Tag Archives: washington

Doc Weekend Rides

I have posted some photos of the arrival of Doc previously on the blog. However, at the weekend, it did a series of flights and I went down one morning to get some shots of it before heading off to Skagit for the fly day up there. Shooting at BFI in the morning is not ideal so I decided to head up the hill to look down on the airport. I headed up there and met my friend Mark. We went in to the clearing to get ready and realized we had timed it well. It wasn’t long before several other people had arrived and things were getting rather crowded. Early arrival meant the choice of spots.

You are shooting from quite a distance at that location but you are elevated so the heat haze is not such a problem. Even so, not the simplest of shots to get. The crew kept Doc really low on departure, much as they had done on the first flight I saw. They were flying right by the Boeing ramp so you had a combination of modern Boeing planes and 1940s products!

Once they had headed out, we moved down to the approach end. Originally, I set myself up next to the fence. However, a Beech came in to land and I realized that the proximity to the fence, even with ladders, was not ideal. I relocated to the other side of the road and awaited the return of Doc. They made a pretty sporty turn from downwind. I got shots of it but none that were a combination of sharp and as dramatic as I would have liked. Then they were rapidly on to short final and swooping across the threshold.

It was all pretty good fun. I was okay with the results I got, even if they weren’t amazing. I could have hung around for more but had another place to be. It would have been good to go back over the weekend but timing wasn’t good with the other things I had on. I didn’t get the visit the plane itself which was a disappointment. I do hope they come back at some time and I can have a tour of the aircraft.

Kids Love To Play With Sticks

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If you see a kid wandering along the beach of through some woods, what are the chances that they will be wielding a stick that they have picked up? Apparently, this is not limited to humans. A family of ducks was swimming across the bay and one of them had a small twig in its beak. At first I thought it was mistaken in grabbing it or had it stuck but it dropped it and then picked it up again swinging its head around with the stick swiping anything in sight. I guess all kids are similar!

The Plane Almost No One Wanted

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When Boeing launched the 737NG family, the original models were very similar in size to the previous generation of 737s. However, there was pressure for more capacity so they added a new model to the family with the 737-900. A few were sold but it was not a capable enough aircraft and hardly anyone bought any. Instead, Boeing had to redesign the aircraft with some more capacity after redesigning the rear bulkhead and some more range resulting in the 737-900ER. This has sold considerably better. There are still a few -900s around though and Alaska has a few. They are very early jets and they are not worth the investment for adding winglets so they are some of the few NG generation jets to still have wings with the original wingtips. Here is one of them arriving at Paine Field.

Beaver Damage

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Getting photos of the beavers is a lot of fun. You are aware of what they can do to a tree if they choose and, while it is good for some of the environments when they take down a tree, it can also be disappointing. Consequently, many of the trees have wire mesh around the trunk to protect them. However, while cycling along the Sammammish River, I saw a small tree that one of the beavers had taken down. Since they hadn’t taken it away, I am not sure why they took it down, but they had certainly done a job on it!

Did You Know SeaBees Can Reverse?

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I was up at Arlington when the Croman helicopters guys were in town. One of the local aircraft is a Seabee. It had pulled up on the ramp next to the S-61 – presumably so they could have a look at the visitor. When they were done, they taxied off. I figured I would shoot a little video of them pulling away. What I hadn’t considered was that they would reverse off the ramp. They backed away before adding some power to taxi north in the normal fashion. Here is some video of them.

Newcastle Has A Great View!

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We had a work team event in Newcastle at the golf club. We were playing on their little putting course so not a great demonstration of golfing skills but the location was great. I had heard about the place from a number of people but had never been there before. It is located on top of the hills overlooking Lake Washington and the view is very impressive. You can see down to Lake Washington and on to Seattle and Puget Sound. Quite a cool spot to spend some time relaxing.

Newly Arrived Dak

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I heard that a DC-3 had arrived at Arlington. It was a plane that had been with Air Atlantique in the UK for many years and was familiar to a friend of mine that had worked there a while back. I am not sure if I had seen it in the UK or not but had definitely seen shots of it. It came in during the week and was parked on the ramp at Arlington over the holiday weekend. Unfortunately, the weather was not great. However, with nothing much else to do, I figured I would head up and see it.

The rain was pouring down as I left home but it was actually drier and even with a hint of light up in Arlington when I arrived. Even so, the conditions were not great. However, the clouds, while plentiful, did seem to provide some interest to the sky. Consequently, I went with HDR to try and make the best of the conditions.

I am not sure what the plans are for the plane and whether it will remain in its old RAF colors as a Dakota rather than a DC-3 or C-47. We shall see. Hopefully it stays in the area and I’ll get to see it flying.

Finally Closer Shots Of A Flicker

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We get a ton of flickers in our area. This species of woodpecker is very common and the spring is the time when they love to thrum on the gutters of the houses to mark out their territory. However, I have had a really hard time getting pictures of them. They are very easily spooked. We sometimes get them in the back yard poking around in the grass for food but if they even detect your movement, they are gone.

I recently had one back there and managed to get some shots through the windows of it. Double glazing is not ideal to shoot through but you get what you can. I also saw some in Juanita Bay Park where I was able to shoot through some branches to get a few more distant shots. I have yet to get one flying which is a shame since there is a flash of red from the underside of the wings that I think would look great to capture. I’ll keep trying!

G-Force One Returns

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G-Force One is a cool 727 that is operated providing zero g experience to people who are willing to pay. It shows up at Seattle periodically, presumably because one of the tech companies is giving rides to some employees (but maybe it is just a rich person chartering it themselves). Zero G is the company although the plane is operated on their behalf by Kalitta Charters. I have had mixed luck shooting this plane but I did okay on this visit. I got it arriving and heading out on a flight. I missed the return and was actually driving along I-5 south alongside Boeing Field as it departed back to Long Beach. Not the perfect combination but at least I got a few good shots of it this time.

Russell Waterfall In Burien

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I was watching a video on YouTube of some people cycling around Seattle and they made a stop in Burien that I found curious. It was called the Russell Waterfall. This is just around the corner from somewhere I was visiting so I decided to pass by and take a look. I don’t know the “why” about this installation but there is a baby grand piano in the front yard that is a waterfall. It is just sitting there in front of a normal neighborhood house. I have seen pictures with the piano being a different color so I don’t know if it gets refurbished periodically or if the piano is replaced. It is a strange thing to find on a regular street, though.