Tag Archives: Navy

Bouncing Growlers

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The sun was forecast, I had some time to spare and there was even suggestion of southerly winds so I took a day off and headed to Whidbey Island.  Coupeville was planned for some FCLP training for the Growlers from Ault Field so I went up to see what I could see.  With winter light, the sun is way to the south.  It cross the centerline of the runway by late morning and, unfortunately, the first flight to arrive came after this time.  They only had one meatball on the field and it was set up at the south end.  The wind was southerly but not strong so they clearly decided a small tailwind was easier than dragging the lights to the other end and aligning them.  Crap!

I spent some time on the sunny side which is far from the touchdown zone.  I shot some stills and some video.  The jets only get close when they are well airborne but it was possible to get a few shots that were okay.  When they had finished the practice you knew it was the case because the jets cleaned up and powered away.  I headed down to the water to have some lunch.

It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of jets again.  I saw a couple of them turning over the bay and descending to the field so headed back up.  While the light was on the wrong side, I figured I would just try something new since the alternative was just more of what I already had shot.  It even was the same jets as the earlier session.  I shot some backlit landings near the touchdown zone (and I was not alone – plenty of people stopped their cars to watch).  With a bunch of shots and video done, I figured it was time to head home.

Military Surprises at Boeing Field

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I was sitting at Boeing Field awaiting the return of a couple of jets.  Apps like FlightRadar24 allow you to keep an eye on where things are and when they are due in.  What they don’t usually cover is military flights.  Fortunately, I had the radio scanner sitting on the dash so, while I was busy doing something else while waiting, the sound of someone calling up on approach caught me by surprise.  I finished what I was doing and then got the camera just as a KC-135 hove in to view.  What a nice surprise.

A while later, something similar happened.  Another plane called up with what sounded like a Navy callsign.  This time I had a bit more time to get out and look up the approach to see what it might be.  A P-8 was coming in.  They got bounced around on short final by the gusty conditions which were combining with the airport buildings to make things pretty interesting for the crew.  I had an easier time taking the pictures I think.

Spanish EAV-8B+ Display

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The Spanish Navy Harriers have recently become the darlings of the UK air show scene.  The retirement of the UK’s Harriers left a feeling of longing for many air show attendees and the recent return of the Spanish Navy has made a lot of people happy.  They brought two of the jets to RIAT this year.  They put on a nice job of displaying with both aircraft flying giving some formation work and some faster stuff.  Plenty of hovering of course.

They seemed to be leading a charmed life with the sun seeming to appear whenever they were flying.  Given how the weather was over the weekend, this was no mean feat.  One day I spent down near the ramp when they were operating from so I was able to get some closer shots of them as they taxied out for departure and when they returned.  Harriers are still relatively accessible in the US but it won’t be too long before the F-35B consigns them to history too so it was nice to get some Harrier time again.

Talk to Me Goose – Oh That’s Right, You Can’t

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Top Gun 2 is in production at the moment.  There has been much activity around the Super Hornets on the west coast and their involvement in the film with one jet getting photographed a bit in Pete Mitchell’s colors.  What I didn’t know was that the production has been on the road.  While up at Whidbey Island we saw a Super Bug launching towards us.  Based Growlers are of interest and Super Bugs less so but we still shot it.  As it got closer, it was clearly painted up differently and we realized we had Maverick’s plane in frame.  It flew a straight out departure and we didn’t see it return before we left but it was kind of a pleasant surprise to get it at all!

Lots of P-3s, or One P-3 Lots of Times

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Paul and I headed to Whidbey Island on the hunt.  We would be happy to shoot a variety of stuff but P-3s were the goal.  Whidbey still has them but they are disappearing fast so get what we can.  As it turned out, we got a ton of P-3 action but it was all with the same plane.  It flew a bunch of circuits after returning from a training sortie and then finally landed.  However, it wasn’t done.  A crew change and they were back up.  That plane got some use that day.  We could hear another engine running but it obviously wasn’t going flying.  Here are lots of shots of one specific P-3 instead!

Bye Bye Prowlers

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I should probably have planned this post better and timed it to coincide with the actual event but that didn’t happen.  The Marine Corps recently retired their last EA-6B Prowlers and the web was full of shots of Prowlers to celebrate the event.  I like the Prowler a lot so I thought I would get in on the act.  I have shot Prowlers a bunch of times over the years whether it was on flight lines, on exercise, during training or at an air show.  Here is a selection of some of my favorite Prowler shots.

XF8U-1

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I certainly won’t stand out from the crowd by claiming that I am a bit of a fan of the F-8 Crusader.  Plenty of people think it is a cracking jet.  I didn’t get to see many of them.  French Navy jets were still in service and, while the RF-8s were in use with the Navy at the beginning of my interest in aviation, I don’t think I ever saw in in service example.  Doesn’t stop me liking them though.  The Museum of Flight has the prototype jet in their collection.  Prior to the unification of the type identifiers between the services, it was known as the XF8U-1.

I first saw it while it was undergoing restoration at the museum’s facility at Paine Field.  My first visit there was when it was free.  You could just show up and wander around.  Now you have to pay to get in but it is still a good visit to make.  Restoration is when things are a lot less glamorous but you do see the work underway to makes things look great.

Now the jet has been moved to the main museum facility at Boeing Field.  It is polished to a fine finish and is complete with an air data boom.  The markings it carries appear to be authentic based on some original photos of the aircraft and, with its location close to the window, it does gleam nicely.  Oh to find someone with a lot of money and a desire to have one of these jets airworthy again.

The End of the Day is Always Better

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How many times in this blog have I commented on the nice light at the end of the day being the provider of my best shots.  It isn’t just about the shot though.  Stuff just looks better (hence the better shots) when the sun is low.  Mark and I had spent a good day at Coupeville and then at Ault Field but, as the evening was beginning to draw in, we knew a few jets had launched earlier and were due back.  As a result, we anticipated some nice arrivals.  Mark had also scoped out a better spot for the final turn the jets would be making.

It wasn’t long before we heard some calls on the approach frequency and so we headed to the new location.  Our first trade was not the jets we had expected though.  Some maritime patrol training was done and a couple of aircraft were making straight in approaches.  A P-8 and a P-3 were welcome additions.  They may not have been flying particularly interesting approaches but we would have taken them at any time and in this light all was good.

Then the Growlers showed up.  The flew some nice curving approaches around us and the evening light was illuminating their topsides in a great way.  Clearly these were going to be the shots of the day that we were most happy with.  Not only that but they did the decent thing and didn’t land straight away.  Instead, a couple of patterns meant we got a good chance to get some shots of them.  Once they were down, the radio was quiet and we both had drives home to make so we called it a day.  (Sadly, as I got on to I-5 to head south, a C-5 flew over me heading in what appeared to be the direction of Whidbey.  That would have arrived in gorgeous light as it looked really nice as it passed over me!)

P-3s Coming Out of the Sun

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When Ault Field is operating on 25, the aircraft taxi out to the departure end along a taxiway that gradually brings them into view from the crash gate.  The sound will usually precede them and, in the case of the P-3s, that is a pretty distinctive sound.  As the day wears on, they are coming at you out of the sun so a bit more silhouetted but that helps to make them look more interesting.  They pull around to the hold point, sometimes mixing in with the Growlers before departing off to the west.  This is a sight that will soon be gone as the P-8s take over.

More FCLP at Coupeville

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My buddy Mark let me know that some more FCLP training was scheduled for Coupeville on a day with a good weather forecast.  Sadly, the wind suggested they would be operating in the opposite direction to that of my last visit (as discussed here and here) but there was the possibility of some morning flying which might mean the sun was on the right side for a while, even if a bit on the tail of the jets.  Unfortunately, the unit didn’t get the memo and they showed up in the middle of the day for the first round of flying so, while the conditions were okay, they were working against us.

Still, there are a lot worse things to do than watch Growlers bouncing through FCLP training.  You can move along the fence line at Coupeville to try and vary the angle, so Mark and I were zipping to and fro in order to try and find something different.  There are some bushes on the field that can be a touch inconvenient when looking to capture the moment of touchdown but a little experimentation and you could get a good result.

The jets appear to come through a tunnel in the trees as they are on final approach and the trees provide a nice backdrop for touchdown.  As they power up and away again, the light angles are most favorable so you can get a few good shots.  However, they end up pretty samey pretty quickly.

We expected a second batch of jets in the early afternoon so headed to the other side.  Here you are a lot further from the runway so the jets on the ground are rather distant and heat haze is a bit of a problem.  We got a few movements and then headed back to a nearby park where the jets tend to turn over the top of you as they enter the downwind.  The light is a bit better here but, again, the shots are pretty repetitive.  The only change is when the jet is done and it climbs straight out cleaning up as it goes.

With a decent amount of shots made, we decided it was time to try our luck elsewhere.  The Growlers would get back to Ault Field pretty quickly but we were going by car so it was a little longer for us.  However, there was much to justify the trip and that will be apparent in some upcoming posts.