In May 2025, Lerro Photography conducted an air-to-air photo shoot with Planes of Fame Air Museum’s P-38J Lightning, painted with the nose art, ’23-Skidoo’ honoring Col. Perry J Dahl, a WWII fighter Ace from the 475th Fighter Group. We had been trying to find a P-38 and a photo ship in the same area for years, and we finally found the combination in Southern California. Our group flew in a small cargo/skydive plane called a Short SC.7 Skyvan based in Perris, CA, for the photo shoot. The Skyvan has a tail-opening door and side windows, giving us multiple shoot-angle opportunities.
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin-piston-engine fighter aircraft flown during WWII. The P-38 incorporated a distinctive twin-tail boom design with a central fuselage containing the cockpit and weapons. With a top speed of over 400mph, it proved itself in combat over Europe and the Pacific skies. Although over 10,000 were built, only a half dozen are still airworthy worldwide. We had the renowned pilot Steve Hinton in the P-38 for our photo shoot, so we knew we would be in great hands.
As with all aviation events, the weather plays a huge factor, and you can only do so much to prepare for any scenario. Our original plan was for an early morning departure and to meet in formation for a sunrise photo shoot. However, the weather forecast drastically changed within the 48-hour window before launch, from clear skies at dawn to a marine layer until mid-morning. After much discussion, we decided to change our plans for an evening photo shoot.
We conducted a pilot briefing and a safety meeting with the photographers on the Skyvan the day before our event. The morning of the event was postponed due to the weather, but we were able to sleep in. That afternoon, the photographers met at 4:00 pm to put on their safety gear and prepare their cameras, video, and communications equipment. At 5:00 pm, we gave the final go-ahead, and our preflight checklist started.
Our flight took off on time and met up with the P-38 in the skies just south of Chino. Our first shots were orbits, featuring ¾ angle shots of the P-38 with the open side window at approximately 7500 ft altitude. Once everyone got a turn, we performed breakaway shots for everyone. The sunlight on the plane and mountains was perfect and made for amazing photos.
Once we finished shooting through the window, safety lanyards were attached to each photographer’s safety harness so that we could open the Skyvan’s tail door. As the door opened, Steve had the P-38 positioned right behind us, ready to go. You could hear the Allison engines roaring even with our turboprop engines running right next to us.
Once we were all set, we positioned the P-38 in several locations behind the Skyvan, including pure trail orbits below and above the horizon. Unfortunately, a heavy cloud bank formed west, so we could not head to the ocean without losing the sunlight. I exercised a brief contingency plan to move toward the sunlight further east than originally planned. Ultimately, we lost the sun behind the clouds but made the best of it by flying in orbits and working the colors in the clouds. We then had both planes descend to 3500ft elevation, and we had the P-38 dramatically skim the clouds as we flew just above.
As with all good things, our flight had to end, so we returned home. Everyone smiled, knowing we had taken some fantastic photos.
We want to thank the Planes of Fame Air Museum and Skydive Perris for all their hard work in making our photo shoot a huge success!
