As I promised in my last post, this post will cover the planes and the Flight Deck on the USS Lexington.
The weather and the skies
The weather looked promising for the day. The sky often had clouds, but you could tell there was potential for more stormy weather based on cloud color in the distance. Clouds and blue skies make for nice dramatic photos, so I was okay with it. 🙂
I wanted to see the planes first, because it’s usually the last place most visitors go, which meant fewer people earlier in the day. I did catch the occasional tourist, but it was unavoidable.
The planes
I’ve linked to the Museum information about each plane. For the naval gun, I’ve linked to a Wikipedia page that has more information.
After taking photos of the F/A-18 Hornet, I switched over to the other side of the Flight Deck, because there were a lot of people on the side facing Corpus Christi.
The KA-3B Skywarrior – the plane was undergoing some rehabbing while we were there.Close up of the paint undergoing rehab.The A-7B Corsair II from front side with the Gulf of Mexico in the background.The front view of the A-7B Corsair II.The A-6E Intruder from the front.The TA-4J Skyhawk from the front.I snuck in a photo of the clouds hitting the Rockport and Port Aransas area with some rain in the distance.The T-2C Buckeye from the front.A view down the Flight Deck.The front view of the F9F-8T Cougar, the first swept wing aircraft the Blue Angels used from 1955-1957.Side view of the F9F-8T Cougar.The A-4B Skyhawk, another aircraft used by the Blue Angels.The T-34B Mentor from the side, with the bridge into downtown Corpus Christi in the background.Side view of the T-34B Mentor in the foreground, with the A-4B Skyhawk behind it.The T-34C Turbo-Mentor.The AH-1S Cobra helicopter.The Top Gun F-14 Tomcat.
This particular F-14 Tomcat was used in the filming of the movie Top Gun, and has markings that are specific to the film.
The F-14 Tomcat from the back view.The F-14 Tomcat from the side view.The F-14 Tomcat from the front side view, showing the names of Maverick and Goose.The bicentennial decorated F-4A Phantom II, from the front.Side view of the F-4A Phantom II.Closer look at the back side view of the F-4A Phantom II.
There were some planes in other locations on the USS Lexington, but these were the ones currently on the Flight Deck. While we didn’t have time to do the other tours, we will be back to visit the USS Lexington in the cooler months.
