Often the floatplanes will come in to Victoria Harbour through the entrance to the harbor, touch down on the water and continue straight in to the base. However, if the wind is in the opposite direction, they sometimes make their approach across the city and the harbor itself. While we were there, I saw one Twin Otter coming in this direction. It made its final turn with the large hotel and apartment buildings behind it which made for a shot with more context than would otherwise be the case.
Watching a bunch of arrivals at Vancouver, I got a lot of shots of aircraft reversing thrust. Current jets fall into one of two categories. Cascade reversers or bucket reversers. The bucket reversers aren’t quite as obvious as those fitted to the old 737-200s where they clamped across the whole exhaust but the effect is much the same. Bucket reversers look like they are doing the job to me. They hang out and you can imagine the flow being turned around as they power up. Cascade reversers are far more subtly as the nacelle translates aft and the flow is redirected out of the based of fins that is now exposed. I imagine they are similarly effective but I have no data to back that up. If someone knows more, please let me know as I am genuinely interested to find out.
One of the fun things about shooting at a different airport is the airlines you are not used to seeing. Interjet is a Mexican airline that I have seen occasionally at LAX and I believe now goes to SFO (too late for me though) but they do serve Vancouver. They are also an operator of the Sukhoi SSJ (although sadly not on this run). They arrive later in the evening so are timed well for the light to be good in the summer months. The A320 may not be as unusual as the SSJ but as a different operator to the norm for me, I was happy to get it arriving.
The BAe146 was a regular feature in the 90s. It was a popular regional jet with use both in Europe and the US. They were still in service when we moved to Chicago and I traveled on them on occasion. However, a four-engine jet became a bit dated and they have mostly been replaced in service with newer and more efficient types. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to see one show up at Vancouver. In their later iterations, they were renamed Avros to pay homage to one of BAe’s predecessor companies. They were basically just a tweaked 146 as far as I was concerned though. The new generation RJX made it to protype form but was cancelled before production. I guess the economics were just never going to be compelling.
The spot Mark introduced to me at Vancouver was good for touchdown shots. British Airways brings an A380 in each day so I was keen to get that landing. The landing shots included a lot of tire smoke as the wheels spun up but having something like an A380 means you have a few extra wheels and a lot more smoke, even if it is progressively given the configuration of the gear.
The size of the A380 makes it good at longer range if the conditions will allow. The background is getting busy as more buildings are added but you could get a clearer view further out with only the bridge for the Canada Line showing up. Swapping to the wider lens was necessary given the size of the jet. I know it is one that polarizes opinion but I quite like it and I definitely enjoyed flying on it.
I was photographing some evening arrivals at Vancouver and, as I went through the shots afterwards, I got to see some detail on the tires that I had not noticed before. The tires’ surface has a matt finish as you would expect of rubber. When they hit the runway they go from zero rotation to very fast rotation extremely quickly. The friction that causes this rapid run up scrubs a bit from the surface of the tire making the familiar smoke.
What I didn’t know is that the heat changes the appearance of the surface of the tires. They suddenly become very shiny. In these shots you can see wheels of a 777 just before and just after contact. Also there is a shot from an A321 where you can see some of the tires have touched down and others haven’t. Only with the low sum angle was this obvious.
The A350 is becoming a lot more widespread now. China Airlines has been flying them in to Vancouver for a while. I actually shot one last year on approach but it was coming in from the sea on the opposite runway near sunset so it is a tiny spec in the distance! This time I got one coming in a bit closer. The sun was getting low so the conditions were turning into something very nice. I touched down right in front of me with the sun pretty much on the nose.
It wasn’t the only A350 that day. Lufthansa also operated one in but it arrived before I got across the border. It did depart while I was there but departures are from the opposite runway so it was a bit far away. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much distortion in the air and I was able to get a reasonable view of it although not something that would have much use. The fleet will only grow so there will be more opportunities to get the German jet.
Mark had pointed me to a good spot at Vancouver for evening arrivals when the summer sun has come around more to the north. I trudged to the top of the “hill” lugging my gear with me as I didn’t know exactly what to expect and what lenses would work. Consequently, I brought a selection with me. It turned out that the 500 was good for a lot of shots but, once the jets got closer to me, it was too much. For a wide-body, it was definitely too much but a narrow-body was okay until after touchdown – usually! An Air Canada A321 in the new colors came down the approach but he flared a little high and floated. He was getting closer and closer and the viewfinder was rapidly filling. The touchdown of the wheels happened just before bits of the airframe were cut off. This shot is exactly as it came out of the camera. Good lesson for some of the later arrivals.
Freighter use is the great second chance for older airliners. It is also a nice source of something different with the number of airlines shrinking as mergers and bankruptcies take their toll. Cargojet is a Canadian freight operator that has a contract moving mail for Canada Post. When I was at Vancouver, there were a couple of Cargojet aircraft on the ramp across from where we were. One was a 767 and the other was a 757. They were being loaded when I arrived and, as the evening light drew in, the first jet taxied.
It was getting pretty dark by the time they got airborne. However, I was not complaining since I was able to get another airline in operation that I had not seen before.
In a previous post I had some photos of the Nairn Falls. I figured with so much motion, video would be a good idea for sharing some of the force of the water. I have edited together some of the footage from the falls and here is a video.