February, 2009

Crescent Moon and Venus

Shot this on a cold, cold night just outside our front door. Had the camera on a tripod, used a long-ish exposure, and after a couple dozen shots, this was the one I was happiest with.

Crescent Moon and Venus

Crescent Moon and Venus

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Visit to the Canadian Air and Space Museum

I heard about this place from a colleague of mine at work, who took his son to this museum. Coincidentally, the day or so before it had been officially changed its name to the “Canadian Air and Space Museum”. Vanessa was away all day, so Annie and I made the trek all the way up to Downsview via TTC and got to the museum, which is housed in the old de Havilland Canada aircraft manufacturing building (basically a big old warehouse).

The Entrance to the Museum

A restored Tiger Moth

The vintage maple leaf on the Tiger Moth

Avro Lancaster being restored and the Avro Arrow replica

Full-sized Avro Arrow Replica

This was the Avro Lancaster that had formerly been mounted on a podium near the CNE grounds, and was a familiar site when driving around that part of Lakshore when I was a kid. One of the people there told me that mounting the plane had permanently rendered it unflyable, but the current restoration effort was trying to fix up the plane as much as possible. Made during the final stages of WWII, she never say any action and was in fact pressed into service to help in search and rescue efforts on the coast prior to being “mounted”.

One of the Merlin engines of the Lancaster

I found this an interesting object to photograph: a thoroughly shot-up fuselage of a Lancaster that was used as target practice at a firing range, which apparently still had some useful parts for the reconstruction effort.

The “Ruhr Express” nose marking, which has an interesting history

The iconic British markings from the Lancaster

A classic from the 1930s: A Stinston Reliant

It’s spotless rotary engine

Not just airplanes, but training gear as well: a Link Trainer.

The first human-carrying ornithopter to actually fly

Annie is a-okay in the cockpit

A Bell CH-136 Kiowa Helicopter

A Beechcraft CT-134 Musketeer trainer

Interior of an Air Canada Viscount Simulator

Gears, motor and armatures behind the Viscount Simulator. Flame Out!

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YoBob on Ice

Had a great time walking down by the beach with Annie, where we both threw sticks along a shallow and completely frozen pond-sized puddle for Yo-Bob to fetch. The slippery ice meant that stick slid further than it would normally go. That extra distance meant that YoBob really hit his top stick-chasing stride when he had to stop — which meant that he did a lot of sliding around. He was thorough exhausted after only a few throws, but as in this shot, was perfectly happy to retrieve the stick!

YoBob Retrieving a Stick on Ice

YoBob Retrieving a Stick on Ice

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