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 Andy Wolfe started taking pictures of aircraft before he was even old enough to drive. Whether shooting the occasional Texas air show or just sunny afternoons at NAS Fort Worth, he worked at perfecting his skills as a photographer. Reading Code One magazine at the age of twelve inspired him to become one of the world’s top aviation photographers even before taking his first aviation photograph. Some of his photos were published right after he graduated high school. Shortly thereafter, he took his first photo flight in a military aircraft. Since then, he has gone on to fly in numerous military aircraft, logging dozens of hours in a variety of photo platforms. Wolfe refined his photojournalism skills, and acquired some writing skills, at the University of Texas at Arlington where he eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in communication.
Having grown up around the F-16 factory in Fort Worth, Wolfe has always loved photographing the Viper. “Whether from a KC-135 tanker at 20,000 feet, at Razorback Bomb Range in Arkansas, or in the backseat of another F-16, the Viper is my favorite subject,” says Wolfe. He remembers on particular viper mission when he and the pilot headed back to base after shooting aerial shots of F-16s. “We came into the overhead traffic pattern and my pilot asked me whether or not I was up to some low approaches to the runway. I recalled how many times I had watched F-16s in the pattern at NAS Fort Worth with the hope of experiencing that myself one day. I quickly responded in the affirmative. We did two low approaches to the runway just as the sun was setting. That stands out as my greatest memory from all of my experiences as a photographer.”
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