NZFF

Been doing this (specializing in civil aviation photography) for the past 41 years now .... and still doing it when I'm "here" long enough to be able to get out "there" (to AKL/NZAA) with realative ease.

I kind of "stuck here" at the moment through not being able to get back to Bogota, Colombia (my other home away from home), due to the current international crisis but, that's the way it "IS"

Whilst I'm cooling my heels with little to do (here) I thought I´d present/share some of my own photography .... taken relatively recently at AKL ....



ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK R.CRANSTON















































ALL PHOTOGRAPHY COPY RIGHT MARK R.CRANSTON


Mark C
AKL/NZ

My next 2 presentations within this thread aren't specific to NZ, but rather, seen through "the eyes and recorded per the cameras of an NZ'er".

Some of my relatively recent photography at LAX (on the way to and from Colombia) .... when I stop there (in the USA) long enough to be able to do this ....


ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK R.CRANSTON












































ALL PHOTOGRAPHY COPY RIGHT MARK R.CRANSTON


Mark C
AKL/NZ

AND .... a few more some (again relatively recent) I shot in the usa .... this time at at TUS/Tucson AZ ....


ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK R.CRANSTON & JAMES L.E.CRANSTON
















































ALL PHOTOGRAPHY COPY RIGHT MARK R.CRANSTON & JAMES L.E.CRANSTON


Mark C
AKL/NZ

And .... concluding now with a bit more stuff shot by me at AKL/NZAA ....


ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK R.CRANSTON





















































ALL PHOTOGRAPHY COPY RIGHT MARK R.CRANSTON


Mark C
AKL/NZ

Of that first crop, I do believe I have flown on board every one except the last, which was in a somewhat different paint scheme!
The wingletted 767 was surely the most surprising, and anachronistic.

I don't know how I missed these. Some great stuff in there. The US stuff makes me miss being over there. I presume that's Luke AFB? I haven't managed to get out there yet, hopefully later this year.

I presume that's Luke AFB

All of the civil stuff appearing in my 1st posting within this thread is at AKL/NZAA

All of the civil stuff appearing in my 2nd posting within this thread is at LAX/Los Angeles

All of the civil and military stuff appearing n my 3rd posting within this thread is at TUS/Tucson. The F16's operated out of USAF base Davis-Montham .... just across the road from the PIMA AIR & SPACE MUSEUM. The latter is well worth anyone's time and effort to go to, but, one needs to allocate oneself at least "2 full days at PIMA" due to the enormity of the m museum and extensiveness and in order to appreciate all of it's historic aviation exhibits

AND .... all of the civil stuff appearing within my 4th posting is at AKL/NZAA again. The DH3 BEAVER operated out of the downtown AKL waterfront on the Waitemata Harbour.

Mark C
AKL/NZ

Thanks for that, last time I was in Tucson, the place was pretty quiet in terms of military aviation. Done Pima twice now, pretty amazing collection alright and they seem to be adding to it all of the time. The last time I was there, there were two RAF Canberras there waiting to be put on display. I found that you could get around it in a day... but it was a case of arriving as the place opened and them chasing you out as it closed.

There's a couple of reasons why we opted for 2 days at Pima

The first of these was because we didn't want to rush or be rushed .... we wanted to have good, long, close inspection of everything and which slowed down our progress considerably, but, for all the right reasons

The second of these was in relation to photography .... we wanted to use the morning sun to best effect illuminating one side of their outside exhibition during the morning and the other side during the afternoon .... whilst also accommodating a tour of the Davis-Montham storage facility as we waited for the sun to drift over sufficiently between late morning and early afternoon high points. The tickets we bought to enter the Pima facility enables us to come, and go, as many times as we liked over 2 days and also included the Davis-Montham tour as well.

We spent each evenings at the Silver Saddle Steak Restaurant & Bar .... also "RECOMMENDED".

Some other extensive aircraft exhibitions in the USA (on the California/LAX side) that I can "strongly recommend" are .... the Chino and Yanks air museums (these are located almost side-by-side) at Riverside, and the exhibition at March Air Force Base also at/near Riverside.

Each of these exhibitions (plus others we visited too) are "extremely well presented" .... and what surprised us is how "cheap" it was to access each these facilities as well as that at Pima too

Mark C
AKL/NZ

aerofoto wrote:
Some other extensive aircraft exhibitions in the USA (on the California/LAX side) that I can "strongly recommend" are .... the Chino and Yanks air museums (these are located almost side-by-side) at Riverside, and the exhibition at March Air Force Base also at/near Riverside.

Those are exactly the museums I'd recommend in that area too. As well as the Classic Rotors museum at Ramona.

Charl wrote:The wingletted 767 was surely the most surprising, and anachronistic.

The addition of winglets was a very productive modification. A 6% fuel saving which soon paid for the modification costs.
It flew a little differently as well.

To some that roughly 6% burn saving (per reduced drag) may not seem much .... BUT .... multiply that 6% by the number of flights operated per day, then per week, then per month, and then throughout the year too .... and the savings really start to be appreciated

Mark C
AKL/NZ

cowpatz wrote:The addition of winglets was a very productive modification.

I thought they did it just to look cool so they could flog them to Amazon

Numbers: over the period 2009 - 2017 a single aircraft could have saved an estimated $60m in fuel, offset by installation cost of "only" $2.8m
Hard to say what actually happened - fuel costs not constant, plus fleet turnover, but that is substantial, you are right.
Why didn't ALL 767's get the aftermarket kit?
And why did Boeing steadfastly ignore winglets on this and other models??

It seems the flying public can be very fickle when it comes to new stuff - I remember in the 1960s KLM introduced a new modern style livery with diagonal stripes on the tailfin, and then had to change it to horizontal stripes, after market surveys showed that the new style was making prospective passengers uneasy because it suggested instability.

It seems the flying public can be very fickle when it comes to new stuff - I remember in the 1960s KLM introduced a new modern style livery with diagonal stripes on the tailfin, and then had to change it to horizontal stripes, after market surveys showed that the new style was making prospective passengers uneasy because it suggested instability

Do you remember the public fiasco that erupted, within the UK, over the BA world tails liveries during the late 1990's/early 2000's.

That became almost akin to being "The 2nd War Of The Roses".

Personally .... I liked them though (what I saw of them in the UK) .... and they were also, to some extent, an FS artists (textructors) dream come true given the variety among these BA world tail liveries that existed at the time. Here's an example of those applied to the B747-400 ....



I heard that other than public outcry against these liveries .... the variety among these liveries apparently caused issues for ATC controllers at some airports (LAX was mentioned) whom, through being accustomed to "quickly" identify traffic/airlines by commonality of their corporate tail liveries, couldn't quickly relate to precisely which aircraft was BA .... again due to variety that existed among the airlines world tail liveries.

Mark C
AKL/NZ

I missed all that uproar, having run away to make my fortune in the Colonies in 1968...but I noticed when Qantas introduced their indigenous liveries, the tails all had the flying kangaroo clearly displayed. I can understand the ATC folk having difficulties picking the BA aircraft, especially after dark.

Was this the point that BA lost the Royal ER post flag ensign on their aircraft to Virgin?

I noticed when Qantas introduced their indigenous liveries, the tails all had the flying kangaroo clearly displayed. I can understand the ATC folk having difficulties picking the BA aircraft

YEAH .... QF applied those Balarinji Studio designed Australian aboriginal artworks to just the fuelage and engine nacelles (only) of 3 of it's B747's .... a -338 VH-EBU "Nalanji Dreaming, and 2 -438's VH-OJB and VH-OEJ "Wanalla Dreaming), and later B737-838 VH-VXB "Yananyi Dreaming" too .... each as as follows ....



The B747's were regular visitors to AKL during the late 1990's .... as was the B737 during the early 2000's.

QF have also since applied a similar livery to one of it B787-9's as well .... VH-ZND "Yam Dreaming" ....


In each case the tail of each of these aircraft remains as per the standard QF corporate livery.

During the early 2o00's QF also leased a B747-400 from BA (G-BNLH) .... and which, in QF service, was re-registered VH-NLH and became relatively frequent visitor to AKL. This aircraft was operated by QF in the standard BA world tail livery, but, with "QANTAS" titles, however, some months after entering QF service it's world tail livery was stripped from the aircraft .... partly as a result of the confusion it created at some airports and because, by this time, BA had been convinced, by popular opinion, to replace it's world tail liveries with the airlines current identity

B747-436 VH-NLH (ex G-BNLH)

PHOTO: Leslie SNELLERMAN


PHOTO: Craig MURRAY

I actually flew on this particular aircraft from LAX to AKL. Comfort-wise I found its seating configuration (seat pitch) to be "the worst" I've ever experienced on any B747-400 .... quite unlike that of the QF's own B747's. Still .... that's the way it was/and often is in the case of any lease-in .... and it "DID" get me home regardless

Mark C
AKL/NZ