Tag Archives: turboprop

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.

Pacific Aerospace P-750

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An oft quoted idiom in aviation is that if it looks right it flies right. I’m not sure whether that was deep in the minds of Pacific Aerospace Ltd when they designed the P-750 or not but this is an aircraft that is functional and useful but I doubt too many people will consider it pretty. It is a workhorse. Some sections of fuselage which minimize the use of double curvatures to make production simpler and cheaper. Add to that the reliable PT-6 seemingly bolted on the nose and a wing with a thick section and some simple dihedral at the tips and you have a plane. If you want to take a decent load of skydivers up to altitude quickly and get back down just as quickly for the next load, this is your sort of plane.

This example showed up at Salinas while I was there. It parked on the ramp for a while before heading back off. It has a rear door suited to skydiving and the name on the bottom suggests that is what it does. I first saw one of these at East Troy in Wisconsin where it was also carrying skydivers. The diving approaches both examples used show just how quickly this plan can get back on the ground. The first time you see it, you may think something is wrong but it is just the most efficient way to get to the next paying customers.

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.

Tucanos Low Level (But I’m Not Prepared)

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The Lake District is an area that is known to be popular for low flying military aircraft. In all of the years I have been going there, I have hardly seen any jets coming through. Mainly that was because I was there at the weekend and the military don’t tend to fly much at the weekend. I was hopeful that we might see some traffic on this trip since we would be there midweek. We did get some traffic but it didn’t go quite as planned.

A few times we saw Hawks zipping over the town while we were outside. We were generally getting ready to go somewhere else and they caught me out as they came through. On one hike I took a long lens with me. Of course, this didn’t go to plan. Most of the time I was looking at some lovely scenery so I had a wide lens on the camera. This was the time the RAF chose to show up. No jets this time but a selection of Tucano turboprop trainers. I wasn’t expecting them when they came through so grabbed the camera with the lens I had on at the time and got a few shots. These won’t be of much use to me but they do remind me of the excitement of being caught out be a low flying plane of any type.

Porter Q400

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I have shot many times at Midway over the years but one airline that is a regular feature there that I have not previously got is Porter. They operate a fleet of Bombardier Q400 turboprops on services to Canada and they have several trips a day to Midway. Finally I happened to be outside when one came in. I have seen them many times from inside while waiting for a flight but it was good to finally get one “in the wild”.

Daher TBMs

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There are many times in aerospace when a manufacturer builds something that turns out to have little appeal, sell in small quantities and then vanish forever. Given how many of these there are, it is a surprise when one of them makes it big. Socata (now Daher) hit the rich seam when they built the TBM700. This single engine turboprop ended up finding many happy customers who appreciate the combination of performance and comfort with the US being a market for the majority of the aircraft built.

Over the years, they have been upgraded with the next version being the TBM850 and now the current production version is the TBM900. Despite their popularity, I have only come across them infrequently so it is always nice to catch one out in the wild. From the French Air Force to the private operators, here are a few of the ones I have come across at various times.

Floatplanes But No Water

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A fun feature of flying in the Pacific Northwest is the abundance of floatplanes and amphibians. The locations that support water based aviation are many so the planes are pretty common. Boeing Field provided me with a couple of examples on one recent visit. One was a Cessna Caravan on amphibious floats that showed up on approach while I was distracted. I almost didn’t get it at all. The other flew overhead but didn’t land. I did get a couple of quick shots as it flew by though. I wonder where it went next.

PC-12 Frenzy

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Nearly twenty years ago, I made a trip to Switzerland to visit the factory of the Pilatus aircraft company. We were working on their PC-9 turboprop trainer that we had supplied to an export customer. While we were walking through the factory, the fuselages of some early PC-12 utility turboprops were in the jigs. At the time I remember thinking that it was a big investment for a relatively small company and wondering how well the project would go.

Come forward to the present day and the foresight of the management team has been rewarded with an excellent sales record. The original PC-12 sold well and the NG version continued that story. They are currently going through another upgrade cycle. The combination of rugged utility, flexible interior configurations and turboprop efficiency has made the PC-12 a popular aircraft around the world. Strangely, it has been less successful in Europe where single engine IFR ops are more heavily regulated.

It is not unusual to see a PC-12 at an airport in the U.S. However, San Carlos proved to be slightly more PC-12 heavy than the average. A small airline called Surfair operates from there with a fleet of the Pilatus plane operating to a variety of destinations in California. While we were there, they had a number of movements (plus one that wasn’t a Surfair aircraft). This meant I could get a lot more PC-12 shots for the library and they aren’t all painted the same colors which is a benefit (although some aren’t painted anything other than white!). I could also take some chances with shutter speed to see what I could get. The PC-12 is not a plane you would call pretty but it is a very practical design and one I am always pleased to see. It takes me back to the hangars in the Swiss Alps a long time ago.

Dornier DO-228

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A recent arrival at San Carlos is a Dornier 228 that is apparently configured for aerial survey work. The guys mentioned that it had been active prior to my visit but it was not doing much the day I was there. However, it was parked close to the fence. It wasn’t easy to get a shot of it but a bit of reaching above the fence line meant I could at least get something. It is a cool looking plane so I hope I get a chance to see it in action at some point.