Tag Archives: photo

Catching An Italian Floatplane Going To And From Oshkosh

While driving around the back of Renton, I saw this nice floatplane. It is a SIAI Marchetti 1019 – a utility aircraft with a turboprop powerplant. Based on the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, it had a decent military career and now plenty of them have found their way into civilian hands. A short while later, I saw pictures of this airframe at Oshkosh for the annual EAA gathering. Our paths were to cross again, though, when it showed up at Boeing Field, making an approach to the short runway. A bit further away than ideal but definitely cool to catch it again.

Tunnel Of Rebar

Leave a Reply

I was down on our project site having a look at the progress that is being made. Most of the large columns for the elevated sections have already been built but one more needs to be done later than the others because it goes where a temporary road had been placed. They are now getting to it and the rebar has been put together that will go inside the column to reinforce the concrete as it is poured and sets. Looking through the tunnel of this rebar as it sat on the ground awaiting the pour, I loved the pattern that it formed.

A Trip Is Worth It For The Rare Hawker 4000

Leave a Reply

Until recently, I had only got one good shot of a Hawker 4000. This was Hawker’s effort at a larger bizjet and it also made extensive use of composites. It originally came under the name Horizon and the development program was very long requiring a couple of extensions to the certification application because it was expiring. The plane did not sell well and it was discontinued. They are so rare, the first time I shot one, I didn’t even realize what it was and figured it was a Challenger 300. Aside from one high overhead, I hadn’t seen one since.

When I saw one was due in to Boeing Field on a Sunday, in figured that was worth a trip on its own. I didn’t have anything going on so I headed over. As it happened, there was plenty of interest at BFI that day so the trip was very productive. However, even if that hadn’t been the case, it would still have been worth it to catch this unusual and rare type.

Osprey Getting In On The Seafair Action

Leave a Reply

I spent the Friday of Seafair down at the shore of Lake Washington watching the flying demonstrations (and taking the occasional work call). The planes weren’t the only aviators over the lake though. Despite a TFR being in place, a local osprey decided to ignore it and cruise along the shore line. I never saw it actually dive after any prey for the whole time I was there. Instead it would just start towards the south end and gradually drift northwards. After it had completed the leg, it would return to the start and repeat the process.

Fortunately, it was very close to the shore and nowhere near the display box so there was no risk being posed to the performers in the show. However, it was quite a distraction to everyone around where I was and we would turn to watch it rather than the display aircraft each time it came through. Initially it was a little offshore and a bit of a reach with the long lens but it came progressively closer in and was right overhead on a number of occasions.

Kodiak Floatplane Returning To Renton

Leave a Reply

A sunny Sunday afternoon had me driving past Renton so I figured I would stop off to see a few things. I swung by the floatplane base after I had done whatI came for and things were quite quiet. I had just missed a few planes and wondered whether I would bother hanging around. Then a Cessna made an approach, as covered in another post, and, while it was taxiing back to the dock, I saw a Kodiak heading towards us down the lake. Initially I thought it was going to make a straight in approach but, since the main Renton traffic was operating to the north, I guess it had to fit with that.

Consequently, it made a path that took it towards the eastern shore of Lake Washington before carving a sweeping, descending turn towards the lake. With the hills of that shoreline behind it, things looked pretty impressive. There were plenty of people out on the lake in boats, kayaks and paddle boards and they would have got a really good view as it came in to the lake to touch down.

They taxied back towards the base and I hadn’t appreciated what their plan was. I figured they were tying up at the dock and I had moved away slightly but they had dropped the wheels and were coming up the slipway. A good dose of power was needed to come up the ramp. I wish I had shot that or, better yet, got some video. I will have to go back to the seaplane base there. The new fencing is not great but there are still some good photo opportunities to be had.

People Dressing Up A Bit Too Much?

Leave a Reply

A while back I posted some shots I took of the rowing at the University of Washington during the Windermere Cup. What I didn’t share at the time and what I only recently remembered I had found amusing was the parade before the racing started. The Seattle Yacht Club participated with a parade after the races but, beforehand, three of their leadership went the length of the course on a boat. The three of them were apparently an Admiral, an Admiralette (apparently that is a thing as if a woman can’t be an Admiral) and a Vice-Admiral. They were dressed up like extras from HMS Pinafore. I found the whole thing rather bizarre.

Hood River Museum

Leave a Reply

The Oregon trip with Mark provided a lot of options for additional aviation experiences while we were en route to the main event in Klamath Falls. This included a stop off at Hood River to check out the museum there. I had heard that it was an impressive collection of both planes and cars and that was no understatement. When it comes to older aircraft, I am well out of my depth. My interest in aviation came out of the military side of things in the 80s and the era of WWII and before was not something I paid any attention to.

The result of this is that a museum like Hood River is full of aircraft that I know nothing about. I couldn’t identify many of them if asked and, when there are many variants of a given make, I don’t recognize what distinguishes them and whether one or other of them is significantly rarer than any other. Instead, I just find it interesting to look at the wide variety of looks and finishes that the planes have.

The Hood River museum certainly provides me plenty to choose from in that regard. There are so many aircraft in there and, while they have several hangars, it is not unfair to say that things are pretty on top of each other in order to get everything to fit in. It is also a little dark but, since modern cameras are so good in low light conditions, this isn’t really a problem anymore.

Mark and I are both plane guys so the car collection was not a big focus for us. We did take a look at to some of the vehicles that were there but, since we had a schedule to keep if we were to get to Klamath Falls in time for some dinner, we had to focus on the planes. There is no way I could cover the collection in one blog post and I won’t even try. Instead, I shall provide a tiny selection of what we saw. Maybe, as I work through some of the shots, I shall revisit the collection in some future posts.

Damage From Falling Trees

Leave a Reply

One evening, I took a walk down to Juanita Bay Park. As it headed out to one of the platforms, I could see that the railing had a section that was freshly replaced. A look over the edge showed that one of the trees had shed a large chunk. I guess this must have wiped out the old railing material. They had done a good job of getting the replacement in place but had left the branch where it had fallen. I am glad I wasn’t there when it fell as I imagine my head might not have been so easily fixed.

What Did This R66 Do Wrong?

Leave a Reply

The scanner is a good way of tracking what is about to happen but it can also give you an insight to what might not have gone to plan. I heard a Robinson R66 call in for its approach. When things are on a north flow, the helicopters will run along the river and turn in to land. They can often come at quite a good angle for getting a shot. This one worked out well, despite the backlighting, and I was getting back in the shade as it touched down. I then heard the tower ask if he was ready to take down the phone number he needed to call. Oops! I have no idea what the infraction may have been and I hope it all worked out okay.

Caldera In A Caldera

Leave a Reply

Crater Lake is a lake in a caldera. In the middle of the lake is an island that was formed as the eruptions from beneath built up a new outcrop from the original caldera. That island has itself formed a caldera on the summit. The scale of everything is so large that it is easy to not even notice that this second caldera sits within the first caldera. There are some trees on the island that give you some context as to how large it all is.