Low level F-18s, F-15s and a B-52 in Star Wars Canyon Death Valley USA

Day 2 of 5 from a steaming hot Rainbow Canyon also known as Star Wars Canyon in the Summer of 2019.
My brother and I visited Star Wars Canyon in the summer of 2019 for one week to shoot some low level aviation action. What a treat we had with F-18s, F-15s, F-35s, F-16s, a T-38 and even a B-52, not to mention several earthquakes!
Known locally as Rainbow Canyon, this staggeringly beautiful location lies in the northeastern reaches of the Mojave Desert at the western side of the Death Valley National park in Inyo County, California. The canyon is 5.5 miles long and sits at the end of the Jedi Transition, a route between point C and point J of the Sidewinder low level training route. Fighters and other military aircraft use this route to enhance their low level flying skills as they thread their multimillion dollar jets through this tight valley. The Jedi transition allows pilots to miss out a section of the Sidewinder from Owens Lake, just south of Lone Pine (Point C), and drop into Panamint Valley at Point J. The area is teaming with military aircraft activity including air-to-air practice, mid-air refuelling and other training taking place throughout the day and night.
We arrived in California just two days after the devastating 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked Ridgecrest on July 4th and took NAWS China Lake out of action until the 11th July. Throughout the week we felt several aftershocks from this quake, including 4.5 and 4.4 magnitude quakes - definitely not what you want to feel when sitting precariously on a few boulders that are perched on several hundred feet of loose scree on a sheer cliff edge!

[@eagleone53]

Love the Eagles ,awesome !! Eagles for ever!!

[@UKAviationMovies]

Yeah me too. The sound is unmistakable and we were so lucky to get so many on this day :)

[@blancolirio]

Great shots! Good job with the radio chatter too.

[@UKAviationMovies]

Cheers!

[@coadybarnum]

I hope you’ve felt welcome to our state of California. Pretty special place in the world, I’m up here by Monterey bay in the Santa Cruz mountain community of lompico, nearby Loch Lomond.

[@UKAviationMovies]

Ahhh thanks Coady. Honestly, we were made to feel very welcome throughout our trip and we met some truly lovely people. We love visiting the states and we'll be back again for sure. California is definitely a special part of the world, I've not visited since I was a kid so it was ace to return as an adult to really appreciate the state. 👍

[@victormanuelpolanco922]

Awesome vid. The BUFF, simply majestic!!!.

[@UKAviationMovies]

Thanks Victor. It was a lovely surprise at the end of a hot long day :D

[@richardgoold3306]

Great Stuff, Lucky you where not there when that FA-18 crashed (RIP Lt) from what I have seen its around the same area that some of the photographers use. Lets hope the USN doesn't cancel using it for training runs

[@UKAviationMovies]

Hey Richard, no we were there a few weeks before the accident. Absolutely awful to hear that news. RIP Lt. Charles Walker

[@32tfs]

B52 Awesome catch that is, great footage as Always mate.

[@UKAviationMovies]

Ahhh cheers bud :)

[@vickiranck5232]

Awesome video...would love to see in person! How do you find out when they’re flying?

[@UKAviationMovies]

They've stopped flying at the moment, but you have to just wait and hope :)

[@Airguardian]

Dope shots! Could you share any more info on how you plan your trip to make sure that you'll get to view jets once you are there? Possibly thinking about doing a similar trip myself next year. :)

[@UKAviationMovies]

Cheers dude. Lots to say here, but the biggest thing I would recommend is to take supplies and keep safe. It was SO hot during this time of year my brother and I were on the edge of our limits for heat. It's a very remote location and it's good to be well prepared. Get there early, really by 8:30-9am. My shots were from Panoramic on Day 1 and 3, and a location called Exit on the other days. This vid is from Exit. Exit is about a 20 minute walk from the road, Pano 10 mins. Both are great locations but we had A LOT of tourists head to pano for the views - again I guess it was the time of year when people go on their vacays. This was a bit tricky with filming as they were starting to get in the way of the shots. More than happy to chat more if you want to drop me an email. Go to my channel home page, click about and you can email me from there 👍

[@alexfillion8401]

Absoluetly amazing!!! TKS for the vids! My friend and i goes to 24th february to march 2, did i should expect to go there? Tks again for the vids very nice!!

[@calypso2niner]

Do you or anyone know if flights have resumed in the canyon since the crash? Thank you!

[@UKAviationMovies]

Hey Sean. There is currently a NOTAM up until 9th September that says a chunk of the low fly structure is closed, this includes SW canyon. No flying there for a while yet.