NOLF Coupeville was scheduled for FCLP training and strong winds from the Southeast were forecast which suggested the right runway would be in use.  I also had a day off scheduled.  While the rest of the weather was potentially not ideal, I figured I would make the trip.  Why. Not?  They were due to be flying from late morning but, as seems to be usual, it was just after noon by the time things started to look active.

I was worried about the low cloud base but it was actually not a problem.  The wind was really strong gusting 20-30 kts.  This was giving them some interesting flying.  Early on, there was a hint of sun sometimes which really helped the photos.  As they climbed out after each touchdown, the skies behind made from interesting backgrounds and showed off the heat haze from the exhausts as well as the streaming tip vortices courtesy of the damp conditions.

After a while, I got a visit from the Navy Police.  The young lad informed me I wasn’t allowed to photograph the jets. I pointed out I could be he was most insistent that I couldn’t.  Rather than have trouble I decided the stop shooting.  As it happened, the conditions got a bit worse anyway so I had got the best of what was on offer.  I just watched the rest of the flying which included quite a few bolsters and some sketchy touchdowns as the wind got stronger.

My trip to Coupeville to shoot Growlers undertaking FCLP worked out well as described in this post.  What I didn’t emphasize in that post is just how close the road is to the north end of the runway.  While southerly flow is not normal, when that is happening, you are very close to the action.  The pano at the top of the post is the view you get of the runway from the road and plenty of people will show up to watch the jets bouncing.

The fields around the runway need to be looked after.  There was a tractor cutting the grass while the jets were bouncing and you can see what a good view the driver probably had of the jets.  I assume he had good hearing protection on while he was working in those fields.    I also include a shot of a jet coming low over the field.  Hopefully that shows just ow close everything is to the road.

One of the fun things about shooting the FCLP proactive at Coupeville when they are on a southerly flow is that you can stand on the centerline a shot distance from the threshold.  The jets are passing very low over the road as they head for the runway so you get a very up close and personal feeling.  Hearing protection is definitely worth having.

I experimented with a variety of shots.  Looking head on at the jets as they turn on to final is good.  They come right over you so you can get a very close up shot head on or, if you want, go to a wider angle lens and have the view right up as they come over you.

You also get to look down the runway once the jets have passed over you.  You do have loads of heat distortion as a result of the jetwash behind the jets but that is a small price to pay.  You don’t get anything sharp from that angle but it is an interesting view and the jelly air gives a hint to what it is like being behind the jets as they pass overhead.

I’ve made a few trips to Coupeville to watch the Growlers undertaking FCLP training on the field there.  My first trip was lucky with the flow to the south and good light.  Sadly, I didn’t get to see much activity.  More recent trips have had plenty of traffic but they were flying to the north which doesn’t work so well for photography.  However, with a forecast for nice weather and a southerly wind so, having been stuck at home for ages, I was keen to get out and shoot some planes while staying a safe distance from everyone.

I got there a little early because I needed to take a work call before things were supposed to get moving.  The lighting was at the other end of the field so I was a little concerned that I might be out of luck but shortly after getting there, a pickup truck hooked up to the light trailer and pulled it to the north end of the field.  Result!

The jets showed up relatively soon thereafter and really didn’t go away for the next three hours.  There were jets arriving and leaving throughout this time but it was rare to not have a jet in the pattern at some point.  This gave me plenty of opportunity to walk along the road to try out different angles.  I also had enough opportunity to try shooting a bunch of video too.  That will show up in another post.  There was a fair bit of cloud initially but things cleared up to be very sunny as the afternoon wore on.  Here are a bunch of shots of the jets bouncing around the pattern.