@ Moffett Federal Airfield, CA
May 2018
While at Moffett to photograph the visiting Collings Foundation warbirds, we were treated to the sight of this rare civilian Alpha Jet in the landing pattern. First flown in 1973, this advanced trainer/light attack jet was the product of a joint venture between Breguet Aviation, Dassault Aviation, and Dornier Flugzeugwerke, with 480 produced. In The 1970’s, marketing claimed that the Alpha Jet was smaller, faster, less vulnerable, more maneuverable, cheaper and had higher all-round performance than the A-10. First seen in 2008, this particular Alpha Jet is among the aircraft in Google’s fleet, operating from Moffett for atmospheric data gathering missions under contract with NASA Ames Research Center. The primary payload compartments are re-purposed wing pod fuel tanks. Nikon D500 w/Tamron 150-600mm.
