I transferred from the Richmond Inn to the Hilton yesterday.  Much nicer hotel with a great view of the mountains and the airport.  And other things.

Woke up this morning to the sight of a car fire about a block away from the hotel.  Nothing major so I placed a non-emergency call to the fire department.

Speaking of fire, last night’s sunset was pretty.

Was hoping for some nice weather but so far today is coming up cloudy and cool.  Oh well.

Through how air moves (predictably) to the different types of clouds and what they mean to the dangers that weather holds for small aircraft, it’s a fascinating part of the studies. Unfortunately, I’m going to miss the final class next week as I’m off to Vancouver on business. I can make the class up later but I think it’s best to take all 3 in a row so I’ll jump out of the current schedule and pick it up again on a different night.

In the meantime, I’ve picked up a few books on the subject that I’ll read while I’m away.

If you’re interested in the subject, a good place to start is the Cloud Appreciation Society where you’ll find thousands of cloud pictures.

Last night in groundschool, we started a three week study of meteorology with a basic overview of terms and concepts.  One point we touched on was clouds.  Really didn’t know there were so many types.  So when I ducked outside for a smoke and saw this I just had to grab a picture with my Blackberry.

In 1985, “Hounds of Love” was released with the beautiful “Running Up That Hill” showcasing Kate’s vocal as well as dance skills.

Here’s the same song featuring David Gilmour.

Bush’s songs told stories and her videos brought these stories to life.  “Cloudbusting” features Donald Sutherland in a cautionary tale of governmental abuse of power.

Kate Bush, an original in every way.

My flight back home was on one of the venerable British Airways 747-400s.  As we draw nearer to the first revenue flight of the  Airbus 380 on October 25th, the 747 will be relegated to the status of the second biggest commercial aircraft.

The chances of me ever flying the 380 are remote, Toronto just isn’t on anyone’s list of destinations for the flying whale.  Hopefully, I’ll still have plenty of opportunity to board the 747.

Boeing literally bet the company when it announced plans to build the world’s largest aircraft way back in 1965.  Five years later, PanAm flew the first passengers from New York to London Heathrow and the world of air travel was never the same.  The initial forecast of 400 planes produced has grown to over 1400 deliveries.

The very first 747 I ever flew on was a CP Air (Canadian Pacific Airlines) 100 series way back in 1982.  The Empress of China was a lovely bird – all orange and silver – and an incredible sight.  Huge and majestic.  The first thought upon seeing one was “How do they get this thing off the ground?”.  Four massive engines putting out over 63,000 pounds of thrust each lift almost 1 million pounds gracefully.  There’s still nothing like the sight of a 400 with wings flexed at a seemingly impossible angle rising slowly, almost too slowly, as it embarks on a long overseas journey.

Descriptions of the size of the 747 are hard to grasp so a picture like this one gives you some impression of just how big the bird really is.  A Qantas 747-400ER being pushed back at Heathrow Saturday afternoon as we prepared to leave.  A powerful tug and the ground communicator dwarfed by the immense aircraft.  Longreach indeed.

Same aircraft, spooling up in preparation to taxi out to the active.

Finally, shot along the wing as we cruise at 36,000 feet at .98 mach over the Atlantic. Compare the straight wing of the Qantas above with the flex shown here.  On the ground, you can’t even see the outboard engine but once she takes to the air, the wing tip rises until you swear it’s going to snap.

The future of the 747 is cloudy.  For sure, the existing airframes will continue in service for decades to come but there’s not much interest in Boeing’s next version, the 747-800i.  The “Intercontinental” is not seeing any orders though a lot of interest is being shown in a freighter version.  Airbus may rule the skies when it comes to VLCT (Very Large Commercial Transport) but airlines are unsure if 800 passenger aircraft are the wave of the future or whether smaller, more fuel efficient models like the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A350 make better sense.

Whatever the future, the 747 stands as a testament to the vision and ingenuity of Boeing’s designers.  A great aircraft that will always be my favorite.

Yesterday afternoon, a short violent thunderstorm roared through Ontario with damaging winds and intense rain.  This broke the humidity and cleared the smog.

This shot was taken early this morning (about 6:15am) at Peel Village Golf Course in Brampton.  The sun is just rising highlighting a clean, cloudless sky.

One of the old willow trees on the course fell victim to the storm.  Willows are extremely weak as they grow older and many have fallen over the years that I’ve played this course.

Preliminary reports say that the pilot may have hit power lines and crashed in a residential area.

Close formation flying is dangerous and the Blue Angels are some of the finest masters of this art.

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941

Rest in peace.

Still using up the balance of my 2006 vacation.  A nice morning to grab the camera for some experimentation.

This was taken in a park in Brampton beside the 410 highway at the 407 interchange. Clouds obscure the sun as it rises giving this bare tree a nice silhouette.

I was hoping to get some nice shots of aircraft as they lifted off Runway 23 at Pearson and this is the closest I got.  Not the best focus or layout but I’m fairly happy with this.  I think it captures the idea of heading out on an adventure.

Folk singer Pete Seeger wrote a song in 1963 called “Waist Deep In The Big Muddy” as a protest against the Vietnam “conflict”.  The big fool here was Lyndon Johnson but I think the words fit the current administration’s plans very well.

It was back in nineteen forty-two,
I was a member of a good platoon.
We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna,
One night by the light of the moon.
The captain told us to ford a river,
That’s how it all begun.
We were — knee deep in the Big Muddy,
But the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, “Sir, are you sure,
This is the best way back to the base?”
“Sergeant, go on! I forded this river
‘Bout a mile above this place.
It’ll be a little soggy but just keep slogging.
We’ll soon be on dry ground.”
We were — waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

The Sergeant said, “Sir, with all this equipment
No man will be able to swim.”
“Sergeant, don’t be a Nervous Nellie,”
The Captain said to him.
“All we need is a little determination;
Men, follow me, I’ll lead on.”
We were — neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool said to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over,
We heard a gurgling cry.
A few seconds later, the captain’s helmet
Was all that floated by.
The Sergeant said, “Turn around men!
I’m in charge from now on.”
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body
Stuck in the old quicksand.
I guess he didn’t know that the water was deeper
Than the place he’d once before been.
Another stream had joined the Big Muddy
‘Bout a half mile from where we’d gone.
We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy
When the big fool said to push on.

Well, I’m not going to point any moral;
I’ll leave that for yourself
Maybe you’re still walking, you’re still talking
You’d like to keep your health.
But every time I read the papers
That old feeling comes on;
We’re — waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the big fool says to push on.
Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a
Tall man’ll be over his head, we’re
Waist deep in the Big Muddy!
And the big fool says to push on!

(story)