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Delta’s Rapid Adoption of the 717

Delta was looking for a replacement for its fleet of DC-9s and, when Southwest took over AirTran and decided to dispose of their fleet of Boeing 717s, Delta was the customer for the jets. At first they were hard to see but it appears that Southwest got rid of them very quickly and Delta did not hang around before getting them painted and configured for their services. Now I see them all over the place.

I first came across them on the east coast but now they are a regular feature of west coast operations. SFO gets a lot of them, as does LAX. I think some of them are running what almost amounts to a shuttle operation between the two airports. The 717 is obviously a DC-9 derivative but the more modern engines give the proportions of the jet a different feel.

Raccoon Family Outing

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Roger and I were on a wildlife roll. We had been visited by an osprey, we had seen a rat, what else could be lurking along the shoreline? Roger had mentioned that he had seen some raccoons along there at various times. I guess raccoons have good hearing. It was not long after he mentioned this that a face appeared in the rocks. Next thing you know, out pops a raccoon. Not just one though. This was a mom with a youngster in tow. They were heading from the rocks along the shore towards the brush on the other side of the trail. They scampered across the path in our direction and through the fencing. Our presence did not seem to bother them at all.

Cathay Pacific 747-8F Freighter

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I saw this Cathay Pacific 747-8F making an approach to the opposite side of the airport at LAX while I was waiting for a friend’s flight to arrive. The freighters tend to use the southerly runways since that is where the freight area is located and it cuts down on taxi requirements. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised that it went that way. Later in the day I was up on Imperial Hill when it made its departure. I was actually having something to eat and not really paying attention. It had rotated before I even realized so grabbed the camera quickly to get some shots. I’m glad the camera was close by or I would have been really annoyed.

Ratty and Tales of the Riverbank (Well, Bayshore)

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Rats have a bad reputation. It’s not tricky to work out why people don’t like them but I think they are rather cool. It’s hardly their fault that stuff has been built on top of their homes and they have had to adapt. The fact we waste so much crap that they can feed on is our fault, not theirs. They are, of course, a creature that likes living near water. While sitting alongside the bay near San Francisco, we got a visit from a local rat. He was busy gathering material for a nest I assume. He (or she) popped up from amongst the rocks by the water and headed into the brush. A little while later, back he came. He grabbed some material and dragged it off where he needed it. We were not making a lot of noise so he didn’t seem in the least bit bothered by our presence.

Seahawk on Display

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The visitor that came the longest distance for Heli Fest is probably the MH-60S that the US Navy sent from North Island NAS down on Coronado Island near San Diego. They had needed one fuel stop to get there with a transit of about four hours each way. As with all of the military assets on show, they got a lot of attention from the visitors. The aircraft was open for anyone to check out and the kids certainly seemed interested. Since they had come so far, they were not just having a day visit. They had arrived the day before and were not heading back until the following day. Consequently, while everyone else was departing, they were locking up the helicopter for an overnight stop.

Watching the World Drift By

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As previously mentioned in another post, the great location at the back of the Harpoon. On the trip back, this was where I spent much of my time. I was checking to see whether anyone else wanted to be there but apparently not. Consequently, I relaxed there a lot while the central valley passed beneath me. Whether it was the patterns of orchards or the cattle feed lots, there was always something to see. As we got closer to Stockton, it was housing developments and the shapes that come with them – sports fields, schools, malls, parking lots. A very relaxing way to see the state.

Cathay Pacific Go-Around

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You don’t see a lot of go-arounds at major airports but they do happen. I was down at LAX awaiting the arrival of a friend when a Cathay Pacific 777 came on to the approach. As I looked back at it, the approach did not appear to be too stable. It seemed to start off a little high, then it got back on glide path but it adopted a rather nose high attitude. At this point I thought something seemed amiss but it then resumed a more normal approach angle and I figured they had got it under control. It was at this time that they powered up and climbed away.

They were tucking up the gear as they came across the top of me. They flew the missed approach procedure and then came around for a second go which went fine this time. I don’t know what the issue was but I did talk to some other pilots that had flown the approach that day and they mentioned that construction work was underway that had meant some of the approach aids were out of service. Maybe this was a factor. Since airlines have strict procedures about going around if they are not stabilized by a certain point, maybe they were just too late getting it back and stable and had to follow the procedure.

Bird Versus Orca – I Don’t Think One of Them Was Trying

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While we were following the orcas, we saw a sudden display of power combined with a lack of interest on the part of the whale. We had passed a number of different creatures on the way included a baby fur seal and a sea lion which, while one of them had freaked out and bolted for safety, the whales had shown no interest in. Then, there were some birds sitting on the surface. One of the orcas decided this was a training exercise. It was alongside us and then dropped below the surface. I could see the silhouette under the surface and the acceleration was scary. A couple of pumps of its tail and it shot off towards the bird. It knew something bad was coming and tried to get away. It fluttered violently to try and escape but was overtaken by the whale and then vanished below the surface.

Just as suddenly as it went away, it suddenly popped up again and started fluttering in the onsite direction. I guess the whale had a bit of a play with chasing it and then lost interest. The bird survived to live another day but the whale probably never really cared about it in the first place. I guess if the bird could comprehend how little the attack had meant to the whale, it might be a touch annoyed!

The Highway Patrol Can See You

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The California Highway Patrol brought not one but two aircraft to the Heli Fest. One was an Astar helicopter and the other was a GA-8 Airvan. Sadly, the airport management team was not feeling very flexible and they would not allow anything fixed wing to be on show by the museum. Consequently, the Airvan crew was made to park on the other side of the field and they had to be driven across. Meanwhile, the Astar crew had their helicopter on the line and so was able to answer questions from the visitors.

The Airvan crew may have been feeling a bit left out but they certainly made their presence felt when they departed. The aircraft is equipped with a PA system and it had the siren going as it took off. Everyone was in no doubt who they were. I am glad they didn’t get completely left out. The Astar also headed out. The CHP operations are pretty interesting so I shall be trying to do a bit more with this operation soon.

Blower Bentley

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Cars and Coffee at Blackhawk Automotive Museum gets all sorts of interesting cars. One that was particularly interesting on a recent visit was a Blower Bentley. This is a great combination of huge power with minimal controllability. Stick a huge engine into a car in a time when suspension design and steering were in their infancy and you don’t have the opportunity to kill people at all! This example is beautifully looked after and seems to have a very original appearance. I am not an expert but I know people who are and they weren’t critical of this car so I assume it is an unusual and well maintained example.