Tag Archives: washington

After Many Years, I Finally See a Duck Fly

My aviation interests are varied but my favorites are modern and recent jet fighters if I am pushed. However, vintage aircraft and warbirds are still pretty cool even if they are not something I know a huge amount about. There will be occasions when such a type might be enough to get me out and about. I was on the fence about going to the Bremerton Air Show but, when I heard that Erickson was bringing its Grumman J2F Duck to fly at the show, my interest was piqued.

I have seen a few of these amphibious planes in museum collections but I have never seen one airborne. It is such a quirky looking airframe; I was really interested in getting some shot of it flying so that tipped me over the edge with regard to heading down to Bremerton National Airport for the show. This is the sort of thing that then results in the plane going tech and me being disappointed. However, that was not to be the case this time.

Mike Oliver flew the display in the Duck. We were seated in a location close to where it was parked so got to watch it from start up to shut down. No great aerobatic performances for a plane like this but the nice thing was that they got their whole collection airborne together and then everything else went off to hold while the Duck took center stage. A few nice passes and then it came back into land. The light could have been better, but it was still pretty good. I finally have ticked it off. I guess now I’ll see them everywhere!

Looking Down on the Cascades

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A work trip required me to fly across the country for a couple of days. My departure was quite early in the day and, as is my preference, I booked a window seat. Sadly, I was far back in the plane which meant the jet efflux would get in the way of some photos but that didn’t deter me. The view on a sunny day as you head over the Cascades is gorgeous. Lakes atop mountains, deep valleys, peaks spreading into the distance – it all looks great. The return was late at night so no chance to see anything in the dark.

A Curious Old Drone

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The Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH was produced in the 1960s as an anti-submarine platform for ships that were too small to accommodate manned helicopters. I had never heard of it before and saw it on the ramp at Olympia during the Olympic Air Show this year. Apparently, there are some at museums I have been to before, but I guess I wasn’t paying attention. It is a small vehicle with a gas turbine and coaxial rotors. I understand it could carry a couple of torpedoes so now slouch. Now it is a museum piece, but it might have been interesting to see one in the air!

Italian Day Brings Out the Wealth

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I have done quite well this year with getting to feature days at Exotics@RTC. The Italian Day is always going to be a popular one and the number of Ferraris and Lamborghinis in the area is going to provide a good basis for the event with a bunch of other cars of varying vintages being able to fill in the gaps with a bit of variety. I do not know much about these cars so, when I walk around, I am either looking for something I recognize or something that looks totally different. Here is a selection of shots of cars that fit those criteria.

Our First Plum Harvest (and Selective Angles!)

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A couple of years ago, when we redid our back yard, we planted a small plum tree in one of the beds. It has grown well and, last year we had a few small plums that developed. They all fell before we had a chance to pick them, so we had no idea whether they were any good or not. This year, we had a lot more plums as the tree has grown quite substantially. I picked one of them to see how it was doing, and it wasn’t too bad. It did have a split in it, though.

The following weekend, I decided to harvest the rest. One had already fallen, and I think I saw a rabbit having a good chew on it. The rest came off easily enough. Quite a few had splits in them which, from what we hear, is the result of them getting a lot more water than they have been used to. I put them all in a bowl to get a photo. For the first one, I put them all with their best sides up. Then I turned them to show the most damage. Selective angles in photos can really change the impression you give!!

Starlux Arrives in Seattle

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The increase in air traffic post the pandemic has been significant and international travel has been boosted. Seattle Tacoma International Airport has been adding to its international destinations with new operators on a pretty regular basis and the most recent new addition has been Starlux. Starlux is a Taiwanese airline operating services to Taipei with its fleet of new Airbus A350-900s. I had seen that they were operating to San Francisco and was a little jealous of not getting to see this new fleet but, now they are coming here, I can see them too. Here is one of their jets on approach to SEA to inaugurate the service.

Can Even More Harriers Be Allowed on Here?

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After posting about the possible last encounter I would have with Harriers, I have since posted more shots of them coming through Seattle on their way to Alaska. Of course, they had to come back at some point and Boeing Field was the stopping off point again. Consequently, I have even more shots of them. The arrivals were pretty straightforward, and I was pleased with the results. When it came to departing, they were going early in the day and so I had to try something different for a location. As it turned out, they weren’t going home when I took these shots. They recovered back to BFI after I had left. They did eventually head east, though. Maybe that is it at this point?

Crossing I-405 in Style

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A while back I posted some photos from the opening weekend of the Link light rail on the east side of Lake Washington. Part of the construction of that extension involved a bridge arose I-405. As a regular user of that freeway, I watched the bridge take shape and then get fitted out as they got closer to opening. Now, to take a ride across it, I got a new perspective on I-405 to that I have had before. Being elevated makes things look so much smaller than when you are at ground level.

IL-78s to Support the Rafales

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A little while ago, I posted some images of the Indian Air Force Rafales that transited through JBLM on their way to Alaska. They didn’t come alone, though. They had some support aircraft with them including some tanking resources. I’ve seen the occasional IL-78 in the past, so this wasn’t a first for me, but they are still a relatively rare occurrence so catching this was a nice result and the light showed up enough to make the images a bit nicer.

Dragonflies On the Water

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There is a lake at Bloedel Reserve that sits near the main house. The grass leading down to it makes for a nice spot to rest but it also seems to have made for a good habitat for dragonflies. There were loads of them scooting around at the edge of the water and, while they were easily spooked as I got closer, if I sat for a while, they would resume their normal activities. Getting the camera to focus on them was not always reliable but modern autofocus is a wonderful thing. These were some of the results. I don’t have an image of how damp my pants were after sitting on the grass for a while, thankfully.