Tag Archives: airplane

Inflatable Hangar for Solar Impulse

Solar Impulse was on the ground at Moffett for over a week while they waited for a good weather window for the next leg to Phoenix. They kindly invited me to go and have a look around in the more relaxed time compared to the arrival! The hangar was located on the apron at Moffett and they weren’t able to have a secure way to have visitors so, sadly, they could not have everything open to the public.

The hangar itself was pretty hot. It was white so reflective but it still warmed up quickly in the sun. The batteries were the only part of the aircraft for which this was a problem so they were permanently connected to air conditioning packs that kept them at the required temperature. I was a touch jealous.

The aircraft fitted snugly into the hangar given that it was custom designed. The air data boom had to be folded out of the way thought. The maintenance team were pretty busy checking out systems ready for the next leg whenever it would occur. Meanwhile, media attention was high and I wasn’t the only one there. A local TV crew were conducting interviews with Bertrand. When they had finished, he was happy to chat for a while.

The team were very generous with time and access but were very nervous about touching the aircraft itself. I wasn’t about to upset them so managed to get what I needed without causing any trouble.

A Different Angle on the Parallel Approaches

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The parallel approaches to SFO are well known and have been the subject of previous posts here. This time I was looking for something different on this theme. I was at a favorite location of mine, Coyote Point. This is further out on the approach and a lovely park area. If nothing is happening, this is still a very relaxing place to be. It sticks out in to the bay with the result that you are much closer to the approach flightpaths. This makes for good opportunities to get shots of the aircraft and, in the warmer months, it reduces any problems with heat haze. However, it does change your alignment with the planes and the possibilities for parallel approach shots since the places appear to be stepped down from your angle.

This is not necessarily a problem so you can go vertical if you want. Also, it does make you well aligned for shots when the approaches are not happening in sync. You can find the second aircraft turning in further out is actually quite well lined up with the first since it is offset vertically as well as horizontally. The shots are not the classic parallel approach shots but they are still something a little unusual.

Mean and Moody Sky

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It’s always a nice combination when you can get some light on the foreground subject of the photo and have a really dark and menacing cloud structure in the background. The brightness of the foreground exposure is much higher than the background so it makes the clouds look even more dramatic when exposing for the subject. Having a play with post processing will also help to make things look more dramatic. This Wildcat was parked on the flightline at Chino for Planes of Fame just as the lighting worked to my advantage. I may not have been happy about the weather conditions but this was one of the upsides to a cloudy sky.

Japanese C-130

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A couple of years ago I was in Tucson for an exercise I was covering for GAR. There was some time when I was shooting the arrival of the A-10s on the base. In between the Hawg movements a few other aircraft came in, most of which were what you might expect. One unusual arrival was a C-130. I was trying to work out what unit it might belong to as it came in because it was a pale color. As it got closer, the markings were clearly those of the Japanese Self Defence Force. This was something I hadn’t seen before.

Add an Ilyushin to the Recent Visitors

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There have been a bunch of AN124s popping in to Moffett Field recently, one of which I saw while at the Solar Impulse arrival event. When I went back for the departure (which I covered for Global Aviation Resource in this article), I was surprised to see another freighter from the old Eastern Bloc. At his one was a more recent version though. It was an Ilyushin IL-76 but one that is fitted with the PS90 engine. It had been brought in to transport the ground crew and their gear for Solar Impulse. They were heading to Phoenix next and, since it was a short flight, everything needed to move quickly.

I didn’t get a great chance to photograph the plane. It was a long way up the ramp and there were too many lights between us to make for a great shot. However, I got what I could. My friend Hayman works nearby and he was able to get the departure later in the morning. I’m not jealous…

WestJet and the House of Mouse

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Promotional paint schemes are not uncommon – particularly with certain airlines. Alaska has a bunch of them. This one was a new one for me. WestJet, a Canadian airline, seems to have a marketing tie up with Disney too. They have painted a 737 up in an all-over shame that certainly gets your attention, if only to wonder what on earth it is. I was pleasantly surprised to catch it having had no idea it was on its way.

What, No Winglets?

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There is not a huge amount of variation in airliners these days so coming across something a little different is usually a moment of interest. While the name Alaska Airlines might suggest an airline focused on Alaska, it is actually headquartered in Seattle and seems to have a wide range of operations all across the west coast. Consequently, we see a lot of them in both Oakland and SFO. They have a large fleet of 737-800s and 737-900ERs and both types have been retrofitted with the APB Scimitar winglets. Apparently, not all of them though. This example I saw coming by Coyote Point and it not only doesn’t have Scimitars, it doesn’t have winglets at all. A rare beast these days.

Optica Flashback

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A few outlets have recently been covering the reemergence of the Edgley Optica. In the 80s, his was an aircraft that was coming in to production. Designed as an observation platform, it is a rather interesting looking airframe. A bulbous fuselage sits ahead of the wing and the powerplant is mounted in the rear driving a ducted fan. The unrestricted view is supposed to make the aircraft ideal for seeing what is going on below. Supposedly, the ducted fan makes for a low noise signature which helps the “stealthiness” of the aircraft.

The ownership of the design moved through a few entities and the program experienced some setbacks including a crash and a fire that destroyed a number of in production aircraft. Ultimately, the whole thing sputtered to a stop. A few airframes are still in use around the world but John Edgley, the original designer, has bought back the rights and is now trying to relaunch the project. I saw the aircraft at Farnborough back at the end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s. These shots were taken then. I really would quite like to track down some of the currently active airframes.

Night Loading the Ruslan

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Waiting on the ramp at Moffett Field for Solar Impulse, over on the other side of the field we could see another visitor. An Antonov AN124 Ruslan was parked up with its nosed raised in the process of loading a payload. It looked a bit like a satellite container and, given the proximity of two satellite manufacturers, that wouldn’t be improbable. It was a long way off but I had some time to try and get a shot and this was what I got.

Pacific Aerospace P-750

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An oft quoted idiom in aviation is that if it looks right it flies right. I’m not sure whether that was deep in the minds of Pacific Aerospace Ltd when they designed the P-750 or not but this is an aircraft that is functional and useful but I doubt too many people will consider it pretty. It is a workhorse. Some sections of fuselage which minimize the use of double curvatures to make production simpler and cheaper. Add to that the reliable PT-6 seemingly bolted on the nose and a wing with a thick section and some simple dihedral at the tips and you have a plane. If you want to take a decent load of skydivers up to altitude quickly and get back down just as quickly for the next load, this is your sort of plane.

This example showed up at Salinas while I was there. It parked on the ramp for a while before heading back off. It has a rear door suited to skydiving and the name on the bottom suggests that is what it does. I first saw one of these at East Troy in Wisconsin where it was also carrying skydivers. The diving approaches both examples used show just how quickly this plan can get back on the ground. The first time you see it, you may think something is wrong but it is just the most efficient way to get to the next paying customers.