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 Neville Dawson has been photographing military aircraft for eight years. Having grown up with helicopters in his native New Zealand, his shift to bigger and faster subjects seemed natural after he moved to Australia. As editor and chief photographer for Fighter Tactics Magazine on the Gold Coast, Dawson spends little time at home. He prefers to be out, or up, photographing airborne aircraft. His work has been featured in Aviation Week, Air Fan International, Air Forces Monthly, Air Power International, Air Force Today, Aero International, World Air News, Pacific Wings, and Code One. His photos have won numerous awards, including first and second place from Aviation Week in the general aviation category.
“I had the opportunity to travel to Brazil with
a six-ship of F-16s from the 93rd FS out of Homestead ARB, Florida. We were part of a joint exercise called Tiger III at Santa Maria AFB in the southernmost part of Brazil, an eleven-hour ferry flight over the Amazon jungle. The experience resulted in the highest and lowest points of my career. During this ten-day trip, I had a number of flights in one of the F-16Ds that deployed from Homestead. I shot some unique formations involving F-16s, F-5Es, and AMXs. That was the high point.
“The low point followed soon after during an air-to-air shoot over the Gulf of Mexico. Things went wrong very quickly and we collided with another F-16. A mid-air is undoubtedly a photographer’s worst nightmare; the accident brought home how dangerous this job can be.”
Dawson also remembers a flight in an F-16 of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. “Using an F-5 as a chase plane, we took Norway’s first MLU jet—loaded with live Penguins, AMRAAMs, and Sidewinders—and flew around beautiful snow-covered mountains.”
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