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Bye Bye El Centro

You might have thought that we had covered El Centro enough. Nah! The day after the photocall, I was planning to head across to San Diego. However, I didn’t have to be there until lunchtime and it is only a couple of hours drive to get there. Since I was going to be up early, why not finish of the time at El Centro with one more visit to the base to shoot from outside.

I wasn’t going to be there too long but there was the probability of an early launch wave and they would recover before I was going to depart. I got there early enough for some of the first launches and was the first visitor. I was going to be joined by some of the friends from the photocall and there was a second visit scheduled by another group for that day so the attendees for that were likely to show up before too long.

We did get a similar bunch of traffic to the previous day with waves of T-45s heading out as well as some F/A-18s doing their thing. I got to cover the first wave without any trouble and then quietened down around the time I was planning on leaving. However, leaving proved to be a bit more troublesome than I would have expected.

Some of the people that arrived for that day either hadn’t been before to the location and/or were not very thoughtful when it comes to accommodating those around them. The location is alongside a drainage ditch with a drop off to a lower level which then has another ditch beside it. There is space to park along the ridge and leave space for other vehicles to get past.

Sadly, some of the new arrivals hadn’t bothered with that concept. When it came time for me to leave, the easier was out – since there were poorly parked vehicles both ahead and behind – was actually backwards. Reversing around the parked cars on the top of the ridge was hardly fun and then reversing the remaining length of the ridge was also less than enjoyable. It wasn’t difficult but the presence of water on one side and a drop on the other tends to increase the level of concentration.

Anyway, despite the thoughtlessness of a few, I did make it out and got a good start to the day. Sadly, I should probably have hung around a bit longer since my next stop didn’t go quite according to plan – but that can wait for another post.

More El Centro Stills

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The main purpose of the visit to El Centro was to shoot still images. I have previously posted some of the shots from outside here and some video from inside here but the real purpose was the stills on base.

Michelle Dee and her team at El Centro are very progressive in their approach to allowing photography on base. They organize regular visits for photographers where it is possible to shoot from right alongside the runway at the LSO shack. This means the aircraft are touching down right beside you and launching past you in close proximity. This provides a chance for some shots that are not the norm.

Such access is quite unusual but the success of these events is hopefully persuading other facilities that it can be done safely. A big part of this is having people on the shoot who understand what is possible and what is not and following those rules. Everyone is ready to self-police as well. Besides, the location is so good, where could you possibly be that would be any better?

Anyway, enough of the description. Thank you again Michelle and team and thanks to Kevin for setting things up from our side. Great to see you again buddy. Here are the pictures.

El Centro Video

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We were kindly hosted by the team at NAF El Centro for a photocall. I will post later with some of the shots from the visit to the base itself. However, one of the things I wanted to do this time that I learned following my previous visit to El Centro was to shoot more video.

I was still going be predominantly shooting stills but the motion and proximity of the aircraft is hard to appreciate sometimes from a still image (a failing of mine as a photographer of course). Video gives you more of a sense of the activity. Therefore, I took a GoPro with me to the day and mounted it on top of my camera on the hot shoe.

This had the advantage of allowing me to shoot video at the same time as stills. It did have a couple of disadvantages. One is that the sound of the shutter clicking is picked up by the camera on the soundtrack. When the jets are close it isn’t too bad but when they are further away, it becomes more intrusive. Second, the GoPro is fixed at quite a wide angle so it makes everything look a little further away than it is. However, this is an add-on to my normal shooting so both compromises are worthwhile.

I did shoot a small bit of video with one of the SLRs and it probably won’t be hard to spot which bit of film that is when you watch. I didn’t bother with any music since I think the sound of the jets does a pretty good job. Here is the result.

El Centro Preamble

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In a previous post, I mentioned that I was heading to NAF El Centro in California for a photo shoot. The main part of the shoot was going to be on the base. It was due to commence at noon. That left a free morning. El Centro has a couple of good locations off base where you can photograph the aircraft and one is better suited to morning shooting since the light is good for departing aircraft and those breaking into the pattern.

I was ready for an early start and got out as the early departures were underway. Not only was this a good spot to shoot from, it was also a good gathering spot for some of us going on base later so it served multiple purposes.

There was a fair amount of morning activity. The majority of traffic was from T-45 Goshawk from NAS Meridian who were deployed to El Centro for training. The local ranges provide opportunities for basic weapons training but other missions as also flown including some field carrier landing practice (FCLP).

Hornets and Super Hornets from the west coast training squadron were also operating and provided a regular stream of departing and arriving traffic. The Canadian forces were also operating Hornets from the base. They tend to depart reasonably straight out and break into the pattern a little early but sometimes come into a good location for shooting. When they are weapons training, though, they always come to the end of the runway to make all weapons safe so we get a good view. They had also brought a C-130 tanker with them which was a nice addition.

A couple of C-2 Greyhounds were practicing their pattern work to mix it up. Helicopter traffic included some AH-1 Cobras from the Marines transiting and a British Army Apache although they stayed well to the south so were not something I could get any shots of.

All of this gave us an idea of what was on base and provided some good shooting opportunities from a different position to that we would get later in the day.

Looking forward to El Centro

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One of the benefits of the blog being relatively new is that I have the opportunity to dig up stuff from the past and turn it into a post. I will shortly be heading to El Centro in California for a shoot at the Navy base there. Last year I made a similar trip and I thought I would remind myself and prime you for some of what might be there.

What will show up on a given day is hard to predict. Last time we had some T-45s that had made the trip across from Meridian TX. Whether there will be any this time, we shall see. Hornets may drop in from other bases to use the facilities and last time some Canadian Hornets were in to use the ranges.

It is the luck of the draw what you get but one thing you can, hopefully, rely on is the weather. El Centro has sun most days of the year. I have had bad luck at some locations with weather but I am hoping this one will behave.

What might I try differently this time? Last time I used a variety of lenses and positions. The heat haze is a big issue so looking to far back up the approach is problematic. Getting ahead of, beside and behind the touchdown location mixes things up a bit. Getting the aircraft and the hold is also worthwhile and I may spend more time there. I am also going to try and mix in more video this time too.

We shall see how it goes and what I can get off base before and after as well. Wait to see what we get!

Tracking Unusual Aircraft??

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Okay, I will admit it right up front, this is a silly post. However, it is something that amused me. If dumb stuff is not your thing, look away now!

I was shopping recently in Harry and David getting some of their good tasting but probably not too good for the waistline snacks. They had some gummy candy called Jetfighter Gummies. What could be better for someone like me. Bought a pack and took them home.

When I opened them up, not only where they gummy jets, there was a selection of different aircraft, all reproduced with a surprising amount of detail! I checked through and they had a B-2, an F-117, an F/A-18, and SR-71, an F-15 and an F-22. Each was reproduced in some detail including panel lines. I was amazed. After eating a bunch of them, I thought I ought to reproduce them to prove I wasn’t making this all up.

The accompanying shots are the fleet as it was left by the time I got around to taking the shots. Some of the remainders were not the best of their type and all of the F-15s had been eaten by then – or withdrawn due to fuselage cracking, who can be sure? There were still F-22s on the ground so nothing inaccurate about that!

Might have to pop back at some point and get some more. I will have a bigger air force than the UK if I buy a couple more packs!

Unusual Thunderbirds

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I have been running through a bunch of older pictures while trying to clear out a bit of space on the hard drives. I came across some shots of the USAF Thunderbirds from a few years ago when they were performing here in Chicago for the Air and Water Show. Friday before the show is a day when they carry out a nearly full practice for the show. This is a day that I am often going to be down there as there are less people and, for some reason, the weather often seems better.

What I had completely forgotten was that, during the Friday practice that year, the Thunderbirds were undertaking some photography work of their own. Aside from the six display aircraft, a seventh F-16 was taking part. it was flying along and around the formations photographing them at various points in the display. I have a bunch of shots of the formations being shadowed by this aircraft.

There is nothing much else to say about this but I found it interesting so thought I would put up a small gallery of some of these formations. Enjoy hopefully…

Bye Bye JAL 747s

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When I was a small kid, I had a book called Pictorial History of Aircraft. This was the 1970s and so the Boeing 747 was still a relatively new kid on the block. It certainly wasn’t the times of the 400 series being knocked out at the rate of one a week. The pictures in this book showed Japan Air Lines (JAL) as an operator of both passenger and freighter versions of the jet.

As time passed by, JAL grew its fleet substantially and was for a long time the largest operator of 747s in the world. Therefore, it is hard to come to terms with the fact that the poor financial state of JAL combined with the introduction of more efficient big twins has meant the 747 has gone from JAL’s passenger operations. It is odd to know I won’t see one again (except perhaps at a storage yard). Every once in a while the airline industry has a big change – the end of Pan Am is one that springs to mind. For me, this is one of those moments.

Anyway, they are gone but I have a few shots of them to remember them by. I wonder what will be next to go?!

Out of Practice

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A weekend day crops up with some good light, a relatively clear schedule and a feeling that it has been a while since I was shooting some aircraft. If it flies, I am interesting in taking its picture. If pressed, military and rotary are the favorites for me but I am not a snob and I am more than happy to take pictures of airliners if the opportunity presents itself.

O’Hare is not far away and Midway is even closer. Both are busy fields but they are not a source of much diversity when it comes to traffic. Midway is Southwest heaven but not a lot else (although there are a fair few business jets every once in a while). O’Hare is fine if you want a lot of United Express and American Eagle regional jets. However, there is a period in the middle of the afternoon when a lot of the European traffic comes in and that is what tempted me to venture up that way.

It was also an opportunity to make use of some technology. I have had times in the past when I finally gave up after a steady stream on the same old stuff, only to head down the road as something very interesting shows up. Now, with Flightaware on my phone and LiveATC’s app streaming, it is a lot easier to be aware of what is due in and when. Makes for a more relaxing time!

The afternoon arrivals also coincide with the sun coming round to the right location so all looked good, as long as the weather was prepared to hold. No tension being built here – the weather stayed great!

I showed up ahead of the main arrival times although I was just a little too late to catch and AeroUnion A300. It left while I was there but the perimeter fence means nothing useful to show of that. However, we did have a great selection of stuff to get my first big afternoon of shooting in. There is also the normal stream of the local stuff and I didn’t ignore that completely but usually only to try something I wouldn’t go for on a one off arrival.

We had KLM, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Turkish Airlines and Royal Jordanian amongst others. The Turkish jet had a large Manchester United logo on the side but I didn’t hold that against them. Royal Jordanian really do have a very attractive livery. Only Iberia let us down by arriving on the center runway rather than the southern where we were. Ho hum!

All in all a great day out and a nice way to spend some time in the sun – outdoors after the generally dull winter we have had so far. As if to round that point out, that evening it snowed a bit again! What is going on?

Bye Bye ADVs

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In 1993 I was working at BAe’s plant in Warton when we had a special event. It was the last delivery of a Tornado to the RAF and the aircraft was AT051, a twin stick ADV (or F3 in RAF parlance). We all received a print of a painting of the aircraft to celebrate the event and trooped out to watch the aircraft depart. I don’t have pictures of that since cameras were not permitted inside the security perimeter at Warton.

It therefore feels slightly more personal to read all of the information online about the demise of the RAF’s ADV fleet. They have been on the way out for quite a while but the end has finally come. Since I made it across to RIAT last year, I did get some final shots of the remaining aircraft and I am glad that I did. My transition to digital shooting coincided with my move to the US so I don’t have many ADV shots that aren’t on film and I certainly didn’t shoot as many shots before going digital.

I only have a limited number of shots which amazes me given how often I saw ADVs over the years. I guess when they were common I didn’t make much effort to shoot them when film was something I treated as precious.

So here are a few mementos and good bye to a plane I liked working on.