Tag Archives: aircraft

When a Storm is Your Friend

Usually when you head out to shoot planes you are hoping for some nice weather. Being out on a sunny day with planes to shoot is not a bad plan. If it is looking like crummy weather, you will have a good reason for thinking things will not go so well. However, there are times when it can work out. (I should point out that crap weather is more likely to be a bust than a success but it can work out sometimes.)

The perfect combination is the storm that passes through quickly but is isolated. As it moves through the weather may be harsh but, once it has passed by, you have the hope that the sun will come out again while there are still evil black clouds in the background. So was the case at O’Hare not long ago. The storm was really strong and the downpour was biblical in proportions. As it migrated north, the sun popped out and we got a combination of light and background that you can’t turn down. Some of the earliest arrivals got the best combination. The clouds soon moved off enough that the effect was reduced and then was gone. However, for a short span, we could get some great shots.

Is There a Plane in There?

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Sometimes you find yourself right in the middle of a storm of epic proportions. I was at O’Hare getting a few shots of the aircraft operating on the southerly runways. I later found out this spot is one that the local businesses do not like you using so I won’t be heading back here again. At the time, I had no idea that was the case and no one come out while I was there although the storm might have been a factor!

A 747 freighter was lining up to depart and I was ready to get some shots just as the rain arrived. It absolutely hammered down. I got very wet very quickly and, since I was now already wet, I figured I would try and get a shot anyway. This is the result. Somewhere in that murk was a 747 – I think!

XL A330

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I may sometimes see an airline I have not seen before but occasionally I will see one I have never even heard of before. XL is a French airline that is running in to SFO with A330s. I saw it was coming online but was not aware of them before that point. The heat haze was a bit of a problem but I got a shot of something new for me and that made it cool. Hopefully I will get some shots that I am a bit happier with in due course but this is good for a starter.

Lufthansa A340

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My quest for a Virgin Atlantic A340 had an unintended side benefit. It turns out that Lufthansa also run an A340-600 in to SFO around the same time of day as Virgin Atlantic. While the Virgin jet was on final, the Lufthansa jet was coming over the top before turning in for approach. Why not hang around for a few more minutes and get another 340? Lufthansa are not getting rid of them so quickly but they won’t be around forever so I might as well make the most of the opportunity.

Raptors at Play

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Is the Raptor a good looking jet or not? I still have yet to make up my mind on that one. From some angles it looks pretty cool and from others it looks awkward. Never look at it on the ground because the undercarriage is really not designed to make it look elegant! Either way, it is a striking jet. I have seen them a bunch of times at different venues and, while picking out some shots for a project, I also saw a bunch of F-22s and figured I might have a selection of some of them, hopefully looking at their best.

Farewell to the 58

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CHI Aviation recently said goodbye to one of their fleets. They posted online a couple of videos of three Sikorsky S-58Ts carrying out a flyby of their Howell MI headquarters before departing. Their fleet covers many types and a lot of airframes and I guess the 58s no longer fulfill a role for them. Consequently, they have gone.

I visited Howell a few years back as part of another project I was working on. While I was there, I got a few pictures of the 58s that they had in the hangar at the time. Here are a few of those shots.

Midway Traffic

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I have put together a number of posts about fun things I saw at Midway on a recent visit. There were others but they didn’t warrant their own posts. Instead, here is a collection of the rest.

In’n’Out at LAX

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If you are going to shoot at LAX, one spot that is worth a visit, even for a short while is the In’n’Out Burger. Just north of the runways, the approach comes across the street just beside a small park and you can sit and watch the planes on their last moments of the approach. I ended up there when I had a few minutes to spare before meeting a colleague. The sun was heading down and the marine layer was already blocking out the best of the light so it wasn’t the perfect time to take shots. However, who cares? I had some time and I wanted to see what was coming in.

You get a lot of similar shots in this location. Trying to find something different is a little limited but you can still have a go. The standard approach shot is the obvious one. You can go tight and get details on the planes. You can go wide and get something that shows the area and how close the planes are. Sadly, this one never really shares the feeling you get there since it makes the planes seem a lot further away than they feel in person.

You can also get the shot through the landing lights as they get close to touchdown. There is a lot of crap in the way for this but you can still play with it. No-one seems bothered if you are taking shots here since it is so popular. Years ago, I had a cop stop and talk to me but he was only interested in comparing notes on lenses. You can wander across the street and further down to get head on shots if you like too. I have done this in the past. On this occasion, it was a quick visit so no time to go exploring.

Aggressor F-15s

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The USAF recently got rid of their squadron of Boeing F-15 Eagle aggressor aircraft. The aggressors have used a combination of F-15 and F-16 aircraft for a while but now they have gone to an all F-16 operation. The aircraft have been redistributed to the other units that operate the type and will gradually lose their aggressor colors as they get repainted.

I thought I would celebrate them with a selection of shots of the F-15s that I have got over time. I wonder whether we shall see them again. It is not unknown for things to change again so we can hope. However, I won’t be putting money on it.

: An aggressor Boeing F-15C of the USAF launches from Nellis AFB NV.

Virgin A340-600

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Periodically, this blog gets populated with something that is disappearing be it an airline or a type of plane. Virgin Atlantic has been operating a single 747 in to SFO for years now. Recently they started up a second service five days a week. It is intended that this service will be operated with a 787-9 but the number delivered is not enough at this point. Therefore, they are using an A340-600 to start things before transitioning to the 787 in October. I have a relatively narrow window in which it will be operating and then it won’t be long before the A340s are gone from Virgin’s fleet. With a bunch of stuff coming up, I was looking for a chance to get a shot.

Having the plane was only part of the issue. Having a nice day was another. Also, it arrives around 7pm so I needed to get it before the evenings get shorter and it shows up after dark. The only problem with that is that the heat haze is bad at this time of year. Nothing I can do about that so I have to make the best of things. Fortunately, I chose a nice evening. The light was good, the timing was right and the heat haze, while present, was not so bad as to run things completely. These images won’t survive too much scrutiny but I am glad to have got them before time runs out.