave to their aircraft. Gone in today’s military, the practice now seems quaint. Sadly, I miss the personality it gives to their aircraft. Feel free to reblog anything from my pages anytime. Thanks for your comment!
I agree that the personality these old planes had is fairly nostalgic & sadly long gone. I suppose that personality is less important than radar suppression. Beautiful pic, wish I could’ve seen this aluminum beauty in person. Happy Friday!
[…] 211. Life…or Something Like It… – Success Strategies 212. Shine – In my world 213. Journeys with Johnbo – Miss Mitchell – Monochrome Monday and Daily Post One-Word Prompt 214. Ignite In The Darkest Night – The peepal 215. Reflective Glasses – emotionsoflife2016 216. […]