Rather Disappointing F-35B Appearance

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The F-35 has been around for quite a while by now so I have shot them on plenty of occasions (although an F-35C is still on the wish list).  My UK trip was one where I was hoping to get an RAF F-35B.  It was scheduled to make an appearance at RIAT but the information did not make it sound like a display.  On the first day of the show, the weather was shocking.  Low cloud and rain got in the way of a lot of things displaying.  Late in the day the F-35B was due in.  Our initial forecast for arrival was extended as the cloud base meant an instrument approach was needed.  It finally appeared and flew through the display line once.  Then it powered away and a while later we were informed it had gone home.I was shooting video of that which is at the bottom of this page.

The next day had better weather so I was hoping for a little more.  It did show up and we did get more than one pass.  However, even then, it was a rather lackluster performance.  I guess they have not worked up any form of display – not even a hovering portion – so we got some passes and a couple of configurations and that was it.  I don’t think I was alone in feeling a little underwhelmed by what they put on.  I guess in coming years, a more worked up display will be seen but I will have to wait a while for that.

Island Flyer

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Regular readers know I like the hovercraft.  I didn’t make a specific visit to Ryde on our last trip to see them but I did get to see them on our two ferry crossings and we also stopped at Southsea where I got to see a couple of arrivals and departures.  The new hovercraft have not had a trouble free introduction but I suspect they have had a few fixes embodied.  The memory of introduction problems will probably last far longer than the actual problems but I don’t know for sure whether they are doing fine now or not.  All I know is that the service was running while we were there.

I was rather pleased that one of the crossings ended up getting very close to the ferry as we headed in to Portsmouth.  It provided a far more interesting angle on the hovercraft than I would normally get.  Combine that with some shots from the beach at Southsea and I was happy with having got some shots of the new craft which I hadn’t really seen before.  During the departure, I was conscious of the potential for spray sideways as they lifted off.  What I hadn’t considered properly – pretty annoying given how I know to deal with jetwash when on a ramp – is that the departing craft got quite far offshore before you got blasted with their propwash.  That was mixed with seawater – an ideal combination for electronic equipment!  No permanent damage though.

Comet Cockpit and Cabin

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The Comet may have been the first British jet airliner and the first in commercial service but it is not too well served by Museums.  I guess the stragglers got chopped up when they had served their purpose.  Everett is home to a Comet 4 though with the Museum of Flight’s restoration facility being home to one.  Progress on it has been slow but steady.  I have seen it a few times over the years.  You used to be able to walk outside and see the bits stuck outdoors but now there is commercial service at Paine Field, the ramp is a bit more secure.

On my most recent visit, I wandered through the cabin and had a look in the cockpit.  The cockpit did result in some HDR shots and I wrote a post about that here that discussed the different results Adobe software provides for HDR.  These shots just give you an idea of what the early days of jet aviation brought to the flying public.

Salmon Waiting to Head to Spawning Grounds

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The salmon head to spawn in phases with the three different breeds coming at slightly different times.  They head through the ladder at the locks in Ballard in the fall but, before they head into Lake Washington, they pause in the approach area.  The transition from salt water to fresh is something that they have to adjust to and the area just by the locks where the fresh water is spilling out provides a good place for them to get adjusted.  They can stay for a couple of weeks or more.  The result was that we saw a lot of salmon swimming around in the waters by the dam.  This was not a risk free occupation as shall be covered in a future post.

BOAC and the Red Arrows

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RIAT is known for special formations and British Airways has been part of them in the past.  Concorde with the Red Arrows and an A380 with the Red Arrows spring to mind.  For 2019 and BA’s 100th anniversary, they wanted to do something special.  The focal point was to be the BOAC liveried 747-400.  I shot this jet at SeaTac and covered it in this post.  To see it in formation with the Red Arrows sounded pretty good.  They put together two passes.

The first was from the right and involved a gentle turn in the direction of the crowd to give a slightly topside view of things.  This was nice but the distance involved did mean there was a bit of heat haze to combat.  The second pass in the other direction was a more straight pass along the display axis.  The sun was popping in and out during this time so the colors popped sometimes and not others.  It made for some tricky shooting but it still looked pretty good and it was nice to just watch when not shooting.

Destination Moon Exhibit

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The Museum of Flight has been holding a special exhibit this summer for the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing.  The museum has a number of interesting Apollo exhibits as it is but these were combined with some extra items specific to Apollo 11 and its crew.  The centerpiece of this was the command module, Columbia.  We actually waited until near the end of the exhibit before we visited but it was well worth the trip.  Columbia was in the center of the final room of the tour and you could walk all around it.

The hatch was separate from Columbia and set up so that you could look through the window of the hatch at the command module itself.  This was a nice idea but, since the exhibit was so popular, getting a moment when there wasn’t someone in the shot was unrealistic.  Other items on display included gloves worn on the surface by Buzz Aldrin (which had various checklists embroidered on patches attached to the gloves), a NASA jumpsuit worn by Neil but used for chores on his farm in later years and his Congressional Space Medal of Honor.

The display also included the recovered engines normally on display but with the addition of a part from one of the Apollo 11 F1 engines recovered by Jeff Bezos’s team.  The local Boeing connection to the project was well represented and a lunar rover was on display to highlight this too.  Even at the end of the exhibits time, there was a long line of people waiting to get in.  We had an early slot which turned out to be a good thing.  By the time we got out, the line had grown substantially.

A220 Airborne

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My first Delta A220 (or C Series if you are old school) showed up in this post from when I was at DFW.  It was only on the ramp so no flying action on that occasion.  SeaTac is one of the regular destinations now and one was departing when I had just landed and was waiting to meet my sister off her flight from the UK.  Shooting through the windows at an airport is a bit hit or miss.  The quality of the glass is one concern since it is thick stuff.  You also have mixed cleanliness and reflections from the interior.  Then you have to deal with the heat coming off whatever is on the ramp with the potential for lots of APU and engine exhausts.  However, I did get some clear shots of it as it got airborne.  I think the shape is quite distinctive and I am really coming to like the type.

Southsea Naval Memorial

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The journey to Portsmouth on the ferry is one I have made more times than I can recall and one of the landmarks that is embedded in my mind is the Naval Memorial on the front at Southsea.  This obelisk is a clear sign of either arriving or leaving but it is something that I have never actually looked at in any detail.  After we departed the Island on our last trip, we stopped off on the seafront at Southsea and walked along to the monument to check it out.

The obelisk is all I had in mind previously, but the memorial is so much more.  The original monument was created after the First World War for all the seaman that lost their lives.  There are many panels around the column with names and ranks of seamen.  Just looking at the different roles of sailors in that era of ships is interesting and to think of them all lost is sobering.

The memorial was expanded after the Second World War.  The walls surrounding the tower and the columned end sections were added along with sculptures of sailors.  The detail of them is impressive considering how long they have been exposed to the sea air and the Woolly sweaters, boots, beards and hats have a very authentic feel to them.  I find it hard to believe I have passed by this memorial all my life and only now did I stop to look and appreciate it.

A Pair of Otters Return to Kenmore

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Getting an Otter at Kenmore is not a challenge.  The Kenmore Air fleet returns to their home base each evening so a steady stream of them can be relied on.  What I hadn’t seen before was two showing up almost simultaneously.  I was watching the first on final approach when I saw a second appear in the background.  It provided a slightly more dynamic view of a regular occurrence.

SC Maglev Museum

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Nagoya is home to a museum of Japanese rolling stock.  The museum name focuses on Maglev technology and there is a Maglev prototype in the museum.  However, the exhibits are really a cross section of the Japanese rail industry over the years.  I will probably post some more from the museum as there were quite a few interesting exhibits.  Most of it was inside – most welcome on such a hot day – but the N700 prototype was outside.  I did have a look at that briefly along with an old steam locomotive but I was soon driven back inside by the temperatures.

When I first got there, you are directed into a hall with three significant exhibits.  It was so dark, I was wondering whether there would be any decent photo opportunities.  However, this was just the initial introduction and there were periodic videos and light shows to allow you to see these exhibits more clearly.  A little patience was required.  The main hall had the majority of the exhibits and they were lit normally.  There were plenty of people in the museum taking pictures with small children that didn’t seem to be enjoying it as much as the parents would have liked!  Maybe they wanted to be at Legoland across the street?