Category Archives: civil

Spot the Shed

Sometimes, when in Nevada for Red Flag, I will head down to McCarran in the morning to shoot some of the airliners prior to heading back to Nellis. This time, I barely went down that way. However, I did see a movement that caught my attention. There is a daily rotation of a Shorts 360 freighter from Phoenix up to Las Vegas. I haven’t shot a Shed for a while and figured this was worth a look.

There is a viewing area along the south runway at McCarran but it was closed for COVID and hasn’t been reopened yet. Short staffing means it is low on the airport’s priorities which kind of makes sense. Consequently, I ended up scoping out a parking lot that would give me an alternative. It was pretty hot and heat haze is always a concern plus I didn’t know whether to use the long lens or the zoom. I used a couple of jets coming in before to decide what to do and also stuck the polarizer on to cut the light down to get better shutter speeds for the props. Then the box on wings came on to the approach and I grabbed some shots. If you had told me 30 years ago I would make an excursion to photograph a 360, I would have laughed. Now they are rare enough that is exactly what I do!

Is This The End For The S-76?

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I was rather sad to read that Sikorsky is shuttering production of the S-76 helicopter. The design first flew over 40 years ago but it has gone through a number of upgrades over the years. It is a sleek looking machine and quite a bit larger than it might initially appear. My first encounter with one was on the school fields of my high school when it was parked after bringing some people in for Cowes Week. I got to chat with the pilot for a while. No camera in those days, though.

When I worked in London, they had replaced the Queens Flight Wessex airframes with a pair of S-76s in a maroon color and they would often fly past our building as they landed at the palace. I have had various other times when I have seen them since but not a huge number. The most recent version is the S-76D which replaced the S-76C++ (catchy name, huh?). It has not sold particularly well and the development program was rather protracted. Without many customers, Sikorsky has called time for now. Whether it gets resurrected in the future – perhaps with production at their facility in Poland – we shall see.

Strangely The First AA A321neo Encounters

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The launch of the 737 Max was heavily influenced by American Airlines agreeing to buy a bunch of A320neo family jets from Airbus. American had inherited a bunch of Airbus aircraft from the combination with USAirways but buying the neos really caused Boeing to take note. The order also included a bunch of the ceo versions of the jets and I have seen loads of them over the years. However, for some reason, I had never shot an American neo until I got to LAX.

Los Angeles seems to be a popular destination for American’s neo fleet. While I was there, I saw a load of them arriving and departing. The larger engines are quite conspicuous on the neo although the A321neo seems better proportioned for that size of engine so they are less obvious than the smaller jets. I think they do occasionally make it to Seattle but whether I shall catch one up here, I don’t know.

JetRed

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Early morning at Washington National and I was waiting for my flight home after a work trip to DC. As I sat at the gate, a JetBlue aircraft was coming up from the south end of the field. It was painted in a red scheme representative of the fire department of NY. They have a few different special liveries on their jets but a bright red one is quite the opposite of their normal look. Sadly, the light was a bit dull but I wasn’t passing up the opportunity to get a shot, even if it was through the terminal windows.

SF Airlines 747 Freighter

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Coming across a new airline for the first time is still a buzz for me. With so many airlines around the world and most of them never showing up at an airport convenient for me, there is always a good chance of something new when I visit somewhere I haven’t been for a while. LAX is a popular freight destination so getting new freighters there is a good chance. I was actually at SoFi stadium having a look around when a 747-400F made the approach just south of me.

I had the camera with me at that time so was able to turn around and get some shots. With the aircraft being south of me, it was a bit backlit but I bumped the exposure compensation up a bit to get good shadow detail so I could play with it in post. Later in the day, I was at Imperial Hill waiting for my flight home when it departed. Getting two cracks at a new airline was a pretty good deal. More importantly, the airline actually has a livery that is of interest – not a white jet with a few markings. I count this as a result!

MD-500 Doing Something Odd

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It might be an old design but the MD-500 still holds some fascination for me. It is an agile machine and has a five bladed rotor which gives it a distinctive sound. Paint it in a sinister paint scheme and I am sold. This one was flying around at Boeing Field when I was down there recently and I got to shoot it a lot as it was flying a lot of pattern work. (I missed a cracking shot of it as well but that is a different story.)

The first time I was shooting it, I could see some flashing light coming from inside the cockpit. Looking at the shots afterwards, the guy in the right seat was using some device which would flash periodically. I am not a specialist on helicopters but I do know the rotor tracking is a thing that has to be done so I wondered if this device was a strobe to freeze the blades to allow them to be tracked. Anyone know whether it is.

The second time I was shooting it, the pattern was reversed so I got to see the other side of the airframe. Some cabling was clearly taped to the outside of the fuselage and then going in through one of the doors. No idea whether this was for the same purpose or something else. All good suggestions (and maybe some silly ones) are welcome.

Team USA Delta A330

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Delta was the official airline of the US Olympic team during the Winter Olympics in China. They painted one of their A330s with Team USA colors. I knew it had been in and out of Seattle a few times but I had either not had a chance to go and see it or it was in crummy conditions. Finally it was due in early one weekend morning so I headed down to SeaTac to catch it. The forecast was not great but I had a feeling that the early sun might hang around and, for once, I wasn’t wrong. The light was generous and the plane came in on the right runway to get a good shot.

Long EZ Action

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There is a Rutan Long EZ that lives at Arlington and flies pretty regularly. The Long EZ is a fun plane just because it is so different from the average. The tandem cockpit is not unique – there are plenty of RVs that give you that – but combine it with the rear wing and the fore plane plus the wing tip fins and you have a far more interesting configuration. Consequently, I want to find some times to get good shots of it.

The one at Arlington has flown a few times while I was there, and I have got these shots. However, I haven’t really got something of it that I really like yet. Let’s hope for a combination of good weather and timing and maybe I shall get something I am more pleased with. In the meantime, I shall continue to get what I can.

Vashon Rangers

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I had never heard of a Vashon Ranger before I looked up the registration of one I saw flying up here in the Pacific Northwest. On this day, a couple of them were out flying and, while it isn’t the most sleek shape or the highest performer, it is a different little beast and therefore worthy of attention. I will have to do some research about the company behind them and how many there are but I imagine I shall see more of them around.

Development Epic E1000

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The Epic E1000 is a development of a kit built turboprop aircraft called the Epic LT. It has been around for a while and the development from kit built to certificated production aircraft has been very drawn out. While many similar projects falter, this one seems to have hung in there. I think there are a only one or two of the production E1000 aircraft at the moment and one came to BFI. I caught it rolling out after landing and then taxiing to the Modern ramp. It is a curious looking airframe.

It later departed but it was hard to get a good shot. It got airborne early and there was quite a crosswind so they nosed in to that and towards my position. I effectively got head on and underside shots only so barely identifiable. Still, it was good to see it. I have seen some of the earlier airframes in California and at Oshkosh but not for a while!