Good news about Donald! He's pretty rural isn't he? Maybe his internet went down.

Now, what's with all you lot hating on the looks of the Piaggio? I think they look cool.

Meanwhile, Kirby Chambliss crashed in El Salvador today, practising for a show. His plane is a write-off but he's OK. The news report is here (in Spanish; use Google translate): http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=47654&idArt=7625045

However I am sure Skip Stewart won't mind me copying his Facebook update here:
There is a lot of false information about Kirby out there. I was flying off his wing practicing a dual routine when it happened. So this is the correct information. We were flying a formation high alpha pass. At the end of the runway Kirby's engine quit. There was nowhere to land. He descended into a rocky ravine and crashed onto the side of a steep embankment. I was watching him the whole way. The plane crashed into small trees and flipped over. The airplane was badly damaged, but Kirby extracted himself and walked to a clearing. I had immediately called for the rescue helicopter and they were there very quickly. A testament to the readiness of the El Salvadorian military. Kirby is fine with superficial scrapes and bruises.

TOPP:

Good to hear everyopnes AOK & accounted for...

I have a friend just out of London,...hes headed for a large Motel in the centre of town for a few days, figures its warmer & better supplied there than home.

Someones gotta give me some info on the Piaggio noise thing ? i dont get it,...is it REALLY loud ??

Al

Tim Adams wrote:
Nineteen seconds of monumental stupidity in North Texas.
http://www.kens5.com/news/FAA-looking-into-dangerous-stunt-at-North-Texas-airport-188028631.html

Hmmm well if he has a waiver what would be done? Crazy yes, but if allowed to -shrug- Not sure where I fall on this one, except I wouldn't be holding the camera. What worries me most is how close he comes to the ground, one little unexpected drop in height, it would be all over.

Angry wrote:

Someones gotta give me some info on the Piaggio noise thing ? i dont get it,...is it REALLY loud ??

Al

The Avanti is really loud for what it is, and the noise it makes is unlike anything else you've ever heard with two props, very harsh and un-turbine-like, almost a snarl. I suspect the prop tips are close to supersonic and there's some funky interference with the airflow coming off the wing.

Nice ride, Mr. Hinton. Man, talk about smooth: those contra-rotating Allisons just purr.

Yes, I would say Big Steve has a pretty good job.

The Avanti is definitely a little obnoxious sounding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odcYHU8Qims

Go4Long wrote:
The Avanti is definitely a little obnoxious sounding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odcYHU8Qims

The first time I encountered an Avanti that wasn't just sitting on the ramp, I heard it first and turned around to see what was making the infernal racket. I'd long been an admirer of the Avanti's lines: I remember seeing one at the NBAA convention in 1986 or 1987 and was struck by how much more refined its shape seemed than the Beech Starship. But hearing it in flight for the first time put a damper on my enthusiasm.

It makes a great gate guard, especially if what you're guarding is a ritzy pedestrian shopping street in Milan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Euia1Y9_s

Dear Nick,

Thanks for the heads up on Donald. Give him our best, hope he is out snowboarding!

You're Now Free To Move About The Solar System...

Regarding the nineteen seconds, ground up waiver or no, that's just not real bright. When something like that goes bad, it is just another opportunity for the Feds to tighten down on GA. Once again, those coloring within the lines will suffer for the errant jerks and nut jobs. Seems to be the order of the day.

Cool Jay!

You know the problem though, to get to Mars you have to go through OK City, then the moon and several other planets. Dang Wright Amendment!

Hi Everyone am posting here as you all would appreciate better than some others,

People have amazing stories to tell and sometimes they get documented really well. I felt compelled to tell/remind you about Dieter Dengler (Lieutenant, USN) after recently showing my wife the documentary made about his amazing life. “Little Dieter Needs to Fly”

You don’t have to be born in America to become an American Hero. He most certainly is an American hero.

His lust to fly aircraft meant he left his ancestral home in Germany after WW2 to move to America to become a pilot. What happened to him is simply amazing and without a doubt one of the best stories I have heard to come out of the Vietnam war.

I won’t spoil it for anyone as I am not a good story teller and recommend purchasing the Documentary as it is Dieter Dengler himself who narrates and describes what happened to him in first person and his enthusiasm in explaining gives an insight about how passionate he was about flying. It was made by Werner Herzog in 1997 who is one of the most accomplished directors/movie makers of our time. Part of Dieter’s life was also made into a feature film as well “Rescue Dawn” (2007)

If you can’t do the movie thing, there is a Wikipedia page and many tributes/info pages about him online.

After cheating death many times he sadly passed away a few years ago after becoming ill with ALS. (true to form though, he died when he chose and where)

Navy Cross
DFC
Purple Heart
Air Medal

His gravestone photo, with permission, credited to www.arlingtoncemetery.net



dieter-dengler-section60-042304 by www.arlingtoncemetery.net, on Flickr

Go4Long wrote:
The Avanti is definitely a little obnoxious sounding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odcYHU8Qims


OK now im with it....rather annoying sound ,....thought it would be a lot more turbine like...

Thanks Mark

I think my intensive study of Yousuf Karsh paid off. Bryan Martin needed some head shots for marketing. When you have a subject with the kind of facial character that Bryan possesses, you have to go beyond a "head shot".......

...............

Stunning shots Jim

FlyingPhotog wrote:
You're Now Free To Move About The Solar System...


Holy sheep shanks, Jay. That's the best moon-crossing shot I've ever seen, precisely because it's not so much crossing the moon as it is targeting the moon. IWIST!

JWilsonphoto wrote:
I think my intensive study of Yousuf Karsh paid off. Bryan Martin needed some head shots for marketing. When you have a subject with the kind of facial character that Bryan possesses, you have to go beyond a "head shot".......

Hats off, Shooter. Your lighting is so evocative of the master, it's uncanny.

Thanks Brian. These emulate Yousuf's technique even more than the high profile subject that I shot last month. Certain faces just lend themselves to the "Karsh" treatment more than others. Much as I am not a fan of cigarettes, Bryan is a "Marlboro man" and it just seemed like it fit to shoot a few with that prop. A number of Karsh's subjects were photographed holding cigarettes with smoke swirling around them.

I wish I had known Bryan when he was riding the rodeo circuit, although I had one Nikon a flash and two lenses so it wouldn't have mattered much. I'd like to do a personal project shooting portraits of the guys that ride the rodeo. One area that I have been remiss in over the years is doing projects for myself just to keep my techniques fresh. Too much work and being jammed up by client/time/logistics, not enough time with creative freedom on my own nickel. No complaints, it's been very good to me, but it's time to take what I've learned and push the envelope a little, maybe a lot.