"Aviation Photo Thread" (Planes, Helos, Balloons, etc)...

Happy to see someone else doing it, but it's definitely not for me ...

There's a name in my head when I see pictures of aircraft and mountains together, and that name is Steve Fossett.

-R
Steve Fossett was a glider pilot besides holding some other licences.
He most likely fell victim to mountain wave when he hit the downside of it and his aircraft became uncontrollable.
Glider pilots use this kind of non thermal soaring to gain extreme heights.
There is another glider pilot who did much better and saved 150 lives. It is Chesley B. Sullenberger who was experienced enough to make a water landing with the unpowered Airbus 320
 
pict 024.jpg
 
Stretching the limits a bit with this shot from the Scale Model Challenge 2017 :D

View attachment 232618
Leica M-E, 90mm f/4 Elmar.



View attachment 232619
Dakota and Spitfire - 75th Anniversary of Market Garden 1944-2019
Leica IIIc, 5cm f/2 Summitar, Fomapan 100
I flew model airplanes for many years. I was never into true scale models, but I knew a few people who built some incredibly precise scale models of real aircraft.
 
pict 029.jpg

This is the last picture in this series.
All pics taken with Leicaflex SL mot and Elmarit-R 2,8/135 or Elmarit-R 2,8/180. Kodachrome film was used for all images.
My "career" lasted for almost ten years. During this time I was a member of the local glider club.
Photos got published in "Der Adler" a monthly mag edited by Baden-Württembergischer Luftfahrtverband, "Sailplane and Gliding" and for several years in "Der Deutsche Segelflugkalender".
When I felt that I was endangering not only myself but also the glider-pilots I terminated the project.
After this exciting period in my life I became a concert photographer when I had won the competition "Music Governs the World"
 
Last edited:
50381972181_c860a77eea_h.jpg

Air Asia 9M RAE at the Air Bridge - Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

Snapped a photo of Air Asia’s Airbus A320-216, 9M RAE at the air bridge at Bali Ngurah Rai International airport.

I was a bit surprised as, as other low-cost carriers flying in and out of Bali they seem to have to make use of buses to get passengers on and off planes. Even flying Guardia, Indonesia national airline has seen us doing the bus shuttle.
 
I have mixed feelings about air bridges.

They are safe and convenient, and these days it comes as something of a surprise when I turn up somewhere and I have to walk down a set of stairs to get to a bus or to the terminal. Stepping out of the cabin you suddenly get the noise of the airport and the whiff of jet fuel, usually accompanied by unpredictable gusts of wind (the sort which keep Donald Trump awake at night). Rain too, sometimes. But when the weather is fine I rather like the old-school approach, and I step down from the plane and imagine that I look like Richard Burton or Michael Caine arriving somewhere glamorous in the 60s, which I don't.

-R
 
I think those last two pictures clearly show the origins of the problems with the 737 Max.

The Airbus in the first picture has a slightly taller undercarriage, which means that a modern, efficient (ie large) turbofan engine can be mounted under the wing in the conventional position.

In contrast, The 737 is an older design, it was optimised for operation at regional airports and deliberately sits low on the ground for ease of baggage handling and passenger loading. But there's not enough clearance under its wing for a modern turbofan to be mounted in the normal way. To remain competitive while avoiding a complete re-design, Boeing came up with the 737 Max, whose (new) engine is mounted on a pylon, slightly forward of the wing. Moving the engine forward like that led to compromised flight characteristics, which Boeing addressed with software. And it's the operation of that software which is thought to have been a central factor in the loss of two aircraft.

-R
 
Last edited:
View attachment 236414
Lion Group PK-LQG - Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport by Andrew Priest, on Flickr

One of Lion Group’s infamous Boeing 737 Max 8 taxing at Bali Ngurah Rai International airport in October 2018. The aircraft is reported as being parked since April 2019 which is not surprising given the history of the Boeing Max 8

I think those last two pictures clearly show the origins of the problems with the 737 Max.

The Airbus in the first picture has a slightly taller undercarriage, which means that a modern, efficient (ie large) turbofan engine can be mounted under the wing in the conventional position.

In contrast, The 737 is an older design, it was optimised for operation at regional airports and deliberately sits low on the ground for ease of baggage handling and passenger loading. But there's not enough clearance under its wing for a modern turbofan to be mounted in the normal way. To remain competitive while avoiding a complete re-design, Boeing came up with the 737 Max, whose (new) engine is mounted on a pylon, slightly forward of the wing. Moving the engine forward like that led to compromised flight characteristics, which Boeing addressed with software. And it's the operation of that software which is thought to have been a central factor in the loss of two aircraft.

-R
I sort of been following the 737 max story too. I mean would any of us seriously consider getting on one?
 
Does anyone have photos of the tail turret of the Wellington WWII bomber? My Dad was a tail gunner in one of those.

I've done a little looking online, and, so far, I'm not impressed with what I've seen.

Cheers, Jock
 
LV180801.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Halberstadt CL.IV replica (WIP) at the NMM 2018
Kodak (Folmer&Schwing) "Top Handle" Speed Graphic 4x5, with a 135mm Doppel-Anastigmat (with haze) and some Fomapan 100

LV180833.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Another shot of the Beechcraft at the NMM 2018
Kodak No.2 Folding Pocket - Model B with Fomapan 100
 
Back
Top