Creepy

Hmmm... This would be a fun project to work on, but... ...aside from the ethical issues, it is amazing how oftentimes our best ideas for new technology are derived from Creation?

Long Journies

If I could have described in a single word what a vacation meant to me it might have been "over-rated". My brain doesn't disengage from the responsibilities of home well; and, often, the idea of all the hassle of preparing things at work for my absence, changing the oil in the van, packing for the trip and then navigating to some place in a suburb 600 miles from home seems like more trouble than just staying home.

I have to say that doesn't describe the last few trips very well, however, and the last little foray we took after the wedding was an especially needed mini-vacation - which I could not have envisioned or planned. Perhaps it could be likened to that pair of old heavy, if comfortable, boots. Once you put on a set of light running shoes, you wonder how you put up with the old, clunky, stinky things…

Not sure how that fits, but the long journey idea reminds me of the Cessna 180 Skywagon that we saw at Tillamook on Sunday. Apparently, a pair of these (including the one pictured) were the first "Light Aircraft" on the North Pole.

I would not choose to make that journey myself. After all, it's just cold up there; but some hearty souls in search of adventure found themselves a little piece of history.
This 180 is no hangar queen... ...but it is a beautiful little plane nonetheless. The picture is heavily massaged, and my wife sort of cringed to see what I was doing to it. I figure, much like matching socks, what I don't know won't embarrass me – until I know better. Here's to Navy Blue on the left foot and Black on the right!

Somewhere along the way I heard someone say something about their dream car - maybe it was one of the questions that my wife recommended for the bridal shower... ...you know, to give the bride a little twenty questions about the groom? I think it was something about his ultimate vehicle... ...I immediately thought out loud "My ultimate vehicle would be a Skywagon..."

This Skywagon is a 180. Skywagons also come as 185's and may be equipped with skiis (such as seen here), floats or wheels of course. Many owners are upgrading theirs with larger engines, wing tip extensions, tips tanks and large, 3-bladed props for improved performance and, well, more adventure... …Sadly, due to litigation and economy Cessna stopped making these airplanes in 1981. Still, they are one of the most popular bush airplanes flying.

The banner on my blog is actually a 185 on a set of our floats... ...one of my favorite tag lines that we put into some of our mailers at one point was "Take Yourself Off The Map..." (We meant it in the nicest possible way!) I imagined that were it possible, one would find some impossibly private corner of the world and disappear for a while...

Hmmm... One of these on a long journey would go a lot farther than our aging van, huh?

Another of my Favorites...

These were interesting to shoot. I love the old look of these and it was exactly what I had in mind when I took them. Crystal helped me with the editing - something I haven't the patience or time to learn on my own.

There are a lot of difficulties in photographing aircraft in public settings. People who are more interested in looking at the exhibits are not paying attention to you, so you have to wait until just the right moment to snap - or do a lot of magic in post-editing. I didn't take anything out but I did crop these ones.

I learned a tiny amount about masking in the top picture. That allowed me (us) to control the saturation levels of the flag - pretty nifty I think. I know, I know, Kindergarten for the rest of you... ...I couldn't figure out how to fix the flag - I think it is a standard 50 state arrangement and anyone who knows to look would set me straight about Alaska and Hawaii. I still like the shot - beggars can't be choosers.

The upper aircraft is a different view of the FM-2 Wildcat that I posted yesterday. This was a staple aircraft in the War in the Pacific, and like most of the great aircraft of the war, has its fans...

The FM-2 was one of the last versions of this "Type" being constructed by GM through 1944 I understand? (Factories were focused singularly on the war effort to get military hardware into battle and you will find that most of the auto manufacturers ceased production of cars in order to do that.)

The FM-2 was no match for a 1 v. 1 dogfight with a good Zero pilot, but with teamwork and some guts, the US pilots still managed to have a decisive win ratio. Still, its predecessors ("Wildcats" - just different versions...) were already outdated at the start of the war due to some misguided thinking in my opinion - When you curb military spending, you have a long "spin-up" to hurdle before you can be competitive again. Anyway, this FM-2 version was unique in that its lighter design allowed it to be stationed on smaller carriers for close support and sub hunting through the end of the Pacific war - they basically didn't put it toe to toe with the enemy Zeroes after the F6F Hellcat arrived.

The lower picture features a 1938 Bellanca Air Cruiser. It has a distinctive "W" shape in the lower wing. This is the only example that I have ever seen, and I checked the website - they think it is unique in the world as well. I don't know a lot about this design, but it is an interesting and beautiful aircraft in its own way.

There was a set of floats nearby (maybe I will work on some pics for that another time...) and a set of skiis for this aircraft as well - big equipment.

Also in the same shot, a Mig 15 that is definitely out of its era, but I think the picture is still nifty enough to hang in my office.

A shot from the past...

…in more ways than one.


This picture was taken yesterday in the Tillamook Air Museum, which was once the Tillamook Naval Air Station between 1942 and 1944, if memory serves correctly. (Yes, that Tillamook, the place where they make the cheese… and my jokes got cheesier as we got closer – until we saw this HUGE building that said, “AIR MUSEUM” from about ten miles away… …Skip the cheese factory and go see this – my wife and I and our 9 year old got in for under $20 – kids under 5 are free. Ooops – locked the keys in the van too - $65 for a locksmith… still, pretty cheap for a Sunday…)

All of the airplanes on display are not only airworthy, but they take them out and fly them periodically. There they sit, oil pans underneath the big radials, some with low tires and greasy finger prints on the props. Grit and grime and all, it looked and felt like a real hangar – as opposed to the pristine Evergreen Museum in McMinnville, but that’s another story. Here, they had two rules: 1) No running. 2) Please don’t turn the props – it makes the engines leak oil – (No Kidding…). What a treat to walk around and under these beautiful fire-snorting behemoths…! …with “my girls” no less!

The Airplane shown (again by memory) is/was a Grumman FM-2 Wildcat (not to be confused with the larger F6F Hellcat or some other similar variants).

The “Hangar” is one of the largest clear-span wood structures in the world and contains more unique vintage aircraft than I want to type out here.

I believe that the distracting nose cone in the left is a DC-3, but such notables as a P-38, Me 109 (Spanish variant), a Cessna 180 that was first to the North Pole and an old Bellanca with available floats and skiis (pictures another day?).

I was embarrassed to learn later that my wife was mildly amused by my tearing up (OK - a little) when they fired up the B-17 and taxied off with some lucky passengers for a scenic flight around the patch. (What can I say, it was all that smoke in my eyes…?) They planned to fly their Japanese “Oscar” today along with the P-38. I ran out of money though, so I came back to work instead. Noble, huh?

I told them how much I appreciated being able to afford to bring the whole family to this, and I wished I could have gotten a shot in the cockpit of some of those monsters for $20; but I did take lots of pictures, maybe I’ll share if they turn out… (My wife did the “retro” editing on this for me… …did I say that I loved her already?)