Arlington Evening Flying Display

After my afternoon out up in Skagit for the fly day there, I migrated with the guys down to Arlington.  They were having an evening flying display that would include the Ryan I previously posted about.  An overcast evening did not make for great light for photographing the aircraft.  There were only a few displays to see so it wasn’t too much of an event but it was still nice to be out shooting planes again.  Rene Price put on a good display in his Sukhoi and the Yak-18 display was a great example of what the plane can do.  Interestingly, there was the occasional hint of sunlight from the horizon while it flew which would glint off the white airframe since it was high enough to see the light we weren’t getting.

Grumpy, the B-25, flew a bunch of passes having come across from Skagit.  I guess with not much else flying, they were allowed to fly as many passes as they wanted.  Other than that, it was a pretty low key affair.

Jaguar Details

During the British day at Exotics@RTC, there were some old Jaguars taking center stage in the shopping area.  I was checking out the grill on one of them and looked at the headlights.  There was a little logo in the middle of the lights that I had not noticed when looking at previous cars.  I guess it is an original feature but it could be an aftermarket thing.  That seems out of keeping with the way these vehicles are maintained so I hope it is original.

Sneak a Turbo Beaver While I Can

While walking along the main runway at BFI, the shorter runway remained in use.  Since I was at the north end, that meant walking parallel to some of the movements.  A Turbo Beaver was one of the planes to use the runway while I walked alongside so it would have been rude not to grab a few shots as it went by.  I was using the M6 which is not my usual camera for action work but you go with what you have!

Mt Rainier Catches the Evening Light

Our hotel in Seattle had a roof deck which we sat out on prior to going out to dinner.  Looking south across the city, you can see Mt Rainier.  In the evening light, the mountain was glowing.  It looked great and was accentuated by some cloud formations across the summit.  Sadly, from this location, the bottom of the mountain is obscured by buildings but it was too good a site to let that stop me taking some photos.

End of Lufthansa’s MD-11F Ops

October brings the end of MD-11 operations for Lufthansa.  When the MD-11 rapidly fell out of favor with the passenger operations, it became a bit of a favorite for freight operations.  New build MD-11Fs were joined by conversions of displaced passenger jets.  Lufthansa had bought some new jets and added more to their fleet.  In recent years, the introduction of Boeing 777Fs had gradually displaced the MD-11s from operations.  Now the last one is being retired.  FedEx is still using a ton of them so no likelihood of the type going away soon.  I only saw them a few times in Lufthansa colors and won’t any more!

Baby Gorilla At Woodland Park

One of the things that we were hoping to see during our visit to the zoo was the baby gorilla that was recently born there.  Of course, when wanting to see something at the zoo, you are always up against the problem that the animals are not aware of or interested in what you want.  They are doing their thing.  The parents of the baby were sitting up in a corner of the enclosure, a long way from everything else.  You could just get a view of them from a certain angle.

Then, our luck improved.  The mother walked down the to bottom of the enclosure near the spectators.  The baby was clinging to her arm as she came down.  When she stopped, it would jump off and run around a bit before grabbing back onboard when she started to move off.  Back up to the top of the enclosure and they were gone.  A brief moment and we just happened to be able to see it.  What a cute little creature it is.

Evening at Paine Field As A Consolation

I saw a notification that an Avanti was heading to Paine Field and due to arrive later in the evening and not long before sunset.  This seemed like an ideal opportunity.  I waited to see it depart from Mather Field in Sacramento and then got stuff ready to head up after dinner.  I made good time getting up there and the light was looking great.  Everything was on a northerly flow which was not what I had hoped for but never mind.  However, a quick check on my phone showed no sign of the Avanti.

Eventually I discovered that it had diverted back to Mather.  I don’t know the reasoning but it was on the ground down there and not close to arriving near me.  I was rather annoyed I hadn’t checked this out just before leaving because it would already have been back on the ground by then.  However, I was there and the light was nice so why not make the best of things.  A variety of planes were making the most of the conditions including a nice Stinson, some bizjets and a Horizon jet so it wasn’t a totally wasted trip.

Vintage BMW Style

When I go to Exotics@RTC, I just enjoy the vehicles and occasionally know something about them.  Most of the time, I don’t know much about them at all.  Some of my friends are far more knowledgeable about cars than I am and they can recognize what is significant and what is not or even what is genuine and what is not.  I don’t have that knowledge.  Instead, I see something that appeals to me or doesn’t.

German day, earlier this summer, included a vintage BMW.  This car looked like the sort of thing that would have appeared in old movies.  The sweeping lines of the car, the suicide doors, the shape of the windows – all of these just looked really elegant to me.  This was a car that had a certain something and I was drawn to it.  The fact it got a central position in the display must suggest it was not an average vehicle but I don’t know why.  Maybe some of you will instantly recognize it and point out I was looking at something amazing or something decidedly average!

Gulfstream’s GIII Is A Nice Surprise

Vintage business jets are a nice thing to come across and, while the modern generation of Gulfstreams are a common sight around the US, the G-III is now something of a rare beast.  Seeing one at Boeing Field parked on the Modern ramp was a nice surprise so I was just hoping for it to depart while I was there.  Fortunately, I was in luck.  It eventually powered up and taxied for departure.  The hush kits on the old Spey engines are a bit of a giveaway but they aren’t that effective.  The noise on takeoff was definitely a sign of something from a previous generation.

Popping Wheelies – On Purpose and Inadvertently

Back to my time shooting bike racing at Shelton for this post.  Today I am focusing on wheelies.  Powerful bikes are able to pull wheelies without any trouble but, while racing, that is not something that people try to do.  However, while accelerating away from the start or from a slow corner, it is not unusual for the riders to get the front wheel off the ground.  It is usually pretty brief so you aim to get it quickly.

When the races are over, it is a different story.  As the riders run a final lap after the checkered flag, if they see you watching or holding a camera, it is not unusual for them to pull the front wheel up for an extended period.  It makes for a cool shot if you are ready.  These shots are a selection of wheelies O got during my (exceedingly hot) day out shooting the racing.