With the thick fog alternating with heavy rain already signalling the unwelcome arrival of the continental autumn – and long term forecasts predicting a very cold and snowy winter – I’d though it best to get a move on with my flying and log as much of my required CPL time as practically possible before the year (or the flying season, whichever comes first) ends. To that end, and despite the doom and gloom of yesterday’s weather forecast, I was out at the field today for my SE/IR checkride, hoping that Murphy would have some mercy for just that one short hour :D.
And while in the end the weather could have cooperated just a bit more flying-wise – with the atmosphere becoming increasingly unstable by the minute – it did provide me with another splendid photo opportunity… ๐
9A-DMG, my mount for the day, waiting patiently for the CB in the background to pass south of the field. In the event, I had ended up flying through its fringe rain four times while shooting a couple of instrument approaches at Pleso, which had - apart from some bumpy, but otherwise benign IMC conditions - resulted in one clean airplane! ๐
Despite wry and humorous remarks from the side about what am I going to do in life after I photograph the last known Dakota in the lands of former Yugoslavia, I was genuinely looking forward to finally seeing it at the first opportunity I got :D. Last weekend’s torrential downpour – and the occasional floods it had spurred in both Croatia and Slovenia – had ruled that out at the time, but this week’s clean, crisp air and sunny skies were just begging for some photo ops. So, catching a free afternoon (a Friday no less), I decided to finally make the leisurely 90 km drive to Otok pri Metliki, just a hop across the border away…
Now, given the track record established by our three surviving Daks in Croatia, all sad and broken, I had expected 71253 to be in pretty much the same state – especially since Google Earth imagery had shown it to be apparently isolated on a small hill, far from anything or anyone. However, driving up that hill, my view obscured by the crops on the sides of the road, I was in for quite a big surprise…
Looking absolutely brilliant and stunning in the pale afternoon light. In marked contrast to every YuAF Dak I've personally seen, 71253 has its own little display area and information plaques, all of which are regularly maintained - indeed, I had arrived just as the gravel was being leveled and evened outUp close and personal :). The details on this thing are fantastic - even the engine has been cleaned up and restored to show status! However, I'm told that the interior and cockpit have pretty much been ransacked a number of years ago, a fate that even the best open-air preserved exhibits apparently can't avoid...Interestingly enough, 71253 is wearing an RAF desert camo scheme used in the North African theater during WW2. Whether or not 71253 had indeed flown with the RAF in North Africa is not (yet) known - but either way, these colors have in many respects helped it avoid the fate of its sisters 71212 and 71215 at ลฝeljava and Otoฤac respectively. Having been painted in a variation of this scheme since 1986, 253 had already lost its Yugoslav identity by the time the Balkan Wars started in 1991, sparing it from the ensuing widespread destruction of all Yugoslav symbols (traces of which are abundant on 212 and 255)Quite a view from here :). Located at the site of a former WW2 improvised airstrip, 71253 was set up in December 1980 as a monument to the dozens of similar strips set up around Slovenia by Partisan forces during the conflict. Used to great effect by USAAF and RAF Dakotas - and in the later stages of the war also by Soviet Li-2s - for supply and evacuation missions, they offer an explanation of 71253's RAF paint scheme ๐ (many of the aircraft operated by the RAF's Balkan Air Force wore desert camo... its Spitfires even sported air intake sand filters)From every angle the amount of effort involved in preserving and maintaining this fantastic aircraft is easily visible... the coat of paint seems to be very fresh too (and well applied)Even the landing gear bay - not the most often looked at part of the airplane it must be said - is beautifully done. It must have been quite a task to wire all this together...I had hoped that I would find at least some traces of 253's true (former) identity - like I did with 255 - but no luck, not a code or data plate in sight. Sometimes paint jobs are too well done ๐Still as evocative a sight as it was during WW2 ๐
Having finally passed all of my ATPL exams ( [/brag] ๐ ), I’ve decided to celebrate by heading out for the rest of the day to catch some well deserved fresh air. With a spot of sunny weather in an otherwise cloudy and dull week – and my photo finger getting very itchy – the airfield had naturally quickly made the shortlist; so in the afternoon, I set course for the field to see what, if anything, was new…
Nothing really was, to my disappointment; but nevertheless the afternoon’s high cirrus clouds and fading sun at least made for prime conditions in which to test out the low light capabilities of my new Canon 5D… ๐
An ant's eye view of our poor old Skymaster as the afternoon draws to a close. Just below the lower prop blade you can see the main gear bay doors, fully closed to reduce drag when the gear is down. The unique Cessna gear retraction mechanism would first swing the gear legs down into the vertical and then fold them backwards into the fuselage - though I've been told that this creates more drag than a more conventional gear retraction sequence (click for larger version)Holding the camera above your head does help with the oddly-shaped and difficult-to-photograph Skymaster :). The extent of the prop damage, caused by a landing incident almost a decade ago, is fully visible here... (click for larger version)My attempt at making the Cessna 150 appear (far) bigger than it actually is :). Almost looks like a PC-6 from this angle... (click for larger version)Starting up for a short cross-country flight. These late afternoon flights are always a fantastic experience - the air is calm, there's little or no traffic and the scenery is often breathtaking (especially in the late summer and early autumn) (click for larger version)Very helpfully posing for me at the end of the flying day :). Having no night lighting whatsoever - despite continuing efforts by all aeroclubs to install it - life at Luฤko effectively ends when the sun dips below the horizon (click for larger version)In night photography, you use whatever you can lay your hands on - even if it's just a spinner and standard room lighting ๐ (click for larger version)The joys of night photography - almost a full palette of colors lighting up the background as 9A-DMO prepares for another calm and cool night at Luฤko (click for larger version)Airport Cat is under your airplanes, ruining your compositions ๐ (click for larger version)
With my forthcoming ATPL exams – the last three, finally! – leaving me little time in which to get to grips with my next Rare Aircraft post (even though it’ll be comparatively short), I thought I should nevertheless break the silence on here with, if anything, a single photo :).
A couple of days ago, I’d finally got fed up with sitting around all day and drove off to the field to catch some sun and fresh air. Planning to just hang around a bit and play with my new Canon 5D Mk II, I had spotted a free slot on our aeroclub Reims Rocket (9A-DMJ) and decided I could just as well keep my hand in and relax in a proper manner :D. Nothing fancy, just a half-an-hour afternoon buzz above town, with my camera close by should a nice photo opportunity come up… ๐
Cruising into the setting sun on a late afternoon joyride above the city of Zagreb :). The beautifully calm air this late in the day always makes flying a pleasure! Just trim her an she'll fly like on autopilot (also, premiering a new feature, you can click this photo for a larger, 800x533 pixel version)
Achtung, Skyhawk! 