Sunless WWI
Prose: James Woodard
Photography: James Woodard, Richard Souza, Ryan Kelly, Glenn Riegel
It is known that one of our favorite places to visit is the Golden Age Air Museum in Bethel, Pennsylvania. Full Disc Aviation has covered various events there and they always leave us with a feeling of pure bliss. We got word earlier this year that something special was coming, something that hasn’t happened since 1918; the reunion of three rotary-powered, flying, Fokker Dr.I Triplanes. The Fokker Scourge was set to take place in conjunction with the Museum’s Flying Circus Airshow during the Labor Day holiday weekend. The idea of seeing three rotary-powered Fokker Dr.I’s in the sky together was exciting - there was a bonus though: a fourth Fokker was in attendance, one powered by a modern Lycoming engine, but still just as gorgeous as the others.
The weekend was a huge success for Golden Age Air Museum, it was easy to see that this was quite possibly one of the best attended events they have ever experienced. In addition to all the visiting aircraft, the Golden Age collection took to the skies over the corn fields that surround the airfield and thrilled everyone in attendance. However, in typical Full Disc fashion, we were on the hunt for something more intimate.
If there was any chance for something exciting to happen after the sun disappeared, we came prepared. After the flying had ended for the evening, we got to work, quickly discussing details with various ground crews about some night shoots. Much to our pleasure, we were able to secure two Fokkers for the first night: the beautiful black and white striped Knights of the Sky Fokker Dr.I, and the Manfred von Richthofen's red paint-schemed Fokker Dr. I (equipped with a modern engine).
We had the pleasure of having some other photographers join in the fun. It is a great feeling to be able to share some new experiences with other photographer friends, new and old, The Golden Age staff photographer Glenn Reigel was with us, as was Kevin Granthom from Vintage Aviation News and local photographer Corey Beitler. After staging the Fokkers where we wanted them, we broke out our trusty Milwaukee shop lights and began experimenting with the lighting. While we typically enjoy doing “night runs” where the engine is running during the shooting, this was a really nice change of pace. Having all the time we needed and not being rushed allowed us to take our time and enjoy the scene. There was a satisfying feeling, seeing two vintage WWI Fokker Triplanes on a grass field at night, with our lights highlighting their unique beauty; a certain sense of poingiant nostalgia that cannot be matched when doing night shoots with modern era aircraft.
Something we tried for the first time here was the use of a light wand, doing longer exposures to catch the light trails created by walking the wand around the plane. While this absolutely does not create an authentic looking image, the end results can be quite interesting. Like our Zulu says, “dare to be different”. I have used this light wand quite a bit for automotive photography but this was the first time with any aircraft. I gotta say, hearing the “woah’s” and “wow’s” coming from the other photographers after I circled back around as their cameras finished the exposure was probably the best part of the night. Needless to say, they were fans of the new lighting technique. We all ended the night just enjoying the time, hanging around the planes, while we waited for the ground crew to return them to the hangars. To say the night was a success would be an understatement.
Our plans for the next night were similar. The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome brought in Fred Murrin’s Fokker F.I and their own rotary powered Sopwith Pup, and those were going to be the next on our list to shoot. Ultimately due to unforeseen circumstances, plans had to change and we ended up only being able to shoot the Pup. The sky for the second night was more cloud covered, allowing the moon to peek through from time to time which allowed for some unique photos. We once again had all the time we needed, and enjoyed experimenting with the light wand. It is a neat little tool that we look forward to using more of in the future.
Once all of the shooting was complete, we returned to the hangar to thank everyone for their graciousness in allowing us to spend time with their planes. Any time we are able to be alone with an aircraft and lights after the sun goes down is something we treasure, especially when it involves vintage WWI planes on a grass field.
We want to extend the utmost gratitude to everyone at Golden Age Air Museum for once again giving us a blissful memory, as well as the crews of the Knights of the Sky, Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome and Andrew The Old Barnstormer for all their help.
