Tag Archives: convair

Century Circle

I got to the gate for Antelope Valley Air Show 2022 early in the morning.  We were lined up outside the security gate for Edwards AFB waiting for the time things opened up.  I was on the phone so was happy to sit in the car for a while chatting.  When I finished my call, I could see that I was a short distance away from Century Circle – a display of various aircraft associated with Edwards.  Nothing was moving so I figured I would walk up and have a look around.  I had got most of the way there when it looked like cars were starting to move. I rapidly retraced my steps to the car and we drove on to the base.

At the end of the show, I was coming back out the same gate so decided to see if it was possible to pull in and see the aircraft on display.  Indeed, there were no barriers and Iw as able to park up and have a walk around the various exhibits.  The name, Century Circle, is a reference to how many of the jets are Century Series fighters.  There is going to be a museum for the Air Force flight test center and the base for the building was not far from the aircraft.  I will be interesting to see what the museum is like when it is finished and how many of the other interesting aircraft that are currently on base will be included.

Of the jets on display, my favorites are the F-106, the F-105 and the F-104.  Nicely sequential now I think about it.  There is an F-102 which I have never been so keen on and this one is a two seater which takes a place that didn’t look that great and makes it worse.  Still, vintage jets on display is a good thing and I shouldn’t be critical of what is on offer.

The one plane that is a bit of an oddball is the McDonnell Douglas YC-15.  This was a program the USAF ran for a new jet transport to replace the C-130.  Boeing and McDonnell Douglas both built demonstrators for the program but neither was taken to production.  However, there are a lot of features from the YC-15 that will be familiar to observers of the C-17.  Having a transport jet alongside the sleek fighters is a little unusual but it is a rare beast and worthy of preservation.  Thankfully, the dry desert atmosphere is a place that will allow the airframe to survive for many years.

Mojave Gate Guards

At the main entrance to the airport at Mojave is an area with some preserved aircraft from test programs.  While Mojave is not particularly welcoming to visiting photographers on most of their land, this location seems to be just fine.  The dominant aircraft is an ex-NASA Convair CV990.  It was used for Space Shuttle landing gear trials amongst many other things.  It is joined by an ex-USAF F-4 Phantom and a SAAB 35 Draken that had a second life at Mojave after retirement from the Royal Danish Air Force.

Still Some Convairs Around

Each evening sees a selection of Convairs making their arrivals at YVR.  The freight location is on the south side of the field so they usually come in on the south runway.  No good for where I was shooting from.  However, one of them made its arrival on the north side.  No idea why this was done but I’m certainly not complaining.  With the Honeywell Convair now retired, my chances of seeing flying examples are going to be pretty limited.

Honeywell’s Convair is Back

I have seen the Honeywell Convair at Paine Field parked up at various times but only once did I catch it flying in.  This post includes shots of it which were, unfortunately, on a rather overcast day.  A white airframe on a cloudy day is not a great target but its rarity meant I was still pleased to get it.  It was due back in at lunchtime recently so I decided to make the quick trip up while eating my lunch.  The weather had been crummy but I had seen some gaps developing in the clouds and Everett often is a little clearer than by the office.  I figured it might work out.

I got there a little while before it was due in and a clear patch did briefly appear before closing in as an Ameriflight Beech 1900 landed.  I looked to the distance and saw potential so waited with fingers crossed.  The Convair appeared downwind and then turned on to final.  It was a shady shape in a cloudy sky.  Had I blown it?  As the approach got close in, a burst of light appeared and the airframe jumped out from the background.  I was delighted.  It touched down, I packed my stuff up and I was back in the office before you knew it!

Victoria Ramp Visitors

While Viking was the primary reason for my visit to Victoria International, I did get a couple of other visitors to the airport while I was there.  A Canadian trainer King Air was parked up.  The sharksmouth graphics around the engine inlets is a nice try but it really isn’t the most intimidating aircraft.  There was also a Convair 580 parked up by Purolator’s hangar ready for another freight shipment.  A bit of a rarity these days and a nice catch.

Honeywell Test Convair

An older airframe is always a pleasant surprise.  While I was at Everett, Honeywell had some people making a visit to Paine Field and they came in the company’s old Convair.  This is not the sort of plane you see around much anymore so I was rather pleased to see it show up.