Space Coast Blogger

Today and yesterday I had a chance to watch the Cocoa Beach Air Show. One of the best pictures I took was of the F-16 from the Viper Team East Heritage Flight with a Korean War era F-86 Sabre.

Here is the F-16 alone as it streaks downward.

A C-17 with it’s landing gear down.

These two are of a F/A-18 Hornet.

Here a HC-130 performs a refueling exercise with two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters from the 920th Rescue Wing stationed at Patrick AFB.

The Geico Skytypers were lighting up the sky with messages.

The show opening featured the Skytypers, the Golden Knights and a Biplane.

Kite boarding has become a popular sport on Space Coast Beaches and these pictures show why.

The couple above were awed by this kite boarder catching air.

Now he’s just showing off.

This is the Disney Wonder sailing out of Port Canaveral. The Disney Wonder is 964′ long, 106′ wide, has a tonnage of 83,000 and a top speed of 24 kn. The popular cruise ship can accommodate 2,400 passengers and 1000 crew and built in 1999.

Last week I shot these photos of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation has opened the restored second and third floors of the lighthouse and is conducting limited tours.

Short History of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse

The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse was originally built in 1848 and was only 65′ tall. The original lighthouse was powered by whale oil.

In 1868, a new lighthouse was build an equipped with a first order Fresnel Lens. The new lighthouse was 151′ tall and the light could be seen for 22 miles.

In 1892, with erosion within 70′ of the lighthouse base, the decision was made and the lighthouse was moved one mile inland to its present location.

In 1939 the Coast Guard took ownership of the lighthouse.

In 2000, stewardship of the lighthouse was transferred to the 45th Space Wing, Patrick Air Force Base, making this the only operational lighthouse owned by the US Air Force.

In 2004 restoration began, then on April 29, 2007, the lighthouse light was re-lit and is visible throughout Cape Canaveral.

Tours of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse

If you want to view the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse yourself, tours of the lighthouse are available on a very limited basis, A tour may be arranged by contacting the 45th Space Wing Public Affairs at 321.494.5945 or 321.494.5949.

More Florida Lighthouses

This guy was having a little fun on Coco Beach as the waves kicked up last week.