What is the Aviation PhotoCrew?

The APC is a team of 10 photographers and videographers specializing in organizing air-to-air flights. While it is an official company, it is entirely managed by a single individual. Though the 9 others lend their support, we’re not officially part of the company, and to address another common question, none of us are financially compensated for our work. In fact, I work as a history teacher and currently don't generate income from photography. Previously, I sold prints through a print-on-demand platform but stopped doing so a few months ago. I am currently figuring out if I can set up a dedicated print shop to resume selling prints.

Established in 2008 as a small team, I joined APC in 2009 shortly after its inception. Over the years, we've experimented with various setups, transitioning from organizing our own events to collaborating with major European airshows. These shows provide logistical support, including dedicated photo zones, in exchange for promotional photos. While pilots often fly for free in exchange for the photos, in cases where extra expenses are involved, such as with old aircraft, we cover the flight costs.

Operating air-to-air flights, particularly using an aircraft like the Skyvan, comes with significant expenses, reflected in the pricing structure for seats. Costs vary widely, ranging from 2500 Euros to five-figure sums, depending on the nature and duration of the project. For instance, a single flight project is generally less costly than a multi-flight day, and a three-day project is more expensive than a one day project.

Last year, we've expanded our operations to include flights in the US and Canada, a significant step forward. We're optimistic about how this is going, having secured new shows like Sun 'n Fun this year and building upon the relationships established last year.

If interested you can learn more on our website.

✈️ Aviation

- Never enough Concorde videos.

- I knew they could, but I’ve actually never seen a helicopter drop a torpedo.

- Turns out war can be cinematic?

- An interesting look at the airdrops over Gaza.

- This USNavy pilot has the most insightful videos about carrier operations.

- A great video about the B1 bomber.

- What would a newsletter be without a great set of photos by Camden Thrasher?

- The upcoming Blue Angels documentary is looking insane.

🎬 Movies

- 20 Days in Mariupol. Not for the faint hearted, but it’s an absolute must watch for anyone who wants to know what the war in Ukraine is causing to the Ukrainian people.

- Dune II. Goddamn…

The future of airshows and what I do

Last February I attended the European Airshow Convention in Brussels representing the Aviation PhotoCrew (APC). While I didn't participate in the seminars, I did attend the airshow dinner on Friday evening.

From what I gathered, many of the seminars focused on the future of airshows, a topic of particular relevance to the APC and my own endeavors.

Unfortunately the current state of affairs isn’t looking too promising. There are several challenges:

- The costs associated with organizing events and operating aircraft.

- Several European air forces are transitioning to new aircraft, resulting in reduced availability of personnel. The recent cancellation of the Belgian Air Force F-16 Demo Team exemplifies this trend.

- Wars in Europe and the Middle East have further strained resources. Ukrainian pilots are getting trained on F-16’s and soon those jets will be handed over the the Ukrainian air force. On the other hand the air forces are also busy with training and other tasks related to the ongoing wars. For this reason we had to cancel or USAFE flights in July…

- Concerns about climate change is another issue the airshow world is dealing with. More people question the need for airshows and the environmental impact they have.

- More and more air forces cancel their demoteams because of the reasons stated above. And more and more airshows quit for the same reasons. We haven’t seen a Dutch Apache since the demo quit, we don’t have our project at Yeovilton since 2019…

You can’t deny that things aren’t looking very promising for the future…

Considering the above, I can see two future scenarios:

1. A gradual decline of airshows and, by extension, air to air photography.

2. 15 years ago we were convinced that we would never be able to do this for 10 years... Maybe now again the industry will adapt to a changing world.

I remain optimistic and lean towards the second scenario. Here’s why:

- Less airshows doesn’t mean no airshows.

- The essence of what we do is making air to air photos. No matter the future airshows format (more static, role play demos, …), planes will have to show up at some point, so the opportunity for air to air photography is likely to persist.

Breaking the sub 3 minutes kilometer halfway my training schedule. (And a few words on focussing on sleep. )

Currently, I’m in the third phase of my training block aimed at breaking the sub 3 minute km. As the last run of the second phase, I decided to push myself and attempt a fast km. I just wanted to know how much I still needed to improve. Without realizing it I ran a 2:59 km. So I broke the goal halfway my training…

That left me with two options: continue with the trainingblock, aiming to break the 5 minute mile, or transition to a different training schedule aiming for the 5 and 10km distances. Opting for the former would mean completing only half of the inteded training block. Given my preference to gradually build up, I chose to continue with the current training.

While I’m uncertain if a sub 5 minute mil is within my abilities, I’m determined to break my previous personal record of 5 minutes 22 seconds.

Another thing I have been focussing on is sleep. Deep sleep is essential for recovery and my sleep tracker consistently indicated I don’t get enough of it. It’s ranging between none to around 30 to 50 minutes. So I’m trying a couple of things to improve my deep sleep and overall recovery:

- I did a comparison between an Apple Watch and my Garmin SQ. There is a slight difference in the indicated deep sleep time between both watches. The Apple Watch was giving me a little over an hour of deep sleep while the Garmin indicated only 50 minutes. The truth likely lies somewhere in between, with the Garmin potentially underestimating my deep sleep time.

- I’ve been tracking several factors that may influence my deep sleep, such as bedtime, screen time, hydration, exercise. So far I have learned that going to bed a little later than usual, results in a slightly longer deep sleep (still only around 50 minutes). Avoiding screen time at least an hour before going to bed also seems to improve my sleep quality (no surprise there…) Not exercising or doing intense running seems to be giving me the best results with deep sleep up to over an hour. Rest days are important for recovery but seem to have the additional benefit of giving me more deep sleep which is also improving my recovery. Seems like a double win.

Moving forward I plan to continue tracking these factors for a couple of weeks to optimize my evenings. I would like to have at least an hour of deep sleep per night.