I am currently residing in Allen Texas ( Dallas Ft worth area) with my lovely wife Linda and my puppy Destiny. I am and an Engineer in the Tech industries by day and on the side a private Pilot and an active Photographer taking aviation and military photography. My Favorite lies on Modern Military Aviation. Jets of the 60s up till the current but have passion on Cold War era hardware . World War 2 subjects also excites me so from time to time, F-4U , P51D or ME-109 still gets my attention.
Being a historical buff and avid military hardware enthusiasts since I was young, I have been photographing, researching and building scale military models. Visiting Military bases, museums, photocall , military exercise and airshow is just my kind of Disneyland. With that in mind. As an editor to this site, I am dedicating this site to promote all military hardware either in pictures, video or any media form. I welcome all users that have keen interest in this matter to contribute their experience , knowledge , stories and comments .
This site is also about blogging information of Military Aviation that us spotters can share these information and to better promote this hobby.
Equipment Use:
Canon 1DX2,Canon R6, Canon M6 Mark II Canon SL1
Canon 100-400mm, Canon 70-200mm F 2.8, Tamron 150-600mm G2, Canon 18-200mm ,Canon RF 100-400, SIgma 18-50mm
Insta360 X2
Chief Editor
Dave Chng
My name is Bill Havel and I reside in Richmond, TX, which is located just southwest of the Houston metro area, with my loving wife Carol who also loves military aircraft. During the day I work for a large corporation which manufactures and supplies power generation to the oil, gas and marine industries, as well as a host of others. As much as I enjoy my job my real passion is spotting and photographing military aircraft, whether it be at Ellington Field (home base), museums or air shows around the nation. This also includes meeting and photographing the men and women who fly and maintain them. Some of my favorite subject matter is USN Adversary and USAF Aggressor aircraft. My first true aviation love was the F-4 Phantom. From there my passion for military aircraft grew. Soon thereafter I found myself reading and doing research on other aircraft and soon learned it was jets I liked best. I believe it was the Century Series of aircraft that sold me. Today, although jets are my favorite I still enjoy photographing aircraft with props and rotors. To me, each airframe is significant in that it has a specific job to perform, all of which are vital to our military and nations defense.
Another hobby has spawned from this interest and that is building scale model aircraft. My interest here is jets from the 1950s to present day.
Assistant Editor/Photographer
Bill Havel
My name is George Karavantos. Aviation is my life. I was 10 years old when I read my first aviation magazine and immediately I realized what I wanted to become when I grow up. Military aviation became my obsession. Before I even finish the school, I visited my first airshow and started to write articles in Greek aviation magazines. I couldn’t become a fighter pilot because I am too tall, but I never gave it up and I found another way to express myself. Nowadays I am an Airbus A320 Captain and a trainer. I am also volunteer in the organizing committee of the Greek airshow, Athens Flying Week. I love to fly airplanes, but military aviation will always be my greatest love!
Assistant Editor/ Photographer
George Karavantos
My name is Steven Valinski. I was born and raised on Long Island, NY and now reside in Mesa, AZ. I am a technical support supervisor/project manager for a Phoenix-based telecommunications company. I have a wife, five kids, a dog, and a cat…and I still find time for aviation photography.
Growing up on Long Island we lived very close to the Grumman facility (and the old Republic Aircraft facility). I remember observing all sorts of strange and unusual aircraft flying over my home as a kid. In addition, I had an Uncle that worked for TWA. He would always talk about aircraft when we visited his home. He also built R/C aircraft from scratch in his garage. This how I became fascinated with aviation.
In the late 70’s, when 35mm photography was popular, I began to gain an interest in photography. It wasn’t until my 16th birthday, when my Dad bought me a Minolta XGA 35mm camera, that I was able to explore the world of photography hands-on. Back then, the cost of learning was quite expensive due to the film and developing costs. Because of those costs, I lost interest in photography for some time. The onset of the digital camera revolution helped re-develop my appetite for photography. In 2011, I purchased my first DSLR and the merging of my two interests begun.
I began shooting static aircraft at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson and the local CAF museum. I have expanded my aircraft photography to outside/inside base photography and photocalls. I use Nikon equipment. I use two bodies, a D7100 and a D7000. While I like the quality images a full-frame sensor DSLR produces, I prefer crop sensor DSLR’s for aviation photography. I also prefer the flexibility of zoom lenses over fixed focal length lenses (with the exception of my 50mm 1.4 prime).
I am very excited to be part of this website. Arizona, like Texas, is a great state for military aviation photographers. My intention is to capture what Arizona has to offer and share it with the readers of Airwingspotter.com.
I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you!
Steven Valinski
Assistant Editor/ Photographer
My name is Tom H Lee. I was born in Taiwan, grew up in Los Angeles, and currently residing in Northern California. My passion is photographing military hardware. I became a contract photographer of a very famous military magazine in Taiwan named “Defense Shutter” in 2012. I visited many U.S. Military Bases around the country and taking pictures of the air shows and military exercises. My articles and photographs are published bi-monthly in the Defense Shutter Magazine in Taiwan. It is my pleasure to be a photographer in this site.
Assistant Editor/ Photographer
Tom Lee
Gav Brudenell
Assitant Editor/Photographer
I reside in Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom with my partner and 2 children. I currently work as an environmental services assistant for a large retail company. I first went to RAF Mildenhall in 1988 and I’ve been hooked on aircraft ever since. I love all aircraft but my main passion is the USAF and especially the B-1B Lancer. I currently use a Canon 5d mk ll
My name is Salvatore Roccella and I live in Italy in a small town named Treviso near Venice . Shift work in a factory and my role is that of department head of the robot section. My passion for military aviation was born when I saw for the first time the legendary F104 . since that day I have documented on anything flying and after some sacrifices I got my first camera more than ten years ago , since then I have not stopped to photograph aircraft , when I can I participate in all the Italian event and the entire Europe.
Salvatore Roccella
Assistant Editor/Photographer
My name is Joseph Fischer, I have been spotting in the North Texas are for 10 years. I mainly spot at NAS JRB Fort Worth aka Carswell AFB. My love of aviation grows with every trip out to the base and local airshows. Aviation spotting is my favorite hobby and passion. Hope you enjoy my shots!
Photographer
Joseph Fisher