Leading Edge Orange

Close up of a restored DC-3 prop. A pitted and bug soaked leading edge on the right. More DC-3 photos to come.

Marion Fly-In 2014 Part 1

One of the opening activities for Freedom Festival is the Marion Fly-In in Marion, Iowa. Today the cloud ceiling was low and therefore no fly-ins participated. However several local small planes gave $10 a person rides throughout the morning.

A skeptical boy hangs on to his mother as they approach a small plane for a ride. 

Air traffic is brisk during mid morning but the crews did a good job in getting people on and off the planes.

A trio of guys get their photo taken after completing a successful flight.

Vehicle traffic was routed slightly differently than in years' past. A volunteer directs traffic away from the old entrance. Note the relative height of the corn in the background. Its been a wet spring.

Marion Fly-In 2013 Part 1

[Getting back to blogging.] On Sunday June 30, 2013, the Marion, Iowa airport stages a fly-in for pilots and the general public. Each year the event grows with more participating aircraft, some for static display and some to give rides for $10 a person. The short flights circle the Marion-Cedar Rapids area and typically last for about 15 minutes. This year the weather was prefect as people enjoyed the lead up to the Independance Day celebrations in the area known as Freedomfest.

Airplane rides are offered in a variety of private aircraft. The Iowa corn crop looked pretty darn good in the background. It would be nearly two months later when substantial rains returned.

This girl wanted her photo taken as she peered out of a Humvee. I suspect that her dad was the driver.

The local Civil Air Patrol manages the flight line and parking for aircraft and cars. The older kids help the younger ones learn what to do while the adult members oversee the entire event. The commander (with his back turned to the camera) generally signaled the planes to park nearby while maintaining high levels of safety. He made sure his troop knew exactly what to do, when to do it and where to do it.

A line of planes wait for passengers to load and unload. As you can imagine the need for safety around these fast moving propellers and taxiing planes are major priorities.

Marion Fly-in photos can be seen here: Part 2, Part 3.

Blockin' Out Scenery - Restricted Air Operations Signs

Nothing like a fence and an in-your-face sign to take the joy out of plane watching. Some small airports don't have many barriers to photographing aircraft while mid- to large airports heavily restrict visual access, let alone casual wandering. In this case a Subair.com (short for Suburban Air Freight) craft sits ready for its next frieght or personnel airlift assignment. Options for the observer is to put up with the wire fence distraction or to peek through the mesh. As a photographer I vote for sticking the lens through the fence and snapping away. Besides, like the song says 'Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?' can make for a more dramatic photo.

Captured! Comet Pan-Starrs

Comet Pan-Starrs makes its appearance over Cedar Rapids tonight along with an airplane complete with blinking lights. I shot the comet (just above the center tree and to the right) from Mount Mercy University hill looking 280 degrees west and about 15 degrees off the horizon. I only found it using binoculars - no naked eye sighting. Photo specs: 10 sec exposure, 800 ISO, 105 mm focal length at 8:47 PM CDT.