Hot Air Balloon over Melbourne City

Just had the pleasure of flying over Melbourne in a hot air balloon, on a cold winter morning.

It was meant to happen in a warmer month, in April, but the weather did not allow it on the day. Given the colder, wetter winter months, I thought this second attempt was likely to be canceled also. Indeed, it was a bit of a touch-and-go. Had to call the night before between 6:30pm and 7pm to confirm and then again at 5am to be sure it is going ahead.

One thing I did really like though is that we actually started much later than I anticipated giving me a couple more hours to sleep. Should have gone to bed much earlier the night before but I wasn't disciplined enough or perhaps too excited or worried about how to bring my photography gear without a backpack... :P

Thought it would be really cold up there. After all, it was a 6 degrees (celcius) morning after all. I was well rugged-up, perhaps too well.. It was actually pretty warm up there. We don't fly high enough to make a big difference in temperature in the air compared with the ground level.

In fact, I would say it is much warmer up there given how close we are to the burner, which is right over our heads. I thought of wearing a cap but settled for a beanie instead thinking the cap might fly off and beanie would be warmer. Anyway, I took the beanie in the end and wore neither.

There were actually 3 balloons that went up that morning which was fantastic! Won't like not being able to see another balloon in the air. Imagine just taking aero-shot of the city without a balloon in sight... Thank God, we didn't get just one other balloon but two balloons! :)


Oh yes, there is one other thing I really appreciated flying in the winter month - the morning sky in a cold winter day. Love the colour of the sky and warmth it creates on the ground. Love this picture. Thought it looks like a water-colour painting. Look at those smoke / steam coming out of the factory chimneys. Thank God there are not that many of them...

If you pay carefully attention to the picture, you will also find some dust spots. We are warned that the burners may drip and dirty our clothes. I didn't get dirty but I think it is somewhat dusty up there. And it is tricky changing lens in a tinny basket with ten other occupants on-board plus two pilots.

Hope you like this last pic. Very pretty I thought. No, it is not a scene from Les Miserables nor were we fighting to escape some alien contraption. We were helping to get hot air out of the balloon and folding it up after the flight. Obviously, I didn't do my share very well.. Sorry! :P

The next best thing to planes

Of course lots of things are better than planes in an air-show, right? There must be!

Australian car show, at least those that are held in Melbourne are not well known for having lots of pretty models like one would find in such as Tokyo or Detroit motor shows.

On the day where there were more rain than planes on the ground, where the ground was muddy and cold, there is nothing better than pictures of people on the ground. I didn't get that many in the fear that someone may get offended. Yep, I am a wuss. 8^P

WOW, fashion on the field! Look at those sunnies and the amazing hat.

I love these two pictures. They put a smile on my face. Amazing and contagious, emotions.

Lots of happiness, lots of love or perhaps just keeping each other warm in the second case, hoodies, Gore-tex, sunnies, camera, ear-plugs. Magic!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!



Alright, alright, I hear you die hard airshow fans complaining, demanding for more pictures of killing machines, oops, sorry, I meant jet military aircrafts..

Here is the B-1B Lancer, a long-range, multi-role, heavy bomber. Can't believe how long it is (44.5m) and the wing span is amazing too (41.8m)!

Never thought this would actually happen. Wings are really good not just for keeping planes in the air. They are good for keep rain from falling on my head and my camera also. I actually stood under this wing for no less than 10 minutes when it was pouring down dogs and cats. Somehow I thought this was a very cinematic moment.

This was the last airshow for F111, the "Pig", which is due to be decommission by the end of the year. Very sad that the demostration was cancelled because of poor weather. I just have to go with my memory and pictures taken two years ago with my good old D70.

This of course is not a picture of a F111, silly. :)

Flying in a Jet Fighter - BAC167 StrikeMaster Mk.88

Went for a jet fighter flight in an ex-NZ air-force fighter / bomber - BAC167 Strike Master. While it was a mere 20 minutes introductory flight from Australia Jet Adventures, it did come with many aerobatic moves - aileron turn, derry turn, barrel roll, loop, inverted flight, wing over, hesitation turn, victory roll and combination manoeuvres. I experienced between 0G and 3G and saw the horizon turn around and around... If you feel sick just reading this, imagine how I felt in the cockpit.

In the pre-flight briefing, I learnt to use the sick bag - where to put it so I can get to it very quickly. I learnt how to put on and take off the helmet, slim line parachute, how to operate the face mask and release the parachute, seat belts and the canopy in the event of an emergency. But the most important is to how to take off the mask if I need to puke. Apparently, the mask can not be cleaned completely once I fill it up with my breakfast or dinner from the night before... Therefore, getting it off quickly is crucial.

The plane is a BAC167 Strike Master, nicknamed Blunty where I sit side-by-side with the pilot and I am pretty close to the tip of the plane. Being a much smaller plane than passenger jets I am used to and closer to the front and speed, I thought it would be quite scary. We did get off the ground in just a couple of seconds, however it wasn't that scary until Darren started doing aerobatic manoeuvres. If you are prone to motion sickness, one good tip is to look straight ahead. Because it is a jet fighter, there is little turbulence and the brain is not fast enough to react and cause nausea. However, the thrill factor is substantially discounted unless you look around (and see the horizon spinning around). I did and thank God I didn't puke up there.

The pilot Darren executed each manoeuvre with great precision and enthusiasm. I went quiet a little bit after the wing-over (basically turning 360 degrees clockwise and then immediately 720 degrees anticlockwise. Felt like I was in a front loader washing machine... There was nothing to hold on to although I was strapped down by at least 6 seat belts. I was moving around quite a bit and thought my helmet will hit Darren's at times. I imagine I must have turned from pink to red to white and may be green... Of course I couldn't throw in the towel and ask Darren to head back to base because of a little nausea. The whole experience is definitely the most thrilling in my life! Thank you very much Computer Associates for the voucher. I was actually a fairly breezy day but I found myself completely covered with sweat by the end.

This picture gives you a little idea of me in the cockpit. I was sitting on the RHS (bottom) and wearing the same helmet as the passenger in this picture.

I struggled for a long time thinking whether and what I should post here because I only have a few pics of the plane and no pics of myself at all. There are a fair bit of security restrictions since 9-11. Understandably, safety is a big deal as well. No loose items are allowed in the plane hence this photographer's hands were tied. Thank God that there were 3 video-cams in the cockpit. I am still waiting for the video to arrive. Thank you Jared for taking a few pics of me with the plane. You can see them in my wife's blog.

This picture must be one of the worst pictures I have ever taken. You can only see a little fin on top of the plane. LOL. I was very keen to photograph the plane in the air. It is hard because it flies very high so I could only shoot it taking off. I got really close to the side of the runway.... too close... I've been to airshow a couple of times (and love it!).. but the noise from the Rolls Royce Viper 535 engine was so deafening I was literally blown away by it. One thing I learnt from this is how very well the canopy blocks out noise in the cockpit.