Tag Archives: airplane

Bouncing Growlers

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The sun was forecast, I had some time to spare and there was even suggestion of southerly winds so I took a day off and headed to Whidbey Island.  Coupeville was planned for some FCLP training for the Growlers from Ault Field so I went up to see what I could see.  With winter light, the sun is way to the south.  It cross the centerline of the runway by late morning and, unfortunately, the first flight to arrive came after this time.  They only had one meatball on the field and it was set up at the south end.  The wind was southerly but not strong so they clearly decided a small tailwind was easier than dragging the lights to the other end and aligning them.  Crap!

I spent some time on the sunny side which is far from the touchdown zone.  I shot some stills and some video.  The jets only get close when they are well airborne but it was possible to get a few shots that were okay.  When they had finished the practice you knew it was the case because the jets cleaned up and powered away.  I headed down to the water to have some lunch.

It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of jets again.  I saw a couple of them turning over the bay and descending to the field so headed back up.  While the light was on the wrong side, I figured I would just try something new since the alternative was just more of what I already had shot.  It even was the same jets as the earlier session.  I shot some backlit landings near the touchdown zone (and I was not alone – plenty of people stopped their cars to watch).  With a bunch of shots and video done, I figured it was time to head home.

Busy American Terminals

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It’s been a little while since my last trip to Dallas but I did come across some other shots from when I was coming home through DFW.  As one of the hubs for American Airlines, the majority of the gates seem to have American jets on them.  The variety of types is decreasing with the MD-80s in their last throws while I was there.  I like the longer shot you can sometimes get from the connector between the terminals which bunches up the jets.  When they are all one type it isn’t so interesting but a collection of different fins is good if you can get it comparing the size of the narrow bodies and the widebodies.

Surprise Sharpshooters Visit

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My Saturday morning trip to Boeing Field was to see the Gulfstream test jet covered in this post.  I wasn’t expecting much else other than the usual traffic but I was very happy when I pulled up early to see three F/A-18D Hornets from the Marine Corps training unit, the Sharpshooters.  They were parked on the other side of the field  but had people around them and one was already strobing.  It looked like they were going flying.  All three soon powered up and taxied out.

The taxiway on that side of the field has a kink in it which provides an interesting angle on the jets as they taxi up together.  I was wondering how the departures would look since the weather was heavily overcast and a gray jet with a gray sky is not ideal.  The first jet got airborne and climbed quickly which was disappointing.  However, the number two kept things a lot lower as they gained speed which helped a lot.

About an hour later, I heard them call up on approach.  No run in and break at this airfield.  The traffic over the top for SeaTac makes that more complicated so it was straight in approaches for all three jets.  They did run down a decent distance and then turned off to return to their parking spots.  That was a bit of a bonus.  I don’t know whether they were flying again later as I had other plans but a launch and recovery was welcome.

Farewell to the SHAR?

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Sad news in the air show scene for the US is the announcement that Art Nalls has put his Harriers up for sale.  Art did an amazing thing by buying a retired Royal Navy Sea Harrier and getting it airworthy and then displayed on the air show circuit for a number of years.  He also bought a two seater which is apparently close to being flight ready.  I was lucky to spend a lot of time with Art and the team both at shows and also visiting them in Maryland.

His hangar there also includes an ex-RAF Harrier GR3 which has a lot of common parts with the SHAR so could be used for bits he needed from time to time.  The support team had a bunch of Harrier experience from the Marine Corps and various ex-RN individuals also got involved over time – not harmed by many people deployed to Pax River on the F-35B program coming from a SHAR background.  Maybe someone will pick the jets up and take them forward but Art has other things to work on now and they are not part of the future for him.  Here is a selection of shots I have got over the years of the team at work and the jet displaying.

Focus Stacking Issues

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There was a meeting of the IPMS northwest branch at the Museum of Flight recently.  My friend Jim had given me a heads up about it taking place and, with a day free, I figured I would pop along.  The display as a whole gets its own post but this one was about my experimenting with focus stacking.  I went to this a previous year and took some focus stacking shots handheld to see how it would go.  This time I went prepared and took a bunch of shots.

I took a tripod and my macro f/2.8 lens to try and get detailed shots while isolating the background.  There were lots of models on display, some of which were really good.  However, they didn’t all make good subjects since many were displayed in amongst lots of other models.  I picked the ones I liked as a wandered around and them went back to shoot them.  Many of the stacks worked out just fine and I include an example or two of what worked well.  However, some of them just confused the software.

I use Photoshop to do my focus stacks.  However, on one of the shots that I really wanted to work well – the FW190 which had a diorama – things didn’t work well.  I decided to Google other software solutions and came up with two other applications for focus stacking.  I downloaded trials of both but neither managed to do a good job of it.  I guess this combination of shots just made it too hard for the software to make it work.  I can see the rear fuselage markings of the FW190 showing through the wing of the aircraft.  Maybe this is a function of the narrow depth of field of the f/2.8 shots.  The wing gets blurred out a lot when the rear fuselage is in focus and it decides to take that area as the one to give preference too.

All of this is to say, I have found a new aspect of this technique that needs further investigation.  My earlier experiments with focus stacking probably made it easier on the software.  I have now started to make it a bit harder.  Maybe I need to control the aperture to get things to behave the way I want.  That might have to be tailored to make sure I don’t get the background coming in to focus too much since that separation is something that I want to preserve.  If you have experience with this, I would welcome advice.

777-300 But No ER

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Japan is one of the places where it is easy to find a Boeing 777-300.  The 777-200 sold in good numbers and Boeing stretched the airframe to create the -300.  It was not a big seller but was picked up in the Asian market where capacity was important but range was not such a concern.  When Boeing launched the 777-300ER, they unlocked the range and payload capabilities that were in demand and it sold very well – usurping the 747 as the long range high capacity jet of choice.

The -300 has been retired from some of its original operators but Japan Air Lines still flies them.  They are most easily identified by the original wingtip shape as opposed to the rake tip that the 300ER has.  They also have the original engine choices as opposed to the GE-90 only 300ER.  I saw some at Haneda and grabbed some shots.  With the A350s joint the JAL fleet, I wonder whether the 777-300s will soon be heading to the yard.

The Light Almost Catches the T-33

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I caught one of the Boeing T-33 chase aircraft that had been out supporting the 777X flight trials.  The weather had been crappy which is par for the course when I am seeing the Boeing chase planes.  However, it did start to improve.  A hint of sun came out as it came down the approach but the light was better a bit far out.  I could see it in the distance but it was more shady as it got close.  Still, not too bad.  I heard a rumor that they might be retiring them before too long.  I hope that isn’t the case but we shall see.

Why Not Shoot an M-21 While I’m Here

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I was at the Museum of Flight for the IPMS exhibit but, while I was visiting, I figured it would be churlish not to take a picture of the M-21 that dominates the main hall.  It is actually a bit difficult to photograph and there is a lot of contrast with the background and it is always busy so a bit cluttered.  I knew it wasn’t going to be a great shot but decided to crop tighter on the airframe and shoot bracketed exposures and maybe go with an HDR process.  It isn’t great but it came out better than I had expected.

G600 Test Jet

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I heard a rumor about a Gulfstream test jet being at Boeing Field.  With a Saturday morning free, I decided to head over and investigate.  One of the things I had seen suggested it might be the G700.  Since that had only recently had its first flight, I was surprised it would be operating out of the west coast rather than Georgia so I decided to try and see it.  Of course, it wasn’t the G700.  Instead it was a G600 test airframe.  Since I had not seen a G600, I was still pleased to catch it.  The weather was crummy and it was due to go back to Savannah so I was wondering what sort of shots I would get.

Like any test jet, it didn’t depart when scheduled.  It was an hour later than planned when it rolled to the runway and then hung around at the hold point for ages.  Then it turned and taxied down towards the end where I was.  I couldn’t see it departing in the opposite direction because SeaTac was still flowing to the south and wasn’t showing any sign of changing.  It came down past me to the end of the runway and then turned around and taxied back the way it had come.  After all of this it departed into the overcast.

Given that I was expected a departure from the far end and a swift climb into the gloom, I hadn’t expected to get many shots I was pleased with.  Therefore, this sojourn down to my end and back provided plenty of chances to get a bunch of shots so this turned out to be a lot luckier than expected.  I am also a sucker for a jet in primer so thrown in a few instrumented panels for test purposes and I am a happy camper!

Japan Transocean Air

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Haneda is a busy hub for Japan Air Lines (JAL).  While you visit, there will be a steady stream of JAL 737s coming and going so, another one arriving is no cause for interest.  However, I realized that this particular jet did not actually say Japan Air Lines on the fuselage.  Instead, it was marked Japan Transoceanic Air.  I had never heard of this airline before.  A little research shows that it is part owned by JAL – hence the use of the common livery – but there are other shareholders. Occasionally they will lend aircraft to JAL but they do operate to Haneda so I don’t know whether this was a JAL flight or one of their own.  A new airline for me, though.