Light the burners

Everything is a tradeoff
London, ON
August 2021
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The afterburner is the ultimate hot rod device, a theoretically simple piece of engineering that literally dumps fuel into the exhaust stream of a jet engine, then lights it.

It's a quick-and-dirty means of giving military planes a huge boost in power, which matters in a business where speed, acceleration, and agility could mean the difference between victory and not getting back home.

Fuel economy? Not so much. A typical F-16 Fighting Falcon in full burner would dry the tanks in 20 minutes. The twin-engined F-14 Tomcat that Tom Cruise flew in Top Gun? Around 10 minutes. The F-35 Lightning's B and C variants can handle about a minute's worth of full burner before the plane's antennae, sensors, and stealth coatings begin to degrade.

So it's a powerful tool, but one best used only when absolutely necessary. But, my, what a sight when it's used during an air show, as this CF-18 from the RCAF demo team illustrates in this photo. I have video of this moment somewhere, as well, but it doesn't do it justice. It's something more felt to the base of one's soul than anything else. And it isn't something that's easily forgotten.

We're in the midst of a long, cold winter - literally and figuratively - so I've been spending more time rooting through my photo logs, lingering over pics that make me feel something. Because photography isn't so much about the picture as it is about the impact it has on your soul.

Pictures of planes impact my soul. What kinds of photos impact yours?

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