Category Archives: civil

One More JetStar

Considering how few JetStars there are around, they seem to make a disproportionate appearance on the blog. This one is another active example. My friend, Paul, was telling me how he had seen an example at McCarran on a previous visit. Just as he pointed to where it had been, a short distance away was the same jet. It was away from the fence which was helpful so I figured I should get a shot and add it to the archive. Not a great place to get good shots but better than nothing. Cheers mate!

Breitling Jet Team

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There are a number of jet display teams that are operated by militaries around the world. Private jet demo teams also exist although there are a lot less of them. The Aero Vodochody L39 Albatros is an airframe that has proved popular with private teams. In the Midwest, the Hoppers used to display with four jets while out west the Patriots team are a regular fixture. In Europe, the Breitling team has been around for a long time. I saw them when we still lived in the U.K. at a couple of shows but they decided to bring the team to the US for a couple of seasons.

My first chance to see them was at San Francisco Fleet Week. I didn’t have any expectations about how the show would be and I wasn’t super excited about seeing the team. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the show that they put on. The display was well planned and kept something going on in front of the crowd. The Albatros is not a powerful jet so they need to manage the energy well to keep the display going and they did this effectively. The backdrop of the bay was obviously a good addition to the display. They did combine the individual jets with the formation jets well. They also made good use of flares at one point during the vertical maneuvers. That is something you don’t see enough these days. Sadly, it doesn’t always translate as well on photos as it appeared when you are seeing the display.

I don’t know what the plan is for the team this year but I imagine they will need to go back to Europe at some point. Two years away must have been an expensive proposition and means they will not have made any appearances over there. Maybe they will be here again but I can’t count on it. I think they are done. Good job though.

The Old Tower is Stripped Out

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The rebuilding of SFO has included building a new tower. I wrote about the old versus the new a while back in this post. The new tower has now been commissioned and is operational. It is time for the old tower to be demolished. Fortunately, the airport invited people to visit before demolition started. The inside of the tower was looking a bit sad. The equipment had all been ripped out. I doubt much of it is getting reused since the new tower will already have been equipped with the latest generation of air traffic control gear. However, the surrounds for the old gear were still there looking rather skeletal.

A week later the process of everything coming down would start. Soon it will look a lot worse and then it will be gone forever. We got a fleeting glimpse of its last days. I hope someone takes some pictures as everything comes down to preserve the last days forever.

LA Dodgers and Emirates Have a Thing

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Emirates A380s are a regular feature at SFO. They usually look pretty much the same with maybe the occasional graphic added for an event or other. This one was a bit out of the ordinary though. Apparently Emirates must have some sort of promotional tie in with the LA Dodgers. The side of the jet was adorned with a large graphic about the team. The side of an A380 is pretty sizeable so there is plenty of real estate to adorn with whatever you want to include. In this case, they made good use of it.

Getting WOW in Better Light

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My first encounter with a WOW A330 was towards the end of the day when the jet was a little backlit. I hadn’t had another chance to shoot one since them and wanted to try and do a little better. The deep color of the purple scheme should look more vibrant than the slightly washed out version I had managed before. The timing of the flights is such that they depart in the late morning. Since the jet is not too heavy, they go off the 01 runways which means they have a nice light on them during the lower winter sun. Unfortunately, they seem to like using 01L rather than 01R which puts them a little further away and a little more susceptible to heat haze. However, I got lucky this time and the conditions were okay.

I’m Sure They’re Not Looking at Me

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What does it say about having a guilty conscience that you immediately wonder whether you are the person being watched? Police helicopters come in all shapes and sizes. Some are hand me downs from the military. Others are old civil types. Some departments have the budget for modern types. It varies wildly. I was out shooting in Las Vegas when this helicopter came heading straight for me. Admittedly, he was coming from a long way off and I was really just in his path but, as I pointed the camera up at him, I couldn’t help but think that he was looking at me looking at him. Did I do anything wrong? I don’t think so. He kept going so I was probably okay.

Is Shooting in the Rain a Good Idea?

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It might be sometimes, but this was probably not one of them. The forecast was for wind and rain which was suggesting that SFO would be using reversed operations to normal. I thought it might be worth a shot. The rain was obviously a concern but I was hopeful, as I have been in the past, that it might make for some interesting shots. I had underestimated just how wet it was though.

The cloud base was very low. The jets landing on 19 were barely visible until they rolled out. The ones taking off were also heavily obscured. The rain was really making things difficult to see and a lot of adjustment in post is necessary to get anything. Only one jet seemed to perform well for me. The Singapore A350 must have gone in a gap in the conditions and it seemed to be the one that was cleanest when I looked at the shots. I won’t give up on things like this but I know the odds are not great.

A Different Trimotor

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EAA undertake nationwide tours where they take a Ford Trimotor to local airfields and give people the chance to experience a ride in a plane from another era. One of their regular stops is San Carlos CA. When I saw them operating there on a previous occasion (and posted about it here), they brought an airframe that I had seen a number of times before at Oshkosh and around Illinois. This time they brought a different airframe which is slightly larger and accommodates one extra passenger.

It would have been rude not to pop along at least once to see it in action. It did appear to be slightly larger to my eye but that was not a scientific assessment. The different paint finish was the real giveaway that they had brought something different. The conditions were nice to get some shots. I was planning on catching it again when it came to another local field but the weather ended up being pretty awful so this was my only encounter.

More Parallels

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Not too much description to go with this post. SFO is well known for its parallel approaches (and departures) and I have been seeing a lot of them recently. Here are a few of the examples that have cropped up. As an extra, I include a shot of two on approach with a departure in the background. Combine a parallel pair with the other traffic a little further out on the approach and the sky looks a little busy. However, while it looks interesting in person, it doesn’t make for a compelling shot.

Some FedEx Vapor

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Damp conditions are not uncommon in the Bay. Getting some vapor over the wing during a climb out would not be a surprise. Getting it on the approach can also happen but not so often. A FedEx MD-11 was on the approach to Oakland while I was walking along the shore. As it headed away, they were configured for the final approach as some flashes of vapor showed themselves above the wing. I happened to get them this time.