Tag Archives: growler

CAG Growler is Clean

A trip to Coupeville is always going to be a bit hit or miss.  Will the weather play ball, will the jets show up, how much will they bounce, how many of them will there be, will they be RAG jets or operational squadrons?  All sorts of options.  I was really happy that the weather suited a pattern direction that was better for photography, but it was mainly cloudy so not quite as good-looking light.  It was the Rooks of VAQ137 that were bouncing so that was cool, and they brought their CAG jet.  Getting this in its nice colors was cool.  The jet was operating clean which was slightly disappointing but, fortunately, the other jets that came in were carrying pods.

Ault Field Morning Arrivals

I had taken a day off to go to Coupeville earlier this year.  Since I was heading to Whidbey Island for the day, I went to Ault Field at the beginning of the day to see if there was any traffic.  I went to Moran Beach to see if anything was coming in when the light is still favorable in that location.  I actually got pretty lucky.  There were a bunch of Growlers already up and about and they were recovering before I had to move off.  Some squadron jets including some in special schemes were coming in.  Recovering overhead me while others were on the approach, it felt pretty busy.  Here are some of the shots from that morning.

Sunny FCLP With a Color Jet

With a nice forecast, the wind in the right direction and an indication of some operations, I figured a day off was worthwhile and headed up to Coupeville to see if I could get some Growler operations.  I was pleased to see the fire trucks getting ready when I arrived, and that the meatball was at the north end.  Looked like I was going to be in luck.  Yes and no!  I did get some ops and plenty of patterns but only a couple of jets actually showed up.  Fortunately, one of them was a squadron color jet so I was able to get a bunch of shots to play with.  I also shot a load of video so here is the edit of that too.  Could have been a busier day but they finished up and the crews headed off so I did the same.

Back to Coupeville for a Day Off

NOLF Coupeville was scheduled for FCLP training and strong winds from the Southeast were forecast which suggested the right runway would be in use.  I also had a day off scheduled.  While the rest of the weather was potentially not ideal, I figured I would make the trip.  Why. Not?  They were due to be flying from late morning but, as seems to be usual, it was just after noon by the time things started to look active.

I was worried about the low cloud base but it was actually not a problem.  The wind was really strong gusting 20-30 kts.  This was giving them some interesting flying.  Early on, there was a hint of sun sometimes which really helped the photos.  As they climbed out after each touchdown, the skies behind made from interesting backgrounds and showed off the heat haze from the exhausts as well as the streaming tip vortices courtesy of the damp conditions.

After a while, I got a visit from the Navy Police.  The young lad informed me I wasn’t allowed to photograph the jets. I pointed out I could be he was most insistent that I couldn’t.  Rather than have trouble I decided the stop shooting.  As it happened, the conditions got a bit worse anyway so I had got the best of what was on offer.  I just watched the rest of the flying which included quite a few bolsters and some sketchy touchdowns as the wind got stronger.

Eagles Versus Hornets(ish)

The Growlers weren’t the only things flying at Coupeville while I was there.  A bunch of bald eagles were also flying in the vicinity.  They were crossing the approach path for the FCLP training which had me a little concerned.  I thought they would get lost when the jets showed up but they clearly weren’t very concerned and were used the the jets.  They might have got close but they seemed to stay just far enough away to avoid any conflict.  A bird strike with a bald eagle would probably be messy for all concerned.

NOLF Coupeville Area

My trip to Coupeville to shoot Growlers undertaking FCLP worked out well as described in this post.  What I didn’t emphasize in that post is just how close the road is to the north end of the runway.  While southerly flow is not normal, when that is happening, you are very close to the action.  The pano at the top of the post is the view you get of the runway from the road and plenty of people will show up to watch the jets bouncing.

The fields around the runway need to be looked after.  There was a tractor cutting the grass while the jets were bouncing and you can see what a good view the driver probably had of the jets.  I assume he had good hearing protection on while he was working in those fields.    I also include a shot of a jet coming low over the field.  Hopefully that shows just ow close everything is to the road.

Growler FCLP Video

Lots of still shots from my visit to Coupeville and the FCLP training for their Growlers but I was there long enough and there were enough passes to allow me to stop worrying about stills and to try getting some video from a variety of angles.  Here is a video I put together of some of the jets.

Out on the Centerline at Coupeville

One of the fun things about shooting the FCLP proactive at Coupeville when they are on a southerly flow is that you can stand on the centerline a shot distance from the threshold.  The jets are passing very low over the road as they head for the runway so you get a very up close and personal feeling.  Hearing protection is definitely worth having.

I experimented with a variety of shots.  Looking head on at the jets as they turn on to final is good.  They come right over you so you can get a very close up shot head on or, if you want, go to a wider angle lens and have the view right up as they come over you.

You also get to look down the runway once the jets have passed over you.  You do have loads of heat distortion as a result of the jetwash behind the jets but that is a small price to pay.  You don’t get anything sharp from that angle but it is an interesting view and the jelly air gives a hint to what it is like being behind the jets as they pass overhead.

Growlers Out in the Sun

I’ve made a few trips to Coupeville to watch the Growlers undertaking FCLP training on the field there.  My first trip was lucky with the flow to the south and good light.  Sadly, I didn’t get to see much activity.  More recent trips have had plenty of traffic but they were flying to the north which doesn’t work so well for photography.  However, with a forecast for nice weather and a southerly wind so, having been stuck at home for ages, I was keen to get out and shoot some planes while staying a safe distance from everyone.

I got there a little early because I needed to take a work call before things were supposed to get moving.  The lighting was at the other end of the field so I was a little concerned that I might be out of luck but shortly after getting there, a pickup truck hooked up to the light trailer and pulled it to the north end of the field.  Result!

The jets showed up relatively soon thereafter and really didn’t go away for the next three hours.  There were jets arriving and leaving throughout this time but it was rare to not have a jet in the pattern at some point.  This gave me plenty of opportunity to walk along the road to try out different angles.  I also had enough opportunity to try shooting a bunch of video too.  That will show up in another post.  There was a fair bit of cloud initially but things cleared up to be very sunny as the afternoon wore on.  Here are a bunch of shots of the jets bouncing around the pattern.