Done for the theme black & white in another photo forum.

Packard was an American luxury car brand, part of the "Three P's" along with Peerless, and Pierce-Arrow. The US equivalents of Rolls Royce etc. They are all gone now. Packard made it to 1958 before shutting down after starting in 1899.

During World War II Packard and Ford of Britain made Rolls Royce Merlin engines under license since Rolls couldn't make them fast enough. The main US plane Merlins went into was the P-51 Mustang. Packard and Ford of Britain reworked the Merlin for mass production and "drop-in" part replacement. Rolls built them virtually by hand and part replacement required a skilled "fitter" to do repairs. Even the RAF and other British aircraft maintainers came to prefer the Packard and Ford engines because they could be repaired so much faster and thus keep the planes flying more.

My Mother and Father met in the Packard Plant in Detroit building Merlin engines. He was a shift foreman in the wiring and electrical inspection department and Mom was one of his top inspectors. Both born in 1922 so they were pretty young to have those positions by the standards back then.

This Packard was part of a car and truck show at the railway museum my family belongs to. Here it is just pulling out as part of a "parade" around the grounds. I don't remember the model and year but it was early 30's I think.

It made a great B&W conversion but I include the color image to show off how beautiful its paint job is.

Remember my bio, I am a retired history teacher and this long entry, well, I couldn't help myself.

I attended the free Air Show at Selfridge AFB in Michigan last weekend. 100,000 people in attendance. No Blue Angels, no Thunderbird formations. Weather-wise the best day of the year around here.

Wow these are great shots. Clarity and color is fantastic Really liked 2 & 4

1. The first shot is of the F-18 taking off on a short runway demonstration. About halfway down the runway it took off at what looked like was a 60º angle. I had no idea it could do this. I'm lucky I got this shot. I missed so many of the fast jets using a 400mm, couldn't keep it in the viewfinder.

2. Lots of different planes in this plane race.

3. A refueling demonstration right overhead.

4. This old Thunderbird still looks good.

More to come. These shots are in 2D but all of them are in 3d also. The depth really adds to the experience.