Nuuumannn's quick trip to Reno!

nuuumannn said:

For today, aircraft y'all should all be familiar with by now...

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The lovely Swamp Fox. So, I spoke with an old hand at photographing at Reno about low shutter speeds and blur, which, he told me resulted in aircraft vibrating even when static. Parts of aircraft vibrate at different amounts to other parts of aircraft and this is often noticed when aircraft are sitting with their engines running. I had noticed this before but just thought it was something in the lens/user interface, but it makes perfect sense. It explains why some of my photos are slightly blurred and some are not. This one is a nice clear shot but it is ever so slightly blurred...

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Unlimiteds taking off. A good clear view of the runway from this spot.

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Next up, work! We highlight a nifty addition to the show...

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This is First Class plane porn.

nuuumannn said:

You should'a seen what I looked like after four days in the Reno sun!...

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Sounds like it was painted in lacquer like the originals - far better finish when new but bleaches out real fast.

Points for accuracy.

Excellent. And one man's "blurred" is another man's razor sharp.

Lovely shots Grant!

Now something a little different. I was there for work and part of my routine was to talk to people about why they were there. This aircraft grabbed my attention in the pre-arrival brief and I always intended to talk to the rep while I was there. This is the HondaJet Elite II, the latest incarnation of the original HondaJet. Developed by a team of Japanese engineers at Greensboro, North Carolina, the HondaJet has become something of an upstart in the crowded entry-level and Light Jet category of corporate transport.

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The most distinctive feature of the HondaJet is the location of its engine nacelles. This is for aerodynamic reasons as well as reducing vibration and noise in the cabin and is called the Over-The-Wing-Engine-Mount (OTWEM) by Honda.

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The HondaJet is powered by two 2,0509 lb thrust GE/Honda HF-20 engines.

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In this vew we can see the subtle curvature of the pylons, which deflects airflow in the direction intended for aerodynamic efficiency. Note also the small fairings on the inside of each exhaust nozzle, designed to deflect exhaust away from the fuselage.

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The aircraft is fitted with a dual air brake in the tail cone. The aircraft is not fitted with an APU, the vent is an intake for the aircon pack.

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The HondaJet has what was described to me as a laminar flow fuselage, with the cockpit ceiling bulged to affect airflow around the rest of the fuselage. This is entirely constructed of composite materials, making it extraordinarily slippery.

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Inside, the cabin is not large but it is comfortable enough, with a fully encloseable toilet/washroom in the rear. The blue tape was to stop cabinets and doors flying open during its display routine, as it was flown each day.

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The uncluttered flight deck is crammed full of innovation, including a modified Garmin G-3000 Integrated Flight Deck for ergonomic efficiency. The aircraft is fitted with Autoloand, Autothrottle, automated spoilers, stabilised approach, automated anti-ice, lighting and pressurisation systems, electronic stability, what Honda calls Under-Speed Protection, essentially the same as the Boeing MCAS (but without the difficulties and lack of type rating of its first incarnation), Advanced Steering and Augmentation System... Also, the closest you'll get to a selfie from me, thank you very much!

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The central VDUs of the Garmin IFD are coupled with dual FMS for that total in-flight experience. (FMS, Flight Management System, the tops of the interface displays can be seen at the very bottom of the image)

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The HondaJet taxying for its display presents a peculiar sight.

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The HondaJet doesn't have short take-off and landing, but it is capable of getting airborne in a short space. I'm not sure if it is capable of operating from grass strips, like its competitor the Pilatus PC-24...

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HondaJet is one of five types that dominate sales within the US entry level bizjet market.

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The others are the Embraer Phenom 300, Learjet 70, Pilatus PC-24, and the Citation family.

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The nifty wee jet has good performance: a maximum cruise speed of 422 knots (782 km/h) at a cruise altitude of 43,000 ft (13,106 m) across a maximum range of 1,547 nautical miles (2,865 km).

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The HondaJet's vitals: a span of just over 12 metres (39 feet) long and a fuselage length of almost thirteen metres (42 feet), with a maximum take-off weight of 11,100 lbs (5,035 kg).

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Air brakes deployed.

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That's all from Honda today. Next time, T-6 Class air racing.

Good shots Grant!

Y'know how I said I wasn't gonna take any more pics of the air racing from the crowdline? Well, these were taken from the media stand! They illustrate the issues with heat haze real well, but since I spent the morning on the stand I thought I'd get some photos of the action since we had to leave the stand while the Unlimiteds were racing.

This guy was the T-6 chase plane, although the T-6 races, like the Unlimiteds had the T-33 Ace Maker as their pace. Back-seater getting some good footage of the site.

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I wanted to get some good shots of this kind of thing, but as you can see the heat haze has deteriorated the clarity. Note the pylon at bottom right. This was the pylon where media and assembled peeps could go to aboard the West Bus. Those guys gathered around the base are media peeps. Aircraft from left to right are The Other Woman, Miss Humbolt Hunny, Redneck Fury and Miss Ellaneous in the lead.

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The Other Woman, Redneck Fury, and Miss Humbolt Hunny rounding the start pylon.

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Vicarious and Miss Ellaneous duking it out...

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...Passing the start pylon. These two took the one-two in this heat.

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Redneck Fury and The Other Woman and the checquered flag.

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Vicarious on approach.

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Miss Ellaneous...

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The Other Woman taking the high road...

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Redneck Fury...

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Miss Humbolt Hunny...

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Next up, some heavy metal and heritage flights...

Beautiful stuff!

Lovely shots.

Good stuff, you've got a great eye for getting the right shots.

Nice shots Grant!

Thanks again guys. Back for your daily dose of Reno. Today we watch the US Air Force display teams that performed at the races, so, eyes skyward, everyone. We've seen the aircraft already, but I was looking forward to seeing these commemorative schemes in the air. First up, F-15 Eagles of the 114th Fighter Squadron, 173rd Fighter Wing, Oregon ANG from Kingsley Field - Crater Lake-Klamath Regional Airport.

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As I mentioned earlier, a bit of information about the F-15 in the Kingsley Scheme. 2nd Lt David Kingsley was a bombardier of a B-17 who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Ploesti Raid in June 1944, making the ultimate sacrifice. Here is some information on this courageous individual:


The brightly coloured jet. Note the Y-in-a-Triangle of the B-17's unit, the 341st Bombardment Sqn, 97th Heavy Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force on the tail fins.

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Sharkmouth.

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The Kingsley B-17 F-15 "Sandman" is quite possibly the most colourful F-15 commemorative scherme.

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Rounding off the F-15 display...

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Next, A-10 "Memphis Belle III" of the 357th Fighter Squadron, wearing a South East Asia scheme paying homage to F-105 "Memphis Belle II" of the 357th Tactical Fighter Sqn as it was back then, which achieved two air-to-air kills.

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Now for the Heritage display segment. For this, the A-10 meets up with P-51D "Wee Willy II" of the Planes of Fame Museum, which we have seen pictures of already. Please excuse the shots as I forgot to lower the shutter speed and blur the P-51's props. Oh well, as they say, tough...

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Next, the Navy's turn...

I REALLY like the OD and invasion stripe paint job on that Eagle.

Before the military displays started, I got out on the flight line for a wee bit of poking around, which was fortunate as I was the only one out there at that time, but my time was limited because we weren't allowed out there during the displays. Usually, when we went out, we didn't get too close to the aircraft so we weren't getting in each other's photographs, but on this occasion, there was no one else around and I got right up close to this beauty. I really was looking forward to getting decent photos of this aircraft. The Planes of Fame Museum's F8F Bearcat. Forgive the heavy-handed photographic editing. I couldn't resist.

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The Super Hornet display was a lot more dynamic than the Air Force displays, no surprise there, any opportunity for a bit of one-upmanship between the services, right? F/A-18F Superbug of VFA-122 "Flying Eagles" based at NAS Lemoore, CA, but possibly detached to NAS Fallon, NV.

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Slick high-speed pass. I was keen to get this as I missed the F-15s doing it...

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The navy heritage display and that beautiful Bearcat. I dunno why but I only got these three shots of it. I was probably yakking. I was with a group of photographers, great bunch of guys and gals.

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Coming up, more from the ramp, T-6s and Unlimited movements, including some aircraft we haven't seen anything of yet...

I forgot to lower the shutter speed and blur the P-51's props. Oh well, as they say, tough...

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I'm not sure I can countenance such a sever oversight on your part, I think you should spend at least two (2) minutes in the penalty box feeling shame.

Great shots Grant!