Aviation BS and Photo Thread

Yea I'm between the JOT VOR and MDW and not too much going on.

 

The skies are clear of chemtrails.

 

This so much truth as I live by Dulles Airport and it has been eerie silent ....

 

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My wife and daughter are (permanently moving from Thailand to USA now) flying from BKK to ATL and are in DOH right now.

They sent me pics tonight from BKK and DOH airports and those large airports are very empty.

Hard to get a good flight connection and Qatar Airlines has cancelled a lot of flights.

It will take them over 50 hours (with only 24 hours of flying time) to get from Chiang Rai, Thailand to ATL.

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...^^^... Wife and daughter starting their final journey from a nearly empty Bangkok airport back to ATL on March 28, 2020.

They are wearing goggles and masks to travel ... lol



...^^^... Wife took a pic of my daughter in nearly empty airport in Doha on March 28, 2020.

I used to go thru DOH often (via Qatar Airlines - love this airline) from ATL to BKK and have never seen this before (few or no people in main area) ...

 

I've noticed a big drop in flights into my local airport in NW Washington. There was a big uptick in float plane traffic from my local lake though, which has been kind of cool. There's a Lake Amphibian that has been flying over enough that I recognize the engine sound. There's also a Cessna on floats that I see almost daily. Had a DeHavilland Beaver on floats fly over that I'd never seen before. It was surprisingly quiet, I'm not sure if he'd throttled back for noise abatement. There's a Grumman Goose that I've been keeping an eye out for. Haven't seen him yet this year. There's also a PBY Catalina that pops up but haven't seen him this year either. The pipe-line inspection plane is still on his regular schedule. I think he has the most fun out of them all and he's probably considered "essential". I'll have to get a picture if I can one of these days but if I'm not outside when I hear him then he's long gone by the time I get to the door. His M.O. is low and fast but he'll rock his wings if you wave to him.

Had a P-3 fly over and then a couple F-18's. They were probably Growlers due to NAS Whidbey being close by but it was impossible to tell for sure. Pretty sure that the P51 Val Halla was out the other day too:



Now the weather has turned crappy again so it's been pretty quiet except for the CBP Blackhawk. I'm pretty sure the pilot lives in my neighborhood since he's always flying over. He'll do a couple of circles over part of the neighborhood where I've seen a guy in a flight suit walking to his car.

 

That P-51 makes me feel all tingly!!

 

It's part of a small aviation museum that used to be here in town. They have two main attractions, the P51 and a Skyraider. The Skyraider, "The Proud American" is, IMO, cooler than the mustang

The first time I went to the museum was a bit of a bummer. They had a small but neat area of models and memorabilia, but I was there to see the airplanes. Unfortunately, both the Mustang and Skyraider were out flying for the day. I still enjoyed looking at the other planes and helicopter on display, but none of those were a Mustang or Skyraider, y'know?

So, anynow, walking around looking at the planes and I hear the roar of the big radial tearing down the runway. I walked over to the cones/chain at the hangar door to see if I could see the plane but there were other hangars between us and the runway. The plane did several passes that I could only hear and then it got quiet. The docent that I was standing next told me to sit tight, the plane would be taxiing up momentarily. Sure enough, after a couple of minutes here she came. She was in the process of folding her wings as she taxied up and stopped with her left wing about ten feet from me. The prop is giant and it was just ticking over right there til the pilot shut it down. You don't realize how loud the engine is til it stops. Afterwards the pilot climbed down, they rigged up the little tug and they backed it into the hangar.

I walked around the plane a few times after they had parked it and stowed the tug. For those who've never been around a Skyraider, they are fricken huge, especially when compared to a Mustang. The plane towers over you. Anyhow, after about my third lap the pilot had stowed the tug and was walking back through the hangar.

"Go ahead and climb up if you want to take a look in the cockpit, just don't go into the cockpit or touch anything in it. Be careful, it's slippery"

I didn't need to be invited twice. Up I went onto the left wing root, minding the "no step" marks while trying not to fall on my ass. Those pictures with the giant oil streaks down the side are no joke. It doesn't take much flying for oil to coat the side and wing. Everything that I was touching or climbing on was oily. I spent a while up there listening to the engine ticking as it cooled.

I've been to a few aviation museums over the years, but that, by far was the coolest and most memorable museum experience that I've had.

Here's the plane, not my picture:


And here's the museum, it's moved a couple towns to the south of me now:
https://heritageflight.org/

Going through the aircraft collection it looks like they've got some new ones. They didn't have the zero and I'm pretty sure I would have remembered the beaver. I'm going to have to take a drive once all this virus stuff clears up.

 

Skyraiders are awesome. There’s a good museum at the airport I fly out of and I heard that the A-1 can carry more payload than the plane weighs empty. Something like that. Also, you write like an author!

 

I think the Skyraider started my tail wheel addiction. I'd love to get a chance to keep one going straight down the runway someday!

 

Skyraiders are badass

 

Listening to the engine cool...got me all sentimental for N18777. My dad's D-17 Staggerwing.

 

I hope to one day get a private license and eventually fly commercially. Living in Alaska, there are plenty employment opportunities.

 

just get yourself a good 185 or 206 and go to work. Really miss Alaska and wish I could do it over once I retire from my day job. I’d find a way to owe money on a beaver.

 

It’s only money, right!?

 

the older I am, the more I agree. If I was younger and back in Dillingham for that first time, I’d find a way.

 

I’d like to find a way too. Hoping to own a plane before I’m 40. We will see what Corona has to say about that though.

 

@SOSHeloPilot I love Qatar Airlines. KWI to DOH to JFJ what a flight... But i dont miss Kuwait 11 months there, been home 4 months never leaving again! Its only $.

 

I used to see that Mustang at some events in Western Washington when I lived up there. It is good to see it is still flying around the area.

 

Haha, i hear ya.
I lived in Bethel for a while.

 

I expect to see an influx of newer planes on the market in a few months. Hate it for anyone who has to make those financial decisions, but I think there will be some good deals if you are looking to buy. I wish my son was ready or we would be looking.