Tag Archives: bomber

Consequences of a Doolittle Style Takeoff

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Grumpy got airborne using the Doolittle technique I posted about here.  During the takeoff, there were some puffs of smoke from one of the engines.  Initially I thought this might just be some oil blowing through but, as they climbed out, the output from the engine was clearly not as it should be and the one engine was clearly not healthy.  They cut short the flight (although not as short as it could have been) and brought the plane back down.  I saw Grumpy fly a few weeks later so I guess they dealt with whatever the issue was.

Doolittle Style Takeoff

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Paine Field held an open day which included some flying from the local aircraft.  The Heritage Flight Museum had a number of the aircraft taking part including their B-25, Grumpy.  On one of the takeoffs, they used a technique that was reminiscent of the Doolittle Raid.  They applied power and full back controls to lift the nosewheel from the ground and roll down the runway in a wheelie.  It was quite an interesting thing to see.

Trying Something Different for the Night Burner Shots

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When the B-1s show up at Red Flag, everyone is pretty pleased.  A big bomber with four afterburning engines is like a giant fighter to photograph.  It is a good looking jet.  It also has a nice feature at night.  The majority of the fighters that take off in burner are back to military power shortly after getting airborne.  The B-1 is a different story.  It stays in burner for a ridiculous amount of time.  Not having flown one, I don’t know whether they pull back the power from full burner at some point but they do stay plugged in for ages.  Long into the climb you can still see the glow.

I have shot the B-1s from a location out in the area on the extended centerline before.  Go back to some old posts here and here and you will see the sort of shots I am talking about.  Paul has also shot from out there so we agreed to try something different.  We headed closer to the rotation point.  The jets get airborne pretty smartly and, the closer in they are, the further away they are from the highway.  However, something that had more of a side on feel was what I was after and so we tried a different spot.

Of course, you never know what time the launch will start and when the B-1s will be scheduled for so there is a lot of sitting around and waiting – in the dark.  During the day it is easy to hang about and wait for something to move.  At night things seem to take longer and you feel a bit more exposed.  However, they did eventually launch and these shots are the result.  I have learned some new things about the behavior of the camera at night which will be useful next time so, while the shots aren’t perfect, it was certainly worthwhile.

Bones Are Cool But Better in Pairs

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Paul and my second full day at Red Flag was also the one where we both had to fly home.  We knew that the timing would mean leaving before the last of the big aircraft came home but we should get most of the recovery.  We set a time and started packing up.  We had done well so no complaints.  We hopped in the car and drove towards the turn to take us out to the freeway.  Just as we got there, a pair of B-1s came running in to the break in formation.  Surely we couldn’t let them go.  A rapid stop at the side of the road, grab cameras from the trunk and start shooting.

They flew by in formation and broke downwind.  Each of them turned in reasonably tight for their approach and it was possible to get some nice topside views as the curved around to final.  We could have been a bit closer and probably would have chosen different lenses if we had been able to choose but we got the shots.  Then it was time to repack the bags and get going.  We only lost about five minutes and everything worked out fin getting back so it was totally worth it.  There was no waiting for whatever followed them though.

Embedding a Zoomify File

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I have played with the Zoomify files a few times before.  Then I found a way to get a Zoomify file output in HTML5 format rather than Flash.  Since so many people are on mobile devices today and plenty of them don’t use Flash, having the new format was necessary to make the output usable widely.  I didn’t like the idea of a new page opening up though.  Taking people off your page can mean that they don’t come back.  Fortunately, I found out how to embed this in an iFrame.  Those of you that are web savvy will know all about this stuff but I didn’t.  However, messing around with some page code and suddenly my stuff is embedded in the page above.  Pretty cool.  Feel free to zoom and pan around the Nellis flightline!

Palmdale Day Out

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C59F9459.jpgA few years ago, I was in the LA area with my mate Paul.  We decided to try our luck with a visit to Palmdale.  Home of Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale has a history of interesting aircraft.  The Blackbirds were assembled here as were the Space Shuttles.  The B-2 bombers were also assembled on site.  It is home to some NASA aircraft and continues to support a variety of types.  Consequently, you can see some really interesting stuff.  Alternatively, you can have a day with nothing going on.  It is the luck of the draw.

C59F9444.jpgWe decided to try it out anyway and see what we could get.  One of the NASA ER-2s had been active so there was hope that it might be up and about.  One thing we hadn’t anticipated was that the weather was not going to be great.  We had figured it was likely to be clear but actually there was a fair amount of cloud cover all day.  Not ideal but it did keep the temperature down.

QB5Y2449.jpgWe did have success with the ER-2.  Unfortunately, we did not choose well for our locations.  It took off and landed on the runway that we were not close too.  Consequently, we got some shots but they were a bit distant.  We discussed a rapid change of location but, fearing we would get nothing by being in the car at the wrong time, stuck with it.

QB5Y2489.jpgOur location was not a total bust though.  We did get a sister ship.  A USAF U-2S came in and we got some shots of that.  It was not alone.  A B-2 also made some approaches.  We figured it was coming from Edwards and heading back there again.  Sadly, shooting black aircraft against a cloudy sky is a bit tricky.  Still, we might have done worse.  After a while, the local movements of Northrop Grumman shuttles had been enough so we decided to get on the road back to LA.

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B-1Bs on a Mission

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AU0E6358.jpgThe B-1B Lancer is a cracking aircraft.  The combination of size and power makes it look epic when it is in action.  A B-1 departure is not something that you will forget in a hurry.  Four large afterburning turbofans will get your attention and it has a very elegant shape to boot.  The variable sweep wings add a little interest too.  At minimum sweep for takeoff and landing, they look a little ungainly given how long the span is.  Put them all the way back and pour on the coals and the jet can really get moving.  Sadly, airshow appearances are few and far between these days so the chance to see vapor clouds forming around the jet are limited.  (I recently went through some old negatives from a UK airshow at which a B-1 made a fast pass in damp conditions.  The shots aren’t great but the effect is cool.)

C59F6056.jpgA couple of B-1s would launch each day as part of the Red Flag 16-1 exercises.    I was lucky enough to have a couple of good opportunities to see then.  When we were out between the runways, the B-1s launched off the right side.  Not ideal for lighting but you aren’t going to complain.  Because they are a large jet, you have to make some choices with lenses as to what you are aiming to get.  A quick swap of bodies can really help.  A long lens is not much use when they are level with you but the cool shot from behind as they climb out benefits from the big glass.

AU0E7668.jpgOn my first day there, the jets returned at the end of the mission as a pair.  Sadly, the clouds had moved in and the conditions were not great for getting a shot.  However, you aren’t going to ignore them.  On the second day when I was at the EOR, we got a good view of the two jets taxiing out and taking off.  The heat haze is a bit of a problem but not so much as to make it something you can avoid shooting.  Operating as a pair, they look more menacing.

C59F6757.jpgOften the B-1s are at the end of the recovery phase.  However, on this day, they came back relatively early.  I was still at the EOR when they broke into the pattern.  They did land on the opposite runway from the one we were at but they are big enough for this to not be a big deal.  A nice bit of mountain in the background certainly helps enhance the shot a little.  What a great looking jet.  I don’t know anyone who isn’t excited when they see one in action.

Another Night Launch on a Cold and Windy Night

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C59F5307.jpgThe evening launch at Red Flag is something I have had a go at on a number of occasions. Consequently, regular readers that pay close attention may feel that this post is a bit repetitive and they would be correct. I was a bit better prepared for the night launch than on previous occasions. I had brought a cable release and a Gorillapod to allow me to have a bit better a set up for the time lapse video of the launch. Meanwhile, I was shooting handheld with the second body.

C59F5147.jpgSadly, a couple of things were not working in my favor. First, it was pretty windy and, while I had the camera set up on the hood of the car, it was a bit vulnerable to movement as the car moved in the wind and the camera vibrated on the pod. Consequently, some of the video is less than ideal. However, conditions did seem to settle down a bit and the later part of the video seems to steady up a bit.

C59F5534.jpgSecond was that there was no moon. It was very dark and cold out there. I managed to get some shots of the B-1B launches but the only illumination was from the burners. No ambient light at all so they didn’t look as good as on previous attempts. I did try to stay for the whole launch and not to get the time lapse showing things in full swing when it ends but there is a limit to how long you want to hang out in the cold when everyone else has gone. I got most of the launch but I did see a bunch of jets head out as I passed the speedway. I probably should have tried getting some shots from there as they were still in burner at that point.

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Ripples in the Skin

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AU0E4290.jpgThe construction technique for aluminum aircraft fuselages is known as semi-monocoque. A monocoque structure takes the entire load through the shell of the structure. In airframes, the skin is very thin and so frames and longerons are joined to the inside to provide additional rigidity while the skin still takes a lot of the load. If you haven’t ever seen the cross section of an aircraft structure, you may be surprised to see just how thin the skin panels actually are. They are perfectly up to the task of pressurization and bending loads so no need to panic.

AU0E4488.jpgAn outcome of this design approach is that the panels between the frames and longerons can experience some load directions that induce a measure of buckling. Nothing that is beyond their elastic limits but something that can be apparent if the light comes from the right angle. The lower side of the rear fuselage of the Boeing 757 is an area that is susceptible to this in certain flight conditions. I saw a number of them recently – both -200 and -300 models – and they both were showing visible distortion of the panels. The sun angle meant that the shadowing of these areas was apparent.

AU0E9169.jpgThe 757 is by no means the only aircraft to experience this phenomenon. The B-52 Superfortresss is a jet that shows this effect on plenty of occasions. I have heard people comment on it being a function of the age of the airframes but it is more of a result of the design of the basic structure than anything else. Certainly nothing to be immediately concerned about.

Collings Foundation at Livermore

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AU0E6426-Pano.jpgThe annual visit of the Collings Foundation to Livermore with their vintage warbirds is a popular event with many people turning out to look at the planes and, in some cases, fly in them. This year I didn’t plan on spending a lot of time there but I did head down for a while to check out how things were progressing. It was a hot day so the heat haze was playing havoc with shots as usual but there was still enough to see.

AU0E7522.jpgI had pondered what other spots might be useful for getting a shot or two and tried wandering down the street. However, the area is not pedestrian friendly so that idea didn’t progress too far. I did wrap up the day by driving to the public golf course at the end of the field to see whether I could get a different perspective on the departures. It wasn’t a bad spot but not somewhere I shall try again unless there is a good reason. You get a brief view and have to grab your shots before the planes are behind the trees.

AU0E7640.jpgWhatever the limitations, having the P-51, the B-24 and the B-17 on display is always nice and worth taking time out for given that it is so close to home.