Tag Archives: aerial

Boomer Position in a 747

If you think of aerial refueling tankers, the Boeing 747 is not going to be the first plane that jumps to mind. However, a tanker version of the 747 was developed and is in service to this day in Iran. I haven’t seen one of those planes but, before they were built, Boeing undertook testing of the configuration on their testbed, the original 747 prototype. This is on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. When we were walking through the fuselage, we got to the read and found the boomer station. Apparently, it was not removed after installation. It looks remarkably similar to that from a KC-135 so I guess they ported the design across rather than come up with something significantly different.

Aerial Views of Seattle

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My brief trip to the UK was concluded by a flight back to Seattle from London. I ended up in a seat on the right side of the plane and, as we came across the city, I had a good view of the downtown. The seat was rather low compared to the window but LiveView came into its own and I could hold them camera above me pointing down and frame the shot using the rear screen. Technology is a wonderful thing. The Space Needle and the football and baseball stadiums both stand out from above.

Departing the Bay at Sundown

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This post may seem a bit symbolic but it is a bit of a cheat. I flew out of SFO heading up to Seattle to go to my new place. The flight left around sunset and, as we climbed out above the bay, I got some lovely views of the water, the city and the cloudscapes with the last light of the day. As the sunset on my time there, it was rather appropriate. (The reason it is a cheat is that I came back a few days later and left again by car. That wasn’t so dramatic so I shall stick with this version instead.)

Looking Down on DC

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I had to make a quick trip across the country to D.C. recently. It was only a brief visit so I didn’t travel with any camera other than my phone. I originally thought the flight back was very early in the morning but it turned out I was mistaken and we took off once the sun had come up. We departed to the north from National which takes you towards all of the most famous views of the National Mall.

The flight path involves a turn away from the good view so you are fighting the appearance of the engine and the wing when trying to get a shot (and that doesn’t take account of the battle you have with the high quality windows of your average airliner. It is the best view you get of the area though so well worth a go. Shooting in RAW also helps to fix some of the issues you can get with a phone when the shooting opportunity is fleeting.

Evening Over the North of the Bay

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These shots come from a little while back. When you are doing an air to air session, there is a fair bit of spare time. Unless you head out and back in formation, you have the transit time to yourself sitting in e back of the camera ship. You can stare out of the open door and see what is drifting by. We were heading back to Sonoma and so I got a great view towards the north end of the bay. The light was dropping down as evening came in so the hills and the marshes looked really pretty.

Early Morning Over the East Bay

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When flying to the east coast, the combination of flight time and time zone changes means that an early start is a good idea. My flight took off from Oakland just after the sun came up so the view across the east bay was one full of warm morning light and long shadows with the occasional scattered cloud or fog bank. It looked really cool. I was only shooting with my phone (although sometimes this is actually better since the small lens can fit between the distortion of the average airliner window) but you could still get a good idea of interesting variation in light that the hills get that early in the morning. The lakes scattered throughout the hills also would reflect dramatically at that time of day so it all looked rather appealing. There is something slightly ironic about seeing everything look so nice when you are leaving!

The Sierras Finally Have a Lot of Snow

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Since moving to California, we have been in a drought. There has not been a huge amount of rain and, more importantly, the snowfalls over the Sierras have been very limited. Sometimes I have flown over the mountains and they have been pretty bare. Since the snow pack is a primary source of water for the reservoirs, this is a big deal. This winter has been different. We have received a lot of rain along the coastal areas and the mountains have been getting a decent amount of snow. I flew across a while back and, as we looked down on the mountains, they were totally covered. Normally the snow is clear but the other features show up well too like the forests. This time, everything looked white. It was one uniform texture across everything. I imagine that, not only had a lot of snow fallen but it had fallen recently and hadn’t yet shaken off the trees. It looked amazing out of the window of the plane!

Sonoma County

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Sonoma County is very pretty from the ground but it looks even better from the air. The hills that roll across the county look great and, from above, you get to see way more than you can from the roads. Not only do the hills look great but you also get to see some rather interesting properties that are tucked away in the hills and out of sight. There are some very nice places up there.

The Highest Waterfalls and the Valleys of the Wet Side

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The Big Island has dramatically different characteristics as you move across it. As we took our trip on the helicopter to see the volcanic activity, we continued up the east side of the island which is considerably wetter than the west. There are dramatic valleys and high cliffs. The terrain looks impressive from the air but I imagine it looks even more amazing when you are on the ground. Our pilot described hiking around some of these valleys. Crossing one ridge is apparently a six hour hike and that is if you are not loaded down with too much gear!

We flew in to some of the valleys to have a look around. The ground towered above us on most sides and you really felt in awe of the geology around you. Everything is so large, images don’t even start to represent what we saw. We also came in to the highest falls on the island. The largest of these drop over 3,000’ down the sides of the mountains. We flew in to a corner where these falls were raining down. The shots are not special but I include them to try and give an impression of what was there. The scale is impossible to judge and I also had plenty of reflections from the cockpit glazing but here they are anyway.

We buzzed around a number of these valleys always surrounded by lush, steep slopes. This is not an area for the faint of heart. We then headed back towards the west up another valley climbing towards the ridge ahead of us. As we popped over this ridge the green foliage was almost instantly replaced by the dry, brown landscape we had originally come from. The transition was instant and rather surprising as, while climbing up, you had no idea what was ahead. Then it was a straight run back to our base.

To See This You Can Hike a Long Way or…

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Big Island is not short of waterfalls. The most well-known ones attract tourists like us who will drive to see them. However, so much of the island is not close to the roads and there are rivers and falls all through this area. Our pilot was a keen hiker and he showed us his favorite falls. Apparently this trip will be a full day hike to get you in and out again. I assume this includes some time to hang out and enjoy the falls once you get there.

If you are slightly less energetic, flying over the falls in a helicopter is a lot quicker to do and certainly doesn’t tire you out as much. The location certainly looked cool though and, from above, you get less of an immersive feeling. Judging by the river we saw on our way to the falls, there are plenty of cool sights to see on the way as well. You do need to be well prepared though. Forget cell phone coverage. You are on your own out there!