Tag Archives: video

737 First Flight

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I was walking along the trail that goes through the park next to the airport at Renton taking a look at the stored jets.  There is a bridge across the river that is used by Boeing to move jets from the production areas to the flightline and, as I got close to the bridge, I could see the tractor hooking up to a China Southern 737-800 that had yet to be painted.  They looked like they might bring it across the bridge.  I figured I might linger and see what was up.

Sure enough, they started to pull the jet out and towards the bridge.  I stayed out of the way but the wings of a 737 hang over the trail when they are moving it.  This was not a problem so they were happy for me to stand there as the jet was moved out.  I figured a little iPhone video was in order.

They pulled the jet onto a taxiway and left it there so I figured it might be heading out on a test flight.  With the light now slightly to the other side, I chose to go back to the car and move to the overlook on the west side of the field.  The jet was starting up but they clearly had a few things to run through so I had time.

They taxied to the south threshold which initially disappointed me.  The wind had flight operations in the other direction which would have meant a takeoff towards us and into the light.  Going the other way meant they would be airborne a long way away and heading over the lake.  What I hadn’t figured on was, just like at Everett, they would do a run with an abort first prior to flying.  They carried this out and were then at the north end of the field.

A turnaround at the far end of the field and they were soon lined up.  A floatplane was flying about in the background as they got ready to take off.  Then it was power on and rolling.  There was a lot of crap in the foreground and this was a bit of an obstruction at the point of rotation but I was able to get some good shots as they got airborne and climbed out past us.  The green primer/protective film was glinting in the sun.  The flight will have ended at Boeing Field where I hope everything was trouble free.

The Ability to Swing

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A couple of the obstacles in the Spartan Race that I saw involved getting yourself across a series of ropes and hoops or using grab handles that moved while you hung on.  These obstacles would be tough if you were fresh but they were in the latter portion of the race when tiredness was already very apparent.  It was fascinating to see the different techniques people used and the success or otherwise.  Dropping off was very common given how tired people were and the resultant 30 burpees will not have helped.

The physiques of people didn’t seem to have any indication of the probability of success.  Some people looked like they would struggle as they set up to start and would then surge across.  Others would look good and then drop off quickly.  Knowing how I would have fared, I was very sympathetic.  A few were in fantastic shape and just flew through.  Others got so close to the cowbell at the end that signified success and would drop when almost in reach.  You were willing people on.

One of the toughest to watch was one of the elite female competitors.  She was in third place coming to the last obstacle and nearly made it across before slipping.  She headed off to do her burpees and, while she was doing them, the person in fourth approached.  She got onto the test and made it across cleanly jumping into third place.  The other competitor had to finish her burpees which must have been so hard having just seen your podium position slip away.

Clouds Over the Valley

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My trip to Rainbow Canyon gave me plenty of time to enjoy the scenery as the jets only showed up infrequently.  It was a cool and clear day on the whole but there were some times when clouds moved in.  This caused me some concern since I didn’t want to wait for a long time and then have jets show up when the valley was socked in!

Fortunately, the clouds did not get in the way of the main focus of the trip.  We did get some clouds drifting over the valley far below us.  We also got little puffs of cloud working their way up the canyon.  One bank of cloud rose out of the canyon and across the ridge on the opposite side from me.  I watched it drift across the surface gradually obscuring areas that had been clear a moment before.

Another small cloud formation drifted up the canyon towards me.  It was an isolated little cloud and it drifted in my direction and floated up over the edge of the ridge and to one side of where I was standing before it dissipated.  Then it was all clear again and I could go back to waiting for the jets.

Going Mirrorless

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Being late to the party is something that I make a habit of.  You could also be more optimistic and say that I am not an early adopter.  A number of friends and colleagues have added a mirrorless body to their collection of gear and I have followed suit.  I am perfectly happy with the performance of my SLRs.  This was to add something rather than replace something.  The primary interest was in size and convenience.  There are times when lugging the heavy bodies around is just inconvenient.

I went with an EOS M6.  I did consider going with a different manufacturer but using other equipment I already have was one factor.  Another was that this camera gave me an option I was quite keen on.  It has a screen for use while shooting but it also has an optional viewfinder to slot into the hot shoe.  This was discounted to only $11 when I bought the camera.  I like a viewfinder hit am okay with a screen.  Nancy, on the other hand, does not like screens so the viewfinder can be brought along if required and will make her happier to use the camera.

So far my experience with it has been very good.  Image quality has been fine, the controls are good and let me make adjustments without needing to enter menus.  The flippy screen is really handy and the kit lens fits plenty of needs.  The app that works with it is also pretty handy which gives a few options I wish the SLR could match!  The time lapse functionality is good too.  I have not tested it fully with my range of lenses and will do so at some point.  However, for what I bought it for, it is doing the trick nicely.

My Friends the Eels

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Nancy thinks I am nuts (probably for many reasons) but one of them is because I find eels fascinating.  Most aquariums seem to have some eels on display and I love to look at them.  Very often they are pretty reticent about coming out, preferring to stay in their crevices keeping an eye out for something tasty.  However, at the aquarium in Newport, the eels were a lot more active.

They were either swimming about (including clattering in to each other) or they were in a hole but coming out of it regularly to see what was going on.  I have never seen them so active.  Needless to say, I got a bunch of pictures as well as trying some video of them.  Not often that they are so mobile.

Mossie Night Run

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Night photo shoots are becoming more popular these days.  The Flying Heritage Combat Armor Museum (FHCAM) held one with the de Havilland Mosquito.  The evening started out with the plane on the ramp when people were free to wander around the aircraft.  I was shooting a lot of long exposures using the tripod which does a good job of removing the people provided they keep moving.  However, a few people were hanging around for long periods so they show up in the shots.  Others were using the flashes on their cameras or flashlights to look at stuff which made things blow out.

Once we were all cleared from the ramp, one of the FHCAM crew came out to talk about the aircraft.  He was the one that would carry out the engine runs and he ran through the test procedures that would be followed for the engines.  People had the chance to ask questions and get a good understanding of the plane and how it is operated.

Then came the fun.  The engines were fired up in sequence.  Then they were run through the test program.  The blue flame from the exhaust stacks could be clearly seen in the very dark conditions.  When the mag checks were carried out, the flames were even more conspicuous.  I moved around a bit to get some different positions.  I was quite surprised to see how blurred some of the shots were.  The aircraft clearly moves a lot despite being chocked and so some of the shots were totally unusable.  This was a lesson learned.  In future I would focus on shortening the exposure times a lot to minimize this issue which I hadn’t anticipated.

I also shot a bunch of video while the runs were underway.  The edited video is below.  It was a fun evening and thanks to FHCAM for holding it.  It would be fun to do on another type.  It might be nice to have a touch more light on the ramp but the dark conditions did have some advantages.  I discovered a bit about shooting in that environment which should hopefully help on future night shoots.

Puffs Across the Wing

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The day I left London was a bit damp which made for a bit of vapor on departure.  I was sitting almost directly over the wing.  I couldn’t see in to the inlet but I could see vapor puffs in front of the inlet at lower speeds anyway.  As we rotated and climbed out, there was plenty of vapor puffing over the upper surface, aided by climbing through a few patches of cloud.  I had the video running the get a view of the moisture and here is what I got.

 

Waves on Cowes Seafront

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We drove along the seafront from Cowes to Gurnard.  The tide was high and the storm was bringing a swell in from the west.  Consequently, there was a lot of water along the road with sections under a few inches.  Some caution as we drove and we could get through.  Meanwhile, the waves were bashing in to the wall and splashing high in the air.  With the wind being so strong, it was tricky to hold steady for a shot and I was also a bit vulnerable to getting a lot of spray in the face.  However, I managed to get some shots and some video while minimizing how damp I got and how much salt water got near the camera.

As a kid, I always loved being down on the seafront when the weather was stormy.  It is way more fun to watch the waves crash in than to see a calm sea.  This proved to be a perfect day for me to visit as the following day things had calmed right down.

High Tide Through the Drains

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The tide was very high when we got the parade in Cowes.  The water level was just below the street level.  Naturally, there was some swell, even though we were inside the harbor wall.  This meant the water was pushing back up through the drains that normally take water from the street down to the sea.  The water would force itself back up through the drains.  Sometimes it was just a small amount of water but the bigger waves resulted in a bit more flow back out of the drain.  Video is the best way to show this.  The metal of the drain cover had the level of corrosion you would expect for something with this proximity to the sea!