Tag Archives: transport

Japanese C-130

A couple of years ago I was in Tucson for an exercise I was covering for GAR. There was some time when I was shooting the arrival of the A-10s on the base. In between the Hawg movements a few other aircraft came in, most of which were what you might expect. One unusual arrival was a C-130. I was trying to work out what unit it might belong to as it came in because it was a pale color. As it got closer, the markings were clearly those of the Japanese Self Defence Force. This was something I hadn’t seen before.

Coast Guard C-130 in its Final Days

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I wrote about the arrival of the C-27J Spartan in Coast Guard service. This means that the C-130s are going to be heading out. One the same day I saw a Spartan flying, one of the current C-130s took off. It was a nice illustration of what is now and what will be. I have seen the Coast Guard 130s around on a number of occasions but I guess they will soon be gone. Maybe I shall see them fighting fires somewhere.

C-27J Spartan and the USCG

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Defense acquisition programs are not renowned for being the most efficient and sensible programs. Selection of products and suppliers is heavily influenced by politics and locations along with the technical capabilities. Some programs have momentum due to their joint use nature. This doesn’t always mean that the departments involved actually like them. Such is the case of the Alenia C-27J Spartan. Based on the older G222 airframe but updated with the same engines as the C-130J, the aircraft was selected for the Joint Cargo Aircraft program between the USAF and the Army.

Eventually, control of the program was moved from the Army to an Air Force only program. Meanwhile, the Air Force was not showing a lot of love for the aircraft. They had other programs they were more interested in. The result was that aircraft started getting delivered to storage and the Air Force was looking for a way out. That way is the Coast Guard. These aircraft will replace some old C-130s in Coast Guard service and the displaced aircraft will go for firefighting duties. The Coast Guard station at Sacramento has received its first aircraft. I saw one of them head out on a training flight while another could be seen in the hangar. Apparently, they will soon be repainted in Coast Guard colors and the 130s will start to head off to their new life. It will probably be unusual in due course to have a C-27J in Coast Guard markings but in the gray color scheme.

Marine Corps C-9

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If you had asked me whether the McDonnell Douglas C-9 Skytrain was still in service, I would have said no. Used by the Navy and Marine Corps, the fleet had been wound down as C-40 Clippers were introduced. I thought that they had all gone by now. You can guess, then, that I was rather surprised when I saw one at SFO. Two aircraft were on parallel approaches – one a Delta 757 and the other appearing to be a DC-9/MD-87/Boeing717. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention but parallel approaches are always worth a shot so I was taking pictures when I realized that the aircraft was a C-9B Skytrain in Marine Corps markings. The conditions were a bit heat hazy but I wasn’t going to miss this.

I grabbed a bunch of shots as it landed and felt rather pleased with the turn of events. I then stopped thinking about it. A little later I moved around to the other end of SFO to get some head on departures of some of the widebodies that were due out. You don’t get many narrowbodies taking off on the 28s unless the wind is particularly strong down those runways. One or two will use it but not many. I saw a narrowbody start its takeoff roll and almost ignored it AGAIN!

However, I did end up trying some shots and then realizing as it got closer that it was the C-9B again. I guess it was just my lucky day that I had two opportunities to miss it and didn’t either time. As it flew overhead, I was able to get some far better angles on it than were possible when on approach. I also got to experience the noise levels that jets of this vintage came with. I did a little research afterwards and apparently only two jets remain in use with the Marine Corps and all Navy and Air Force examples are retired. This one is a rare one indeed, not least because it is based on the east coast. No idea how long they have left but this was certainly a fortunate encounter.

Mexican 787 BBJ

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My trips through Dallas Love Field resulted in some shots of the Kuwaiti Boeing 747-8 BBJ. That was not the only interesting aircraft that was undergoing completion for a VIP customer at that facility. Parked behind it during a couple of my transits was a 787 that was destined for the Mexican Air Force. Only one time did I manage to get a reasonable shot of it and I was glad I did because, shortly after I took this shot, it departed for Mexico. I hope it is proving to be a useful aircraft for the country. No idea whether I will ever see it again in it intended role so I am glad to have got it while the chance was there.

Air Force One and More Bad Weather

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The Boeing VC-25, known as Air Force One when the president is on-board, made another visit to San Francisco a short while ago. I had previously gone out to try and get this aircraft when it was in town. One visit got there shortly after it had left. Another got there in time but the weather was a lot less than ideal. I wrote about the missed opportunity here and the slightly more successful time here.

The weather forecast for the time of departure was not good. Arrival had been around the time I was flying home a few days before so I had been more interested then in whether our flight was going to be delayed. With the weather looking poor, I was not making a plan to go. Instead I was visiting some people in Hayward to discuss another aviation project. As it happened, we wrapped up at about the right time for me to make the dash across the bay to SFO so I figured I would go. The rain had been bad but it did appear that things might be clearing up.

I got to the airport and could see that the VC-25 was still parked up. Aircraft were still arriving and departing so I knew I had some time. I just hoped it hadn’t all been delayed without me knowing. I hadn’t been there long when I got a visit from law enforcement. The big lens obviously got some attention. We had a chat and my details were verified but everything was ultimately cool. The cop was very friendly. As we finished up, I noticed that things had got very quiet. Nothing was arriving or departing – a good sign! The only thing airborne was a Coast Guard MH-65 in their new paint colors.

Meanwhile, the sun was making periodic peeps through the clouds. Was I actually going to get reasonable conditions? I could see the APU was running on the jet and a little while later, the beacon started flashing and the stairs were pulled away. Given that they don’t hang around, I figured we should see something soon. Sure enough, they taxied out from the parking area and headed for runway 28R via the taxiway on the opposite side of the peninsula on which the runways are built. A little worse for me with heat haze (yes, even on a crappy day the heat haze was still a problem).

I was aligned with the end of the runway so the jet taxied up and turned straight towards me before lining up and pushing the throttles up. The secret service vehicles that had followed it down the taxiway turned and raced alongside for a short while until the speed was too much for them. Unlike last time, they must have been a lot heavier because they used a lot of the runway before rotating. Then they climbed away. A successful shoot and time to head home!

A Very Pleasant VC-32 Surprise

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You go to Red Flag with the goal of seeing a lot of different combat aircraft. However, Nellis is a regular base and has other traffic. You don’t always see something during the course of a mission launch but sometimes it happens. While we were checking in at the gate, a VC-32 came down the approach. This is the USAF’s version of the Boeing 757 and it is a pretty nice looking plane. Unfortunately, when we are the gate, the security team is not too keen on us taking shots so we watched it land and figured we had missed our chance.

Turns out we were wrong. While we were out between the runways, the VC-32 taxied out and got ready to depart. Even better, it departed to the southwest which meant it came past us with good light on it. It turns out that Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter had been visiting and the plane was taking him onwards. I was very happy to get something I haven’t seen up close for a number of years.

Boris Bus

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My years living and working in London were spent when the Routemaster was still a regular feature. As we left, the time was coming when the fleet would be retired and subsequent visits involved a more conventional selection of buses to get around the capital. (As an aside, when visiting London, use the bus rather than the tube. You see so much more and feel a lot more part of the city.). The days of jumping on and off moving buses seemed to be over.

Our recent visit gave me my first view of the new buses that Boris Johnson wanted to replace the Routemaster. I am not very swayed by populist nostalgia and, aside from being able to get on and off when you liked, I felt the Routemaster had a lot of shortcomings as a passenger. However, I was curious as to whether the replacement was good or not. Boris’s hatred of the articulated buses struck me as utter bollocks. Sadly, we didn’t take any routes that used them. We did see a lot of them though. Interestingly, the rear platform was often closed off when I saw them. I guess that is only open on certain routes or in certain areas? Maybe someone could fill me in on that. They look a little strange but I imagine you become accustomed to them quickly enough. It will be interesting to see whether they come to dominate or end up as a diversion that ultimately goes away.

Hovertravel Have a Busy Day

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Another Isle of Wight development is the hovercraft. Much early development of the concept was done on the Island and many were produced in East Cowes. Hovertravel still provide a frequent service between Ryde on the Island and Southsea on the mainland. I got a couple of opportunities to shoot these hovercraft while visiting. On the day Pete and I went flying, we arrived over Ryde just as one of the hovercraft was coming in. Another was parked on the slipway at the time.

When we left the island, I headed up on the upper deck of the ferry to see what was going on and had two over the hovercraft come by in opposite directions. It was rather windy up on deck but I was able to get some usable shots of the two of them individually and as they crossed. Apparently, Hovertravel are in the process of acquiring new craft to replace the current AP1-88s that are in service. Given that they were built in the late 1980s, they have provided good service. It will be interesting to see what replaces them. I wonder whether the new vehicles will arrive before I next get back.

Commuter Train Without Commuters

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The Altamont Commuter Express or ACE is a train that runs from Stockton to San Jose each day. It brings commuters from inland to the Bay Area and Silicon Valley stopping off en route to pick up and drop off passengers. It only runs on weekdays so I never normally see them operating although I have visited their team for work in the past. However, they do run special services when the 49ers are playing at home.

I decided to head out one Sunday when the train was due. I occasionally need shots of trains for work proposals and presentation usage so thought I should get some stock shots. There is a crossing south of Pleasanton that I went to. You get a good view of the train as it approaches. I set up with one camera and had a second with a wider lens closer to the crossing with a remote. Sadly, despite my testing, I had pulled the plug on the remote slightly out by mistake and it didn’t fire. However, I did get the main shots I was after.