September is here and someone turned off Summer

Posted on Tue,September/6/2011 by Ken

Wow, that was some weekend. From feeling like 40 Celsius on Saturday to 15 yesterday. We always think of Labor Day as the “unofficial” end of Summer but there’s no reason for the weather to remind us what’s to come.

Had a great time working the Canadian International Air Show down at the CNE on Toronto’s lakefront. This is such an outstanding event with a 62 year history and I’m so pleased that I’ve been able to help out for 2 years now. Working Boss Control on Ontario Place’s West Island gives you the absolute best seat in the house with access to pilots, crews and event management and the perfect view as the show unfolds right in front of you.

The only criticism I have is the direction you face which makes lighting very, very problematic. The poor Nikon is challenged on every shot but this is such a small issue that I shouldn’t even mention it. The CIAS is just so dam much fun.

The picture above was taken on Labor Day. Dale “Snort” Snodgrass with the Heavy Metal Jet Team puts his MiG-17 through a low-level high-speed knife edge pass over Lake Ontario at 700kmh. An incredible piece of flying in a beautifully decked out classic fighter.

No air show this weekend? How did that happen????

Posted on Fri,August/26/2011 by Ken

A rare weekend off with no opportunity to go look at airplanes. Frankly, I could use the rest.

Next weekend is the Canadian International Airshow at the CNE in Toronto. Then it’s off to Niagara Falls New York for the Thunder Over Niagara military show. Finally, September 17 in Gatineau Quebec for the Vintage Wings and EAA show and fly-in.

That should be it for 2011. Looking at the 2012 calendar, I’m already seeing 7 that I’ll either be working or attending.

A great time in Waterloo

Posted on Mon,August/22/2011 by Ken

Had a wonderful weekend standing on the hot ramp at the 2011 Waterloo Air Show at the Region of Waterloo International Airport about an hour outside of Toronto.

Long days of standing on hot tarmac may not sound like fun but when you get to spend it close to aircraft and aviators you somehow forget about how sore your feet are.

The show had a great selection of aircraft from vintage to modern including Canada’s Snowbird team along with the Viper East F-16 Demo Team and the CF-18 Hornet Demonstration Unit.

These pictures come from an early morning photo op we arranged for the media on Saturday just as the sun was rising. Of course, I had to take a few shots of my own. By far my favourite is this one of the Snowbird #9 (Capt. Brett Glaseser) aircraft.

The air show tour continues

Posted on Tue,August/16/2011 by Ken

The calendar marches on and mid-August finds 3 more air shows on my to-do list. Two I’m working and one is just to watch.

First on this list is the Waterloo Air Show that takes place August 20-21 at the Region of Waterloo International Airport outside of Toronto. I’m working airside security at this one so there won’t be many photo opportunities but I’ll do my best to grab a few shots of what looks to be a fantastic group of performers and static displays including the Snowbirds and the CF-18 demonstration team.

The end of the month marks the unofficial end of Summer and in Toronto that means two things. The end of the CNE and the Canadian International Air Show, better known as the CNE Air Show. This will be my second year working in Boss Control on the Ontario Place island. Absolute best seat in the house to see a fast paced over-water show from the likes of perennial favourites the Snowbirds to the V22 Osprey making its first appearance and the Heavy Metal Jet Team who put on a great show at Oshkosh. Dates for this show are September 3rd, 4th and 5th.

September 16th marks probably what will be my last road trip of the year to watch airplanes. Vintage Wings of Canada and the EAA Canada chapters come together for Wings over Gatineau, a one day event which promises to see the skies full of birds- military, private, old and new. I’m a member of both groups but this one is strictly for pleasure and picture taking. Gatineau is located just across the Quebec border from Ottawa.

The Canadian air show calendar might be more compressed than the US but there’s lots to see in that time.

I’m honored

Posted on Thu,August/4/2011 by Ken

Many thanks to Dan Pimentel, editor of Airplanista Magazine for including one of my Oshkosh shots in the August issue. He chose one of my shots of the Red Bull helicopter flown by Chuck Aaron in its amazing performance.

It was a pleasure meeting Dan and we had a great time at a couple of Tweetups.

Oshkosh memories

Posted on Thu,August/4/2011 by Ken

It’s been four days since I got home from Oshkosh and the smile is still glued firmly to my face. Everything they say about experiencing AirVenture is true. Why else would I be making plans for 2012?

541,000 people made the trip to the sleepy little city of Oshkosh. A t-shirt for sale said it best: “Oshkosh a quiet little drinking town with a flying problem”. How they handle that many people tells you a lot about the people who come. Friendly, patient, accommodating crowds sharing a common passion – flight.

From precision jets to the world’s only flying B-29 bomber to a homebuilt single seater, Oshkosh is where the airplanes are. If it flies, it’s been to Oshkosh.

Why else would Boeing fly the 787 Dreamliner in for a day? Tens of thousands of enthusiasts stood in line for hours in sweltering heat to tour the aircraft. No one complains.

Legendary designer Burt Rutan is there and his aircraft arrive in droves including the iconic Boomerang and Beechcraft Starship.

At Oshkosh, he’s just another EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) member. Like “Sully” Sullenberger, Captain of US Airways Flight 1549 – The Miracle On The Hudson” who attended a number of events and was more than willing to talk for a minute or pose for the fans’ photos.

I’ll be posting photos for months but I’ll leave you with this one. The world’s largest airship. And I got to go for a flight.

How long to Oshkosh 2012?

Down the 401 to St. Thomas

Posted on Fri,June/24/2011 by Ken

Great Lakes International Air Show in St. Thomas Ontario this weekend. About a 2 1/2 hour drive with fingers crossed that the weather improves greatly.

Looks like a good show planned.

Pictures are up!

Hamilton Air Show

Posted on Sun,June/19/2011 by Ken

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton is holding their 2 day Air Show. I spent the day there yesterday and it was a pleasure to be able to enjoy the sight of all those wonderful classic aircraft. It’s always great to get a chance to see their Avro Lancaster MK.X flying (one of only 2 flying airframes in the world). Vintage Wings of Canada was well represented as well.

CWHM hasn’t had a full air show in 10 years and it was easy to see that they had a few problems, mainly with crowd handling, but all-in-all they put on a wonderful show.

More photos are available here.

National Museum of the United States Air Force

Posted on Tue,February/1/2011 by Ken

Spent an absolutely fantastic weekend playing aviation geek down in Dayton Ohio at the USAF museum.

I’m just starting to go through the hundreds and hundreds of pictures I took over the course of a day and a half. Lots of them are going to show up here and on Flickr over the next few months. Might even get me through to Oshkosh in July.

Let’s start with the strangest of the bunch. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the XF-85 Goblin.

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“The McDonnell XF-85 Goblin was designed to meet a USAAF requirement for a single-seat "parasite" escort fighter that could be carried by a large bomber. Development of two prototypes was ordered in March 1947. The resulting design was entirely the product of design constraints, which required it to fit into the bomb bay of a B-36 (although it was first tested under a B-29). The B-36 was the intended mother ship that would carry as many as three Goblins.

A tiny, short fuselage was fitted with low/mid-set foldable swept wings, of 21 ft 1.5 in (6.44 m) span. It was powered by a 3,000 lb (1,400 kgf) Westinghouse J34-WE-7 turbojet. There was no landing gear except for emergency skids. The fighter was intended to return to the parent aircraft and dock with a trapeze, by means of a retracting hook.” (From Wikipedia)

Looking like somebody’s idea of a joke, the Goblin actually flew quite well when away from the turbulence of the mother ship.

Only 2 were built and 46-6523 was transferred to the museum soon after the program’s cancellation in 1950.

2011 – Ready for takeoff

Posted on Sat,January/1/2011 by Ken

Came across this in a 2010 calendar of cat pictures. Blatantly stolen but it sums up my hopes for the year. Resume flying lessons, be inquisitive, go for it.

It also doesn’t hurt that the cat looks like one of ours. The lovely Sarah.

Through The Mist Darkly

My head is in the clouds

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