Tag Archives: military

Spirited B-25 Pairing

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The two B-25s that live on Paine Field are regular performers.  When they both went up at Skyfair, I have to admit that I was not so excited.  However, I was not anticipating a series of flypasts that were significantly better than I had seen from them before.  They brought them in with a tight formation and some angles that allowed some great topside shots as they curved around on to the runway alignment.

Watching them line up, you could see that they weren’t going to come so close and ruin the photo opportunities.  Instead, we got lots of banking and pulling with far better shots than I had achieved previously.  I was not alone in appreciating the effort.  Everyone around me was most impressed by the performance.

Hyakuri Pano

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Any visit to a base includes time when nothing much is going on.  This can be time to take a break, have a snack, text someone an update on how things are going or even nap.  Or, you can take panoramas.  In the morning the light on the ramp was not ideal.  It improved later in the day.  Even so, you never know how much stuff is going to be out at any one time so shoot while you can.  You can always delete later.  Here is a zoomable and pannable pano from Hyakuri.

F-4 Bi-Plane

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These Phantoms were taxiing towards me from the ramp and they headed out to depart.  As the came along the taxiway, I got a moment as they started to merge from my position and, briefly, there was a moment when one was hidden behind the other with the exception of the wings.  For that second I had a Phantom bi-plane in front of me before the effect was gone.  I consider this the rare Phantom II/IV!

Two Seat Scooter

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The A-4 Skyhawk is a great little jet and I really miss seeing the Warbird Heritage Foundation’s Scooter on a regular basis.  I haven’t seen others fly for quite a while, despite one being based on Boeing Field.  I had intended to go to a show at Tacoma Narrows to see it but the weather was bad so I didn’t bother.  This one had taxied out at Olympia last year and then scrubbed.  However, it was scheduled for Skyfair this year so I was hoping to finally have some success.

Indeed I did.  Not only did I see it fly at Skyfair but I was lucky enough to be at Paine Field the evening before when it came in from Boeing Field.  It was fashionably late but this only improved the light so I wasn’t complaining.  The two-seater might not look quite as slick as the single but it is still a pretty neat jet.  The passes it gave at Skyfair were nice and close and, despite the harsh heat haze, I was pleased to see it up and about.

T-4s A’plenty

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Hyakuri might be a base for Phantoms but it also comes with a ton of Kawasaki T-4s.  The JASDF allocate T-4s to the squadrons to provide utility and training so you see a few of them on each of the ramps in squadron markings.  I think this was the first time I had seen a T-4 for real.  Having seen so many images of them over the years, I felt like I must have seen them but I don’t think I have.  It is an interesting looking jet.  A lot of similarity to the configuration of the Alpha Jet with a high wing and twin engines.  It seemed to have a reasonable level of performance.  Interestingly, they taxied with the canopy open which is something I don’t think I have ever seen done with the Hawk.  Maybe the air conditioning isn’t great on the ground or maybe they just like it!

Shiny Butcher Bird

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The FHCAM FW-190 is one I have seen on the ground a few times but I have been thwarted with regard to it flying.  It was scheduled to fly at Skyfair so I was optimistic.  While waiting for the Skyhawk to arrive, we were pleased to see the 190 taxi out and depart.  Hopefully it would be a short test flight and after a few minutes, it came back into the overhead.  A very nice early turn to final brought it around the waiting crowd and there was much rejoicing!

On the day of the show it flew again.  A nice bunch of passes and some good maneuvers to give us a view of the topside of the glossy paint scheme.  The light was a touch harsh but the plane was definitely worth it.  Combine that with the extra from the evening before and this will count as a success for me.

Recce Jets and Pretty Colors

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Japanese jets have a reputation for interesting colors and, while the fighter units were pretty dull gray, the recce jets were far more interesting.  Most of the flying jets I saw were in the blue camo scheme and they look very nice.  One the first wave I saw, there was also a jet in green and brown camo.  Sadly it only flew once and I messed up a bunch of my shots.  The other scheme on the ramp was a green and grey scheme that looked a lot like the old German colors.  Sadly, it stayed on the ramp the entire time I was there.

Spitfire and Mosquito Duo – Nicely Done

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Skyfair proved to be a fun day out at Paine Field.  A variety of types flew and they put on some nice passes that made getting shots a lot easier than is sometimes the case.  The biggest problem was the heat haze which was really tough and affected all but the closest shots.  One great combination that was put up was the Mossie with the Spitfire.  After an event last year where I was disappointed trying to get shots of the Mossie alone, I was hoping it wouldn’t be in formation.  However, when I saw this pairing fly by, I couldn’t help but be pleased with the way things turned out.

Phantastic Phun

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I was able to have a day out while in Japan after the work was done and the meetings were complete.  I have seen plenty of pictures from Hyakuri and I was keen to get there.  Mark had kindly brought me up to date with the latest arrangements for visiting, a rental car was booked and I was all set.  Starting out from the center of Tokyo on a Monday morning was surprisingly straightforward and I was soon cruising through the countryside heading to Ibaraki Prefecture.

The weather was a bit overcast.  After days of heat and sun, this was a bit of a surprise but it actually worked a bit in my favor.  I didn’t have a ladder so switching sides in the afternoon was not going to be too simple.  With the clouds, there was far less need to move.  However, that was an issue for later.  I drove up and, as I got close, I had a Phantom pass over me as it was on final approach.  A promising sign.

I got to the towers and got myself settled in.  There was plenty of action on the ramp of the recce unit.  Soon a couple of jets spooled up and taxied.  The came right by me.  I was shooting away but there seemed to be a bit of a focus issue.  Repressing the AF button brought things back into focus so I kept shooting.  Only after they took off did I realize that I had somehow switched to One Shot focus mode.  Crap.  No doubt most of the take off shots would be out of focus – they were.  However, problem fixed and then things were performing as intended.

What followed was a day of Phantom fun.  Recce and fighter jets went up in regular waves.  They taxied right by and then took off in front of us.  What a great way to spend a day.  The recce jets would do a straight in approach and landing.  Some of the fighter guys were more happy to bash the pattern for a while when returning which added to the fun.

As the afternoon wore on, there was a hint of sun showing through the clouds.  Backlight was becoming a bit of an issue but at this point I was staying put until I called it a day.  I had the drive back to the city to deal with, rush hour was beckoning and I needed to get the rental car back.  I made the most of what was on offer before packing up for the day.  The whole trip was so worthwhile.  Plenty have been so it was nothing original but it was pure fun.  There were also other types flying and they will get their own posts.

Details of a Pegasus

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The KC-46 Pegasus test program drags on.  The delivery of jets to the USAF is still not happening and the number of jets built increases but they are stacking up at Paine Field and Boeing Field.  Meanwhile the test jets are working through test points and endeavoring to prove that the problems identified in previous tests are now resolved.  I have seen a few jets now and shot them in varying conditions from sun to downpours.

I was at Boeing Field one evening waiting to pick up someone at SeaTac later in the evening when one of the test jets taxied out from the Boeing ramp at the north of the field and came right by me prior to departing on another mission.  The jet was configured with the boom and the underwing pods so the planned final configuration.  As it came by, I decided to get some shots of the airframe to get a better idea of what the various parts look like.

The airframe is the familiar 767 although there are some changes structurally.  The cockpit is updated too but you can’t see that from the outside.  However, you can see the various sensors mounted around the airframe which, I assume, are radar detectors.  Above the cockpit is the receiver receptacle for the refueling boom to allow the jet to receive as well as dispense fuel.  You can’t see much from the ground other than the markings to guide the boomer (and the markings that identify which jet it is).

The underwing refueling pods are a source of some of the troubles the program is having.  Apparently, the supplier in the UK underestimated what was required to achieve he civil certification that is part of the contract requirements.  The pods may not be cleared when the initial jets finally enter service.  Modern pods have a more streamlined look.  Earlier pods have a blunt back end that the hose and drought come out of.  The modern pods and more streamlined and the rogue comes out of a ramp in the bottom of the pod.

The back end has the boom.  Given how many boom tankers Boeing has produced, modern booms seem to cause them a lot of trouble.  This one is still one of the major defects with the jet.  Hopefully it will be resolved soon.  The boomer does not have a window like the earlier jets but instead uses stereo video cameras to give the boomer the view of what is going on.  I assume some of the apertures around the rear fuselage are for the cameras to support this functionality.  We shall see how long it is before we see this being used for real by the USAF as opposed to the test team.