The Constellation in the Inner Harbor

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The USS Constellation is the last sail powered warship built for the US Navy.  She is now preserved in the harbor in Baltimore.  I saw her a few times from a distance while I was in Baltimore but I didn’t get a chance to take a shot until I was walking back from a reception.  By that time it was dark and, since I only had my phone with me, that had to suffice.  The phone on the camera has a wide angle lens so, even though we were quite close, the ship is a little small in the original shot.  However, she still looks pretty impressive.  I imagine she would have looked even better when under sail!

Consequences of a Doolittle Style Takeoff

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Grumpy got airborne using the Doolittle technique I posted about here.  During the takeoff, there were some puffs of smoke from one of the engines.  Initially I thought this might just be some oil blowing through but, as they climbed out, the output from the engine was clearly not as it should be and the one engine was clearly not healthy.  They cut short the flight (although not as short as it could have been) and brought the plane back down.  I saw Grumpy fly a few weeks later so I guess they dealt with whatever the issue was.

Eagle Harbor

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As we drove across Bainbridge Island, we took a road that passed by a very attractive inlet.  This was Eagle Harbor.  At the time, I only appreciated it at the last moment and we were already passed.  However, we did come back along the same road so, this time I slowed down and found a place to pull in and look around.  It was a tranquil spot to hang out for a few minutes.  However, we were heading to other places so I didn’t stay to appreciate it for long.

Doolittle Style Takeoff

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Paine Field held an open day which included some flying from the local aircraft.  The Heritage Flight Museum had a number of the aircraft taking part including their B-25, Grumpy.  On one of the takeoffs, they used a technique that was reminiscent of the Doolittle Raid.  They applied power and full back controls to lift the nosewheel from the ground and roll down the runway in a wheelie.  It was quite an interesting thing to see.

Flying Fish – You Knew It Had to Happen

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How long was it going to be before a post about being in Seattle included fish flying through the air at Pike Place Market?  You knew it had to come at some point so here we go.  The weekend we were there, the place was pretty packed.  Tons of people were there so getting into a good spot was not particularly easy.  Moreover, you don’t know when they are going to start throwing something.  It depends on when someone orders something.

It is actually pretty dark inside the market so getting a good shot is trickier than I expected.  The fish fly fast so you want a higher shutter speed.  The ISO gets ramped up and you have to try and track the flight while in amongst the crowd with limited ability to move.  Hardly the best situation but, if you want a shot, it is what you need to do.  Of course, the bigger problem is that, just when you give up and wander away, they start calling out another order and you have to try and get back into a good spot quickly.  That is the toughest challenge!

Patrouille de France Show Up Late

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I am catching up on some things that happened quite a while ago.  The visit of the Patrouille de France to Mather for a display as part of their US Tour was a combination of fun and frustration.  I was covering the visit for GAR and had arranged to be there for the arrival, the practice and the show itself.  They were supposed to show up relatively early but they had some serviceability issues and, when they finally showed up, the sun was setting.

There was still some light when the first jets flew into the pattern.  As they taxied in, the light on them was rather nice.  By the time the last jets (of the day) showed up, it was dark.  The crews were very cheerful despite their difficult day and they spent a lot of time with some local kids for a French school.  They didn’t all make it though.  Two jets had diverted with problems and they would show up until late the following day.  The A400M didn’t arrive until after I had left and it headed straight out the following morning to go and fix the two stragglers.  The second day practice and flyby over the Golden Gate were scrubbed as a result with the flyby being achieved after the display rather than before.

It was a few days with a mix of good flying and disappointment but such is the way with aviation.

Farewell Vlado…

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There has been a string of losses in recent years of aviation individuals.  When you see that there is an accident and someone has died, you wonder whether it is someone you have known.  I wasn’t expecting it to be Vlado Lenoch.  Vlado always seemed to be on top of whatever he was flying.  A lot of my friends knew him a lot better than me but my time with him was always fun.  He always put on a great performance when he was displaying but, when he wasn’t flying, he was a fun guy to be with.

I remember chatting with him up at East Troy where he was undertaking the first flights post restoration of Baby Duck, the P-51 in which he was flying when he crashed.  The accident sadly claimed the life of his passenger too.  We were sitting in the hangar and he was handing around fries that he had bought from a local McDonalds.  He didn’t know me at that time but he was as friendly as someone I had known for ages.

On that day I was photographing the first two flights and he brought the P-51 down on a low pass giving me some great head on shots.  Afterwards I thanked him for missing me to which he raised his eyebrows and asked “Where you out there?”.  He always flew the plane with élan.  His takeoffs were always impressive and he was always offering a spare seat to someone he could share the fun of flying with.  Plenty who were closer to him will miss him more than me but I am very sad at his loss and that of his passenger.  Others will express thoughts about him more eloquently.  For me, it is just goodbye…

The Rarity That is an Aerostar

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I keep spoiling Pete with some of his favorites.  I hope he appreciates this one.  You don’t see a lot of Piper Aerostars about.  It is a quite unusual aircraft, apparently designed originally for possible conversion to a jet in future versions.  However, the piston version is the only one that was produced.  The empennage is quite unlike most similar aircraft.  The one I saw was looking like it was very well taken care of.  The paint was certainly in great condition.  It landed at Paine Field and taxied off to park.  I understand it is something of a regular so I will hopefully see it again.

Tigers Being Tigers

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There are four tigers at Cougar Mountain Zoo.  They are in two pairs and they move them between enclosures to give them some variety in their surroundings.  They were pretty active compared to tigers I have seen in other places.  They spent a lot of time checking out where they were.  Of course, being cats, they also enjoyed lying around for some of the time.  The staff also did a demonstration with them when they showed how they carry out physical examinations for the cats when necessary.

The tigers would come up to the fence and would stand up on their hind legs with their paws up on the fencing.  This allows the staff to CA them out from the safety of being behind the fence.  It is a good opportunity to realize just how big a tiger really is.  Those paws are something and, if you were in there with them, you can see how easily they would dispatch you!

Lots of Cessna’s Small Jets

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I like bizjets but, if I am honest, my preference is for the bigger jets.  The small jets are probably a more useful business tool but the big ones just look cooler.  I recently have come across a steady stream of the smaller products though.  The majority of these have been from the Cessna stable with CJs of various sizes popping up in front of me.  Normally I don’t give them too much attention but today I am going to share a selection of the little fellas.