A feature of the Japanese countryside is the amount of rice that is growing everywhere you go. I was often amazed to see small sections of rice growing in little spaces between developments of buildings and homes. Further out, where there is more space, the rice fields are substantial. These rice fields were in Ibaraki prefecture. As the sun got lower in the sky, the tops of the plants caught the light nicely as they blew in the breeze. It had quite a peaceful feel to it all.
The FHCAM IL-2 Shturmovik has been airworthy for a while but I have previously only seen it on the ground. Skyfair was my first opportunity to see it flying so I was rather pleased. This is a pretty rare type and a new one for me so having it display was a treat. The sun was rather high when it flew which is a bit less than ideal for a plane with a dark paint scheme but that is a small price to pay. It flew a number of passes, all of which felt nice and close. Great stuff.
Bike trails were popular in Yoyogi Park. The main trails had people getting some speed up but some areas were cordoned off for kids to use. This person was compromising and taking their kids for a ride in the park. The bike seemed perfect for the job.
I was wandering along the runway at Concrete towards the end of the day during the fly in. A Robinson R44 had been doing pleasure flights throughout the day and was landing well up the field from where I spent a lot of my time. I had photographed it as it came over a couple of times but soon lost interest. However, as I wandered along, I happened to be near his landing spot when he came back from another trip. I was far better placed to get a shot or two so I did. However, he spotted me and, instead of following his normal approach routine, he brought the helicopter to a hover in front of me facing at me as they all looked at me while I looked at them. As long as I kept shooting, he didn’t go anywhere so eventually I just lowered the camera and waved. At that point he turned around and landed.
Part of my exploration of Tokyo involved wandering around some back streets. The city felt so safe, I wanted to see what was going on away from the main activity. The streets were a maze of routes to get around which is hardly surprising given the age of the city. Lots of little shops, bars and homes were tucked away, hardly any great distance from big office buildings. The contrast was quite obvious. People were about but it wasn’t busy. Seeing them on their way at least made me aware that these parts of the city were not devoid of life.
I have seen very few airborne A-26 Invaders in my life. They have been in museums and have been on this blog but the last time I think I saw one active was at North Weald in the late 80s. To see one at Skyfair was, therefore, a treat. It flew a couple of times and was flown with some vigor during its flypasts so we got a good look at it. It is a beefy looking aircraft and to see it hurtling by was a lot of fun.
I visited Akihabara twice while in Japan. Once was for a meeting with a client company that was based there and the other was when I was exploring. This area is known for a lot of entertainment associated with animation and it has a lot of visitors that are into comics and animation. It also seemed to have a large number of people playing Pokémon Go judging by the way they were all standing around playing with their phones. I did see one guy with a phone and a tablet in both hands so he could play two games at once I guess. I’ve never played the game so I can’t speak to whether it is good or not but it still seems to be really popular.
The taxiway at Hyakuri jinks around the shrine and consequently the towers we were on. This is probably an inconvenience the crews but this didn’t stop them from being friendly. The kids on the tower next to me waved at the crews and always got a wave back. I joined in too and waved whether the kids were there or not. I don’t think I ever failed to get a response!
I didn’t get to the Spartan Race in time for Jim’s start so he was out on the course when I got there. I wandered around seeing others making their way around and decided he must have already passed the earlier spots I might see him. I waited for him to come back in to the main area before heading out again on the second big loop. I was wondering if I had missed him when he came into view down a hillside. Rather than distract him, I let him do the next obstacle before I said Hi!
I then saw him do a few more tests before he was off again. At least now I had a rough idea of where he was and who was on a similar pace. That made picking him up again a lot easier. I could then follow him around the final series of tests. These shots are a bunch of those I got of home as he was in the second half of the race. He pushed on to the end and finished well. I was tired watching it all so I bet he was shattered. However, once he finished, he looked really stoked so I guess the success was rejuvenating.
Excellent effort mate. Well done and a well deserved addition to the medal collection. Now to finish off your personal challenge!
The first plane I ever flew in was a de Havilland Dragon Rapide. It was at a small air show at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight when I was a small lad. My Gran said I could have a ride in one of the planes. There was an Islander which was the one I really hoped for. It was six pounds for a ride while the Dragon Rapide was five pounds. Gran didn’t have a lot of cash so the Rapide it was. Now I am so happy that my first flight was in such a type.
Consequently, I was a little excited to see one at Skyfair carrying out some pleasure flights. It had recently been repainted in new colors and it flew some passes as well as the normal take offs and landings. I got plenty of shots of it. Now I am even more glad I did as the aircraft suffered an accident a few weeks later at Abbotsford. A number of people were injured including its owner and pilot, John Sessions.
In some of my photos, it appears as if John is staring right at us. The pilot position is right at the front of the aircraft and it quite exposed so it is no surprise that John was one of those injured in the accident since the cockpit appears to have taken the majority of the punishment. I wish him and all of those involved a speedy recovery.
