Category Archives: civil

Skypark Family Fun Day

Big airshows can be fun. However, the confined nature of things and the number of people involved can also make them a little less enjoyable. Small events at local airfields do not provide the same level of activity but they can prove to be every bit as fun. Such is the case with the Sonoma Skypark’s Family Fun Day. This is one of those opportunities for a local airfield to invite people from the area to come and see what happens at the field. It is a good way to build relations with the local community.

I may not be “local” but I wasn’t going to miss the chance to join in. I arrived relatively early and some of the setting up was still in progress. A selection of the most interesting (read old) planes based at Skypark were being lined up on display. Some vintage cars were also being added to the lineup. Meanwhile, some of the stands were getting set up for local societies and offering food and drink.

There was no flying display taking place. However, there were some movements covering pleasure flights and some sky diving flights. The airport was shut for the main part of the event although one pilot didn’t seem to notice that. Another arrived and managed to leave the runway and ground loop in the grass. I missed this as I was watching a parachutist landing from the opposite direction. All ended up fine with no significant damage incurred.

Entry to the event included free lunch. There was a steady line of people taking advantage of the food that was being cooked and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Rides on a trailer pulled by a tractor seemed to keep the smaller visitors amused and there were competitions for paper airplanes as well. A lot of people showed up during the day and, hopefully, the bond between the airport and the community got a little bit stronger. I had a great time!

Pairs at SFO

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The layout of SFO with the two pairs of cross runways makes for some operations that are quite specific to this airport. At peak times, parallel approaches are made to the 28 runways from along the bay shore. These approaches require the following plane to make sure it does not overtake the leading plane. I don’t know for sure but I imagine the choice of which side leads is based on the wind direction so the wake turbulence doesn’t affect the downwind plane.

Getting them close together is the goal as a photographer. Often they end up being separated by a lot more than you thought. When further out things look like they are close but then the approach turns out to be more offset than you expect and you don’t get a good shot when they come in to land.

Arrivals aren’t the only parallels though. The departures are sent of the 01s from both sides. The clearances are usually offset and the thresholds are slightly different so the planes often get airborne well apart. However, that is not always the case and sometimes you get what amounts to a formation takeoff. Once airborne, the planes turn to increase their separation. Getting a shot of them close together is something to try for if you can. They are too far away when they take off to be a great shot individually but getting both in frame certainly makes for a more unusual shot than is the case for most departure procedures for big airliners.

China Southern Second Attempt

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The timing of my visit to Seal Point Park did coincide with the scheduled arrival time of the China Southern Boeing 787. This was one that I had meant to shoot previously and had bodged as a result of being distracted. That was discussed further here. This time I thought I would make a more concerted effort to get it right. I was just hoping that the heat haze would not be a problem.

As it worked out, I did not lose track of what was going on and I was ready when the colorful jet showed up on the approach. He was a bit far out which meant the haze was a problem from some angles but still good enough to get a reasonable shot as it passed which was combined with an Air Canada A320 heading downwind for its arrival.

Floatplanes But No Water

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A fun feature of flying in the Pacific Northwest is the abundance of floatplanes and amphibians. The locations that support water based aviation are many so the planes are pretty common. Boeing Field provided me with a couple of examples on one recent visit. One was a Cessna Caravan on amphibious floats that showed up on approach while I was distracted. I almost didn’t get it at all. The other flew overhead but didn’t land. I did get a couple of quick shots as it flew by though. I wonder where it went next.

Falcon Go Around

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The smoothness with which air traffic is usually managed means that, whenever something doesn’t go to plan, it is quite a surprise. A go around on approach is a relatively rare occurrence. I have only been on three commercial flights that spring to mind when a go around was executed. I saw a couple at SFO last year on one day but that was when two of the runways were shut and they were squeezing as much as they could in making the chance of a conflict higher.

I was watching arrivals to Chicago Midway when I saw a Falcon 2000 on approach. As they got closer, they obviously got the call and the aircraft pitched up and applied power to climb away. It made for an unusual angle at which to see the plane as it banked away on to the missed approach procedure. It obviously was not a complicated procedure because they showed up again shortly afterwards. They were then followed by a similar Falcon 2000 and it was only later, when I was going through the pictures, that I worked out which one was the jet that had made the go around.

Test 787s

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There was a bit of activity at Boeing Field for the fleet of test Dreamliners. Boeing has been in the process of moving the original test airframes around to their final resting places. One of them has been donated to the Museum of Flight so didn’t have to go very far. Others are finding home further afield. Meanwhile, there is still some work for the rest of the test fleet.

I managed to see them both on the ground and in the air. Obviously the flying shots are the ones I prefer but I will take any I can get. It is strange that, during the test program, the development aircraft are the only ones you see and you want to see more of them in airline colors. Once they get well established, the original test frames suddenly have more interest again.

Farnborough ’92 – The Rest

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The attendance of the Russian contingent at Farnborough in 1992 was pretty impressive but they weren’t the only game in town. There were plenty of other aircraft on display. The Rafale prototype was there to follow up from the demonstrator a few years before. The first A340 was also part of the flying display.

Plenty of smaller types were on show including the Optica and the Pillan. Harriers and Hawks flew and the Gripen development program was represented by one of their jets. The Tucano for the RAF was taking part and the US military had a Black Hawk in the static display. Quite a variety of stuff to enjoy and interesting to see what is still in production today and what has disappeared from service.

Globals at King County

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While I am not ever going to have my own business jet, I know the various types that would be high on my wishlist if I happened to go shopping for one. The Global Express jets from bombardier are right up there. They are big, comfortable, can go anywhere and they look pretty cool. They are also getting more common as sales have been very strong recently (although they are going to cut production a bit – I guess because the line is in need of a bit of a refresh). NetJets have also started operating the type which boosts the number you are likely to see around.

A visit to Boeing Field included the appearance of some Globals and this was a nice surprise. I got them on approach and departing which was nice. They also tend to taxi directly past where I was so you can have a good close up look at the jet. It was a busy day for business jets with a Falcon coming down the approach while one of the Globals was holding for departure. Bombardier did a nice job with this plane. The new Global jets are currently in development. I look forward to seeing what they look like when they start flying.

Pleasure Flight Robinsons

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If you wanted to get a bit of an aerial view of Half Moon Bay and the Dream Machines show, one option was a helicopter flight. Two Robinson R-44s were running flights all day. The flights were not long and not particularly cheap but that obviously was not a deterrent. The two seemed to be flying almost constantly all day. They barely had time to refuel and swap crews it seemed.

The two 44s were similar in appearance but my usual fascination with helicopters took over and I ended up taking way more pictures of them than was absolutely necessary. I even told Hayman to stop me if I kept shooting them! He obviously wasn’t too thorough on that one as I have a fair few shots. I even got some when we stuck in the traffic leaving as they were coming right over us for a while. When going through the shots, it is sometimes fun to see the passengers watching me watching them!

New Standard and Travel Air Trips

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The Dream Machines show included the opportunity to take a step back in time and experience open cockpit flying the way it was a long time ago. Two vintage bi-planes were offering rides and were doing a roaring trade. The two planes in question were a New Standard and a Travel Air (that lives at Skypark and can be seen up there on a regular basis). The opportunity to sit in the front of these lovely looking machines resulted in a long line throughout the day and frequent opportunities to see them in the air.

The wind speed was actually quite high so, while their downwind legs were quite zippy, any movement upwind seemed considerably more labored. The approach and landing could be made from quite a high initial point with dropping down not needing much in the way of side slipping.

I have seen both these aircraft before but they are still a nice looking pair and, with the hills overlooking the airport providing a nice backdrop, we could get some nice shots.