Tag Archives: photo

Burner Love – Back of the B-1

I’ve already shown the B-1s at Red Flag some love but here is a bit more about them because, well, why not? The four afterburning engines produce a lot of noise, light and, I guess, thrust. For a few of the departures, I focused the camera on the back end to try and show that energetic output. Daylight is not the best time to show up the afterburner plume – night works well for that as does being more directly behind the jet – but it still is possible to see the jet against the dark airframe. This is just something so impressive to see.

Snoqualmie Falls

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Our exploration of our new territory included a trip up into the foothills to see Snoqualmie Falls. The town of Snoqualmie is quite a way from the top of the pass but it is still a nice increase in elevation from the more populated areas to the west. The views are very nice from up there. The water running off the mountains has already formed a pretty decent sized river by this time.

Because of the time of year, I was not expecting a very heavy flow over the Falls. They provide a guide to when the flow is strong and when it is light and we were not visiting at a time of year when it is expected to cover much of the lip of the Falls. However, some heavy rain in the preceding week had obviously resulted in some run off and things were actually looking pretty forceful.

We had lunch in the hotel overlooking the Falls and got a window seat that provided a great view. Then we walked around the ridge to see the Falls from different angles before taking the trail down to the river level. Things look very different when you are level with the base of the Falls and they feel far more powerful. It was a warm day and the climb back up to the top made me feel rather toasty. It was certainly worth it though.

Zoomify the Boeing Flightline

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Everett is a busy production facility. 787s are being built at a fair rate while 777 production continues, albeit at a reducing pace. There are some 747s and 767s coming out as well. The flightline for their testing is consequently rather full. I figured a panorama was a good idea but they are hard to put on the blog without making them too small. Time for zoomify again. You can pan around and zoom in to see what was on the line this day.

The Constellation in the Inner Harbor

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The USS Constellation is the last sail powered warship built for the US Navy. She is now preserved in the harbor in Baltimore. I saw her a few times from a distance while I was in Baltimore but I didn’t get a chance to take a shot until I was walking back from a reception. By that time it was dark and, since I only had my phone with me, that had to suffice. The phone on the camera has a wide angle lens so, even though we were quite close, the ship is a little small in the original shot. However, she still looks pretty impressive. I imagine she would have looked even better when under sail!

Consequences of a Doolittle Style Takeoff

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Grumpy got airborne using the Doolittle technique I posted about here. During the takeoff, there were some puffs of smoke from one of the engines. Initially I thought this might just be some oil blowing through but, as they climbed out, the output from the engine was clearly not as it should be and the one engine was clearly not healthy. They cut short the flight (although not as short as it could have been) and brought the plane back down. I saw Grumpy fly a few weeks later so I guess they dealt with whatever the issue was.

Eagle Harbor

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As we drove across Bainbridge Island, we took a road that passed by a very attractive inlet. This was Eagle Harbor. At the time, I only appreciated it at the last moment and we were already passed. However, we did come back along the same road so, this time I slowed down and found a place to pull in and look around. It was a tranquil spot to hang out for a few minutes. However, we were heading to other places so I didn’t stay to appreciate it for long.

Doolittle Style Takeoff

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Paine Field held an open day which included some flying from the local aircraft. The Heritage Flight Museum had a number of the aircraft taking part including their B-25, Grumpy. On one of the takeoffs, they used a technique that was reminiscent of the Doolittle Raid. They applied power and full back controls to lift the nosewheel from the ground and roll down the runway in a wheelie. It was quite an interesting thing to see.

Flying Fish – You Knew It Had to Happen

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How long was it going to be before a post about being in Seattle included fish flying through the air at Pike Place Market? You knew it had to come at some point so here we go. The weekend we were there, the place was pretty packed. Tons of people were there so getting into a good spot was not particularly easy. Moreover, you don’t know when they are going to start throwing something. It depends on when someone orders something.

It is actually pretty dark inside the market so getting a good shot is trickier than I expected. The fish fly fast so you want a higher shutter speed. The ISO gets ramped up and you have to try and track the flight while in amongst the crowd with limited ability to move. Hardly the best situation but, if you want a shot, it is what you need to do. Of course, the bigger problem is that, just when you give up and wander away, they start calling out another order and you have to try and get back into a good spot quickly. That is the toughest challenge!

Patrouille de France Show Up Late

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I am catching up on some things that happened quite a while ago. The visit of the Patrouille de France to Mather for a display as part of their US Tour was a combination of fun and frustration. I was covering the visit for GAR and had arranged to be there for the arrival, the practice and the show itself. They were supposed to show up relatively early but they had some serviceability issues and, when they finally showed up, the sun was setting.

There was still some light when the first jets flew into the pattern. As they taxied in, the light on them was rather nice. By the time the last jets (of the day) showed up, it was dark. The crews were very cheerful despite their difficult day and they spent a lot of time with some local kids for a French school. They didn’t all make it though. Two jets had diverted with problems and they would show up until late the following day. The A400M didn’t arrive until after I had left and it headed straight out the following morning to go and fix the two stragglers. The second day practice and flyby over the Golden Gate were scrubbed as a result with the flyby being achieved after the display rather than before.

It was a few days with a mix of good flying and disappointment but such is the way with aviation.

The Rarity That is an Aerostar

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I keep spoiling Pete with some of his favorites. I hope he appreciates this one. You don’t see a lot of Piper Aerostars about. It is a quite unusual aircraft, apparently designed originally for possible conversion to a jet in future versions. However, the piston version is the only one that was produced. The empennage is quite unlike most similar aircraft. The one I saw was looking like it was very well taken care of. The paint was certainly in great condition. It landed at Paine Field and taxied off to park. I understand it is something of a regular so I will hopefully see it again.