While walking along the waterfront at East Cowes, I heard the noise of an approaching helicopter. As it got closer, it turned out to be a Coastguard AW189. I hoped it would come closer and it obliged by flying almost directly over us. What I didn’t know was that another of the fleet would be at RIAT when I was there a few days later so I was going to get a closer look than this. Stay tuned for that!
When I got to Olympia for the Olympic Air Show, one of the first things I saw on the ramp was a very serious looking Black Hawk. It was equipped with everything you could think off. The ESSS system was mounted, there was a FLIR turret and a variety of weapons. I was rather curious what unit owned it. It turns out it is a civilian owned machine. Northwest Helicopters is the operator and it is used for filming work. That explains it looking so tooled up. A civil registration is discretely on the tail and it says the machine is actually an EH-60. I’ll have to watch out for it in any movies that are coming up.
Igor Sikorsky is well known as a developer of helicopters even though his early work was based on fixed wing types. The airframe he developed to demonstrate practical rotary flight was the VS-300. This helicopter went through a number of design changes over its life including upgrades to the cyclic system to make it more controllable. When testing with it concluded, it was donated to the Henry Ford museum in Michigan and that is here I saw it. It is a historic landmark and hugely significant. However, it is stacked up in a display behind other artifacts, so it is actually pretty tricky to photograph. I tried making a pano of it to avoid the things in front with some success.
Helicopters are constantly moving around McCarran. There are tourist rides operating seemingly around the clock so hearing a couple of helps is not a surprise. However, these two were close to each other and seemed to have a more powerful sound. It turned out that they were two USMC AH-1Z Vipers coming in to an FBO. Paul was able to try and get some shots as they landed but I had to move the car. I settled for watching them for a bit and then got the camera as they were shutting down. It was unbelievably dark given how much ambient light there is in Vegas so I was pushing the camera’s capabilities a bit. The closer one shut down first which was unfortunate but let’s not get picky. They were still there the following morning when we were shooting departures as I could see them in the background of some shots.
I think the Coast Guard was messing with me while I was in Victoria. They operate a Bell 429 from their pad in the harbor and we saw it flying around on a regular basis. However, it always seemed to choose a route that took it just far enough away from me to avoid getting a decent shot. Plenty of longer range shots requiring a lot of cropping but nothing up close. The only time they came close, I didn’t have a long lens to hand. Very sneaky!
I was wandering along the runway at Concrete towards the end of the day during the fly in. A Robinson R44 had been doing pleasure flights throughout the day and was landing well up the field from where I spent a lot of my time. I had photographed it as it came over a couple of times but soon lost interest. However, as I wandered along, I happened to be near his landing spot when he came back from another trip. I was far better placed to get a shot or two so I did. However, he spotted me and, instead of following his normal approach routine, he brought the helicopter to a hover in front of me facing at me as they all looked at me while I looked at them. As long as I kept shooting, he didn’t go anywhere so eventually I just lowered the camera and waved. At that point he turned around and landed.
The UH-60 Black Hawk is a pretty neat helicopter but in the standard fit, it is not terribly exciting. However, I do like it when they are kitted up with a lot more stuff. The external stores support system makes them look very purposeful and a flight refueling probe is another good addition. The UH-60JA at Hyakuri had both with tanks fitted to the pylons. It was at the far end of the ramp so, when it took off, I couldn’t get anything worthwhile.
It returned later in the day and came almost directly overhead. Shooting a dark blue/gray helicopter looking straight up on a cloudy day is not a great combination but you aren’t going to ignore it. I wish it had flown a few patterns or even taxied by, but I guess it was not to be. Still, it was good to see it up close.
In the late 80s and early 90s, NOTAR was a big deal. McDonnell Douglas Helicopters (as it then was) had come up with the concept of NO TAil Rotor and was pushing it hard. It was seen as a safer approach, quieter and potentially more efficient. The last one may not have been the case as, given how long the concept has been around, the successor company has continued to build helicopters with tail rotors as has just about everyone else (unless you count a Fenestron as not a tail rotor). This example came in to BFI right over my head. He had called up on the radio so I should have known but the quiet aspect of the aircraft was proven as I had no idea he was there until he passed directly over me.
These shots are from a few years ago. I had the privilege to spend a day with the late Alan Purwin during the filming for one of the Transformers movies in Chicago. I got to fly with them on some of the shoot but I also was on the ground when they went off on part of the filming. I put myself directly ahead of the Astar when they took off and Alan buzzed me. I noticed when going through the images that the cameraman was tracking me with the stabilized mount on the nose as they flew over the top.
I almost didn’t make it to the Olympic Air Show in Olympia this year. I had been on the road and picked up a cold that had left me feeling pretty crummy. The drive down and back was not appealing if I was feeling bad but, when I woke up on the Saturday, I didn’t feel too rough. I wasn’t going to get up and out early to make it inside for the show but there was the chance of meeting up with the guys to shot in the afternoon and that is what I did. No need to walk much and the drive wasn’t too energetic so I could go with it.
The main reason for going was the Huskie. Last year I got my first experience of it flying but the light had been pretty flat and overcast. This year the forecast was for sun so I didn’t want to miss the chance to shoot it in good conditions. I’m glad I went. The display was a nice routine but restrained as you would imagine for something that only flies one weekend a year. It came close to us on a few occasions so I was able to get some shots. If they flew a little later in the day, that would be good but I got what I went for. It may not have been the greatest idea, though, because I felt decidedly crap on the Sunday. I guess the cold had not run its course after all.
