I had read quite a few articles about the Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopter but I had not ever got close to one. Then, when we were at Klamath Falls, I regularly saw two of them showing up on FlightRadar24. Since they were not a focus for the visit, I didn’t think much of it. However, at the end of one day, we were positioning for the return of a Huey that we knew was out on a flight. While we were waiting, the two Cabris flew overhead. One continued on southwards but the other turned to make an approach. Their base was apparently close to where we were waiting and they taxied right by. The person in the left seat was clearly feeling the heat as they had opened the door and were dangling their hand out of the gap while the right seater taxied them back to the ramp.
The Pacific Northwest provides a lot of dark and damp environments within which things can grow. The shady environment is not just good for them but it also provides a spooky setting for visiting humans. As we walked down through the trees to get to Short Sand Beach in Oswald West State park, we passed a tree along the trail that looked like exactly the sort of thing a set designer would come up with for some supernatural movie. It looked like it was designed to capture the unwary. On a sunny day, it was interesting. On a dark and cold evening, it might be a little less appealing.
One of the last legs of the trip Mark and I took was to Medford for an overnight before heading home. Medford is also home to Erickson Aircrane’s operations and I had intended to swing by to see if there was anything to see there. As we drove towards the airport, an S-64 was flying downwind. It wasn’t apparent whether it was heading away or arriving. However, I knew the route to their parking lot so we made a rapid move there just as the helo turned on to approach.
It made a stately descent and then taxied in. We were able to shoot through the fence as it did so without any problem – if you ignore the fact that the temperature was 103F and getting out of an air conditioned car was quite a shock. They taxied in and shut down and we rapidly retreated to the cool of the car. We really couldn’t have timed the arrival any better!
There is a log in the water in Juanita Bay that is just above the surface. It provides a good spot for the eagles to land when they want a drink and need to clean themselves. It is a bit far from the viewing platforms but you still get a good look at them as they rest and sort themselves out. Watching wildlife do things like this seems perfectly normal but, I think law enforcement might be involved if it were humans!
I was up at Paine Field after work one day for the arrival of a DHL/Singapore Airlines 777F. Before it was due in, an Alaska Airlines 737 was due in on one of the scheduled flights. Alaska operations at Paine Field originally were just using the Embraers but, with the success of some of the routes, they have upgraded a number of the services to the 737. I thought this would be a good opportunity to see whether the low shutter speed settings I was planning for the 777F would be okay.
I wasn’t going down to some crazy low shutter speed. I wanted to make sure I got a good shot. However, when you are close to the runway, as is the case at the windsock, you don’t need to be too low to get some blur. I was only using the 24-105 at that range as things are very close. The level of background blur I got was okay. It would be good to get more but it was going to be fine for the 777F. When playing with this approach, you know that a bunch of the shots will not be sharp enough. Unfortunately, you never know whether the key moments will be the sharp ones. Fortunately, one of the better shots was with a healthy dose of tire smoke as they touched down. I was happy with the result.
A recent post showed some of the closest shots I have yet got of cormorants. What I didn’t originally realize when I was shooting them but which soon became apparent was that the structure was not just a place to hang out for them. A pair of birds had built a nest within the metalwork. At first, this was a little obscured from where I was and hard to see. As the ferry moved out, though, I was able to get a good view of the nest. The main area was shaded from the sun, understandably, but it was still possible to get some shots.
One weekend I was casually looking at FlightRadar24 and saw a French registered aircraft on the ramp at Boeing Field. It didn’t show what it was but a quick search showed it was a Falcon 6X. This got me rather excited. Dassault had developed a large cabin twin jet called the Falcon 5X which used an engine called the Silvercrest from Safran. This engine had a lot of development issues and delayed the Falcon 5X a few times. Eventually, Dassault’s patience ran out and they cancelled the jet. They then commenced a new design based on the 5X with a new engine and the associated changes this required. This became the Falcon 6X.
The jet is in test at the moment. I am not sure how long it is before they expect it to be certificated but it shouldn’t be too long. My online search showed that they were running a world tour with the jet at a time which appeared to conclude around the time of the Farnborough show so it would, no doubt, provide some good publicity. The jet had come to Seattle from Van Nuys and it was to there where it was headed next.
I had no idea how long they were hanging around for but figured it was definitely worth a shot. I drove over to the field and, sure enough, there was the jet on the ramp at Signature near the main terminal. I wasn’t sure how long it would be before they headed off so, after getting some shots, I headed to the other side of the field assuming a departure would come. Sure enough, they taxied out. Unfortunately, they didn’t use the full length and went for an intersection take off. I decided that, since it was hot and the haze was not great, I would go with video instead. The result is below. They spooled up the engines for quite a while before releasing the brakes. I guess that is what you do when you have a development jet.
Driving up the North Cascades highway towards Washington Pass, the scenery looked great. I realized that there was a good spot to pull over as we headed up and figured I would stop on the way back. When we returned, I pulled off to take some shots and there were lots of other people doing likewise. The sun was out and shining on the peaks around us but there was plenty of color in the mountains. As I looked at it, I felt like it was somehow a creation of some movie maker rather than something I was looking at. The colors looked amazing. The shots conveyed the color pretty well but I fear that I was going to be assumed to have gone to town on the saturation slider. This is exactly how it looked!
This Bell LongRanger came in to Boeing Field and I got a few shots of it as it made its approach. It was painted gray which made it look a little out of the ordinary. Once I got home, I decided to check out who owned it. However, trying to find the registration proved to be a little tricky. Registration markings are supposed to be clearly visible with rules governing how they are applied. I think the idea is to mean your registration can quickly be read if needed. The choice of color and the placement made this one very hard to detect. I assume someone doesn’t want you to know.
This heron was standing around on Juanita Bay when mum and I were there. It wasn’t showing any sign of hunting so I assume it had already eaten well. The sun was out and it was pretty hot so, after a little preening, the heron adopted a pose I had not seen before. It opened out its wings and faced the sun. I couldn’t work out whether this was a position designed to absorb the sun’s rays or whether it provided a mechanism for cooling by maximizing the surface area exposed. Whichever it is, it was curious. I also shot some video of the bird which is below.
I had read quite a few articles about the Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopter but I had not ever got close to one. Then, when we were at Klamath Falls, I regularly saw two of them showing up on FlightRadar24. Since they were not a focus for the visit, I didn’t think much of it. However, at the end of one day, we were positioning for the return of a Huey that we knew was out on a flight. While we were waiting, the two Cabris flew overhead. One continued on southwards but the other turned to make an approach. Their base was apparently close to where we were waiting and they taxied right by. The person in the left seat was clearly feeling the heat as they had opened the door and were dangling their hand out of the gap while the right seater taxied them back to the ramp.
