Thunder Over Michigan 2024
Lerro Photography has been providing the lighting for the night photo sessions at Michigan Flight Museum’s Thunder Over Michigan Airshow since 2019. The two-day airshow features a mix of WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and modern Military Aircraft.
Friday is practice day for the performing aircraft, so photographers are invited to hang out and photograph them practicing their routines. Other guest aircraft arrive and often do a quick flyby for the photographers. On Friday evening, several of us were allowed to photograph the aircraft on the hot ramp at sunset. Mother nature was on our side, and we were treated to a great sunset as we photographed a pair of F-15s and an F-16.
We were back on the hot ramp Saturday morning, photographing several aircraft. We also shot a few pinup shots with several aircraft. Throughout the day on Saturday, we photographed several aircraft, including P-51D Mustangs, FG-1D Corsairs, a TP-40N Warhawk, F-16s, and F-18s.
Traditionally, our night photo sessions feature WWII-era planes, but at Thunder Over Michigan, we mix it up with vintage and modern aircraft. The first aircraft in the night session was a pair of matching P-51D Mustangs, ‘Double Trouble Two’ and ‘The Little Witch”.’ Both Mustangs put on a great show by revving their engines and making a lot of noise. The 2nd aircraft was a WWI German Fokker F1 102/17 tri-wing. The aircraft is a replica, but the rotary engine is an original WWI engine. The third aircraft was the Viper Demonstration Team’s F-16, in the red, white, and blue livery of the original YF-16 prototype, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first test flight of the F-16 prototype in 1974. To finish off the night, we were able to take a few photos of a Sherman tank firing several rounds from its main gun.
Sunday morning found us back on the hot ramp for more sunrise shots of the aircraft. The aircraft owners were extremely accommodating and allowed us to shoot pinup shots of Aleah on the wing as well as other spots around their planes. The rest of Sunday featured a repeat of Saturday’s performances. This allowed the photographers to get a second chance at any shots they missed from the day before.
We’d like to thank the Michigan Flight Museum, formerly Yankee Air Museum, for allowing us to assist with the night photo session and photograph the airshow all weekend. We look forward to going back in June 2025!
