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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn this photo taken Feb. 28, 2017, photographer Jason O. Watson waits on a cliff overlooking the nicknamed Star Wars Canyon in Death Valley National Park, Calif.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo Credit: Ben Margot\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsewhere in the park, the jets also have made it tough when performing the living history show at Scotty’s Castle, a Spanish mission-style villa reflecting early California architecture. The villa recently closed until further notice because of flood damage. But when it was open, it was “disruptive to act like it is 1939 while two military jets are circling, pretending to be in a dogfight above your head,” Wines said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On a February day, planes careened through Star Wars Canyon 18 times. One pilot performed barrel rolls over the pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jets zip through the gorge at 200 to 300 mph (322 to 483 kph) and can fly as low as 200 feet from the canyon floor. But the canyon’s walls are so steep, the aircraft are still several hundred feet below the rim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Training at the canyon doesn’t happen every day, so the photographers who make the trek to see them sometimes sit in folding chairs, waiting in the heat, and spy no jets at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jason Watson, who works in information technology at Stanford University’s law school and does freelance photography, recently made his seventh trip to the gorge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He’s seen as many as 30 photographers spread out across the mile-long rim at different vantage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You can meet anyone from anywhere in the world there,” Watson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The photographers develop a comradery as they share in the thrill of standing above the speedy jets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The aviators interact with them too, giving a thumbs-up or even flashing a “Hi Mom” sign as they whiz by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “They know the photographers are there,” Watson said. “They’re aware of the following.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watson reported from San Diego.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photographers along with aviation enthusiasts and others have been traipsing to a remote 4,688-square-mile (12,142-square-kilometer) park in growing numbers to see jets soaring below the rim of what’s officially called Rainbow Canyon, near the western entrance of Death Valley National Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"5":{"categories":["your-army","news"],"primary_category":"your-army"},"6":{"categories":["your-marine-corps","news"],"primary_category":"your-marine-corps"},"7":{"categories":["your-navy","news"],"primary_category":"your-navy"}}},"categories":[16,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2701,2062],"class_list":["post-20435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"YPT7XUHOQBBERMAXUW77LHE2Y4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2017\/04\/12\/jets-zip-through-narrow-star-wars-canyon-drawing-visitors\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n