Roderick Lees
Biography and Works
Rod is part of an Air Force family, cementing his interest for flight: building models, sketching and painting, and flying radio-control aircraft. His 48 years in aviation include degrees at Purdue in Aviation Maintenance Technology, 20 years as a USAF Aircraft Maintenance Officer, and in retirement worked KC-135 upgrades and the B-52 Re-engine proposal, finishing as a B-52/B-1 Program Manager. His artwork includes covers for AIR MOBILITY FORUM magazine, and five admissions to the USAF Art Program. His recent SR-71A work, "Poking the Northern Bear at 85,000 Feet", garnered a first-place in ASAA's Science and Technology category at Savannah.
In "retirement" besides painting, Rod continues to "review edit" the ASAA Magazine, AEROBRUSH, for Don Malco, and write review articles for new models for the International Plastic Modeling Society. .
Gallery
“Poking the Northern Bear at 85,000 Feet”
First place, ASAA 2022 Savanna Conference
Science and Technology Division
Artist Rod Lees
Heading northeast over “The Wash” in Norfolk, UK on an early morning sortie in late 1984, Detachment 4’s SR-71 provided NATO and US Command authorities vial information on the Soviet North Fleet and other operations during the height of the Cold War. Cruising out to an assigned track over the Baltic Sea the SR-71 was able to capture data far inland from an international-neutral off-shore position. The Launch and departure of the “Sled” was never a secret; due to its rocket-like signature, no chicken or human could remain asleep in East Anglia for these missions.
