Tag Archives: US Army

Chinook Welcome Flyby

The presence of JBLM south of Tacoma means that there are plenty of military helicopters operating in the Seattle area.  I got lucky late in one day when a Chinook called up on approach.  They weren’t landing at the field but just flying through.  I got a good view of it as it came in to the field.  They then turned downwind to depart providing a background view as a local JetRanger came in to land.  I am not a big fan of the sand finish used on the Chinooks these days but they do pick up the light.

Passing Black Hawk

I was hoping for an approach and landing when I saw this Black Hawk heading downwind but, sadly, it was just passing by, presumably on its way back to JBLM.  It was a bit distant but I still decided to get some shots.  The crewman was looking out of the side of the cabin as they flew by and a few of the shots seem to have them looking directly at me.  The helmet and mask combination that they use is very intimidating.  I wasn’t doing anything wrong, honestly.

More Black Hawk Shots

I posted some shots of the Black Hawks that were delivering personnel to Paine Field for their onward flight in a USAF C-32.  There were only a few shots in that post, but I took a lot of photos of the Black Hawks as they made there approach.  Since there is a limit to what I get to shoot these days, I felt a post could certainly be made of some of the other shots from that day.  Nice evening light really helps a Black Hawk look good.

Three Black Hawks Bring In Some Passengers

The evening departure of the C-32 was covered in this previous post.  I hinted then about the arrival of some of the passengers.  I’m not sure where they had been visiting but they returned Ina. Three ship of Black Hawks.  Some of those who had been around earlier in the day had seen the departure and apparently it followed the same process.

The three ship of Black Hawks flew downwind on the west side of the field having approached from the south.  They then turned to final in a stream, descending to a lower level and flying the length of the runway prior to setting down near the fire station and close to the awaiting C-32.  Since it was late in the day, the light on them was really nice once they were over the field (conversely, they were seriously backlit while downwind).

After dropping off their passengers, they pulled up and departed back to the south, presumably heading towards JBLM.  I haven’t seen any UH-60s for a while so this was a nice change from the norm.  It was also fun looking at the crew on board with the helmet and face masks as they looked back at us.  Hopefully they didn’t mind being photographed too much!

What Aviation Can I Shoot From Home?

The answer to that question is clearly “not much” but it isn’t zero.  We do get things flying overhead here on a regular basis.  We are on the approach to SeaTac for some arrivals and we do sometimes get Boeing Field traffic too.  It’s a rarity when there is something interesting and I am ready, though, so that doesn’t provide a lot.  However, I did recently have a T-38 from Boeing’s chase fleet come over the house.  It was a bit high but it was enough to get me out in the driveway!

We have also had helicopters fly over on occasion.  An Army Chinook came past one time while and Navy Seahawk was another transient.  In each case, I only heard them shortly before they arrived so grabbed the camera while at my desk and shot through the window.  That is not a good plan but it was all I had available at the time.  These can count as my lockdown at home aviation projects!

Apache over Pinal

AE7I6217.jpgHave you ever been excited to have a lucky break and then felt disappointed by the same thing afterwards?  If so, you are like me and you really need help.  I was up at Pinal Air Park in the evening after our time on the range at Hawgsmoke.  An Apache helicopter was flying around the pattern.  I was impressed that it was flying while I was there and grabbed some shots.  The Singaporean forces have some Apaches there that they train on.  When I looked at the shots, I was hoping that was what I had got.  Sadly, it was just a normal US Apache.  Why was I so disappointed?  No good reason.  It was still cool to see one in the nice evening light but you often focus on what might have been.  Not healthy!

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RO-6A Lurking Around

B11I4127.jpgA while back a friend of mine told me about a modified Dash 8 that the Army was using that had been flying out of his airport.  It ended up coming to Livermore – a short drive from home.  I went to see it but it was parked in a hangar on the other side of the field and I couldn’t see much.  It flew a few times but never when I could see it.  I figured that there was nothing much to do since I wouldn’t see it.  Imagine my surprise when I came across its siblings.

I was driving around Tucson International when I saw two Dash 8s parked up.  Sure enough, they were in the same configuration as the previous one.  This time they had their civilian markings obscured.  A little check with Google and they are apparently RO-6A airframes.  The Air Force operates Dash 8s to monitor ranges for traffic under the -7 designation but these are different.  Spooky stuff no doubt.  Sadly, they didn’t move while I was there but they had been active.  I was just glad to catch them out in the wild.

Apache at Dayton

wpid12210-IMG_7097.jpgOne display at Dayton that I liked was the US Army Apache display. I have seen a few displays by Apaches over the years but they are not a regular feature of shows. The Apache is an impressive looking machine and given its nature, it can be kept close in front of the crowd to make a display that never loses your interest. Service pilots don’t tend to put the machine through as aggressive a flight demo as a company pilot might when trying to sell it. However, they do still show it off well.

wpid12190-QB5Y1235.jpgThe subdued finish on the Apache makes for a harder time getting shots on overcast days. However, it does take away the problem of harsh shadows on an already dark airframe. The subtlety of the different greens on the airframe are hard to show in some cases but here they do actually become apparent.

A Little Golden Knights Video

In my previous post I talked about my trip up with the Golden Knights.  It was a lot of fun and the primary goal was to get some images and information for the article.  However, since I was there, I decided to grab some video too.  I had a combination of the video capabilities of my SLRs as well as a GoPro I mounted on a wrist strap.  I tried to make this point in roughly the right direction but it was a bit of a struggle when I was focused on shooting stills.

Anyway, excuses aside, I knocked together a short edit of some of the footage I got.  Still not going to get the Emmy people excited but hopefully it gives a bit more of a feel for what it was like on the flight.