Category Archives: photo

The Lions Show Their Love for the Cubs – And Why Not????

To be fair, the lions are pretty flexible when it comes to affiliations. When the White Sox went to the World Series, they wore White Sox caps. Bears helmets and Blackhawks helmets don’t cause a problem since there is only one team for each sport in the city unlike supporting one or other of the baseball teams. However, the lions do appear to be fans of whichever team is winning! (For those of you not familiar with the lions, they flank the entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago and they get into the spirit if a team is doing well.) By now, of course, we know how it all worked out! Let’s go Cubbies!

They Have Painted the HC-27J

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When I went up to McClellan for the firefighting conference, I got to see the HC-27J airframes that had been transferred to the Coast Guard. They will replace the C-130 airframes that they have been using. I posted about that airframe in this post. I was recently staying back up in the area so decided to see what was happening at the field. The Coast Guard has now started repainting the airframes so now they are showing up in their own colors rather than being in the grayness which they were transferred. There was also a C-130 parked up. It didn’t look too active. I assume it will be heading off for firefighting conversion soon.

Deception Pass

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We made a transit from one location to another that involved two ferries. It was necessary to drive across Whidbey Island to get from one to the other and, aside from the weather meaning there was no action at the Naval Air Station for me to see, it also meant that we would cross Deception Pass. I had no idea about this pass before we drive over it. As we did so, we could see that it was a pretty dramatic spot so we quickly turned around and parked up.

I decided to cross the first bridge to get to the viewing area in the middle. It was raining quite hard but it seemed like it was worth getting wet for. What I hadn’t thought about was my queasiness with heights. While I have no issue with flying and I’m quite happy to sit in the open door of a helicopter while photographing something, I do have an issue with heights in certain circumstances. Walking across high bridges while very close to the edge is one of those. This bridge has a sidewalk but it is not wide and you have traffic very close so you don’t have much scope for staying away from the railings.

My logical mind knows there is nothing wrong and that I am not going to spontaneously flip over the railing but that doesn’t stop me feeling very uncomfortable. However, just like being on the top of high buildings in Chicago for photo shoots, if I want to get the shot, I am going to have to suck it up. It was worth it. The viewing areas in the middle provide some great looks at the structure and the colors of the bridge were enhanced by being so wet. The water below certainly looked turbulent and I can imagine how happy everyone was when the bridge was originally built.

Pakistani Block 50 F-16s

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I have made two short visits to Nellis for recent Red Flag exercises. The Pakistani Air Force attended RF16-4 but they showed up near the end of the preceding RF16-3 to allow them to familiarize themselves with operations before the next exercise kicked off. They weren’t supposed to be flying while we were that after their arrival but the F-16s that launched over us clearly had the conformal tanks and it turned out that they were up and flying ahead of the rumored times. Sadly, it was a brief opportunity and the lighting wasn’t great.

I did head back for RF16-4 and that trip will get a post of its own. Enough went on that week to easily fill another entry. However, staying on track, I did get to see the Pakistan jets as they launched and recovered. They are a recent build standard and, aside from the conformal tanks, they are also distinctive courtesy of a paint scheme that is different to the normal F-16s camouflage. I don’t know whether they had a productive time at Red Flag or not but I was glad to catch them while they were over.

Disappearing Glaciers

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From Hurricane Ridge, you get a great view of the surrounding mountains of the Olympics. September obviously is not the time to see the snow on most of the mountains but there are some glaciers on some of the peaks. However, it appears like they are in retreat. Photos on the display boards near the visitors’ center show the extent of the glaciers in previous decades and they have retreated a long way. If they don’t slow down (and usually this accelerates), they will be gone before too long. We saw them but it seems plenty won’t get the chance.

Norwegian East Bay Arrivals

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Norwegian Airlines have been flying in to Oakland for quite a long time now. They started out with flights from Oslo but they now also have flights from London Gatwick. Despite them having been coming in for a long time, I have never got good shots of them. I have often seen the jets while standing on the BART platform at Bayfair but that is not a time to get a shot. I have also seen them across the bay from the SFO side. Finally I got to see one coming in from the right side of the bay and on the side of the jet that had light.

Norwegian has famous people from that country on the fins of the jets. This one was Edvard Munch. I don’t know how many different people they have on the jets but, with this being the first one I have shot, I don’t have what you would call a collection. It was nice to catch it later in the day as the sun was getting lower. Maybe I shall catch more in due course. However, there won’t be a lot because Oakland is a bit quiet unless you are after Southwest or FedEx jets so I won’t be there often.

Climb to the Top of Hurricane Hill

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Hurricane Ridge is a popular place to visit but go a bit further along and you come to the trailhead for the climb to Hurricane Hill. We felt up for a bit of hiking. The hike is not terribly long but it has two elements to consider. One is a fair bit of climbing with some reasonably steep grades. The other is that you are quite high so the air is noticeably thinner. That is a great excuse for taking things at a steady pace. It isn’t me, it is the altitude!

It certainly is a popular trail. Plenty of people passed us as we were going up and coming back down. The views as you climb get better and better. Some wildlife shows up as well. We saw a marmot at one point. It only lives between certain elevations so this was the only place we were going to catch it. Once you get to the top, you have a view down to the coast. Port Angeles lay beneath us and you could see over to the islands in the distance although the view was a little obscured by the haze. The trip back down was okay but walking downhill is something I don’t enjoy if it is steep. Climbing may be tiring but I find it less hard on the knees. This wasn’t too bad though. You stop less on the way back down since you have seen all of the views on the way up when you were more than happy to pause (only for the photo – not tired at all).

Keeping the Huey In the Air

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Preserving military aircraft in an airworthy condition is no small undertaking. They were never designed to be easy to keep. They were designed to perform and, when there isn’t a long supply chain backing things up with big budgets, things can be a bit more tricky. One group that is keeping an old airframe alive to share its history is the Huey Vets group in Hayward. I first came across the helo when I was in Hayward and I saw it flying in he distance. It showed up in a post here when I got some shots of it.

I have since made a couple of visits to the group to see what they do. Their mission is to share the history of the EMU unit that was unique in providing emergency medical cover jointly between the US Army and the Australian Army. Not only do they keep the Huey flying but they have members with a history in the unit including one from Australia who makes frequent visits. They have many members of the organization and members are able to take flights in the aircraft. I went along to see one of the open house days. It was a hot day in Hayward and they had a number of flights lined up which gave me a chance to watch them in action from a variety of positions.

The Huey is an iconic airframe. The big two blade rotor beats the air into submission and you can hear it from a long way off as a result. Having the doors slid back to give access to the cabin and the gunner positions means you can see straight through the fuselage. It also means the occupants of the cabin get a good view of things outside. They transitioned from the hover outside the hangar along the taxiway before heading off for some local flying. Then they would return for a change or a break for lunch. Great fun to see them in action. Check the group out at their website, http://www.hueyvets.com.

Hurricane Ridge Deer

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Planning our time in the Olympics meant checking the weather forecast. We wanted to go up to Hurricane Ridge but doing so on a day that was forecast for rain was not going to be very good idea. However, one of our days was showing clear skies so we headed up the mountains. The forecast was not wrong. The weather was great and there were plenty of nice overlooks to check out on the way up. Once we got to the top, I was turning in to park when I saw some people stopped ahead of me. Turns out that there are a bunch of deer that hang around up on the ridge and they don’t seem in the least bit bothered by the presence of people. One was looking to come through the parking space I was planning on using. I waited until it decided it was ready to move and then we parked the car. It headed off to join its family.

Pinal Air Park

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Pinal Air Park is located northwest of Tucson. A number of business operate there. It used to be a location for Evergreen International. They carried out a number of programs of a spooky nature which meant there was strict security controlling access to the area. Evergreen have gone bust so now the airport is a lot less restricted. The hangars and ramp areas are still controlled but the roads around the field are now freely accessible.

The airport is used for active operators but also for storage of airframes. Some of these are planes that are clearly not going to be making it back into the air again. They are either old enough to not be in demand or of a type that has more value in the spare parts they contain than as a complete airframe. That isn’t the case for all of them though. Many of them are stored awaiting another operator finding a use for them. Consequently, you see a variety of aircraft from old TWA 747s to unmarked A330s.

While I was there, a Pratt and Whitney 747SP engine testbed was visible on one ramp while the Global Supertanker 747-400 was not far away. There were also some stored Grumman Goose aircraft (should that be Geese?) that looked like they weren’t moving for a while. A turbine Caribou was on the ramp obscured by a CASA 212. Plenty of variety. This would certainly be a fun place to tour with someone that has good access.