Huntington Beach Air Show - Who's going?

The only beach front air show on the west coast.
Great line up of performers, but will be crowded!

Who's going?

http://www.hbairshow.c​om/

https://www.facebook.c​om/hbairshow

I'd love to but I know it'll be a huge zoo down there.

I'm going. Still deciding if I should bring the 600 or just go with the 100-400. It will only be my third air show.

I've shot my fair share of air shows over the years, and I'd go with the 100-400. Less weight and more flexibility.

Taken w/the 100-400

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Nice shots. That's what I'm going to do. It's going to be crowded and I don't want to lug the 600 around.

jlt23 wrote in post #18163494
Nice shots. That's what I'm going to do. It's going to be crowded and I don't want to lug the 600 around.

Thanks. Good idea. I'm all about primes, but zoom lenses are a necessity at air shows.

I'll be there tomorrow. It's been awhile since I shot some metal birds... let's see how long it takes before I dust off the rust.

jwcdds wrote in post #18164207
I'll be there tomorrow. It's been awhile since I shot some metal birds... let's see how long it takes before I dust off the rust.

I cruised PCH this afternoon during the show with my daughter. I wanted to check out the crowds/conditions and she wanted to see the planes. OK, I wanted to see them too. I caught a glimpse of one plane going very low and slow, pitched up about 45 degrees. It looked like it could have been an F15 or F22 -- I was driving so I couldn't properly ID it -- and holy cr*p it was loud.

The show is centered on PCH/Beach Blvd and I suggest getting as close as possible to there. A lot of the action was low on the horizon from my perspective along PCH. Unfortunately, given the time of year and geography, it looks like we'll be shooting into the sun a lot. Hopefully the angles are better from the beach than they appeared from the road.

mike_d wrote in post #18164214
I cruised PCH this afternoon during the show with my daughter. I wanted to check out the crowds/conditions and she wanted to see the planes. OK, I wanted to see them too. I caught a glimpse of one plane going very low and slow, pitched up about 45 degrees. It looked like it could have been an F15 or F22 -- I was driving so I couldn't properly ID it -- and holy cr*p it was loud.

The show is centered on PCH/Beach Blvd and I suggest getting as close as possible to there. A lot of the action was low on the horizon from my perspective along PCH. Unfortunately, given the time of year and geography, it looks like we'll be shooting into the sun a lot. Hopefully the angles are better from the beach than they appeared from the road.

Awesome. Thanks for the scouting report.

I'm too old and lazy to camp out on the sand. I will be in the Aviator's Club seating or whatever it's called. It's supposedly located at show center PCH/Beach. So hopefully I'll be able to stake out a good vantage point there.

I was in the Aviator Club seating as well, but went out toward the shoreline for the main event.

I was there today too. I didn't pay for upgraded seats but I was less than 50' south of the cordoned off area, right at the high point in the sand before the drop off. I sure wasn't expecting that rain. I hope I didn't sacrifice my 100-400 v1 to the cause.

mike_d wrote in post #18164911
I was there today too. I didn't pay for upgraded seats but I was less than 50' south of the cordoned off area, right at the high point in the sand before the drop off. I sure wasn't expecting that rain. I hope I didn't sacrifice my 100-400 v1 to the cause.

That down pour sure offered some excitement. The cordoned off are wasn't really cordoned off. Lots of people were standing in front of the chalets... which was a little bit disappointing as it kind of ruined the horizon. But oh well, it's a public beach, what can ya do. At least the food was good.

I couldn't make it, maybe next year if they have it again.

For those who paid for the Aviator Beach Club I'd like your opinion. Do you feel it was money well spent?
How far away from the spectators did the planes fly? Was it a similar distance as when performed at an airport?

Looking forward to your photos!

I didn't pay for the Club, but my free spot was at least as good. The tents were farther back from the water than I was. The planes made their passes parallel to the coast and the aerobatic planes did their performances at various points up/down the coast, but mostly straight out from the tents. Despite being just about as close as legally possible, I spent the majority of the day at 400mm on my 5D3 and wished for more. See uncropped SOOC sample below.

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Mike, that information helps. Thanks for sharing.