Airplane Porn (and the occasional helicopter)

[VFR800]

[angliagt]

              Is that part of the Wing & a Prayer Airlines  fleet?

[Jesse C.]

[Jesse C.]

Edited February 9, 2021 by Jesse C.

[VFR800]

[VFR800]

[VFR800]

[J-Luis]

S-58 Choctaw (Westland Wessex) - Helicopter Upside Down by Paola Pivi, Italian artist. 

I understand art and creativity, but I hope this beautiful machine met a better fate after being displayed in this way. 

[J-Luis]

[J-Luis]

707 Boeing Dash-80 prototype barrel roll upside-down by Pilot Tex Johnston. 

[Jesse C.]

[Jesse C.]

I just love the old Revell model box art! 

 

[MikeRL411]

On 2/8/2021 at 10:20 PM, Jesse C. said:

 

Ah the old days !  Who wears short shorts.  Or hot pants.  LA  to San Jose for $17 paid on plane.

[VFR800]

[VFR800]

[VFR800]

[Racer X 69]

I shot this 1942 Stearman just before the owner put it away after an afternoon flight at Paine field a while back.

 

1942 Stearman by Racer, on Flickr

[Racer X 69]

Handley Page HP-80 Victor K2 at the Lynnwood Rotary Airshow, Paine Field 1986. Note the Boeing factory in the background. The hangar where I shot the Stearman posted earlier is about 100 feet or so behind where this airplane was sitting. The airport has changed dramatically since then. I lived nearby, and rode my bicycle there for the airshows, and knowing the gate code would let myself in where the general aviation hangars were, and slip in the back way. Never once paid to get in to the airshows.

 

Shot on Kodachrome, with a Ricoh XR2S, with a Vivitar 90-230mm zoom lens. 

 

Copied with a Pentax K5IIs, and A50mm f1.7 lens with a Pentax Auto Bellows M and Slide Copier For Auto Bellows M.
 

 

Handley Page HP-80 Victor K2 by Racer, on Flickr

[Racer X 69]

Another from my Kodachrome airshow series. A BD5J, N21AP, at Paine Field, 1981. A recent search of the FAA N number registry shows this airplane is still registered and has a current airworthiness certificate, valid to 02/29/2024.

 

 

BD5J by Racer, on Flickr

[goes2fast]

8 hours ago, Racer X 69 said:

Another from my Kodachrome airshow series. A BD5J, N21AP, at Paine Field, 1981. A recent search of the FAA N number registry shows this airplane is still registered and has a current airworthiness certificate, valid to 02/29/2024.

 

 

BD5J by Racer, on Flickr

Is that the same one used in the James Bond movie and the Coors commercial?

[Racer X 69]

1 hour ago, goes2fast said:

Is that the same one used in the James Bond movie and the Coors commercial?

 

Not sure if that is the exact one in the movie and the commercials, but certainly the same type. These were kit airplanes, the base model was set up for a reciprocal engine with a propeller. This was one that was set up for the jet engine, and was built, and is still registered to Bob Bishop.

[Racer X 69]

More from my Kodachrome series. A Turbo Mooney, belonging to the USMC, Paine Field, 1981. I checked the tail number, and the airplane has been deregistered.

 

Turbo Mooney by Racer, on Flickr

[Racer X 69]

The Kodachrome series continues.

 

My dad was stationed at NAS Whidbey Island in the mid 1960's. I went to the annual open house and airshow in 1981, and shot this series of the US Navy Blue Angels number 1 airplane rolling out for their demonstration routine.

 

Blue Angels by Racer, on Flickr

 

Blue Angels by Racer, on Flickr

 

Blue Angels by Racer, on Flickr

[Racer X 69]

When we lived on Whidbey, these were the airplanes that flew in and out all hours of the day and night.

 

NAS Whidbey by Racer, on Flickr

 

P3 Orion by Racer, on Flickr

 

 

[Racer X 69]

Mrs. Racer and I spent a week on Orcas Island a few years ago. One day driving by the airstrip at Eastsound I spotted a sign, "Biplane Rides".

 

So we went for a ride with Rod Magner, a retired US Navy pilot, in his 1929 Travelair.

 

1929 Travel Air by Racer, on Flickr

 

 

Such beautiful engines these airplanes have. Maybe I should post this in the engine pron thread, eh?

 

1929 Travel Air by Racer, on Flickr

 

 

A ferry heading from Orcas to Lopez.

 

1929 Travel Air by Racer, on Flickr

 

 

So the flight was an hour, and we saw some cool stuff, even the Island that belonged to actor John Wayne. But all good things must end eventually, and we headed back to Eastsound. But another pilot, in a Cessna with floats, forgot to lower his wheels before landing, and had skidded to a stop, blocking the runway. 

 

1929 Travel Air by Racer, on Flickr

 

 

So rather than try to land the Travelair on the taxiway, Rod decided to head over to Friday Harbor. 

 

1929 Travel Air by Racer, on Flickr

 

He was going to have us walk to the ferry, and then have a taxi pick us up at Orcas, but before we could part ways he got a call that the plane had been moved off of the runway, so back into the biplane and off we went, getting another hour for free. Rod took us over some other sights that he doesn't normally fly on the tours, including a quick buzz around the lookout at Mount Constitution.

 

Finally, we return to Eastsound.

 

1929 Travel Air by Racer, on Flickr