Surfing the Bigger Waves

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With the big waves coming in at Santa Cruz, the surfers were working in a way we had not seen before. They were split into two groups, both of which were further away from us than normal. I assume that being closer in to the rocks with such waves was not good for your health! One group was further in to the bay and I assume that they were the less skilled/adventurous surfers. They seemed to be doing okay with the waves that were coming their way.

Another group was a lot further out. They seemed intent on picking up the biggest waves as they came in. Getting on to these big waves was not a straightforward exercise. Plenty of the surfers started paddling as the waves came in but they weren’t all able to get up to speed. The big waves with their long wavelength must require a different technique. Once up, some of the surfers were getting a long run as the waves didn’t always break right away. Other times the wave would break and they would head either towards us or away from us. When they went away, we often couldn’t see much of what was happening to them unless a board flipped up in the air. When they came our way, we had a far better view.

Scott’s Clipper

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The trip to photograph Eric’s Clipper that I described here included a bonus (as if the flight wasn’t bonus enough). Eric had talked to another Clipper owner, Scott, and he had brought his plane across to Sonoma. Scott is not a formation pilot but Eric landed after the shoot with his plane and jumped in to Scott’s plane with Scott in the second seat. We orbited overhead until they joined up and then we got a bunch of additional shots.

Since it was a bit later in the day, the light had got a bit better. The colors of Scott’s plane were particularly receptive to the evening light and, while it was a totally stock aircraft and therefore not possible to get too vertical with (see the roof mods in Eric’s plane in the other post), we could still get some great shots. Thanks Dave and Eric (and Scott for bringing your plane).

Lookout Post Skeleton

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At the bottom of the Devil’s Slide trail, there are the remains of a building. This appears to have been a lookout location. There were a number of military installations here at one point. Just south of the tunnel entrance and up on the headland is the concrete core of what was once one of the buildings. The ground has eroded away at the base of the structure and the walls have gone in some places but the concrete core is still there. It has been covered by graffiti artists over the years and is still popular with the more adventurous types. A couple was climbing into it while we were there. It looks pretty cool on a sunny day. On a cold and foggy day, I suspect it will be a bit more depressing.

Oh, a Lockheed 12!

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My visit to Port Townsend Aero Museum (which is covered in this post) was followed up by a quick walk around the ramp near the museum. There were plenty of cool types around but I was instantly drawn to a Lockheed 12 that was parked up. From a distance you could confuse this with a Beech 12 if you weren’t paying attention but, as soon as you look closer, the longer lines of the Lockheed show themselves.

Apparently this airframe is for sale. I am not familiar with the pricing of old aircraft but I believe that the Lockheed goes for an awful lot more than the similar Beech. I guess there are a lot more Beeches around. This one was tail on to the sun which was a touch inconvenient but, since they were willing to let me shoot to my heart’s content, I was hardly going to complain. A little HDR helps too.

Goat Families Stripping the Vegetation

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The Big Island has a large population of wild goats. All of the larger animals on the island were introduced by the visiting peoples at some point and the goats obviously got well established. You can come across them at all sorts of places as you travel the island. I saw them a number of times but the one time I got to get shots of them was while waiting for my helicopter trip across the island. They hang around the landing pads that Sunshine Helicopters use a lot and, according to our pilot, they are not always too enthusiastic about vacating the pads when the helicopters arrive!

While we were waiting, they were certainly not shy. There were both adult goats and some kids in the group that showed up. The kids were clearly more timid and they would not go anywhere until the adults had been there a while to show that it was safe to do so. They would stay back in the bushes for a while before coming out into the open. As soon as there was any disturbance, they would jump back to somewhere that felt safer.

It was quite interesting to see how the group behaved when they first showed up. The whole group hung back in the bushes for a while. Gradually, as they realized that the people that were hanging around were not a threat, they became more comfortable in getting out in the open. Anything that disturbed the environment would get them back out of the way but they would soon become comfortable again and come back out. Indeed, we were soon so used to them that we were a bit bored with their intrusion too and we both went about our way with little concern for the other.

At Last a Lineage

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Embraer is a company that has made a phenomenal transformation in the last decade or so. From being a small, state owned company that met local needs, it became a power in the regional aircraft sector. Once they had become established there, they took a step into the corporate aircraft sector. They started out by making corporate versions of their regional jets but now they are designing specific jets with the Phenom and Legacy types being hugely successful.

One of the regional jet conversions was the Lineage. Based on the E195 jet, the Lineage provides a large fuselage but doesn’t provide the extreme range of other large cabin jets. However, many customers do not go that far and don’t need the extreme range. (This doesn’t stop a lot of Gulfstream and Global customers of course!). It has been reasonably successful but not a big seller and I had not seen one until recently. I was at Las Vegas when this example took off. Good to finally see one.

Trumpeting Over the Sound of the Surf

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Do you ever see an advertising image of someone doing something artistic outdoors and you think to yourself, “No-one ever does anything like that. It’s so contrived.” How about a guy standing on a rocky outcrop above the pounding surf playing the trumpet? That is exactly what we came across on the shore in Santa Cruz. This guy was just standing out there playing his trumpet. What a strange thing to see. It did sound pretty good though. He was a pretty decent player!

Weapons School F-35s

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The local Nellis traffic gets a bit restricted by the exercise traffic when Red Flag is underway. Get a mission in during the morning or wait for the gap between the afternoon and the evening evolutions to get airborne. For those of us outside, they provide some additional aircraft to shoot. They may also give some variety in types (although given how few types there are these days, not a lot). Before the F-35 becomes ubiquitous in service and replaces the multiple F-16 units that currently participate, it is something a bit different.

The Weapons School has a bunch of F-35A jets now. The first ones to arrive at Nellis were OT jets for operational test and evaluation. Now the Weapons School is using them to develop tactics and employment. The lines of the jets are a bit different from the Marine Corp F-35Bs that I shot at a previous exercise. Without the lift fan, the back of the airframe is smoother while the canopy is blended into the spine in a different way that enhances visibility and fits with the different profile. The jets were pretty active while I was there so I managed to get a few shots. I had seen them during previous visits but, when on base we had been barred from shooting them and, while off base, I had always managed to be in the wrong place to get them. While I am currently pleased to have got some shots, I will soon be used to seeing them around all over the place.

Roche Harbor

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Roche Harbor used to be a lime production site. A couple of the old lime kilns are still in place although no longer operational. However, now the focus has been on transforming it in to a tourist and residential destination. There is a hotel, shops and restaurants. Plots of land are being developed into residences and there is a large marina. The place is picturesque enough but it is a bit isolated from the rest of the island. It had a bit of a feel of the sort of town in which everything is controlled by one company and the rules must be followed. Maybe I am being unfair but that is how it seemed to me. We walked around a bit to see what was on offer but we were soon on our way again.

Late Gear Down for FedEx

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Oakland is a big hub for FedEx and they have a lot of aircraft movements through the airport on a normal day. While its use in passenger service is pretty much done, the MD-11 is still a regular on the freight circuit and FedEx is by far the largest operator. When walking along the shore in Hayward, I saw a couple of MD-11s come in. Normally, the jets are configured for landing by the time they come over you in Hayward. However, one MD-11 seemed to be coming in with a little more urgency. As it approached me, it had flaps deployed but no gear. Then, as it came over, the gear started to travel. There is a reasonable distance to go to the airport so I am not suggesting that the approach was not stabilized at the right time but it was a little late.