Thanks to all...

My preferred lens, for ground shooting, it the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VR, if I can stand back far enough. Then, I shoot in the 85-110mm range as that tends to be the "sweet spot" for "portrature".
For the airborne stuff I often add a 1.7x or 2x extender between the lens and camera body. Basically brings that 200mm lens to 400mm. Add the 1.5x crop factor of this D300 and you get an equivalent of 600mm... I also use a 17-55
F2.8 or a 50mm F1.8 for closer stuff...
enjoy

Flyjets1 (Glen)