A question for you "wings of gold" guys out there. There is quite a dip in his glidepath at the beginning of the light trails. Do you think the plane did that or is it the result of the camera being on a tripod and pitching with the deck?
Vzlet From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (8 years 2 months 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 2199 times:
Chad probably answered the question with his caption for a similar shot: "The large swells on the ocean can sometimes make for an interesting flight path." I assume he means "interesting apparent flight path".
DeltaGuy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 2, posted (8 years 2 months 3 days 21 hours ago) and read 2144 times:
I think that it's completely possible that it was actually the flightpath of the aircraft. The swells he was referring to in his caption probably referred to a change in deck height, to which the pilot would have reacted with a pitch change. (i.e. where you see the trail crest up, he was probably reacting to a rising deck).
Having spent some time on the LSO platform at the boat with my dad, a former LSO, this is always a very awe inspiring scene, especially up close.
Just my .02.
DeltaGuy <--wishes he could take good time long exposure shots
CURLYHEADBOY From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (8 years 2 months 3 days 21 hours ago) and read 2144 times:
Quoting SlamClick (Thread starter): Do you think the plane did that or is it the result of the camera being on a tripod and pitching with the deck?
Hey, i'm not a pilot or so... but... what about both things? I think i can see a regular pattern being the result of the deck pitching and a dent where the guy flying the plane pulled up a bit to match the glideslope...
Sidishus From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 4, posted (8 years 2 months 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 2047 times:
Quoting SlamClick (Thread starter): There is quite a dip in his glidepath at the beginning of the light trails. Do you think the plane did that or is it the result of the camera being on a tripod and pitching with the deck?
Its more likely final corrections by the aircraft to stay on the Ball and or LSO calls
AAR90 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 6, posted (8 years 2 months 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 1992 times:
Quoting DeltaGuy (Reply 2): The swells he was referring to in his caption probably referred to a change in deck height, to which the pilot would have reacted with a pitch change. (i.e. where you see the trail crest up, he was probably reacting to a rising deck).
Good try, but not correct. The Fresnel Lens is gyro-stabilized to account for all but the worst case pitching deck. In over 800 CV landings I have seen only one instance where the Fresnel Lens could not handle the CV's deck movement [never did get the LSO's to go MOVLAS]. You're looking at a time-lapse picture taken from a hand-held camera that was not gyro-stabilized [probably hand held against the hand rail of "vultures' row].
GOCAPS16 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (8 years 2 months 2 days 18 hours ago) and read 1904 times:
If is was shot hand held, the sea has got to be fairly calm to get a clear shot of that otherwise you'll get camera shake for the long exposure time especially at Vultures Row. Any sudden slight movement will ruin your photo. Flash photography is not allowed also. Using a tripod really doesn't help if you get 6-7 ft swells and your shots will still be blurry. Shooting at night at sea is really tough but you get some amazing results as what Chad provided us. I guess chad got lucky to get some good quality shots on the Nimitz.
Maiznblu_757 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 9, posted (8 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 1710 times:
Hi guys,
To answer a few of your points.
1) I did not use a tripod. The camera was held down on the "rail" on vultures row. No way could someone hold a camera in their hand for 30 seconds and get a clear photo.
I would have to say these two are a combination of both the pitching deck and the pilot trying to stay on glide path. Chances are he could be higher or lower than what he should be.
The guy in the 2nd photo looked to have caught the 1 wire, although, I do not know for sure.
In this photo, the sea state was much more calm. Now, it looked to me like he got on the glide path and pretty well stuck to it.
GOCAPS16 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (8 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 1698 times:
Chad, great photos again. On cruise, I've tried taking several night trap shots but with hardly any luck. Luckily for you guys, you've had calm seas along the California coast while in the East China Sea, the seas were rough from the typhoons while we were there for 3 months. So no opportunity, just blurry shots from the rocking ship. I'll try again on a Med. cruise next time.
Maiznblu_757 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 11, posted (8 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 1695 times:
Thanks Kevin,
Just a heads up though. You need to hold that camera steady on the rail. Seas being rough wont ruin your photo... It also helps if you do not have a C-2 or E-2 turning right below the island, might as well forget it if there is, the vibration is to much.
AAR90 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 12, posted (8 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 1697 times:
Quoting Maiznblu_757 (Reply 9): I would have to say these two are a combination of both the pitching deck and the pilot trying to stay on glide path. Chances are he could be higher or lower than what he should be.
"Chances are" he's seldom exactly on glideslope and is "always" making corrections. The only way you'll be able to get a reasonable guestimate of how his pass was is by watching the PLAT video shot from the in-deck camera [gyro-stabilized view with cross-hairs looking up the glideslope].
Quoting Maiznblu_757 (Reply 11): It also helps if you do not have a C-2 or E-2 turning right below the island, might as well forget it if there is, the vibration is to much.
Try flying a night CASE-3 EMCON recovery after driving one for 6+ hours.
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You're looking at a time-lapse picture taken from a hand-held camera that was not gyro-stabilized [probably hand held against the hand rail of "vultures' row].
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