Tag Archives: aerial

Coast Guard Air-to-Air (ish)

My flight over LAX was intended to get lots of shots of airliners. We did also get a little benefit. For the time being, the Coast Guard have a base at LAX. They will be moving soon but, until that point, operations continue as normal. One of their MH-65 Dolphins returned to base while we were airborne. ATC vectored them behind us and around to land on their pad. We managed to yaw around to provide an angle on them as they came in.

Shooting the Dolphin was a bit harder than some of the other aircraft. I was using a 100-400 lens which was fine for the jets when I could keep the shutter speed up high to compensate for any motion or vibration. However, dropping the shutter speed for the rotors, even if I didn’t take it too low, meant a very high failure rate on the shots. Even then, we were still a reasonable distance away which didn’t help. A few of the shots are passable. However, they won’t handle too much scrutiny. I’m glad we got them though since they will be gone if I go back for another shoot.

New Apple Campus

Leave a Reply

The bottom of the peninsula runs in to the San Jose area and it is full of the tech businesses that are dominating the news these days. The departure from Oakland if you are heading south takes you out to the coast and then back over this part of the world. If you are sitting on the left side of the plane, you get a good view of the area. One of the most high profile companies is Apple and they are in the process of building a huge new campus. This is like a giant spaceship shaped as a circle that has landed in Sunnyvale. Given how big it is, it isn’t hard to spot from the air. We might have been high but it was still conspicuous. Here is the view I got.

Any Expensive Jets Here?

Leave a Reply

Airliners were not the only thing we got to see above LAX. On the south side of the field are some FBOs and they had an interesting selection of planes parked up on their ramps. As we passed overhead, it was a good time to see what was around. There were plenty of Gulfstreams on show. The view from above shows just how large the wing is on the largest of Savannah’s products. We also had some BBJs, a 757 that appeared to belong to a casino and some Cessnas, Challengers, Falcons and Hawkers. I am not sure I would be able to choose which one to use today. Maybe I will rotate them?

Nice to Still See an A310

Leave a Reply

The freight ramps on the south side of LAX are a good place for some older jets. FedEx has a substantial fleet of aircraft and they are currently in the process of replacing many of the older jets with new (or newer) types with reduced operating costs. The fleet of Airbus A300 and A310 aircraft are gradually reducing. There was a nice looking A310-200 parked up on the ramp as we flew over. I haven’t seen too many of them recently so this was a nice surprise. A great view to get of it too.

Compression of Perspective

Leave a Reply

Shooting with a long focal length lens has the effect of compressing the image to make elements appear a lot closer together than they really are. When shooting from the helicopter over LAX I was using a 100-400mm lens. The aircraft themselves were quite low to the ground, particularly those on short final to land. They weren’t a long way off the ground but the lens in use had the effect of making things look a lot closer than they really were. Some of the shots I got of the aircraft over parking lots or near the In’n’Out really make it look as if the jets were barely airborne. I like the extra drama this adds to the shots.

Korean A380

Leave a Reply

The Airbus A380 may be a lot more common now than it was a few years ago but they are still comparatively rare. LAX is a place that gets a lot of them so the chance of catching one airborne was high, particularly given the time we were flying. Korean Air were the operator that obliged. We picked up the aircraft as it was on its downwind leg. Knowing it was out there made it easier to keep track of it – particularly knowing which runway it was coming in on.

We spotted it when it was still well out on the approach. As it came across the buildings surrounding the airport were were able to choose how we wanted to have it line up with the background. Finally it was coming across the parking lots, passing the In’n’Out Burger and then coming over the threshold. A little float and then the tires smoked on touchdown. The angles and light were pretty much ideal and Paul, our pilot, had us ideally placed. We could also keep an eye on it as it taxied in including getting on the gate.

Hovertravel Have a Busy Day

Leave a Reply

Another Isle of Wight development is the hovercraft. Much early development of the concept was done on the Island and many were produced in East Cowes. Hovertravel still provide a frequent service between Ryde on the Island and Southsea on the mainland. I got a couple of opportunities to shoot these hovercraft while visiting. On the day Pete and I went flying, we arrived over Ryde just as one of the hovercraft was coming in. Another was parked on the slipway at the time.

When we left the island, I headed up on the upper deck of the ferry to see what was going on and had two over the hovercraft come by in opposite directions. It was rather windy up on deck but I was able to get some usable shots of the two of them individually and as they crossed. Apparently, Hovertravel are in the process of acquiring new craft to replace the current AP1-88s that are in service. Given that they were built in the late 1980s, they have provided good service. It will be interesting to see what replaces them. I wonder whether the new vehicles will arrive before I next get back.

Downtown Oakland

Leave a Reply

Depending on which way you depart out of Oakland, what time of day it is and what side of the plane I am on, I get a variety of things that I can get a shot of. On this day I got to see downtown Oakland and the light on the city was pretty nice. The view across to Lake Merritt and the heart of downtown (including the building I work in) was pretty good. Here is a quick sample of what I saw that day including the run across the bay towards Treasure Island.

Phoenix International Raceway

Leave a Reply

I make one trip on a regular basis. I have a number of options as to where I shall change planes en route but I have been through Phoenix a few times. One time I was looking out to the right side of the plane as we were on the final stages of the approach and I got a good view of the Phoenix International Raceway. I didn’t have a good camera for the shot at the time but I had to make the same trip a short while later. I took the camera this time and made sure I was able to get the shot. I like the way the circuit is tucked under the hills. It is quite a way from the city but I guess it is easily reached by racing fans.

NAS Alameda

2 Replies

NAS Alameda was once a busy naval air station. Of course, as is the way with these things, they get closed down long before I end up living in an area. How cool it would have been to be near a station when it was operating such a variety of types as were there at its peak. Now it is more famous for being the location that Mythbusters have used for a number of their driving related exploits. Big runways with little use provide a great playground.

The climb out of Oakland International takes you directly towards Alameda and you get a far better view of the runways than is otherwise possible. The hangars are now getting used for other tasks and the area is not deserted but it is nice to image ramps full of jets and maritime patrol aircraft. Oh well.