Author Archives: Rob

The Red Pandas Caught Me Out

Longleat has a boat cruise that takes you up a lake to look at various parts of their collection. The line to wait for the boat seemed to take a long time and not move very much but we weren’t in a hurry. As we got closer to the boarding area, we were next to signs discussing Red Pandas. The signs were interesting and talked about the pandas and their life. As we stood there for ages, I casually said to Nancy it would have been better if they actually had some pandas near the sign. Some time passed before a red panda came wandering through the shrubs next to us. Of course, they didn’t put up signs about an animal that wasn’t there.

I felt like quite a dope, but we had been there for ages with no sign of any pandas. When this one walked through, everyone around us was taken aback too so it was quite the star. Besides, we had been standing around for ages, so a cute red animal was a great change. There were actually two of them in there. They alternated between patrolling their space and climbing the trees. I was now more focused on them and hoped we wouldn’t board the boat too soon. They did disappear again after a while, so I was happy to get onboard. When we disembarked, you could see one of the pandas lounging on a branch near the dock. Cute looking things although those claws and teeth look pretty sharp!

Take a Look at That Wing Span

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Back around 1990, I saw an Antonov AN-72 at the Farnborough show. This was the time as the wall came down and eastern bloc aircraft started to appear at shows. After that, I don’t think I saw one again. That changed at RIAT this year when the Egyptian Air Force brought an AN-74 – an updated version of the original Coaler. The feature of this plane that gets lots of attention is the location of the engines. They are mounted above the wing and employ upper surface blowing. The exhaust from the engines is entrained but the upper surface of the wing which increases the lift and reduces approach and take off speed.

However, the thing I had never appreciated before seeing the plane at Fairford was the span of the wing on this plane. When it taxied in towards us, I got a view of it head on which showed just how large the span is. It is massive. The upper surface blowing only impacts close to the engines, so the rest of the wing is not affected. I wonder how much it matters. It was interesting when it took off at the end of the show that the takeoff run seemed quite long. It didn’t seem like a STOL aircraft. Anyway, forget all that and look at this amazing wingspan!

A Hoover for Those I Know That Appreciate Them

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There are some people I know (and might be related to) that have a fondness for Class 50 locomotives. I remember when they were still in regular service and were operating the services from Waterloo down to the southwest of England. While they were all retired, plenty made their way into preservation. It isn’t unusual to see them at events and there are some that still have commercial uses. I was at the Severn Valley Railway for their Rail200 event where we were exhibiting one of our trains and their Class 50 was in use. I grabbed a few shots of it as I know it will please a few peeps.

Catching an Evolution in the Gloom

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The Lancair Evolution is not a particularly common aircraft although I have come across examples over the years. However, one slightly gloomy Sunday afternoon, I saw that one was heading to Paine Field. I understand that it might be locally based but I hadn’t seen it before and, with not a lot else going on, made the short trip up to Everett. On jaunts like this, you start persuading yourself that the clouds are going to part at just the right moment and then the sun will illuminate your subject against a dark and foreboding sky.

That has worked for me on occasion but this was not such an occasion. The conditions were still pretty dull when they showed up on approach. As is often my technique in these conditions, I shot quite heavily over-exposed. This allows for lots of detail in the aircraft to be captured and then for some masking of the background to bring it back down to something resembling what it actually was on the day. The eye does such a good job of dealing with dynamic range that it is amazing to see just how badly the exposures can vary in conditions like this. Getting the most of the data from the initial image and then letting the post processing techniques bring it back to what you actually saw is the way I like to go. This plane flew quite a bit after this day but never when I had a chance to catch it again so no sunny shots of it I’m afraid.

This Boathouse Looks Like It Has Been Around for a While

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I was heading from Gunwharf Quays around to Spice Island before heading to Southsea to meet my mum from the hovercraft. I ended up following a trail that was marked on the pavement, and it took me around the harbour near where the old Camber quay was. I didn’t know the area but figured I couldn’t get too lost if I had the water on one side. As I got to the end of the dock, I saw this building. It has that great look of odd angles that old buildings often have. I don’t know how long this boathouse has been here, but I would guess it is quite a long time!

More Super High Frame Rates for the Red’s Syncro Pair

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A bit of a theme for me recently has been playing with the super fast frame rates on my camera. Last year I tried this out with the Blue Angels and posted on here about that. It worked well but they were rather distant. At RIAT, I decided to try again but with the Red Arrows this time. The syncro pair will make many crosses during the course of the show so I had a few opportunities.

First, let’s talk about what didn’t go so well. When you select this mode, it will fire off a bunch of shots – I set it to the maximum at 50 – and, when it has taken them, the camera will be effectively locked up until they finish writing. It doesn’t take long, and it shouldn’t matter because not much is happening for a while. However, if you are a dope and forget you have selected it and then take a shot of a plane coming around the turn towards you, you will get a lot of shots you didn’t intend and you may still be writing them when the cross actually happens. I am speculating, of course. No way I would make such a mistake.

The other issue I had was one of choosing focal length. On some crosses I zoomed out quite wide and the jets ended up being further away than expected and quite small in the frame although it gave me multiple framing options. This had been an over correction after having been too tight on a previous cross. Basic stuff but, at least with a bunch of crosses, I had more chances to sort things out.

Then we come to the crux of it. Did I get stuff I liked? Absolutely. I was always tracking the plane coming from the right so my left eye could see enough of the opposite jet, so I did run the risk of having the background jet in focus, but it all worked out fine. The biggest issue is that you end up with a ton of shots to work through. Then again, that is my story of RIAT as a whole! I have included so of the stills here but also an animated GIF of a sequence so you can see how close the frames are to each other. Please forgive the crappy colour space of the GIF.

The Czech Support Crew Looks Bored

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On arrivals day at Fairford for the Royal International Air Tattoo, I was up at the park and view west location. The Czech Air Force brought in a couple of W-3A Sokols and parked them on some pads built near our location. They were then preparing for a practice display. Meanwhile, some of the crew were left on the grass waiting for something to do. I thought it was quite amusing seeing them hanging around and looking so bored while so many arrivals were underway around them.

Testing the Nosewheel on the A400M

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If you have heard much from the flying displays at the Royal International Air Tattoo this year, you may well have heard about the Luftwaffe A400M doing a wheelie. I will cover that too but the whole approach to land was one that tested the nosewheel of the aircraft quite a bit. They made a tactical approach to land and aimed for a touchdown point closer to show centre so near the crowd and one that would be a good demonstration of how quickly the plane can stop once on the ground.

The approach was nose low and, while they did aim to flare the aircraft before touchdown, the nosewheel was the first to make contact with the mains following a short while afterwards. Since this plane is designed to operate from austere strips, the gear is pretty tough, and I doubt a touchdown on a smooth runway is going to cause it undue stress. They then stamped on the brakes and reversed the prop pitch to bring the plane to a rapid stop.

The next part of the manoeuvre was a bit problematic. Keeping the prop in reverse, they started to back up the runway. A crew member was on the ramp as it opened to guide them. They put in a ton of nosewheel steering to swing the plane around, but I don’t think there was much weight on the front of the plane, and the tyres were skidding across the surface, and the turn was not as dramatic as intended.

Then came the fun bit. As they backed towards the edge of the runway, instead of applying some power to the props to stop them, they applied wheel brakes. With the plane going backwards and the braking action under the centre of the airframe, the plane pitched up and the nosewheel came off the ground. It didn’t go too high, and the ramp never hit the ground, but it certainly got everyone’s attention in the crowd! I wonder how the debrief went after the display.

Scots Guardsman

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I was walking across the concourse in Kidderminster when we were exhibiting the HydroFLEX unit when I overheard one of the staff asking a father and son whether they were getting on the train that was about to depart. Their response was that they were waiting for Scots Guardsman. I had no idea what this was but assumed that, since they were waiting for it, it would be a special part of the day.

Apparently, it was visiting for the weekend. When it came in, it was certainly an impressive looking loco. I took a photo when it arrived and then, later in the weekend, I managed to get some more images of it as it brought a train into the station. For those that know their locos, this may well mean something. To me it was just an interesting steam loco to see. I didn’t have quite the level of enthusiasm as one guy who was intent on sharing with one of my colleagues the sound of it climbing a grade.

The Oldest Flying British Aircraft

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The very earliest days of aviation meant a lot of experimenters and innovators were trying their hand at flying. Some had success and many didn’t. Most of those early planes were never preserved (and many probably didn’t deserve to be. Even those that led to further success for their creators didn’t necessarily get to survive because things were moving on so fast and the historical significance would only become apparent many years later.

Consequently, it is quite a treat when something this old not only survived but is still airworthy. The oldest flying British aircraft is the Blackburn Type D. I guess the fact it is a Type D tells you that Blackburn had three preceding types that either didn’t work or didn’t survive (or perhaps both). This plane dates to 1912 although the engine is a later version. It has been in Shuttleworth’s hands since the late 1930s and it will fly if the conditions are right. Fortunately, they were when I was there for the Festival of Flight.

Unlike the two older planes that flew before it, the Type D seemed a lot more capable a plane and it was able to climb and manoeuvre around the display area with relative ease. The conditions were good to it, and we got to enjoy a lot of time with it before it landed. An amazing piece of history to witness on display.