I have come across some flying with Hughes 500s at Boeing Field when someone was using a strobe to track the rotors as part of the maintenance. I figured that would be a one off but another time I was there, the same thing happened – this time with a 369. I would have loved to have been onboard when this was being done to see how the tracing of the blades looks in flight when the strobe is flashing. I imagine it would be quite an interesting engineering thing to see.
My first encounter with a Canadian Cyclone was in the middle of a storm when it was incredibly gloomy. The next time I got to see one flying, the conditions might not have been so bad, but they were definitely dull! I figured I would just not get to see one in good light and, given that it has a dark and dull grey paint finish, it really sucks in whatever light there is. However, I did finally get lucky when I saw one on the ground at Abbotsford. A bit of sun at last. Sure, not flying and might not be the greatest but it was definitely a step up.
Late one afternoon, while getting ready to leave the Bournemouth Aviation Museum, I saw a helicopter flying some pattern work across at the airport. Given that it was painted black, I assumed it was a police helicopter. I took some distant shots of it and then continued with wrapping up my museum visit. When I was done, they were still flying around the pattern, and I figured I would head to the other side to see if a better shot would be possible.
As it turned out, they were flying almost over the road on the other side of the runway. I ended up shooting almost straight up which was not the ideal angle. Still, it was a chance to shoot slightly different shots than I might have normally gone for. As it turned out, they landed after this approach, so I had only just got there in time. After running on the ground for a while, they departed off to the east.
In a previous post, I had shared some images of Alpine Helicopters from when we were in Kelowna. Our trip to Canmore in Alberta brought me close to another base for the company (assuming it is the same company rather than just a common name for operators). This base was providing pleasure flights for visitors heading up in to the mountains. The base was about a mile down the road from where we were staying so, one afternoon, after we had finished our plans for the day, I popped down to see if anything was moving.
The location is not ideal for photography. The base is on the side of a hill and the parking lot is quite a way below the area from which they operate. There is a viewing area for those that are waiting to go flying but I was outside the fence so had to see what shots I could get. There was a movement of a helicopter from a parking space to the pick up zone and then there was the departure of a flight. Things were not great for getting shots but they did curve around on takeoff giving me some views of the climb out. I needed to head back so I didn’t wait for the return.
The RAF retired its Puma helicopter fleet at the end of March after 54 years in service. They undertook a tour of various parts of the country with three Pumas. Sadly, I wasn’t able to be in place for any of the flypasts. However, one of the last legs included a flight across London using the Thames helicopter route. I was working in the London office that day and so I did head up to the roof to see if I could see them. We are too far from the river to be in a good spot, but it was better than nothing. I also only had my phone. Stills were pointless so I decided to try and get some video instead. Here is what I got.
While waiting for the Ethiopian Cargo 777F at Paine Field, I saw a helo heading in from the south. I realised it was an Apache. Sadly, the light had already started to go away and, while this was okay for a white airliner, the green paint of the Apache really sucked any remaining light out of the shot. A bit of processing helped to improve things a bit but it was still rather gloomy.
I posted some shots of an Irish Coast Guard AW189 that I saw at Lee on Solent. As I was getting ready to head home, I saw another one being towed out on to the ramp. This was a UK coast guard example, and I got excited by the idea that it might fly too. Then I put the camera up to my eye and realised that there was little likelihood that this airframe was flying on this day. A few bits were absent that seemed like they might be crucial!
I mentioned in a previous post that I had been to Lee on Solent and seen and AW189 on the coastguard ramp. Chatting with a few of the locals, I found out that this one was due for delivery to the Irish Coast Guard that day. I was in the café and thought I would notice it as it fired up for departure. Sadly, I was wrong about this. While eating some lunch, I look at FR24 and saw that it was taxiing. Just as I stood up, I saw it out of the window as it lifted and flew off. I was a bit annoyed with missing it but went outside anyway. The guys told me it might be back shortly and, sure enough, it flew a brief sortie and then came back.
After it touched down, the word was that they were finalising some last-minute snags and that it would depart to Ireland. The team seemed to be loading up some items and the beacons were still on so I hoped it would not be too long before they got going. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long for them to fire up. There was a small rise between where I was and where they taxied which was a little frustrating but, before too long, they were ready to lift and then a quick turn and they climbed out before turning en route. No sign of them returning this time and they were gone. Nice looking helicopter and the normal style of coast guard colours was improved by the nice green stripe.
I may have paid a visit to Lee on Solent to go to the Hovercraft Museum as will appear (or might already have done so) in another post but it does happen to sit on the edge of an airfield. Airfields often provide an airport café, and I was after some lunch, so I made the short walk to theirs. It was a bloody cold day so the idea of being in somewhere warm overlooking the field, even if nothing much was happening seemed like a good plan.
The hot food was good, and the windows looked out over the field. There was an AW189 sitting out on the coastguard ramp but more of that another day. Meanwhile there were a few light aircraft and helicopter movements. I did head out to the viewing area outside the café on a couple of occasions to see some of the aircraft. I didn’t get everything moving, though. It was pretty cold and being outside all of the time didn’t look like fun.
The R44 arrival occurred while I was inside but, when I saw the occupants heading back out, I thought I might get the departure. However, if I was going to make my connection home, they would have to go swiftly. That didn’t seem like it was happening, and I didn’t want to wait an hour for the next connection. Eventually I bailed and as my journey home took me by the airfield, I could see them still on the ramp, so I am glad I didn’t wait.
The BC Aviation Museum has a Kamov KA-32 in its hangar. Apparently, it was in use for lifting operations but, with the war in Ukraine having put spares support out of reach, it is now stored. A slightly odd exhibit in a museum full of Canadian aircraft but an interesting one. I had seen images of this helicopter before, but I had never been close to one. What I had never appreciated was just how large it is. Given that it has a large lifting capacity, I probably should have worked that out. I hadn’t though. Standing alongside it in the museum, I was really surprised just how large it is!
