Apr 12, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Stories, AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Aviation, Cessna 195, Cessna 195 Businessliner, Cessna 208 Caravan, Floatplane, Floatplanes & Amphibians, Grumman G-21 Goose, Howard DGA-15 Floatplane, Martin JRM Mars, Nikon 1 V1, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon D200, Piper J-3 Cub, Piper PA-18 Super Cub
Floatplanes & Amphibians | a 7 Image Story Two main types of seaplanes are floatplnes and flying boats. Floatplanes are aircraft fitted with floats instead of wheels. Flying boats are aircraft where the fuselage is partially submerged in water providing most of the buoyancy and space for crew and payload. Floatplanes and flying boats can be amphibians. Amphibians have landing gear built into their floats or fuselage so they can land on water or runways. Sure the terminology can get a little confusing. Still, all seaplanes have unique attributes making them fun to fly.
Martin JRM Mars The Martin JRM Mars flying boats are the world’s largest flying boats ever flown operationally. Although seven were built, only two remain flying, the Hawaii Mars JRM-3 pictured here and the Philippine Mars. They have been refitted as firefighting water bombers carrying 7,200 gallons of water. They can be refilled on the water. The pilot and crew land on the water normally, but keep the the aircraft “on the step” while scooping up another 7200 gallons in just 25 seconds. Then, they takeoff for another firefighting mission.
Cessna 208 Caravan The Caravan is a rugged airplane ready to accomplish multiple missions whether on wheels or floats. This amphibian Caravan was landing on a grass runway using its retractable gear. It came to the fly-in from its home on the water of a nearby lake. Its powerful turboprop engine delivers the high performance and low operating costs.
Piper PA-18 Super Cub Super Cubs make great floatplanes at a reasonable cost. This one fitted, with retractable gear in the floats, makes a smooth landing at a grassroots fly-in.
Howard DGA-15 The Howard DGA-15 is a single-engine aircraft produced by the Howard Aircraft Corporation from 1939 to 1944. The DGA-15 is a high-winged monoplane with a wooden wing and a steel-tube-truss fuselage wide enough to sit five people comfortably.
Cessna 195 Businessliner Ever get a hankering to fly an airplane with a bit of nostalgia? A plane equipped with a radial engine, cowling bumps, small tires with big spats, etc. The Cessna 195 Businessliner embodies the look of yesterday with better creature comforts than modern planes. Developed in 1947, it was Cessna’s first all-aluminum aircraft with rounded cantilever wings, a radial engine, and a cabin seating five. It quickly became a great utility plane on wheels or floats.
Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. It’s powered by an air-cooled engine and a fixed pitch propeller. Its fuselage is a welded steel frame covered in fabric with seating for two in tandem. It has a simple, lightweight design giving it good low speed handling properties and short field performance. The Cub’s standard chrome yellow paint known as “Cub Yellow” identifies it as one of the best known aircraft of all time. It’s simplicity, affordability, popularity, and performance make it a prized bush plane whether on wheels or floats.
Grumman G-21 Goose The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious aircraft designed as an eight-seat commuter plane. The Goose was Grumman’s first monoplane, first twin-engine aircraft, and first aircraft for commercial service. During WWII the Goose was used as a military transport. The G-21 Goose is an all-metal, high-winged monoplane powered by two 450 HP nine-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp radial engines. The deep fuselage hull has a hand-cranked retractable landing gear and ample interior space to be a small airliner.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Floatplanes & Amphibians.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Apr 10, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, Daily Image 2020, Nikon 1 V1, Oshkosh Seaplane Base
Oshkosh Seaplane Base | Backwater Docks Quiet shaded backwaters make nice place to dock, pitch a tent, and show off your plane. For the whole story with all images, see Oshkosh Seaplane Base | a 7 Image Story.
Apr 6, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, Daily Image 2020, De Havilland Beaver, Nikon 1 V1, Oshkosh Seaplane Base
Oshkosh Seaplane Base | Arrival Gets Tow For a float plane pilot, getting a tow to the dock must be the lap of luxury. Pilots land and takeoff outside the seaplane base cove, but still in protected water leading into Lake Winnebago. For the whole story with all images, see Oshkosh Seaplane Base | a 7 Image Story.
Apr 5, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, 7 Image Stories, AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II, AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, Airports, Aviation, Aviation, Events, Nikon 1 V1, Nikon 1 V3, Oshkosh Seaplane Base, Places
Oshkosh Seaplane Base | a 7 Image Story The Seaplane Base at the Oshkosh AirAdventure provides seaplanes calm waters to dock. It’s nestled in a picturesque cove of Lake Winnebago. Pilots and passenger can stay the day or pitch a tent and spend the night in quiet place far away from the hustle and bustle of the airshow. People often sit along the shore to watch the seaplanes land and takeoff. Sure, there are forums, workshops, and exhibitors related to seaplanes and amphibians. It’s just very low key and a great place to kick back after an afternoon on the Oshkosh flight line. A bus transports visitors between the AirVenture and the seaplane base.
Republic RC-3 Seabee Arrives This Republic RC-3 Seabee water taxis to a dock at the seaplane base. The soft evening light really makes the image. Seebees are not be the fastest planes in the sky. However, they make up for it in utility and beauty. Interesting seaplane if you don’t mind a 100 mph cruise!
Arrival Gets Tow For a float plane pilot, getting a tow to the dock must be the lap of luxury. Pilots land and takeoff outside the seaplane base cove, but still in protected water leading into Lake Winnebago.
Dehavilland Beaver The De Havilland Beaver may be the best bush plane ever to put on a pair of floats. It certainly captures the attention and the imagination of many pilots. This pilot can imagine flying along an Alaskan river or road in a valley between 14 thousand foot glacier mountains in a Beaver. The Beaver has become the gold standard for the bush flying with several hundred planes still in service across Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest.
Cessna 195 with Barn What a background for a Cessna 195 on floats! The family that owns the barn also allows the Oshkosh Seaplane Base to use their land and water for the seaplane base for the Air Adventure week.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Oshkosh Seaplane Base.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Mar 22, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, 7 Image Stories, AF-S 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED, AF-S DX VR 18-200mm f3.5-5.6G IF-ED, AF-S PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED, Arizona, Illinois, Montana, Nikon 1 V3, Nikon D200, Nikon D3x, Nikon P7000, Places, The Sunday Drive, Wind Cave, Yellowstone
The Sunday Drive | a 7 Image Story When I was a young boy growing up on a Midwest farm, my parents often took a Sunday drive. It became a bit of a tradition. Now, we did not go every Sunday, but fairly often. Sometimes, the purpose was to “look at the crops.” Sometimes, it was to “just to get off the farm.” Sometimes, it was a short ride; sometimes a long ride. Occasionally, the Sunday drive took us all the way to Chicago’s Midway Airport to watch the planes land and take-off. Apparently, my parents were not the only ones to partake in this “tradition.” The Sunday drive was a relatively inexpensive way to showdown, spend family time, and enjoy the world around us.
Why remember those Sunday Drives now? With the world in crisis mode over the corona virus, states and even countries are issuing stay at home orders. It’s forcing us to slowdown a bit and value the simpler things in life. More people seem to be going for walks. Although the stay at home orders generally discourage travel by car except for the essentials, the slowdown somehow reminded me of those Sunday Drives. As some of the restrictions are raised, maybe the Sunday drive will make a resurgence. Or, perhaps a Sunday walk or bike ride will take its place.
Thru the Woods Spring is technically here. A nice spring snow shower made beautiful surroundings on my way to the grocery store this morning. The stay at home order does not say you must take the shortest route to the store. This route may be less traveled, but its beauty improved my mood for the day. On Gravel Roads The countryside in Montana contains numerous gravel roads running along old fence lines. Unless you live in a large city, back country, gravel roads aren’t all that far away for a lazy Sunday drive. In the Hills Arizona can get pretty hot in the summer. A nice Sunday drive into the mountains can show you breathtaking beauty as well as much cooler air. And in the winter months, snow and ski runs might great you at the end of the road. Over the Snow Most of us don’t live close enough to Yellowstone NP to go for a Sunday drive. Still, many of us live near hills and mountains. When covered with snow, they make a nice scenic day drive.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category The Sunday Drive.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Mar 7, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, Daily Image 2020, Everglades, Everglades NP, Nikon 1 V1
Everglades | Sunset The Everglades is a land of great contrasts, savage wildlife and serene sunsets. Hope to go back again someday! For the whole story with all images, see Everglades | a 7 Image Story.
Feb 15, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, Nikon 1 V1, Volmer VJ-22 Sportsman
Volmer VJ-22 Sportsman | Hanger A beautiful seaplane like this VJ-22 Sportsman deserves a nice hanger to keep it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Long exposure to the sun deteriorates the paint and wears on the avionics as well as the interior materials. For the whole story with all images, see Volmer VJ-22 Sportsman | a 7 Image Story.
Feb 14, 2020 | 1 VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6, Daily Image 2020, Nikon 1 V1, Volmer VJ-22 Sportsman, Volmer VJ-22 Sportsman
Volmer VJ-22 Sportsman | Portrait Let’s get up close and personal with the working end of this seaplane. For the whole story with all images, see Volmer VJ-22 Sportsman | a 7 Image Story.
