In the World of the High Tech Redneck, the Graybeard is the old guy who earned his gray by making all the mistakes, and tries to keep the young 'uns from repeating them. Silicon Graybeard is my term for an old hardware engineer; a circuit designer. The focus of this blog is on doing things, from radio to home machine shops and making all kinds of things, along with comments from a retired radio engineer, that run from tech, science or space news to economics; from firearms to world events.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
As Seen From My Yard
When you can't get all four of them in the frame, you know you're close. Sigma 70-300 at 300mm on a Canon T3i, 1/800 sec at f16. Image shrunk but not cropped in Gimp, light touch with unsharp masking tool.
It was awesome. We got a second day of it just a little while ago. Flybys of a P-51, F-16 and F-22. One of the Blues went over head so loud and low every dog in the neighborhood started barking. So fast I couldn't get the shot with all the trees.
From '77 to '85, I lived under the flightpath for Moffet NAS, in Sunnyvale. Standing on the roof, I was looking in the cockpit of some of the Blue Angels as they turned (75-80 degree bank?) at the start of their passes. Interesting to see them lift up to clear neighborhood trees, and push over to keep low to sneak up on the show crowd.
Airshow arrivals were also entertaining. A low level BUFF certainly qualifies as an aluminum overcast! Very rumble-y. First time it flew in, I thought it was an earthquake. (quite a few in those days)
Loudest aircraft? NASA's U-2 (TR-71?) version. When they spooled up that old engine design right overhead, holy crap! I think they were deploying flaps or spoilers at that point, or they never would have got that thing onto the runway after adding power. Every day at about 2:00pm.
Most Impressive? The B-58 Hustler that nearly blew me off Hyway 101 in '77, as I crested the overpass in my '66 Ranchero, at the beginning of the runway. Evening arrival. No mistaking that planform, with the 4 separate engine pods. Not there for a show, just a transient. Might have been on it's way to a retirement location, perhaps. No idea why it didn't land at Travis AFB, it's not that far away by air. Who knows?
Will, I live in the approach pattern for Patrick AFB, so I've seen U2s. Back during the 80s (Sandanista/Contra) there was a U2 flight you could set your watch by. They're impressive planes and I've heard some wild stories about them over the years.
We get to see some interesting planes on a transient basis. A lot of cargo planes, sure, but also an F-117, and some Harriers. I'd have loved to see a B-58 Hustler!
Also back in the 80s, Patrick used have an air show every spring. The Thunderbirds used to fly there every year. It was fun watching them, too. They were here last year, and I got a few shots, but none as "close" as these.
YoW!
ReplyDeleteThat's "Count The Rivets" close!
It was awesome. We got a second day of it just a little while ago. Flybys of a P-51, F-16 and F-22. One of the Blues went over head so loud and low every dog in the neighborhood started barking. So fast I couldn't get the shot with all the trees.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they're just great to watch.
ReplyDeleteI've seen the Blues and the T-Birds numerous times, and their styles are very different.
The Blue Angles are amazing PRECISION flying, while The Thunderbirds are more "show offy", doing wilder routines.
Either puts on a great show. Just wish I didn't have to drive 2+ hours to see them.
From '77 to '85, I lived under the flightpath for Moffet NAS, in Sunnyvale. Standing on the roof, I was looking in the cockpit of some of the Blue Angels as they turned (75-80 degree bank?) at the start of their passes. Interesting to see them lift up to clear neighborhood trees, and push over to keep low to sneak up on the show crowd.
ReplyDeleteAirshow arrivals were also entertaining. A low level BUFF certainly qualifies as an aluminum overcast! Very rumble-y. First time it flew in, I thought it was an earthquake. (quite a few in those days)
Loudest aircraft? NASA's U-2 (TR-71?) version. When they spooled up that old engine design right overhead, holy crap! I think they were deploying flaps or spoilers at that point, or they never would have got that thing onto the runway after adding power. Every day at about 2:00pm.
Most Impressive? The B-58 Hustler that nearly blew me off Hyway 101 in '77, as I crested the overpass in my '66 Ranchero, at the beginning of the runway. Evening arrival. No mistaking that planform, with the 4 separate engine pods. Not there for a show, just a transient. Might have been on it's way to a retirement location, perhaps. No idea why it didn't land at Travis AFB, it's not that far away by air. Who knows?
Will, I live in the approach pattern for Patrick AFB, so I've seen U2s. Back during the 80s (Sandanista/Contra) there was a U2 flight you could set your watch by. They're impressive planes and I've heard some wild stories about them over the years.
ReplyDeleteWe get to see some interesting planes on a transient basis. A lot of cargo planes, sure, but also an F-117, and some Harriers. I'd have loved to see a B-58 Hustler!
Also back in the 80s, Patrick used have an air show every spring. The Thunderbirds used to fly there every year. It was fun watching them, too. They were here last year, and I got a few shots, but none as "close" as these.