Tag Archives: civil

More SFO Activity

The head on shots weren’t the only ones I got at SFO. Rather than go to Coyote Point, I decided to hang around by the Bay near the airport. Here you don’t get as close to the aircraft but you do get to see them land and also hope for a parallel approach or two. One problem with being further away is heat haze.

I thought I might be okay on this trip. It wasn’t particularly warm (although the sun was out) and the tide was in so, rather than mud flats between you and the planes, there was a lot of water which means less heat haze. However, I guess the power of the sun was going to win. Haze was a lot more of a problem than I expected and the shots are okay but not terribly usable.

However, it was nice to spend some time out in the sun watching planes so I can’t really complain. There were a few interesting things to see including the first JetBlue A320 fitted with Sharklets and a United 737 in a retro Continental scheme.

More Head On Attempts

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During a previous visit to San Francisco I had a go at shooting head on departures and wrote about it here. I also tried some head on shots at O’Hare and that made it on to the blog here. I was back in San Francisco for another project and the weather was a little better so I decided to have another go.

This time, the light was a lot better but there were other conditions to deal with. Nice weather tends to bring with it more heat haze. This was certainly true here since the aircraft are coming across a heavily developed area that radiates a lot of warmth on a sunny day.

Additionally, the wind was obviously beneficial to departures as a few of the heavies were going off the cross runway rather than coming towards me. This is a pretty unusual occurrence although not totally unknown. However, it is pretty frustrating to see the big jets going away from you when they are the majority of traffic you can expect. However, I did get a few corporate jets coming my way which helped a little.

Despite all of this, it was still a productive shoot and I got a few good pictures before the light started to give up entirely.

Chasing a G650

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Today is another tale of chasing a plane. As with my quest for a JetStar, this is another business jet that I wanted to shoot. Gulfstream’s latest product is the G650. It has not had a trouble free development program but finally has achieved certification and deliveries are starting. Since most jets go to completion centers to be fitted out, actual in service jets are still relatively uncommon. One of them came to Midway recently and I decided to try and get some shots of it.

It was originally due to arrive a little while before sunset. Since it was a cold but clear day, this presented an excellent opportunity to, not only get the shot but, get it in very attractive light. It was is that convinced me to go in the first place. However, I was aware of the chances of arrival slipping and the jet turning up after sunset. I got to Midway in good time and was lucky to be there in time for a nice Global Express arriving. Was this the battle of the big jets? However, the 650 had been delayed leaving and was now scheduled to arrive at sunset. Given that the forecast arrival times is usually a little optimistic, I realized that things weren’t going to work out perfectly.

Sadly, the lovely light disappeared and then the 650 called up on approach. There was still light enough to get some shots but not those that were what I had hoped for. However, in time to come, the 650 will become a lot more common so I guess I will get one in better conditions before too long.

O’Hare Excursion

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Another benefit of the recent trip to O’Hare was getting into a conversation with some guys who know the area better than I. One of them suggested a location I hadn’t tried before. It is on the west side of the field so gets better light as the day wears on. Moreover, the departure routes were favorable on this day and the sun was proving very cooperative so I decided to check it out.

The location is very good. If the aircraft turn out towards you, the angles are very good. Some of the local crews are quite aggressive on their turns and come very close overhead. Even the aircraft heading out or turning away look good. You do have a view of them on the runway but the combination of power lines and foreground junk mean these shots are not too valuable. All of this got better and better as the sun went lower and the light got warmer. Then, to top it all off, the moon rose in the background. What a great end to the shoot. Thanks guys.

Getting up someone’s nose

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I have shot many times at O’Hare over the years. There are a few locations that provide opportunities but they do depend on the time of day and the approaches the jets are making. I was out there recently and wanted to try something different. I didn’t know how well it would work out but wanted to experiment. I checked out what was due in and found a time in the schedule when nothing unusual was coming in. Without the need to make sure I got something that was uncommon, I could risk not getting anything at all for a while.

I wanted to get more directly under the approach path. This is something that I have done before at Washington National but I have had less success at O’Hare. I went out a little further on the approach. The jets were a little higher but I wanted to see what I could get. You end up with both a slightly more head on shot and also get to look right up as they pass overhead. I like the view which is slightly less conventional. Winter is probably a good time to do this since the sun is lower in the sky and the snow on the ground provides a bit more light on the underside avoiding the silhouettes more common in the summer.

Firefighters

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I had a brief opportunity to head passed the field at McClellan, previously and Air Force base just outside Sacramento. This wasn’t enough time to have a good look around but more of a recce for a future visit. I knew of the Coast Guard and the Calfire facilities so I was looking to see what else was there that might be worth a future look. There were a few bits and pieces around. One thing that I liked was the collection of P-3 Orions in storage. They were operated by Aero Union on firefighting duties before the company went bust. No one has ought them yet. I grabbed a couple of shots over the fence. I might like to come back here to have a more detailed look around.

Some Long Line Work

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It has been a while since I was up on the roof with the Midwest Helicopter team. A couple of jobs came up recently on the same morning and I went along. It was a great morning with lovely winter light and good skies, at least to start out with. Of course, these conditions in the winter also can mean low temperatures. It was 14F on the first job – not the coldest I have experienced on one of these lifts but quite close! However, when benefit of living in Chicago for a number of years is that I do have suitable clothing for cold weather.

The first job was a relatively simple one. The building was not terribly tall, maybe a dozen floors or so, and there were three cooling units going up and one old one coming down. A previous job had been done by the team on this building but this one required some adjustments. The location where the units were to be placed was on the other side of the roof and a lot closer to a far higher building. The normal 100′ line would not suffice and the 300′ option was required. This is a far rarer requirement so Jim, the Chief Pilot, decided to fly it instead of one of the other pilots since he hadn’t any experience with the 300′ line.

I had plenty of space up on the roof to move around to shoot while staying out of the way of the crew. My job is to avoid them and stay out from under the loads. I do think Jim sometimes is playing a game with me as, on this job like some before, I ended up tight in a corner as it seemed like he was aiming for me! In truth I was well clear and he wasn’t chasing me but when you are looking almost straight up at the loads, they do look like they are closer than they really are.

The only disappointment for me was that the wind was coming from the west so the aircraft was tail on for most of the time. Since the light was at its best this early in the morning, that was a shame. However, not a bad start to the day.

Some Skycrane Footage

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The arrival of Erickson in town to carry out a lift was described in a previous post which you can check out here. While I was predominantly shooting stills for this lift, I continue to grab some video footage when the opportunity presents itself. I have put together a short video of the lift and you can see it below.

The Mighty Skycrane

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Regular readers of this blog will know how much I enjoy shooting helicopter lift operations in the city. Midwest Helicopters are the local operator and a great bunch of people who have helped me out lots of times. This lift proved to be one of those times although it wasn’t them doing the job. They had finished a job in the city on a very snowy morning and I was exchanging messages with their Chief Pilot when he mentioned that Erickson were in town for a job.

Erickson specialize in lifting very heavy equipment. Midwest fly Sikorsky S-58T aircraft which are good for about 4,500lbs. Construction Helicopters in Michigan (who have made appearances on this blog too) have S-58T aircraft as well but tend to bring S-61Ns to Chicago since they have a higher capacity of up to 8,000lbs so can lift loads too heavy for the local guys. Erickson are a different story altogether. They build and operate the S-64 which can lift a whopping 25,000lbs. This is obviously way above the capabilities of the other operators and way more than most jobs can justify.

Consequently, an appearance by Erickson in town is not so common and is worthy of a look. Moreover, they were lifting just across the river from my home so how could I not go? I have worked on site with Erickson before and so contemplated calling to arrange to be there for this job. However, I was suffering with a bit of a cold and the weather forecast did not look promising so I decided to not try and be on site but to shoot from outside the safety perimeter. Since the lift was alongside the river, getting good shots should not prove to be difficult.

Come the morning of the lift, visibility was terrible and snow was falling hard. All this could be seen from my window so I didn’t need to be out on the ground. Instead, I got ready at a leisurely pace and grabbed a couple of cameras when the weather started to improve. The streets around the Hyatt Regency hotel (the location of the job) had been closed for a while which I found curious since they obviously weren’t going to start until the weather cleared. Lifting in poor conditions is tricky enough but getting to the site in the first place is more of a problem.

As the weather started to clear, I talked to one of the crews maiming the perimeter and he confirmed that they had launched and were on their way, Time to wait. The S-64 is a big beast and you don’t have any questions when it arrives. It’s sound travels well and you know it is coming. Fortunately, there were a bunch of loads to go up (and some to come down too), so there was plenty of opportunity to shoot at different locations. Moving across the river provided some alternative views of the lift. Meanwhile, the weather was continuing to improve until it was actually sunny. Sadly, the lifting location was always in shade but you can’t have everything. Watching the downwash blow the snow around both on the ground and on the roof was quite amusing.

The lift seemed to go well and I covered everything I was after. I also got some video which I shall share later.

First Crossing Shot of the Season

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Just a quick joke. I was out shooting wildlife when there were a couple of airliners overhead. It is a bit early in the year for airshows but I guess this might count as my first crossing shot of two jets for the year. Hopefully there will be a few more!