I Rode The Zeppelin! - The Farmers Airship In Indy! (Short Post)

(Click pic for hi-res)   The Farmers Airship (Zeppelin NT) at Oshkosh 2011 two weeks ago

 I had the amazing opportunity to ride in the Farmers Airship today in Indianapolis. It was a preview ride for the upcoming public rides taking place August 12-14 out of Indianapolis Regional Airport - formerly Mount Comfort Airport. I've been in love with airships since I was a kid, and tho this was only my second time in an airship (first was the Goodyear Blimp back in the late 60's when I was a kid), it was everything I had hoped for and more!

 If you're in Indy or anywhere near where the "Covering Communities Tour' will be (see tour schedule) and you can afford the $375 price, I highly recommend you jump at this amazing opportunity. Not only is this an incredibly rare opportunity to ride in the world's largest airship, but it's also a stunning way to fly. With great comfort and a smooth and quiet ride, the Farmers Airship is a real thing of beauty.

 The following pictures are from the ride today, and I've placed them here as CoolPix images so you can click them and make 'em huge to really get the flavor of the experience. One of only two Zeppelins in the world (and the only one in the U.S.) - the Farmers Airship is waiting for you! (a more detailed post of this ride, with video will be posted in a week or so)

Tickets are available for: $375 + tax per person, with special rates and charter flights
available by calling 650-969-8100 x 111, or online at www.airshipventures.com/tour.

See also:
Ride The Farmers Airship (Zeppelin NT) In Indy - August 12-14
Ride The Farmers 'Zeppelin NT' 3-Engine Airship At Oshkosh 2011 

(click pic for hi-res)  The Farmers Airship approaching landing so I could hop on board!

(click pic for hi-res) Stunning view of downtown Indianapolis from the right cockpit window

(click pic for hi-res)  The spacious, quiet, and very comfortable gondola - the perfect ride!

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Tires: Up Close At OSH11 (Triple Play)

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 Seeing the original Boeing 787 at Oshkosh 2011 up-close with essentially no barriers for several hours on Friday July 29th was a truly fantastic experience. You may know that I'd been angling for over a year to get the 787 on the ramp at OSH. It was awesome knowing that this was the first time that everyday people had ever been allowed to walk through, under, around, and even peek into every little open space of this revolutionary airliner. I couldn't stop looking at it. I literally took hundreds and hundreds of pictures. And for fun, I took some of them up really close. I hope to post a photo essay before long on the airplane with 30 or 40 of the best and most uniqie pix that I got.

 But for now, and just for fun, I present you the closest look you've ever had of the Bridgstone tires on the Boeing 787 prototype, ZA001. These tires are size 50x20.0R22, and have 34 plys. Their speed rating is 235 mph, and the rated load is 65,525 pounds. Each tire weighs about 219 pounds and they are considered a 'revolutionary reinforced radial', which is a new technology radial tire according to the Bridgestone website. Honestly, all those details don't interest me as much as being able to see that little bulge in the sidewall in the pic above. I find it just a tad boggling that some reinforced rubber inflated with air can support the weight of something so big. In some kind of weird way, seeing that little bulge just makes it all the more real to me... somehow it all makes sense because of the little bulge : )

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 I thought it interesting that they had the info seen above stenciled on each tire. I guess it's there to make sure you feel really guilty if you just happen to have one of these sitting in the corner of the den back home!

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 And here's a wider view showing a couple of tires from a main gear leg along with some of the axle and braking components. I took several pix at OSH this year with the camera on the monopod, but turned upside down positioned on my foot right above the ground. This unique perspective is actually pretty easy to get with a flip-out live-view screen and a wireless remote shutter release. And here, it gives you the chance to actually look up at the electric brakes. I really like the unusual point of view... especially when it's of such a special aircraft.

 Keep an eye out in the next few weeks for that big-time photo essay with loads of interesting 787 images - I think it's gonna turn out pretty cool.

More Than Just A 747 Landing - A Video Lesson In Checking Out Details

 This video from youtuber 1970sPlaneSpotter is short but very sweet. I just love a video that gives you the opportunity to see details that otherwise are easily missed. This 747 landing viewed from behind just looks cool to start with, but what I really like is watching the control surfaces move and then seeing the response the airplane has to it. When the airplane first appears from the top of the frame, look at the elevator to see a fairly large input to initiate the flare to slow the rate of sink. The you'll notice some pretty pronounced stick movement (as seen in the elevator) as the pilot 'feels' for the ground.

 As you shift your attention to the gear to watch the touchdown, you might wind up seeing one of the pesky youtube ads pop up in the way. Oh well, I guess they do have to make money somehow. If you're like me and you enjoy this video, you'll probably wanna watch it at least 10 times, and you can clear the ad early in the replay so it's not obstructing the touchdown.

 After touchdown, all kinds of things can be seen. The spoilers pop up; the tire smoke makes a rapid swoosh and swirl out from under the airplane; the rudder can be seen taking the crab angle out of the touchdown (note that the inboard mains straddle the centerline almost perfectly at first contact, but the airplane moves slightly off centerline due to the crab); the elevator continues to fluctuate (imagine how much stick movement that represents); and possibly most interesting, the horizontal tail does a lot of wiggling and shaking! The shaking is normal. If you've watched any of the jumbo jets in videos you know that a shaky tail is totally normal. I must say that it always catches my attention tho... should the tail really wiggle that much?!

 Lastly, the pilot holds the nose wheel off for a while as the airplane can be seen tracking almost exactly down the centerline of the runway. Then the nose wheel touches down, followed by a short period of it lifting off again. Finally, the nose is down for good as the rudder is used to keep the airplane straight, and the wings do a little of their own wiggling.

 Maybe I'm just a weirdo, but I find all these little details to be fascinating. It's not just a really big airplane landing - it's a complex but well orchestrated merging of about 500,000 pounds of aircraft traveling at about 150 mph with a large and rather firm earth. It's man and machine working together to dissipate both altitude and energy down to zero... and hopefully it's all done at such a level as to make the people who pay the bills happy they went flying that day : ) 

Ride The Farmers Airship (Zeppelin NT) In Indy - August 12-14

(click pic to enlarge)    Ride the Farmers Airship in Indianapolis, Indiana August 12-14

Tickets are available for: $375 + tax per person, with special rates and charter flights
available by calling 650-969-8100 x 111, or online at www.airshipventures.com/tour.

 I got these pictures of the Farmers Airship at Oshkosh just over a week ago. Not only did this thoroughly modern Zeppelin NT airship look great in the skies over world's greatest aviation event, but they were selling rides in it too! It was part of the Farmers Airship Covering Communities Tour - a six-month journey taking the world’s largest airship across the United States and back. And the next stop? Indianapolis, Indiana for rides on August 12-14 at Indianapolis Regional Airport (KMQJ) - formerly Mount Comfort Airport.

 This really is a ride-of-a-lifetime chance to experience a modern Zeppelin airship. The smooth, yet fully controlled floating sensation is truly unmatched by any other type of flying machine... and with the huge panoramic windows on the gondola, you experience a view from above that's about as perfect as it can get. What could be better than seeing a beautiful city like Indy from 1200 feet knowing that you're inside the big Farmers billboard in the sky... and everyone is looking up at you!

(click pic to enlarge)

 For more pictures and lots of detailed info on the Zeppelin NT (New Technology), check out my post from back in June: Ride The Farmers 'Zeppelin NT' 3-Engine Airship At Oshkosh 2011. The more you understand all the fresh ideas and high technology that went into the new Zeppelin airship, the more impressive it all becomes. And this design is so good that Goodyear recently announced that their blimps will be replaced with Zeppelins in the near future. It's also an important distinction here to note that the Farmers Airship isn't a 'blimp'. By definition, a blimp has no internal structure... but the Zeppelin includes a partial structure inside the big envelope which allows for the engines to be mounted high and away from the gondola, along with a variety of other design advantages.

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 The opportunity to ride the Zeppelin in Indiana may only come once in a lifetime - don't miss it if you have the interest and the means! 

 Public 'Flightseeing' tours aboard the Farmers Airship will be offered at Indianapolis Regional Airport (KMQJ - formerly Mount Comfort Airport), with flights departing from Indy Air (3867 North Aviation Way, Greenfield, IN) on August 12-14  -  45 minutes in duration, cruising at 1200 feet above area landmarks. Tickets are available for: $375 + tax per person, with special rates and charter flights available by calling 650-969-8100 x 111, or online at www.airshipventures.com/tour.

Heaven On Earth: 2011 Oshkosh Video Recap From 'Slick'

 Youtuber slickhutto has just completed his 2011 Oshkosh recap video. He's got skills, so you're sure to enjoy this look back at the greatest aviation event in the world. If you haven't seen his past work, check out Video: Oshkosh 2010 Recap Music Video - Wow! (Hot Stuff)

 And goodness sake, if you weren't at OSH11, will you please start making serious plans right now to work this amazing, inspiring, and satisfying extravaganza-of-the-skies into your summer 2012 plans. No more excuses! OSH12: July 23-29

CoolPix: Cockpit Of CAF B-29 FIFI Thru Side Window At OSH11

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 Oshkosh 2011 saw the triumphant return of FIFI, the Commemorative Air Force's B-29, the only flyable B-29 in the world. As expected, she attracted a crowd the whole time she was on display. They also ran a lot of people thru the cockpit tour ($5 for kids, $10 for adults) which had you entering the airplane thru the bomb bay and then exiting out the bottom of the cockpit thru the nose gear well. I made the trip thru on the last day of OSH11, and of course it was an awesome experience. Everyone should do this when given the chance.

 But a couple days earlier I got a little creative getting a cockpit picture from the outside of the airplane. With my camera on a pole (exercising extreme caution), I used a remote shutter release, a flip out live-view screen and a loaner extra-wide-angle lens from Canon (at 10mm, 16mm effective) to get this very cool view of FIFI's cockpit looking thru the left seat's open side window. The combination of the very wide angle and so much cool stuff to see inside made for a pretty cool pic. Be sure to click this CoolPix to see it fill your screen. I just made the switch to Canon cameras, and my T3i worked fantastic for its first time out.

 FIFI is such an important part of remembering and honoring the courageous people who served in WWII... what a blessing to see her up close again!

Please help support the effort to keep FIFI flying.

Wide angle view of the CAF B-29 FIFI on the ramp at Oshkosh 2011

CoolPix: The Complicated Rotor Head Of The MH-53 Sea Dragon

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 One of the aircraft on display at OSH11 as part of the 100th anniversary of Naval Aviation was this Sikorsky MH-53 Sea Dragon mine-sweeping helicopter. This is the largest family of western helicopters, and third largest in all the world behind two of Russia's mega rotorcraft. The 7 blade rotor on the MH-53 is just under 80 feet in diameter! Max takeoff weight is just over 70,000 pounds and she can cruise about 175 mph. She's a beast to be sure.

 I took a look at the mechanicals related to the rotor head and was amazed at the amount of linkages, fittings, hardware and both flexible and rigid lines that make it all up. This actually works? Wow, simple it is not! I thought it made for a fascinating picture... especially when you click the pic to see this CoolPix image in hi-res.

 Below is a view of the MH-53 being tugged into position on the ramp at OSH11. At the bottom is a video of a couple the very similar CH-53 Sea Stallions taking off from a carrier. You see very clearly how much air has to be pushed down to make these massive machines go up!

Navy MH-53 Sea Dragon mine-sweeping helicopter at Oshkosh 2011

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Goes Public At Oshkosh 2011 (14 Pix)

 Even tho the 787 didn't come to Oshkosh in 2010 like I had hoped (and begged for), the appearance of the Dreamliner this year on Friday July 29th was even more than I could have hoped for.

 After making a nice pass down the runway, the 787 landed on runway 36 a little after 9am. It was then tugged into place on the main ramp pointing to the west. A large crowd had quickly been drawn to the airplane... in fact there were so many people crowding in that getting the airstair truck into position proved to be a bit of a challenge. It wasn't long tho before everything was in place and the crew came down the stairs to greet the interested crowd, including EAA Rod Hightower and founder Paul Poberezny.

Click to read more ...

Video: 'Oshkosh Motion 2011' (Stop Motion Spectacular)

 One of the folks staying inside the borders of #CampBacon at OSH11 is Jo Hunter (futureshox.net), and she's created a really sweet stop motion video using her dslr camera. It starts out with warbirds from the morning that I went on the 'dawn patrol' and got some of the nicest images I've ever done... and it also includes some amazing aerobatic smoke trails and a really cool sequence of the Bell 47's looking a lot like hummingbirds. It's quick to watch and very entertaining. Great stuff!

Video: F-35C Makes First Ever Steam Powered Takeoff!

 The Navy version of the Joint Strike Fighter is the F-35C and it made its first ever steam catapult launch system takeoff yesterday. This variant has a larger wing and control surfaces, as well as folding wing tips and strengthened landing gear for carrier operations. The steam catapult launch test was conducted in Lakehurst, New Jersey on a land based (non carrier) launch system. From the video above, it looks to have been a great success. That's progress!