Category Archives: photo

Changing Landscapes By The Second

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The weather while we were in Jackson was rather variable. Our first day was pretty sunny but it clouded over and the second day had clouds constantly moving through.  You would get patches of sun showing up periodically but it was generally overcast.  As you looked to the hillsides surrounding the valley, there was hardly a moment when things were constant.  Light might pick out the terrain briefly and then a cloud would roll in and obscure the view completely.  There was always something different to see.  Even though the conditions were not great, it was still gorgeous to watch the constant evolution.

A C-17 at Boeing Field?

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Boeing Field does occasionally get military transient traffic at weekend but recently it has had some heavies show up.  I saw that a C-5 had been passing through which would have been really cool to see.  I was heading down that way not long ago when I saw a KC-46 depart towards me as I drove shortly followed by a C-17.  I was a bit disappointed to have missed both of them.  I did not anticipate that the C-17 would return.

However, a while later, I heard something call up on final but it wasn’t showing up on FlightRadar24.  I took a guess it might be military and moved to the arrival end and, sure enough, the C-17 was coming down the approach at a leisurely pace.  It was a Travis jet.  I was told that McChord is being resurfaced so that might explain why this jet ended up at Boeing Field rather than down there.

Stored Max Jets Filling Up the Place

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The grounding of the 737 Max fleet worldwide means that they have been coming off the production line and going in to storage.  A few of them were scattered around the Boeing ramp at Paine Field.  One was particularly interesting though.  It seemed to have the front fuselage wrapped in something while the rear fuselage windows were not covered but had individual panels sealed across them.  No idea what this was all about but it did look unusual.

Big Horn Sheep Safely on the Slopes

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The end of our wildlife spotting trip in Jackson took us around the back of the elk refuge.  Alongside the road is a slope which is very popular with the Big Horn Sheep.  It has steep sides and food for them to graze on.  The terrain renders them safe from the predators that might otherwise bother them since they are the ones with the advantage on such a steep and craggy slope.  There were families of sheep scattered along the slope.

They weren’t very far away from us but, seeing as they are not large, they didn’t fill the viewfinder.  Our guide carried a spotting scope which gave us a really close view.  It also allowed you to get a quite impressive photo using only your cellphone since you could hold it up against the eyepiece.  I did shoot with the bigger camera too, though.  Some of the sheep moved up on to the ridge line where they were silhouetted for me to photograph.  It was fun to watch them move around as they were constantly walking to the next good food source all while they were perched on some pretty precarious spaces.

HondaJet

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This HondaJet was on an FBO ramp at Paine Field.  I have seen one close up at Oshkosh and a few at a distance while flying but this was the closest I had got to one in the wild.  It is certainly a curious looking jet.  The engine mounts are the focus of a lot of attention but I am also a little put off by the front fuselage shaping around the cockpit windows.  Having only one product doesn’t seem like a sustainable approach but maybe Honda has ideas for more to come.  If they do, we shall see if they continue with this design philosophy or go in a different direction.

Whose Trains Are These?

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Chicago was a stop off on a work trip.  We were on final approach to O’Hare and I was looking out of the window at the industrial areas that surround the airport.  There are rail tracks scattered throughout these areas so seeing trains is not a surprise.  However, I was a little caught out by what appeared to be some old Metra commuter cars parked up in one space.  They have clearly been out of use for a while.  If anyone knows who they belong to, please let me know.

Drop Tank By the Road

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Sometimes you find the oddest things by the road.  Just outside NAS Whidbey Island, there is a drop tank sitting by the road.  I have no idea what it is doing there.  It seems to be on someone’s yard.  The shape was not something that looked like a Navy tank (which you might expect). I thought it looked like something from an F-111.  Fortunately, It had a data plate which showed a serial that seems to suggest a Fort Worth General Dynamics product so I guess F-111 is probably it.  Anyone know the story?

Garter Snake

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Strolling along a trail on Whidbey Island I saw a slight movement off to one side.  I stopped to see what it was and it took a moment to realize it was a snake.  I don’t know much about snake species but a conversation with someone later and a look online told us it was a garter snake.  It froze when I saw it so we had a standoff to see who would move first.  Gradually it moved around a bit until I could get the briefest of views of its head.  Having tried to get a picture of it, I left it in peace to do whatever it was doing.

Some Nice Flexing

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Departures over the Speedway are best when they flex.  The straight out departures are fine but not that exciting and they often get pretty high pretty quickly.  Those jets that flex seem to stay a bit lower and provide a more interesting shot.  The later in the day it is, the better the light on a flexing jet.  If they are doing an evening departure after the Flag participants are back, the conditions can be ideal.

Here is a selection of jets in both good and okay lighting.  If a four ship goes out, you hope for the last jet to be more dramatic since it will be playing catch up with the others and shoot turn in a bit tighter.  The fourth Saudi F-15SA was another story though since he went very early and then straightened up before having another go inside us.  Not sure he had been paying attention at the brief!