Smoking the Ukrainian Way

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The regular AN124 visitors to Everett continue.  This time of year can often bring northerly winds which means a departure up past the Future of Flight building.  Having a heavy Ruslan depart that way can mean a nice angle to get on rotation as well as the climb out which, while a bit backlit, makes for a good change.  I was happy with the takeoff but, as the jet climbed away to the north, the smoky combustion of the old D-18 engines was clear to see.  The further that they climbed out, the less the plane was obvious and the more the smoke trail was.  A bit of mixing from the trailing vortices helped as well.  A lot of the people around me were commenting on how dirty it was.

Snow Geese

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We took a day trip up to Fir Island. It is about an hour north of us and a popular place for bird watchers. While we are not particularly knowledgeable about such things, we did know that Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans were supposed to appear in some numbers so we decided to see what we could come across while we were up there. It was a lovely day to be out with a clear blue sky and the warmth that an autumnal sun can still bring. We happened to bump in to a couple of friends of mine and they knew the area well so were able to give us some advice on where to go.

It didn’t take too long to find some Snow Geese. These are apparently a big draw in the area for bird watchers and later in the season the place can be heaving with them. We didn’t see a lot of people so it must have been early. There has been a program to encourage land owners to grow crops that support the birds when they migrate through and it seems to have worked. We saw a bunch of geese across the fields and then, as we drove north, a bunch more were in the fields along the road. More of them seemed to be flying in all the time. Obviously whatever they like to eat is there to be had!

Canadian Otter Special

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Harbour Air is the big player in the Victoria floatplane business.  Most of their airframes were in standard colors but one of them was painted up in a nice Canadian Flag color scheme.  I first saw it moored up against the jetty but later, when walking down near the water, it taxied out for departure.  The takeoff run is a bit far out but I got some shots of it as it went on its way.

Parliament From the Outside By Day and Night

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Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and so is home of the provincial legislative assembly. The building has all of the style and grandeur of a building of its era and it looks pretty impressive. Getting shots of it during the day was a bit problematic. The conditions were pretty overcast most of the time we were there and a grey stone building on a cloudy day lacks pop. Add to that a problem created by some building work meaning brightly colored fencing and equipment was in position for some of the better angles and things were a challenge.

Once the sun went down, though, things took a different turn. The building has an extensive collection of lights arrayed across it and, as the ambient light dims, the artificial light is ramped up. The lights come on before it is fully dark and they look pretty neat with the remains of the daylight still in play. Once it is fully dark then the view becomes a bit simpler with no depth to the structure to see but with that many lights, it is now just a drama of light. The views from many angles are slightly obscured but I did like the view across the harbor from one of the bridges quite a lot.

Yakutia Before the Ban

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Yakutia is a Russian airline that has had a few problems recently and has been banned by the Russian authorities from some services until it can sort out its problems.  Consequently, I am more pleased than I might otherwise be that I caught this Sukhoi Superjet at Narita in their colors as I might not get the chance again.  We shall see if they get straightened out or whether some larger airline takes over their operations.

Viking’s Ramp

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As Bombardier has decided to remove itself from a number of its legacy aviation programs, Viking Aerospace has been willing to step in.  It acquired the rights for a number of legacy de Havilland Canada products first and put the DHC-6 Twin Otter back into production.  Since then it has acquired the CL215/415 amphibious waterbomber program and very recently the Dash-8/Q400 program.  It has its headquarters at Victoria International so, after getting off the ferry and having a spot of lunch, we swung by to have a look.  They have a very nice, modern headquarters building which stands out amongst the other airport buildings.

I took a look on the ramp.   Their demonstrator Twin Otter was parked up along with a couple of clean airframes that looked like they were destined for new customers.  A CL-215 was parked a bit further out.  I discovered shortly afterwards that this one is about to undergo an upgrade program.  There were plenty of people going in and out of the offices but the ramp was sadly quiet.  No movements while I was there although we had places to be so I didn’t hang around for long.

Pelican Formations

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When we lived in the Bay Area, I got used to the pelicans being around. Only when you move away do they suddenly become interesting again. I used to enjoy the formations of pelicans touring the bay and to see a bunch of them heading towards us at Fisherman’s Park was fun. They approached us head on before curving around the shoreline and away. Their low level flying is so effortless, I become jealous of their ability to float around the bay with freedom.

Helijet S-76s

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Despite its age, the Sikorsky S-76 is still a sleek and modern looking helicopter. It has undergone progressive updates throughout its life (the most recent of which took an inordinately long time to achieve certification) but the basic shape is pretty much unchanged. When I worked in London, I sued to regularly see the Royal Flight S-76s dropping in to the back garden at Buck House. I remember chatting with the pilot of one in the 80s as he sat on the sports fields of my high school in between shuttling people to the mainland from Cowes Week.

They have been a regular feature in British Columbia for years with Helijet running a service between Vancouver Harbour and Victoria. I understand that recent years have seen competition resulting in a bit of a reduced service but they are still operating a pretty busy schedule. I have seen them from a distance before but, as we walked out along the harbor, we made a detour to the heliport in Victoria so I could catch an arrival. One helicopter was parked on a pad. A groundcrew member came out to remove all of the covers but it didn’t show any further sign of moving while we were there. The scheduled arrival came in on time so I got some shots of it landing. The schedule is spaced out so no rapid turnaround. It was going to be on the ground for an hour so we continued on our way.

Winthrop

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Drop over the North Cascades Highway and you come into Winthrop.  This is the first significant town you come to after going through the passes and it is definitely picturesque.  I had no idea what the town was so coming in to the center and seeing all of these western style buildings was quite a surprise.  Time to park and go for a walk.

The old style of the town jars with the cars parked everywhere.  However, while the cars would be better if they weren’t there, the town still has an old school feel to it.  I wonder what their planning consent rules are in order to stop the place being transformed.  Even the gas station fit in.  It was old and the pumps were pretty old too – not as old as the town of course but still dated.

We wandered around the town and checked out the different shops, restaurants and bars.  There was a brewpub that was really tempting to me but, since we were aiming to be back home by the end of the day, that was not going to be a good idea!