Monthly Archives: July 2012

WACO Reunion

I have previously mentioned that I am more interested in getting to events that are slightly more individual than the bigger airshows these days.  That also includes when I am trying to get material for the magazine together.  One such event was the WACO Reunion in Mount Vernon OH.  This was being covered for a piece that I was writing for Global Aviation Resource and will appear in an upcoming edition of the magazine.  Consequently, I am not going to preempt the magazine piece here.

Instead, this is more about the time I had while I was there rather than a description of the event and the organization.  I had been in contact with Andy Heins, president of the national WACO Club earlier in the year to make sure I could cover the event.  Andy told me what I needed to do to be there and then made himself available to tell me all about what was going on.  The event is a gathering of club members and their aircraft and is a very social event.  There is no flying display.  However, the members like to fly their aircraft and that is what they do.  The middle of the day is quite quiet but early in the morning and later in the day when the weather is a lot more calm is the time when people get in their planes and fly.

Fortunately, that also included me getting to fly too.  My first trip of the day was in a Citabria with Tim Ponds.  This was to get some aerial shots of the aircraft parked to illustrate the article.  Time was very accommodating and we got some video footage as well as stills of the site.  While we were up, Steve Thomas was flying his WACO and we arranged an impromptu shoot.  Normally I am not inclined to shoot air to air without a prior brief.  However, we kept it simple and straight and level and I was able to grab some good shots.  We also flew past the airfield and got a couple of shots with the aircraft parked in the background.

Then I got my first flight in a WACO when Susan Theodorelos took me up in her beautiful model RNF.  This is an open cockpit model with the pilot in the rear seat and a two seat space up front for the passengers.  I was on my own in this case so had some space to move.  A couple of other aircraft joined up for some formations and I was able to grab some shots of them at the same time.  Vibration was not too bad but keeping myself isolated from the airframe was tricky so getting good shots was a bit tricky.  However, I got some I was pleased with.

One technique thing I learned from these flights was focus activation.  I normally focus with the rear button on the camera rather than the shutter button.  This is fine in almost all circumstances.  However, when you are trying to shoot backwards at an odd angle, this is a lot harder to do and the shutter button becomes the best solution.  Swapping the configuration in flight (I hadn’t expected to shoot another aircraft when we first took off) wasn’t practical so some odd contortions were necessary.  Now I have added this config setting to my quick menu so I can make the change quickly if the situation should arise again.

Everyone at the flyin was very friendly.  Aviation never fails to amaze me with the way in which you can show up somewhere for the first time with nothing but a shared interest and be welcomed so quickly by people you have never met before.  The WACO people were a perfect example of this and I can’t thank them enough for their hospitality.  I hope to be back again for future reunions.  In the mean time, here is a little video that I got while there. Enjoy and don’t forget to buy the magazine when it comes out at www.globalaviationresource.com!

Rockford

Only a week after Janesville’s show (discussed here) came Rockford’s show.  Given that Rockford is about 20-30 miles south of Janesville, this must be a bit of feast or famine for the local aviation enthusiasts.  Rockford is a larger show and has a substantial static display but it does have some of the same performers as Janesville. It also adds some other bits and pieces too.  The only difficulty is that you are facing south so the lighting for photography is a little tricky.

The Thunderbirds were the headline act but the Black Diamond team was also on the bill.  Fortunately, they turned up with the full complement of aircraft this time.  This made for a far more interesting display and I did enjoy what they did.  It was just as well I saw them is this turned out to be one of the last times the full team appeared anywhere.  Apparently they have picked up a lot of work supporting military training and can no longer bring so many aircraft to a given show.  They will have a reduced number of L-39s at future events. Given my experience at Janesville with their reduced show, this will be a disappointment to many who were looking forward to their appearances.

Art was also present with the SHAR and the L-39.  Yet again my weather curse struck. Bright sunlight was present right up until he launched.  It was still there as he headed out for his opening pass.  Then the cloud came in just in time for his benefit pass so flat light again for me! Arghh!  One day I will get the shots I want of that lovely aircraft.

The flying display was a good mix but one of the high points for me was an unexpected extra.  A Boeing Dreamlifter was apparently in the area and performed a low approach a go around.  The crew brought the jet down to a very low height with gear and flaps down and then maintained that height along a substantial portion of the runway before powering off again.  Not something that will be seen at too many shows I am sure and I am glad to have caught it.  I have seen the jet on the ground a couple of times but this was the first time I saw it in flight.

The team at Rockford really work hard at getting a diverse selection of aircraft into the static display and this year was no exception.  The ramp was full of jets from many operators and locations.  Since I was in before the gates opened to the public, I got a good chance to see what was on display and catch up with the some of the crews.  It also helped to be able to get some shots before the sun got too high and made the light so harsh.  This is an issue during the show since heat haze becomes a problem quite quickly so getting shots of anything to far away becomes impractical.  However, there is nothing anyone can do about that so you have to do what you can.  It was an enjoyable show and a credit to the organizing team.  I know some people had issues with parking and getting away but I didn’t have any unusual in that regard so maybe I was just lucky.

Janesville

The Janesville show, or to give it it’s proper title, The Southern Wisconsin Airfest, is on each year but, for one reason or another, I have never previously attended it. This time, my friend Art Nalls was displaying with his Sea Harrier and L-39. Originally, I was planning to do something with Art after this show although that fell through as a result of a third party letting us down. However, I decided to attend the show to see what it had on offer.

I went for two of the three days. There was a Friday evening show and both days of the weekend. I went for Friday and Saturday. The Friday show was cut short by a pretty excitable thunder storm that moved in just as the Heritage Flight was getting ready to launch. Art had fortunately already displayed but the light was already fading when he flew and the impending storm was not hard to predict!

Saturday started out with another storm but it fortunately blew through before the show was due to start. My morning was focused on a flight with the US Army’s Golden Knights parachute display team as I previously blogged about here. Then it was on to the main show (or what was left by the time I got back down!).

Art flew again and I had more luck than the previous day (although I believe there must be a weather curse that means clouds will appear whenever I am photographing the SHAR – just enough the make the light flat!).  The heritage flight was very good and included Beercan Collier who will make another appearance in this blog in the near future as well as Vlado Lenoch – always a fun P-51 pilot.  The Black Diamond team showed up very short handed.  The plan for four L-39s and two MiG-17s was not met and only three L-39s were present.  They flew well but the display obviously was supposed to have the pair filling in the routine. Without them there were long gaps in the performance which really hurt things. I will return to this subject in an upcoming post since the story has evolved.

Janesville is not a huge show but they had an interesting selection of things on display. The Canadian Hornets that showed up on Friday evening threw themselves around a lot before landing for the static display. I understand their departures were even more interesting although I wasn’t there to witness that. The team that hosted us did a great job and many thanks to them.

Show Season – What to Do?

This time of year brings with it the opportunity for a number of airshows to be visited. I have found myself attending fewer shows in recent years than had previously been the case. This is a function of the changes that have taken place in the acts that are available to show bookers. There are fewer options available to show organizers, particularly with the reductions that the military has had to make in what it can bring to a show.

This is something that is a fact of life these days but the result is that there is less diversity in what is available at a given show. Moreover, some performers are more focused on certain areas so going to a couple of shows that are close to each other can result in the same acts each time. I am not critical of the individual acts and what they do but I am less inclined to see the same thing at multiple locations, particularly if the locations are difficult from an access point of view or if the lighting makes getting good shots tricky.

The result of this is that I have cut back on the shows that I go to. If I am going to a show, it is because there is something specific that is attending that I am interested in seeing. This means that I am less focused on the bigger events and more interested in some o the smaller locations that, while not having a big lineup, do provide a more intimate environment or something a little different from a performer perspective. This also includes events that aren’t shows in the traditional sense but are fly-ins or similar gatherings that provide an opportunity to be more involved with what is going on.

Having said all of that, I have attended a few shows recently and they will be the subject of upcoming posts. Stay tuned…

Stormy Clouds Roll In

With warm weather comes the chance of storms.  Many times I have noticed the storm as it hit us and wished I had been down on the lakeshore to see the whole thing run in and get some good lightning shots with the city skyline.  This recent occasion I was more aware of the impending deluge and managed to get half of what I was after.

I positioned myself for the storm in good time.  Ahead of it, the clouds rolled in and produced some very impressive formations.  The Midwest is great for “end of the world” skies some times!  Unfortunately, the storm never really got going with the lightning.  We got a few bolts but not very many.  The rumbling from above was unmistakeable but it didn’t produce the photo shots.  I did get one big bolt but it never got dark enough to allow some long exposures so I was always hoping to catch something.

I did leave a second camera running with the video when the clouds rolled in.  I have accelerated the speed of the video to show the clouds in a shorter clip that will hopefully be more acceptable.

More Tucson Exploration

While the majority of my time at Tucson International was spent chasing F-16s, there is a lot more going on at the airfield.  This part of the world is popular for aircraft storage as a result of the dry conditions that don’t encourage corrosion.  The reason that Davis Monthan AFB has the boneyard is because of this and Marana is just up the road and also stores lots of aircraft.

Tucson seems to have a few things stored but there seems to be more of a focus on reworking aircraft that have left an operator or breaking down planes for parts.  Over on the southwest side of the field seem to be a bunch of planes so I drove over to take a look and see what I could find.

There are quite a few aircraft in various states over there.  A bunch of ex-Southwest 737s seemed to be going through the process of rework.  Whether they are going back to the fleet or heading off to pastures new I don’t know.  I also came across the fuselage of an MD-80 which appears to have been part of a U2 tour prior to its demise.  I particularly liked an L-1011 TriStar that was on one ramp.  I assumed it was disused but it does appear to be in better shape than something that hasn’t flown for a long time.  Who knows.  They are a rare beast these days so let’s hope it is still flying occasionally.

Tucson F-16s

I recently was in Tucson AZ for a piece I was working on for the magazine.  Since that is yet to be public, I will have to hold off on putting anything from the visit on here.  However, I did have a morning free before my flight home and decided to check out the F-16 operations that take place at Tucson’s international airport.  I hadn’t visited the airport before so I checked in with my friend Jay to find out what the options are for shooting at the field.

Jay gave me some suggestions on locations as well as the times of day that things are likely to happen.  This was focused on first thing in the morning since it is a little warm in Tucson at this time of year.  105F is not just uncomfortable to be out and about in but it does cause lots of heat haze issues which makes for tricky shooting conditions.  Besides, I did have a plane to catch.

I got the the departure end of things and the timing of the first wave of F-16s was pretty much as predicted.  While you have a good view of the aircraft on their takeoff run, most shots before they get close are pointless since the heat haze is very strong.  That didn’t stop me trying some of course.  However, there are a lot of shots of that type that did not make it through the first cull of bad images!

With the first wave away, I moved to the other end of the field to get the recoveries.  Not only was Jay’s suggestion well placed for getting the aircraft as they came in but it also provided a measure of shelter from the sun.  This was very welcome.  Depending on the pilots, the jets turn in very close to you and provide a nice angle that you don’t often get.  Some pilots turned a lot further out although I did notice one jet which was a two seater do that on its first pass and it was a lot tighter on the second pass.  i wonder what the conversation was like in that jet.

I got the recoveries of the jets that had launched earlier along with a few civilian arrivals before deciding that it was too warm.  Then I did a little exploration around the field but that will be a different post!

 

Brickworld 2012

Each year a Lego event called Brickworld takes place just north of Chicago.  Last year was the first time I had visited the event and I did write a blog post about it then.  If you want to see that, you can find it here.  The event is a convention for the Lego artists and they have a number of sessions before the whole thing opens up for the public.  That was when we got to take a look.

There are a whole bunch of really cool models that people have made.  Some of these are relatively straightforward models of individual subjects while others are far more involved.  There are dioramas based on people’s own ideas or themes such as movies.  Some are unbelievably complicated.  Often there are structures with multiple levels of detail.  A medieval castle may look impressive but you might take the top off and find interior rooms fully modeled as well.

Additionally, there was a complex machine that moved little Lego footballs around all sorts of clever contraptions and ultimately back to where they started.  It was a never ending path (provided the balls didn’t get stuck or fired out of the capture range of part of the device!).  Stills don’t give that device any chance of being appreciated so I tried making a little video of it which is below.

The level of detail in some of these models is amazing.  One medieval scene had hundreds of troops and horses set up, all of which had been done for the first time when setting up at the exhibit.  Some real effort is involved.  The Justin Bieber concert above also involved a lot of minifigs being set up.  (It was also surprising to see how many Bieber figs were in different models!  What does that mean??)

I will not say any more about the event but below are a bunch of shots of some of the myriad models made.  You can see them better than I can describe them.

Marine One

With the President being a Chicago resident, it is not uncommon for him to be in the city from time to time and a presidential movement means some unusual aircraft.  Given all of this, it might be surprising that I have not got any pictures of Air Force One or Marine One since he has been president.  Usually I am not aware of his movements until after the event and I can’t always drop everything to go out even if I did know.

Recently, he came home for the weekend.  A few friends had mentioned the arrival and departure schedule for Air Force One so I did consider whether to head out.  The arrival wasn’t practical but the departure was on a Sunday evening which I could manage.  As it happened, I had been out earlier in the day and coming back into the city I saw how bad the traffic was heading out of town and decided that going to O’Hare was going to be no fun at all.  Besides, you are always wondering what runway will be sued and might find yourself totally out of position anyway.

Instead, I decided to try and get some pictures of Marine One.  It picks him up on the lake-shore south of the city to transfer to O’Hare so might provide an alternative opportunity.  I headed down to a location I thought might be good.  As I drove Through Grant Park, the two CH-46E Sea Knights that accompany him flew over shortly followed by the VH-3D.  I was a bit miffed that I wasn’t a few minutes earlier so I could have got them arriving but never mind.

I found a parking place – no mean feat on a sunny Sunday by the lake – and wandered to the water to find a spot to wait.  Then I waited – quite a long time.  A temporary flight restriction (TFR) is issued when the President moves.  I knew the times it was active but he can go any time in that range.  This time it was later in the range.  I watched the boats on the lake, the police helicopter checking us all out and the police boats stopping people getting where they weren’t supposed to be.

Finally, I saw the first of the two VH-3Ds take off.  Followed by the second and then the Sea Knights, they took off to the south, away from me!  This wasn’t promising.  At least they might turn left and come back up the lake.  No, they turned right and went inland.  I was feeling a touch annoyed by this development.  Then things got better.  They continued their turn and headed right for me.  They passed over the lake giving me a great view with the sun behind me.  They are a bit shiny which is tricky with the sun but in the end I got the shot.  It was worth the wait.

Goodbye Wicket

I have always had a soft spot for hippos.  No idea why but something about them has always interested me.  I don’t think it has anything to do with Disney and tutus but you never know what your subconscious is trying to conceal.  I don’t even hold it against them that they are the largest killer of humans in the animal kingdom in Africa (I am assuming that bugs and viruses are not included when that stat gets rolled out) and a creature of which you should be very wary.  In fact, I love those menacing looking teeth when they yawn!

Therefore, I was rather sad to get an email from the Brookfield Zoo announcing that Wicket, the zoo’s lone hippo has left.  We also have a couple of pygmy hippos but Wicket was basically alone and they have decided to move her to another zoo in Colorado so she can be with other animals.  They are going to focus the efforts at Brookfield on the pygmy hippos instead.

We were at the zoo a few weeks ago when Chris was visiting.  We stopped by to see Wicket.  I got some shots of her as she floated – barely breaking the surface in that classic hippo pose.  Chris has good memories of her too.  On a previous visit she left the pool and walked across the enclosure doing something in quite a dramatic way that led to her being known as a hippoo thereafter!

I hope she likes her new home but I’m sorry to see her go.  Have fun Wicket!