We were able to go inside one of the C-130s in the hanger. Yes, there were 2 of these beasts in the hanger PLUS helicopters. The hanger was kind of BIG! With no power on the plane and a black interior, the cockpit area was very dark. I shot these photos using some crazy settings (ISO16000 and 1/3 to 1/25 sec shutter) without a tripod. They came out much better than expected. You see in the first shot that the cockpit is heavy in electronics. The pilot seat is on the left and copilot on the right. You see very minimal non-electronic flight-critical instrumentation just to the right of the pilot yoke. The dials in the lower area are indicators for the trim/position of the flight surfaces. I'm betting this plane is not much fun to fly if the electronics go out. As a fan of flight simulators, I can identify a lot of the controls and can make pretty good guesses on the operation of those screens. With this much going on, both pilots are probably pretty busy as they approach their missio...
The MH-65 Dolphin is probably the helicopter most people relate to the Coast Guard. With its signature enclosed tail rotor and long, rounded nose (like a dolphin), and bright orange paint, they are easily identified from all distances. This helicopter is considerably smaller than the MH-60T Jayhawk. Just a note: I made an error calling the Jayhawk a UH-60T. The CG designation is MH-60T. The small size of the MH-65 Dolphin makes it the primary helicopter deployed on the relatively small landing decks of cutters. The helicopter is equipped with advanced search and rescue equipment like a high visibility cockpit with glass surrounds, a FLIR (forward-looking infra-red) sensor, HUD (heads up display), and sophisticated flight control / aviation software. This helicopter is also equipped with retractable landing gear for reduced drag during flight. The crew at Air Station Kodiak has obviously decorated this bird with some artwork during their stay. Thanks, Doug White https://jdwarchive.blogs...
Click on READ MORE for the full post. Click on the blog photo to see full size and detail. If leaving a comment, please provide a hint who you are. Though I was taking another photo of the great purple hairstreak, a bee was in the same plane (distance from the camera) and was making a "bee-line" to the same flower. This is the most in-focused shot of a bee in flight I have ever taken even though by accident! Note how the bee's body (top view) is twisted to its head (side profile). This shot also provides a view of the back of the wing that characterizes hairstreak butterflies. For the photographers out there, the photo was taken at ISO1250, f/9, 1/3200 sec using a 375 mm focal length (Canon 7DMkii, Tamron 150-600 lens). Here is another view cropped to just the bee (no enlargement). Thanks, Doug White
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