Some Cool Local Pics - Do You Have Any?

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

 

Crossing overhead LAX, this 747 was just taking the runway.  I bet they are very careful about being on the centerline.

 

 

Departing Mather, the American River and Sacramento at night.  Mather was a B-52 training base - one runway is about 11,000 feet.  Long runways are common in the high elevations where I live, but Mather is pretty close to sea level.  Mather has been a training base all the way back to just after WW1, when it had 360 runways ;-) 

 

 

I don't always take selfies, but when I do, there is an airplane in them.  Cardinal RG enroute Dallas.  Fun airplane, but not a great climber.

 

 

172RF out of Reno, nearly over the Sierras near sunset.

 

 

172RF again, Vegas to Reno.  This is about 70 miles off the Coaldale VOR, passing Area 51.  Notice the ground speed.  I blame UFOs. :D

 

 

Landing 16R at Reno.

 

 

Passing LAX.  I hope never to land there.

 

 

Tahoe Truckee - "...The airport is closed..."

 

 

The strobe, beacon and nav lights playing on the snow make this look Christmasy.  Probably Winnemucca or Lovelock - I don't recall.

 

 

 

 

 

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

I gotta go dig out my crap, now.

 

Cloud surfing while descending on approach to a local airport. Shooting an NDB approach. Why? I'm a glutton for suffering.

 

Out in the boondocks.

 

The North 40 at Whittman Regional during AirVenture 2012

[DD_bongodriver]

On approach into Sion.

 

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

Rare to even find an airplane with ADF anymore!  when I do, it is mostly for listening to the radio ;-)

[DD_bongodriver]

I've done NDB approaches in the Learjet

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

I've done NDB approaches in the Learjet

 

Recently?

[DD_bongodriver]

Nope, unemployed bum for now, I only fly vintage bi-planes or span cans at the moment.

[DD_bongodriver]

Talking of cloud surfing

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTjT43sdptA&list=UUT0wvMpr3ndJLSIm6yOutmw

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

Nope, unemployed bum for now, I only fly vintage bi-planes or span cans at the moment.

 

I believe I saw a cool video of you in a Stearman.

[=LD=Penshoon]

Talking of cloud surfing

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTjT43sdptA&list=UUT0wvMpr3ndJLSIm6yOutmw

Beautiful

[DD_bongodriver]

I believe I saw a cool video of you in a Stearman.

 

 

yep, this one

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjs1eFufRu8&list=UUT0wvMpr3ndJLSIm6yOutmw

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

yep, this one

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjs1eFufRu8&list=UUT0wvMpr3ndJLSIm6yOutmw

 

I had to clean the frost off the airplane last weekend before flying, and I was leaving there was a Stearman taxiing out.  It looked liked a chilly but fun way to spend the morning, then I wondered if they had heat and if so how well it worked.

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

Rare to even find an airplane with ADF anymore!  when I do, it is mostly for listening to the radio ;-)

Guilty of that. I fly mostly 70s vintage stuff since that's all the schools out here can afford.

 

Also, I'm mad jealous of that Lear and Stearman action, Bongodriver.

[DD_bongodriver]

I had to clean the frost off the airplane last weekend before flying, and I was leaving there was a Stearman taxiing out.  It looked liked a chilly but fun way to spend the morning, then I wondered if they had heat and if so how well it worked.

 

The heat works great in summer, if you put your hand out of the right side you can feel the exhaust gasses so you can warm up your right hand OK.

 

 

Guilty of that. I fly mostly 70s vintage stuff since that's all the schools out here can afford.

 

Also, I'm mad jealous of that Lear and Stearman action, Bongodriver.

 

I don't miss working for a living so the Learjet is a bit Meh! but the Stearman and Tiger moths are pure joy.

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

Here you go... no pun intended!

 

 

What is the soaring like in Portugal?  Here most everyone is doing mountain wave stuff with aero tows.  

 

I wonder about using a camera on a wand and getting it in and out through the vent window without dropping it:

 

 

Soaring here (not me):

 

 

A few weeks ago I was leaving Carson after dark - where there are not normally gliders - and there was a glider with a smashed up wing on the taxiway getting loaded into a trailer.  My guess is that he was trying to make it to Truckee, but didn't have enough altitude so he landed Carson and hit a runway light.

 

Also, I'm mad jealous of that Lear and Stearman action, Bongodriver.

 

I am jealous of the Stearman :-)

[DD_bongodriver]

Talking of gliding, this is my late Father doing his thing in the late 60's

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00l802xBzvE&list=UUT0wvMpr3ndJLSIm6yOutmw

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

Talking of gliding, this is my late Father doing his thing in the late 60's

 

 

Wow - great to have that video.

 

Speaking of gliding, "Pops" Dory lives a bit east of me and is most known for his off airport STOL stuff, but he also doesn't let not having a glider stop him from doing a little thermaling:

 

 

.... and doing a nice job of energy management right into his parking spot.

Portugal has excellent weather for soaring, including wave soaring near the central mountain chains around Serra da Estrela. Unfortunately political and $$$ decisions closed our best BOP, the Covilhã aerodrome ( LPCV ).

 

There are presently just a few aerodromes with glider activity, and many glider owners, mostly with German registration because it used to be a lot less expensive to maintain due to the higher costs of insurance for gliders with "CS-" are exploring Spain and even France and Germany.

 

Worldwide, politicians seem to be trying to kill GA :-(

Edited November 14, 2014 by HeavyCavalrySgt

[DD_bongodriver]

 

 

A friend had a Sagitta to, in Africa, during the early seventies :-)

 

Interesting, there aren't many Sagittas and there are even less in Africa, it may be the same one, the Saggi belonged to the club and my dad was CFI, I recall it being sold from the club.

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

Small world!

[MiG21bisFishbedL]

I don't miss working for a living so the Learjet is a bit Meh! but the Stearman and Tiger moths are pure joy.

I've coveted those two for a while, especially the Tigermoth. I'll probably be looking into one stateside or, more likely, a Chipmunk.

[DD_bongodriver]

You will love the Chippie, I only had a go in one once but the handling is sweeeeeet!, the Tiger Moth is an awful aircraft in terms of handling yet is easy to fly...if that makes sense, the Stearman is just lovely in the air, can be tricky on the landing, I have been told I am not really a Stearman pilot because I haven't ground looped it yet.

[Dakpilot]

Checking oil consumption somewhere over Somalia

 

 

Turned out to be a nice pic

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[DD_bongodriver]

My coastguard hooliganism days.......miss it, so much fun

 

This is a sequence of pics of me beating up the Dover Coastguard MRCC station.

 

 

 

 

few others

 

 

 

 

Our Belgian counterparts

 

 

When the bongo was away on maintenance I got to play with this 310 instead

 

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

 So Bongo gets the callsign "Maverick" now? Great pics, thanks all for sharing

[DD_bongodriver]

Nobody else has any cool pics of their travels?

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

Yeah, I am surprised!

[indiaciki]

747 at LAX.jpg

 

Crossing overhead LAX, this 747 was just taking the runway.  I bet they are very careful about being on the centerline.

 

American River & Sacramento.jpg

 

Departing Mather, the American River and Sacramento at night.  Mather was a B-52 training base - one runway is about 11,000 feet.  Long runways are common in the high elevations where I live, but Mather is pretty close to sea level.  Mather has been a training base all the way back to just after WW1, when it had 360 runways ;-) 

 

Cardinal RG selfie.jpg

 

I don't always take selfies, but when I do, there is an airplane in them.  Cardinal RG enroute Dallas.  Fun airplane, but not a great climber.

 

Climbing out over the Sierras.jpg

 

172RF out of Reno, nearly over the Sierras near sunset.

 

Coaldale VOR High groundspeed.jpg

 

172RF again, Vegas to Reno.  This is about 70 miles off the Coaldale VOR, passing Area 51.  Notice the ground speed.  I blame UFOs. :D

 

Landing RNO.jpg

 

Landing 16R at Reno.

 

Passing LAX.jpg

 

Passing LAX.  I hope never to land there.

 

Truckee Snowed In.jpg

 

Tahoe Truckee - "...The airport is closed..."

 

Snow.jpg

 

The strobe, beacon and nav lights playing on the snow make this look Christmasy.  Probably Winnemucca or Lovelock - I don't recall.

 

I've been to a B52 base somewhere between Sacramento and Reno. They had a museum at an active B52 airbase with a B17, B25 a Starfighter and a couple of other planes. Is it the same base? The Mitchell was a real beauty.

[HeavyCavalrySgt]

I've been to a B52 base somewhere between Sacramento and Reno. They had a museum at an active B52 airbase with a B17, B25 a Starfighter and a couple of other planes. Is it the same base? The Mitchell was a real beauty.

 

That sounds more like Travis AFB to me, but I don't know for sure - I have not been to the museum there as embarrassing as that is to admit.  

[FlatSpinMan]

I'm somewhat late to this party, but having finally dumped some pics off my phone to the PC I thought I might share some pics taken in and around Kobe on my bike rides. All were taken within an hour's ride from my house.

In some places, Kobe (and urban Japan generally) can look really modern and futuristic.

 

 

This one is looking across the harbour from one artificial island to the one I live on.

 

These places always catch my eye when I bike past. They look quite striking from a distance, but close up they reveal their age.

 

The same buildings by night. 

 

As you can see, I like to bike by the sea.

But sometimes I go up into the hills behind the city. This one is taken at about 700m altitude. I live on that rectangular island in the centre of the picture. As you can see, cities here are fairly densely built up.

 

Just a small hillside shrine in the countryside (which you suddenly enter when you crest the hill of a quite nice suburban neighbourhood). 

 

A rice field in the same location. 

[FlatSpinMan]

Of course, being part of one of the larger urban areas in the world (look on Google Earth at the expanse of grey around Osaka  - Kobe is part of that area) definitely has its downsides.

For one thing, most of the place looks like this - a pic I took from a hotel in south Osaka Prefecture.

By night...

 

...and I think it's even uglier by day. Most of Japan's developed areas really are pretty ugly. Flying back from the beautiful Canadian Rockies this summer, I just about cried when I saw the scenery of Japan come into view.

 

 

But you find the beauty where you can. I took this on the bridge I ride across every day. This is looking down the harbour towards the centre of Kobe.

 

And here it is again one day when the damned dust from the Gobi Desert blew across. This affects us here in Japan for a few days every year. Can't imagine how bad it must be in Korea and China.

One good thing about Kobe is that if you get up into the hills you can quite quickly find yourself in patches of forest or countryside. It makes it a bit more livable than most other places in Japan, in my experience.

This next picture is a punishing 20 minutes uphill from my house. There are some apartment buildings and houses scattered around the area, but for the most part it's just trees. This picture actually is attempting to show a river flowing along beneath the trees but the foliage is too dense to see much. This was taken one summer. Things grow here like crazy in summer.

 

[C-Bag]

I've been to a B52 base somewhere between Sacramento and Reno. They had a museum at an active B52 airbase with a B17, B25 a Starfighter and a couple of other planes. Is it the same base? The Mitchell was a real beauty.

Sounds like the old Castle AFB in Atwater, now closed. But it has a great outdoor museum that has the bombers you mentioned including a Blackbird, a Vulcan and a bunch of other great warbirds.

 

I was born on that base on Armistice day in '53. Guess that's why I love military aircraft so much.

[C-Bag]

This is right across the bay from where I live. Morro Bay Ca, and a view of Morro Rock you can't get any other way as there's no access permitted. Also cool to see what drones can do.

 

[andyw248]

My wife seems to like when I pre-flight the plane...

 

 

[=LD=Penshoon]

Of course, being part of one of the larger urban areas in the world (look on Google Earth at the expanse of grey around Osaka  - Kobe is part of that area) definitely has its downsides.

For one thing, most of the place looks like this - a pic I took from a hotel in south Osaka Prefecture.

By night...

 

 

...and I think it's even uglier by day. Most of Japan's developed areas really are pretty ugly. Flying back from the beautiful Canadian Rockies this summer, I just about cried when I saw the scenery of Japan come into view.

 

 

 

But you find the beauty where you can. I took this on the bridge I ride across every day. This is looking down the harbour towards the centre of Kobe.

 

 

And here it is again one day when the damned dust from the Gobi Desert blew across. This affects us here in Japan for a few days every year. Can't imagine how bad it must be in Korea and China.

 

One good thing about Kobe is that if you get up into the hills you can quite quickly find yourself in patches of forest or countryside. It makes it a bit more livable than most other places in Japan, in my experience.

This next picture is a punishing 20 minutes uphill from my house. There are some apartment buildings and houses scattered around the area, but for the most part it's just trees. This picture actually is attempting to show a river flowing along beneath the trees but the foliage is too dense to see much. This was taken one summer. Things grow here like crazy in summer.

 

 

I wish I could go to Osaka one day, Shogun being one of my favorite tv series as a child I would love to see the castle, I'll PM you if I go there next on next trip, ok? 

Only visited Tokyo a few times but I like that you can find small wood ryokan inns squeezed in between huge ultra modern buildings. The way Japanese people build cities is very special. 

Also, even a simple elevator ride becomes an attraction...nervous Japanese guy: sssssugoi 

Amazing view from the top though, you feel quite tiny in this city.

Edited January 14, 2015 by =LD=Penshoon

[FlatSpinMan]

What building were you in - Tokyo Metropolitan Govt Offices in Shinjuku? Regardless, the view is amazing, isn't it? I always wonder how many people are hidden in that view.

Flying over the city in the daytime looks quite a lot like when Luke is skimming the surface of the Deathstar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you do make it to Osaka, stay on the train for about 30mins more (if it's the shinkansen) and go to Himeji Castle. It's spectacular and more authentic. It's been restored of course but at least it isn't concrete and doesn't have an elevator. Osaka-jo is nice to look at from the surrounding park though. Let me know if you are in town.

[=LD=Penshoon]

What building were you in - Tokyo Metropolitan Govt Offices in Shinjuku? Regardless, the view is amazing, isn't it? Flying over the city in the daytime looks quite a lot like when Luke is skimming the surface of the Deathstar.

If you do make it to Osaka, stay on the train for about 30mins more (if it's the shinkansen) and go to Himeji Castle. It's spectacular and more authentic. It's been restored of course but at least it isn't concrete and doesn't have an elevator. Osaka-jo is nice to look at from the surrounding park though. Let me know if you are in town.

 

Nice guess but it was the Sunshine city building in Ikebukuro. View was almost as amazing as the Tsukemen I had moments earlier   (Seriously, the tastiest noodles I've ever had)

 

Thanks for the info, will definitely contact you if I can make it to Osaka next time. Another trip to Tokyo is in the works for this Autumn.

[FlatSpinMan]

Ah, I've been there. They still have that Gyoza Stadium in it? I wanted to go there when I lived in Tokyo but couldn't face a 2-hour wait to get in followed by waiting at each individual stand inside.