Tag Archives: piston

Nice Retro Paint Job

I am not very good when it comes to identifying some of the older light aircraft types. I have some friends that will be despairing of me if they are reading this because they can tell any of these different types at a glance. Sorry about that guys. This plane took off from Paine Field one sunny evening and the old military style paint job looked lovely in that light. It looked like a Cub but I looked it up when I got home. Apparently it is an L4X and listed as Experimental. It isn’t listed as a Piper so maybe it is a home built of some sort. Whatever its origin, it did look nice with the sun on it.

Paine Field Light Traffic

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During the winter, the conditions in the Pacific Northwest can often be overcast, gloomy or downright wet. These are not great if you want to spend some spare time aviating. It doesn’t preclude this, but it doesn’t encourage it either. Consequently, when the sun comes out, a lot of people suddenly go flying. I did head up to Paine Field on one of those days as it was getting later in the afternoon. I imagine it had been pretty busy earlier in the day, but I had other things to do that day. Even so, I still caught a few of the local flyers making the most of the nice day and imagine that, as spring comes around, they will be back out again.

I’ll Miss Beaver Amphibs

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A great feature of the Pacific Northwest is the surfeit of floatplanes that you get to see. It is a region that really suits their usage and so there are lots to see, even if they are amphibious and are operating from runways. I don’t know whether there is a king of the floatplanes, but the Beaver would definitely be a candidate for that title if it were awarded. It is a beast of a plane and looks so cool on floats. This was the last one I got to shoot before leaving.

It turned on to the approach a long way out, but the cold winter weather meant little distortion and the 200-800 can really help in those situations. I had hoped that ATC would have given them an earlier turn on to final which you sometimes get at Paine Field, but it wasn’t to be and they were a lot further out. Never mind. Still a good result for one of my last outings.

Lunch at Lee On Solent

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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.

My First Norseman

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If you want to annoy your Canadian friends, be oblivious to famous Canadian aircraft. (We’ll, this will annoy Canadian aviation enthusiasts. I doubt it will bother Canadians that aren’t into planes.) The Norseman was built by Noorduyn (don’t ask me how that is supposed to be pronounced) and it was a rugged single engined bush plane. It is a beast of a plane and there is one on display at the BC Aviation Museum. I don’t know whether it is always stored outside or not but it was on the ramp outside the museum on the sunny day that Jim and I visited. Our guide opened it up so we could have a look at the interior. It looked very nice as it has been well maintained.

The Lancaster Progress is Good, But It Will Be a While

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Jim and I made a trip to the BC Aviation Museum and one of the things he was particularly keen to see was the Lancaster restoration project that they have underway. When we got to the area where the Lancaster restoration is underway, we were disappointed to find the area was closed off that day. We were peering through the entrance at the front fuselage when the president of the museum wandered up with a guest. He asked if we were interested in seeing it and I don’t think it will take great insight to know we said yes.

He was only going to be there for a short while but was happy for us to come in and have a look around while he showed his guest what was underway. The front fuselage was looking very good and much work has been done on it. I was allowed to climb inside and seeing the pilot’s position exposed at the top of the plane was fascinating. The engines are undergoing work and they were in different parts of the museum. The centre wing structure was at one side of the hangar and you could see the work done on it and the engine mounts waiting for the return of some engines.

We didn’t have a long time there but were grateful for the fact we got in there at all. When we went outside, you could see the outer wing panels in storage alongside the hangar. I don’t know what their condition is and whether being exposed to the elements is causing much trouble but I am sure they have considered this as part of their overall restoration effort. It will be a long time before everything is done but then the Lancaster will be displayed in the colors it wore when it was operating as a search and rescue aircraft for the RCAF. Should look fantastic.

Fifi Ramp Tour

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While Fifi, the B-29 Superfortress, was in Seattle, they opened her up for ramp tours. Since they didn’t get to run their normal rides, this was one of the few opportunities to get some revenue while in town. I had not done a ramp tour with her before (putting aside the time I met with the crew in DuPage for an article I was writing. It isn’t a speedy process to get through her and so a good amount of time was spent in line under the wing while we waited for our turn but that was fine.

We started out going underneath into the bomb bay where there was a guide to explain about the plane. Then we climbed up into the cockpit and spent some time looking around and hearing more of the stories of the team. Then it was back outside and time to wander around and see the aircraft up close. She is a lovingly maintained aircraft and I was glad I finally bothered to do the tour.

The Firefighting Collection

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Canada has a long history of aerial firefighting and the BC Aviation Museum has a row of planes that have a firefighting history. They are lined up outside the hangar and now include the museum’s most recent addition with the Martin Mars that Coulson donated heading the line. There is an S-2 although the example here is not one that was converted for firefighting. However, it does straddle the Canadian military element of the collection and the firefighting role.
Conair has extensive firefighting activities and there are two of their planes on display. An A-26 Invader is there in Conair colours. It was retired quite a while back. Next to it is a more recent acquisition. A Convair CV-580 with a large belly tank modification is an example of the more recent types used in the role. I wonder over time whether something like a Q400 or a BAe 146 will join the collection. Maybe some of the Trackers at Abbotsford could be brought across.

Flyby Planes for the 100th Anniversary

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The 100^th anniversary of the round the world flight by the Douglas World Cruiser was celebrated in an event at Magnussen Park in Seattle – the location from which they had departed a century before. I didn’t go to the park for the celebrations themselves but instead decided to be at Boeing Field from where the participating planes were due to launch. This included the B-29, Fifi, which had been sitting on the ground since its arrival the previous week as discussed in a post I wrote earlier.

The selection of planes taking part in the flyby was a little odd. High point for me was a Bellanca replica that lives across the state but came in for the event. It was to be one of the last planes taking part. A WACO was also included but then it came down to a selection of more modern light aircraft including some types that had no obvious connection to the event.

Initially, everything was parked up on the ramp at the Museum of Flight. You were able to wander around between the planes and have a good look at them. I arrived a little late to the event and only just in time. I wandered through the planes for a while and then they started clearing everyone out to be ready for the start up and taxi out. At that point, I needed to change locations anyway since I wanted to photograph them from a different place.

They all launched out in sequence for their times over the event before returning – except for two that went straight home afterwards. Not stellar conditions for the event but it was something different and the more unusual types were worth a look.

Philippine Mars Awaits Its Turn

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By the time this post goes live, Philippine Mars will probably have made its final trip from Vancouver Island to Arizona where it is joining the Pima museum collection. Whether I have got to see it on that journey or not, I don’t know when I am writing this. It is supposed to make a couple of stops en route but will I be there? During the visit to see the Hawaii Mars prepare for its last flight, Philippine was sitting on the ramp at Sproat Lake being prepared for its move. From the water we could get a reasonable view of it up on the slipway. Fingers crossed I get to see it fly but who knows.