Tag Archives: dhc-2

The KF Centre of Excellence

Usually, when I go somewhere new, I have done some research on what aviation related things might be in the area should there happen to be any spare time to squeeze something in.  I had actually been checking out the layout of the airport at Kelowna before our trip since I knew that Kelowna Flightcraft had their operations and there was an Alaska Airlines paint facility.  I figured it would be worth a drive by if time allowed.

As it turned out, our planned hike got scrubbed because the snow made access to the trail, we intended to try impossible for our not off-road optimized car.  We were looking for something else to do and I asked Nancy is a quick drive by at the airport would be possible.  With nothing else in mind, so generously acquiesced.  We drove up the west side of the airport and passed a pair of Convairs up a side road with a sign saying Open to the Public.

I had no idea what this could be but, when we came back, we drove up to take a look.  Much to my surprise (and Nancy’s bemusement that I didn’t already know), we were at the KF Centre of Excellence.  This is a new museum that the owner(?) of Kelowna Flightcraft has established.  The building itself is a lovely structure.  It is loosely designed to resemble the layout of a plane with a central fuselage element and two wings which are hangars.  The external styling is very nice, and the interior is tastefully finished with lots of wood.  We paid to have a look around with the front desk being a converted nacelle.  (Much of the furnishing is aviation components that have been repurposed.  An office desk from a tailplane, nacelles that have been modified and the café seating is all old business class seats.

The center section of the museum has a lot of exhibits about flying including engines, fuselage components and even an old simulator.  It is quite informative and educational.  We enjoyed looking around.  Then it was to the hangars.  One has a Second World War vintage to it.  The largest item was a DC-3 but it was probably the least exciting.  Alongside it was a Mosquito that had only recently been flown in.  Beside that is a Hawker Tempest which is in an advanced state of restoration to flightworthy condition.  It may well be the only Tempest I have seen.  I’m not sure if I have ever seen one before.

Across to the other side and things are still quite empty.  Clearly there are plans to add more aircraft in due course.  A Staggerwing and a few floatplanes are in place but the two-seat F-104 Starfighter is definitely the most exotic.  It was airworthy until relatively recently.  Sadly, it is rather tight to the wall which made getting shots from different angles tricky.  Still cool to see it though.

I had no idea about the museum.  I had heard something about the Mosquito flying out of Vancouver to a new owner but hadn’t really pieced together what was going on so didn’t realize it was Kelowna.  The whole thing was quite a surprise.  Finding such a collection and in such a lovely building was a shock.  Oh yes, parked out front were two Convairs.  One was the old Honeywell testbed that I have shot prior to its retirement and the other is a retired water bomber.  How cool.  (As an aside, the Honeywell 757 testbed was just down the road undergoing some maintenance work.)

Log Boom with Mark

My buddy, Mark, was heading through the region on his way south but he had a little time to kill.  We agreed to meet up late in the afternoon to see what the traffic was like at Kenmore.  He comes from Vancouver, so floatplanes are not a novelty for him, but a different operator is some variety I guess.  I am always happy to watch floatplanes.  I got there a little before him and got a couple of extra movements but there was still enough happening once he showed up.  Log Boom Park provides a good spot to watch the planes from, but the summer can be trickier as it becomes a popular spot for the local kids to hang out and swim.  Fortunately, the day was cooler, so we weren’t surrounded by kids.

Most of the planes approached from down the lake and came straight in but there was one Cessna that decided the southerly wind necessitated the approach over Kenmore.  I would like more of those to be honest as they provide some interesting angles, but it was just the one this time.

Beaver Beats Us To Friday Harbor

We took the ferry to Friday Harbor for a day out on San Juan Island while mum was visiting.  As the ferry approached the harbor, we were standing up at the front of the car deck watching what was going on.  Of course, I had the camera with me – fortunately with the longer lens fitted.  A buzz came from our right as a DHC-2 Beaver came into sight on final approach for the harbor.  I didn’t have everything set up exactly as would have been ideal but sometimes you just have to get the shot.

The plane touched down and taxied to the jetty to drop off and pick up its passengers.  I didn’t recognize the colors but a look at the shots back at home shows the name Friday Harbor Seaplanes.  I have seen a few of their planes show up on tracking since so I guess they have a good operation running.  They operate to Kenmore so I should really check back to see whether I have shot them in the past and didn’t realize it.

Stop By The Floatplane Base

I was riding around Lake Washington on my bike and Renton is approximately halfway around.  I wasn’t in any particular hurry so figured a few minutes down at the float plane base were justified and that I can get a bit of a break before continuing the ride.  The phone was the only camera I had with me but it would do to get a photo of this Beaver on floats that was moored there.  There wasn’t a huge amount of activity during my visit but it was still a good place to pause and have a drink.

How Could I Avoid Stanley Park?

I had a work day up in Vancouver.  I finished up in the office at the end of the day just when rush hour traffic would be at its worst.  The sun was out and the temperature was still nice so I figured I might delay my drive home for an hour or so and head to Stanley Park.  It is a nice place to hang out, there is always plenty going on in the harbor and the floatplane departures might have factored in to my decision making.

There is a bit of an evening rush of departures but, with the days getting shorter and floatplane operations being a very visual thing, I figured they wouldn’t be going out too late if they were to be back before dark.  I was actually pretty lucky as there was a wave of departures shortly after I got there and then, when I thought it had all wrapped up, another burst of flights headed out.  Meanwhile, there were arrivals coming overhead for landing.  It killed a bit of time and made for an easier drive home when I headed back south again.

Odd Beaver Fin

Parked up on the ramp at Renton was what appeared to me to be a de Havilland Canada Beaver on floats.  However, it looked different to every other Beaver I have seen.  This one seemed to have a fun that was cut right down.  Initially I figured it needed a repair but then I realized that there was a large dorsal extension to the fin.  This would compensate to some extent to the missing top but whether it is a good configuration, I can’t say.  It didn’t look good to me but it looked airworthy so maybe it flies fine?  Has anyone seen more about this and can share with me some of the history?

Floatplanes from the Space Needle

While the Space Needle is a great place to view the city of Seattle, it is also good for seeing floatplanes.  Lake Union is a base for many floatplane operations and the routes take the planes close to the Needle.  On the day we were there, the wind was quite strong from the south so the planes were water taxiing to the other end of the lake before taking off.  We had quite a procession with a stream takeoff from a couple of them.

Once airborne, the commenced a turn towards Elliott Bay which took them just north of us and pretty close.  I wasn’t well set up to get shots but I managed to get a few.  I tried my best to shoot through the gaps between the glass panels but sometimes I shot through the glass which was surprisingly good.  You get the feeling of being air to air, even while standing on something solid.

Lake Union Departures

The floatplane activity on Lake Union is fun to check out, not just for an aviation geek like me, but for plenty of visitors to the city too.  I have previously gone down to the lakeshore to check them out but, one evening, while driving into the city to drop a friend off, I was coming down the road on the hill overlooking the lake when a plane took off giving an interesting alternative perspective on its departure.  I figured this needed to be explored further.

The question was where to go.  The road I had been on was not one on which stopping was practical.  Parallel roads exist but there are buildings along most of them so the view is obscured.  However, I did find a location that had a clear view of most of the lake (aside from one building that was right in the touchdown zone!  I wasn’t around for much of the traffic but I did get to see a few arrivals and departures.  Looking down on the flights and having some scenery behind them including the cityscape rather than the sky is a nice change.  I may have to try this out again at a busier time.

Kenmore Rush Hour

The floatplane activity of Kenmore Air is busy on Lake Union in Seattle.  The end of the day means a lot of planes are moving from Lake Union back to the home base at Kenmore.  It makes for a rush hour of planes coming back in good light.  I wandered out to the pier at Log Boom Park which gives a great view of the incoming planes.  Then I just waited.  You know they are all going to be back before sundown so it is pretty predictable.

The inbound traffic is a combination of Otters and Beavers.  De Havilland Canada’s finest show up further down the lake as they come across from Lake Union and then they head up the lake.  On this occasion, the wind was from the north so they made straight in approaches, landed and continued straight in to the base.  On another day I was there without a camera and the wind was a southerly.  They then overflew the base and made a tight turn coming back onto the lake with the evening light on the nose.  I will have to try and get that before too long!

Floatplane Fest

I was in Vancouver for a few days for work and I managed to catch up with my buddy Mark when I arrived.  He suggested to me a good opportunity for shooting the floatplanes is at the end of the day from Brockton Point in Stanley Park.  I had only shot them from the shore near the convention center (other than an opportunist shot or two while walking in the park and that doesn’t count) so I was interested to see how this location worked out.  I managed to get out of work at a good time one evening and the weather was looking very nice so it was off to the park for me.

This location is a lot of fun.  In the evening, the light is well positioned and, at this time of year, the sun is lower and the light is nice and just gets better and better as the evening sets in.  The aircraft were arriving from the east so they were very distant but it is the departures that we were after.  The planes head along the shore from the base and then turn towards you and start their run.  Often, they are pointing straight at you for a while.

Depending on the type and the pilot, they can climb steeply or can keep it nice and low as they come by.  Sometimes, there might be a boat on their preferred take off run and, since they have to divert to one side which can result in a nice turn back towards you as they round the point and head to Lion’s Gate.  The Otters are the most common type with the Beavers coming second.  There are still some Twin Otters but they are a lot less common than they used to be so they end up being more interesting when they show up.  How can it be that I get complacent about seeing Otters on floats?  (The fact we have them in Seattle too probably doesn’t help!)

Mark certainly called this one correctly.  Brockton Point is a nice place to hang out on a sunny fall evening in any circumstances but the addition of a steady stream of floatplanes to this makes for a wonderful combination is you are someone like me.  What’s more, it is a reliable option.  Until the winter light stops flying at the end of the afternoon, you have scheduled departures to rely on so this is not a case of turning up in the hope of seeing something.  You will definitely get plenty of planes.