Tag Archives: mlb

All Star Flyover Jets But Only Just

The All-Star baseball game was in Seattle this year.  Baseball is not my thing so I wasn’t paying too much attention although I did have a meeting near the stadium and discovered just how much a parking garage will charge on the day of the All-Star game!  However, they did have some USAF F-35As in town for the flyover proceedings.  I was south of the city later in the day and started to head north close to the time when the game was due to start.  I had been hoping that I might get up to Boeing Field for their launch but, as I drove north, I could see the jets pulling off their run over the stadium.

I figured they would recover quickly but headed for the approach end of Boeing Field just in case.  Fortunately, they had taken the scenic route and had been touring around Puget Sound.  I was there in plenty of time for their landings.  One thing that I had not really noticed before about the F-35A is the approach angle of attack that the jet adopts.  The planes seem to have quite a nose high attitude when on approach.  The radome is short so the field of view is probably not a problem, but I was surprised I had not spotted this previously.

I got the jets all landing but they were really a series of repetitive shots of similar looking jets.  Nothing too special but still nice to have a different jet here for a while.

Dodger Stadium

The approach to Los Angeles International from the north brings you in from the coast heading east almost directly over downtown before turning south and then west to make the approach to the north complex.  This approach gives you a very good view of Dodger Stadium.  I had the camera to hand as we came in so grabbed a few quick shots of the park.  With the MLB dispute now solved, there should be crowds showing up here before too long (if they haven’t already depending on when I post this).

Camden Yards

I last saw Camden Yards over 20 years ago when I was living in Washington D.C.  At the time, the trend for developing baseball stadiums back in downtown areas was only just getting going.  Camden was a trendsetter.  Now, many cities have gone down the same route and baseball stadiums are in the cities whether it is the majors or the minors.  I was heading to get the train back to the airport at the end of my work visit and the route took me right through the middle of the complex.  A game was due later in the day and some visitors were already taking tours while the vendor staff were just getting ready to serve the crowds that would come later.  However, it was still nice and quiet as I passed through.  It was also going to be a warm day so I imagine that the vendors were going to have a busy day keeping everyone refreshed.