Last week, I had the chance to get some air to air images of San Jose Police Department’s Air Support Units’ EC-120. What made this a special shoot was that over the past few years, I’ve gotten to know the men and women of the Air Support Unit and consider them friends. If they are not patrolling the skies over San Jose, CA, they are selflessly supporting the community through programs helping kids with cancer or their fellow police officers. But today the camera was pointed at them.

I arrived at San Jose Airport to meet with the pilots who were doing today’s photoshoot. With Northern California battered by storm after storm, we were very lucky to get a break inbetween them to get airborne. And as with any photoshoot, safety was the number one priority. What would make this shoot a bit more interesting was that it was a mixed formation of a Cessna 182S and a Eurocopter EC-120.

In an airplane, the pilot sits in the left seat and photographer in the right. But in a helicopter, the pilot sits in the right seat. So when we are airborne, both pilots have to look through their passengers to maintain a visual on the other aircraft. But “POLICE1″, the SJPD helicopter, had a safety observer in the left seat to help maintain safety. Just as if they were on patrol, the safety observer and pilot are in constant communication as they fly.

We briefed safety issues, airspace requirements, squak codes, air to air frequencies, and a plan for the shoot. The Cessna would take off from SJC and POLICE1 would depart Moffett Field, where they are based, and we would rendezvous over the San Jose Flea Market and form up.  Then head over to the foothills for some ‘clean’ shots, followed by a few race tracks over downtown San Jose to get the new City Hall in the background, and finish up over Moffett Field where the formation would break up and head back to their respective airports.

Then it was time for us to head back to SJC. It was quite surreal landing a Cessna on an 11,000 ft runway with large commercial aircraft landing and taking of next to us. And to make it that much special, we got to land in the “wrong” direction. Normally aircraft land from the south due to the Bay Area’s consistent winds, but with yet another storm approaching, planes were cleared to land from the north.

After getting the Cessna back into the hangar, I packed up my gear and headed to Moffett Field to do some ground to air shots. We really lucked out due to a small break in the storm.

Here was our flight track over San Jose to get the air to air shots:

View SJPD Air 2 Air in a larger map

And the one shot that I really wanted to get was with an SJPD police car in the foreground and AIR2 hovering in the back.

Then the photography gods smiled upon me and gave me a stunning dark background with some amazing golden lighting and a full rainbow.

Here are a couple of videos taken on the ramp at Moffett with my new Contour HD 1080p bullet camera from VHoldR. With at 135 degree wide angle lens, it really give you an ‘in your face’ angle.  Click on the video’s to view them in High Definition. First a low flyby and then as the shoot ended, AIR2 taxied past me back to it’s hanger at Moffett Field.

And for the photographers out there, the shot below was taken at 12mm while laying on the ground and nearly under the helicopter. The water drops were caused by the massive rotorwash blowing the water on the ground onto the front of the lens. So cool!

Police officers from San Jose and Sunnyvale along with SJ Sharkie, SF 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary, and hundreds of volunteers transformed the NASA 211 Hangar at Moffett Field into the North Pole and filled it with activities including a ‘bubble zone’, jumper houses, face painting, carnival games, and S.W.A.T. police vehicles.  The families entered the hangar on a red carpet and were individually greeted with a standing ovation.

The harsh reality is that this will be the last Christmas for some of these children. So the Cops Care Cancer Foundation (CCCF) goes the extra mile to make sure that it is a very special one for each and every family. CCCF finds out ahead of time what each child in the family wants from Santa. Then they make sure that gift that is in the box that Santa hands the child is what will bring a smile to their face. And along with some extra cash for gifts and a holiday dinner, raised by donation from various fundraisers throughout the year, the families have a little extra cheer to get them through the end of the year.

A little over a week ago approximately 65 Air National Guardsmen from the 129th Rescue Wing boarded 3 C-17‘s from the 446th Airlift Wing and began a 4 month journey to provide combat search and rescue support for Operation Enduring Freedom.  The McChord based C-17′s were fully loaded with pilots, aircrew, maintainers, support personnel, three 129th RQS HH-60G‘s, and all of their support equipment. While this deployment is part of regular Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) cycle, it is still hard on the families to see their loved ones leave. The last AEF deployment occurred in 2007.  Their sacrifices are deeply appreciated.

 Safe Journeys and we’ll see you when you come back!  And to the readers of this blog, please leave a comment below wishing our troops well.

Safe Journeys and we’ll see you when you come back!  And to the readers of this blog, please leave a comment below wishing our troops well.

What do you get when you combine one the founders of a major international electronics company and his wife;  a producer, a camera man, and a famous tv personality from a local entertainment program; 4 average Bay Area locals; the worlds only female Zeppelin pilot; one uber cool fight attendant; and one confused blogger at a 1,000 feet over the skies of the San Francisco? Well, a whole lotta love!!!

As I write my latest entry, I find myself asking if this was all some sort of weird dream. No way did this all really happen, or will anyone believe that it was just all a fluke. But trust me when I say, I could not even try to make this up even if I wanted to.

Yesterday, I had incredibly unique opportunity to go flying aboard “Eureka,” a Zeppelin NT (“Neue Technologie“, German for new technology…didn’t know I spoke Deustch did ya!?! =P) owned and operated by Airship Ventures, based at Moffett Field, CA.

Some of you may know that most Saturdays, you can find me volunteering at the Moffett Field Historical Society, an incredible museum dedicated to preserving the history of Moffett Field. And just a quick history lesson, Moffett Field was built by the US Navy in the 1930′s to house the 785 foot long, 146 feet high rigid airship, the USS Macon.  Subsequently for those of you in the Bay Area area, and drive down 101, you’ll see a gigantic black and white hangar in Mt. View…that is Hangar One, and was constructed to house the USS Macon. Yes, it was that large!!

And after 75 years, an airship has finally returned to Moffett Field. “Eureka” is no where near the size as the USS Macon, but still an impressive 246 feet long, 57 feet high, and 67 feet wide….a whole 14 feet longer then a Boeing 747!!  She has a maximum speed of 78 miles per hour, with typical cruising speed of 35 to 40 mph. But all the while providing a smooth and quiet ride.

Carrying on the legacy of airships at Moffett was no small task, but Brian and Alexandra Hall had the vision and knowledge to bring such a company to fruition. And with that they brought the a Zeppelin airship to fly over skies of America for the first time in over 70 years. And the Zeppelin NT is only one of 3 in the world! So rare and unique is definitely an understatement.

As I waited in the passenger lounge at Airship Ventures, housed in the old US Navy Bachelor Officers Quarters (if those walls could talk!!), I was chatting with Ken and Elaine about our upcoming flight. I found out that Elaine had bought Ken a ride for Christmas! Wow, what a girlfriend!!! And while we were chatting, in walked Liam Mayclem, co-host from the popular Eye On the Bay, and his tv crew.  They were doing a segment for an upcoming episode on fun things to do around the Bay. And this definitely counted as one of them.

After a quick safety briefing, we boarded the van to take us across the airfield to the airship. The weather couldn’t have be any better. Highs in the 60′s, no winds, and not a cloud in the sky! The airship was already on another tour and we would be doing a “hot swap” as it landed, swapping out passengers while the engines were running. To ensure proper weight balance, two people exited the airship, and two climbed aboard, and so on till everyone coming off was off and everyone going on was on. Apparently two of our passengers, Mr. & Mrs. Wozniak, had such a good time on the hour long flight, that they were going to join us on the two hour sunset flight over San Francisco as well. The more the merrier!

Once onboard, we each took one of the 12 seats in the Zeppelin. No need to fight over who gets which seat because every seat is a window seat and an isle seat too.  And what a view it was! This was no small cramped airline cabin setup. There was nearly a completely panoramic view, and you can stand up and walk around without bumping your head on the ceiling. I’m 6 feet tall and I had absolutely no problem with my knees bumping in the back of the seat in front of me, banging my head, or having to take a deep breath and squeeze by another passenger. This was the perfect size!

And the coolest part, well there was not just one, was that the Zeppelin had a large bench seat by the rear with a HUGE window. It also had two side windows that opened up and you could stick your head out and get “Zepp Hair,” where your hair gets blown around by the gentle wind. Remember you’re not going that fast…you’re just floating.

And man, was it quiet! Two of the three Lycoming IO-360 Vectored Thrust Engines, are mounted on the airframe well above the passenger cabin, nearly eliminating any noise. The third is mounted on the tail and provides lateral stability, similar to a helicopter’s tail rotar. This gave a smooth and gentle ride as we coasted up the 101 and up the pacific coastline.

And as proof that this airship has absolutely no bad view, if nature were to call during your flight, you can be content knowing that you will not miss a thing.

As we floated along the coastline we neared the opening of the San Francisco Bay and were welcomed by one of the classic icons of the Bay…the Golden Gate Bridge.

With the evening commuters coming and going in their cars, we peacefully cruised over the 746 foot towers and left all our worries behind.

And for our reward, we were treated to an unbelievable view of San Francisco as it lit up just for us.

And with an such a romantic scene laid out in front of us, one of the patrons, Ken took this opportunity and proposed to his girlfriend Elaine on the love seat in the back of the gondola. Of course, she said YES!!! Congratulations and don’t forget to invite us all to the wedding!

With champagne and apple cider for everyone, we toasted the city by the bay one last time and headed over the calm waters back towards Moffett Field.

And with a landing as light as a feather, we returned back to the lounge and toasted one last time to an unbelievable trip.  A few pictures for the photo album and an amazing story to share with friends.

A very special thanks to Beth, Kate, Carol, Ken, Elaine, Janet, Steve, Liam, and Zoltan for a wonderful trip. There definitely was a “Whole Lotta Love” on that ship. If you ever get the chance to go up and do this, I highly recommend it.

VDA4571 is the call sign of an Antonov AN-124-100 operated by the Volga-Dnepar Group, the largest air cargo carrier in the world. And the AN-124 is one of the largest cargo aircraft in the world, comparable to the USAF C-5 Galaxy, but capable of carrying 25% more payload.

And this behemoth of an aircraft was landing on a former US Navy Military base….simply unthinkable a few years back. But thanks to global walls falling, this wonderful aircraft can be chartered to carry your largest payload.

The AN-124 is 226 ft long, 240 ft wide, and 68 ft high and is operated by a crew of 6.

And this particular plane came from Tolmachevo Airport in Seiberia, Russia and flew 12 hours 20 minutes over the North Pole to get to sunny California!

The Antonov has 24 wheels! And they are huge!…notice the man just to the right of the wheels in the picture below.

To load the 330,000 lbs of cargo, the nose swings upward allowing specially crafted cargo containers to be enveloped by the Antonov.

The kind crew gave me a brief tour of this unique visitor. As you can see below, looking from the rear of the plane forwards, it’s got a lot of room! And since AAA can’t quite come over and fix a flat tire, they carry a few spares on board.

Above the cargo hold is where all the passengers/crew spend their time. And that deck is split into two by the wing root, into a forward and aft compartment. We climbed the rear ladder to the aft deck and thats where the galley was located.

Just forward of that is the ‘office’ where 19 crew members can relax and do work.

We then went back down the ladder toward the nose of the aircraft and climbed up another long ladder to the forward compartment where they had the crew quarters and cockpit.

Here is one of the crew rest areas. As you can see it’s not fancy, but it will do on those 12 hr flights to Moffett!

Here is the Navigation, Communications, and Flight Engineers all sit.

I didn’t quite understand which was which, but man, there sure are a lot of buttons!

And here is the cockpit. With the aircraft only being flown for 22 years, it is not quite the latest in technology, but it sure does get the job done.

And then it was back down the ladder to the cargo hold.  One thing I didn’t notice earlier where the two cranes mounted on the ceiling of the cargo area. Each of these two cranes can hold 5 tonnes. And in the picture below, they are moving the AN-124′s tow bar. When you’re that big, you need a BIG tow bar!

The Foundation partnered with police officers and firefighters from the San Jose Police Department, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety and Yahoo, Inc to host sick children from San Francisco Bay Area hospitals, including Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center and Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland, as well as their entire families.

The guests that were present were all families who have a child stricken with cancer or any other life threatening illness. They all arrived in the morning at Yahoo, Inc.’s Sunnyvale campus where they were greeted by the members of the various agencies. The children and their families were then offered a chance to ride aboard police cars, fire trucks, exotic cars, or a limo. Once aboard, they were able to sound the sirens and play with the lights as they were lead by a police escort to Hangar 211 at Moffett Field similar to a Presidential motorcade.

After they arrived at the hangar, local officials, police officers, firefighters, and over 100 volunteers lined the door and greeted each and every family a standing ovation as they entered the party and made them all feel like VIP’s.

Activities for the families include a ‘bubble zone’, jumper houses, face painting, carnival games, and special access to police and fire department vehicles.

But the highlight of the event was an unanticipated surprise visit by Santa Claus himself. Due to an unforeseen mechanical issue with Santa’s sleigh on a test flight in the area, Santa was left stranded. Shortly after Santa landed, Sgt Larry Ellsworth filled me in on what happened. “While I can’t tell you the exact location of the slight, as it’s classified, I can say that we (the San Jose Police Dept Air Support Unit) were just glad to be availible on such short notice. The Assistant Chief of Police Dan Katz recieved the call for distress and immediatly dispactched the helicopter to render assistance. Having some flight time in helcopters, he piloted the helicopter himself and went to pick Santa up.  We have the ability with the helicopter to be able to provided this type of assistance and were glad to help.”

As POLICE 1 was dispatched with Katz and Ellsworth aboard, word spread through the hangar and soon the families lined up outside to await the arrival of Santa Claus.

And before we knew it, the helicopter, with a extra special VIP onboard, landed to an eager crowd.

“The magic of this event itself is that when we (The Cops Care Cancer Foundation) do registration, we do not take gifts from people in the community. What we do is we ask the family what their children really want this holiday season, so that when they sit on Santa’s lap and say they want this particular gift, the magic is that it is actually here.  There is no dollar amount for these gifts.” said Brian Simuro, President/Founder of the Cops Care Cancer Foundation and SJPD cop.

“In addition to the sick children, the bother’s and sister’s, mom’s and dad’s also get presents too. Everybody comes, everybody gets gift and that way everybody feels included. There were a 104 kids, over 50 families, and over 200 volunteers just for today.” Simuro said. In the days prior, volunteers wrapped gifts and helped setup and decorate the large Air Support Unit hangar.

Simuro added “On a regular basis, the Foundation gives out money to families who need help paying rent, mortgage, utilities, any gifts, special requests such as going to Disneyland, and unfortunately sometime funeral expenses. And while they are here today, they will also get gift cards for Target and also money for Christmas dinner. That way, it brings the family some empowerment to have their own special service for whatever they celebrate and they can end it on a very high note.”

A special thanks to the Cops Care Cancer Foundation, SJPD Air Support Unit, SJPD, SVPD, SVFD, Yahoo, Inc and to all the children and families for putting on such a wonderful event. From all of the smiles on the childres faces, this was no doubt a tremendous success.  For more information on the Cops Care Cancer Foundation, please visit their website at : http://arrestcancer.org/

Our morning was spent shooting the approaches at Moffett Field, home to the 129th Rescue Wing from the California Air National Guard, and practicing a simulated hoist of a rescue swimmer. But after that was when the fun really began. 

After JOLLY92 landed and taxied to the East Parallel, I was hot loaded onto the waiting JOLLY91 and safely strapped in.

After final preflight checks, JOLLY91 and 92 requested take off from NUQ Tower and proceeded on the WOODSIDE ONE departure out towards the pacific coast.

The HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter is used to conduct day or night combat search and rescue, or CSAR, operations into hostile environments to recover downed aircrew or other isolated personnel during war.  But locally, the 129th uses their versatile Pave Hawks to aid in civil search and rescue, emergency aeromedical evacuation, disaster relief, and counterdrug activities, such as Team Hawk.

The 129th Rescue Wing’s Counterdrug Task Force detachment, Team Hawk, works closely with local law enforcement agencies in the eradication of illegal narcotics and the clean up of national forests environmentally damaged by marijuana production by utilizing the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, aircrew, pararescuemen and maintainers.

As we flew in tight formation along the coastline, I was reminded of that these pilots and aircrew have to be the ‘best of the best’ to fly these powerful aircraft.

The crews have to be prepared to fly any of a multitude of missions at moments notice. These missions may require low level flying, day or night, formation flying, precision hovering, or the ever demanding air to air refueling.

As we flew in formation, the pilots were having to deal with a multitude of complex situations. Staying in tight formation, the rugged terrain of the California coastline raising and lowering in front of us, being on the lookout for VFR traffic flying in one of the busiest airspace’s in the nation, constant radio calls to air traffic control and the other helo, and a photographer requesting formation changes to get that perfect slot. And naturally, the crews handled all of it with ease and professionalism.

But as every squadron does, the 129th RQS trains like they fly, and flies like they train. The radio calls were brief and to the point, navigation was tack sharp and safety was foremost. And before we knew it, JOLLY91 and 92 were flying over the San Francisco Bay.

There we encountered one of San Francisco’s classic landmarks, the fog. It was like a voluminous sea of cotton. A true treat to see our HH-60G skimming those waves of white with JOLLY92 right next to us.

As we navigated back down the 101, we passed by other classic icons of the Bay Area. It’s no wonder that the 129th RQW is a highly desired place to work. Great people, a wonderful area to live in, and some of the most beautiful skies to fly around. It was truly a beautiful way to see the city from a unique perspective.

As we came back to Moffett Field, the amazing folks at Moffett Base Ops and NUQ Tower, helped coordinate the airspace to get a quick shot of JOLLY92 over Hangars 1, 2, and 3.

A very special thanks to Col. Amos Bagdasarian, Capt Alyson Teeter, TSgt Ray Aquino, the crews of JOLLY91 (Wenthe, Finnerty, Nowaski, Kenney, Rymer, and Bacio) and JOLLY92 (Nguyen, Weidman, Hedin, and Woodward), and the rest of the fine folks at the 129th Rescue Wing for allowing me an opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream of mine and fly with those amazing helicopters that I had been looking up at my whole life.

For the full set of images from these two flight, click here.

During the Vietnam war, the sweetest sound a downed airman could ever hear was the distinct WHOP WHOP WHOP WHOP of the HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant, with the call sign “JOLLY GREEN”. This meant that help was nearby and on it’s way. With it’s ability to penetrate a heavily fortified area, the “JOLLY GREEN’s” became the last resort to extract and rescue injured survivors.

Over 30 years later, the equipment and tactics have become more advanced, but the mission is still the same: saving lives. Fulfilling this crucial role now is the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing based at Moffett Field.

 The 129th utilizes the powerful HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter to accomplish the same tasks as the HH-53E. And as the helicopters changed, so did the callsign, which now is “JOLLY,” honoring those fine helicopters and their aircrews who flew those daring rescue missions.

The 129th RQW’s mission is very simple. Search and Rescue. In combat or civilian scenarios, the 129th RQW uses the MC-130P, HH-60G, and Paracrescue to rescue downed airman, distressed persons aboard ships, lost or injured hikers, and medical evacuations. And with them being located in the heart of the Bay Area, they are an incredible asset to have if and when disaster strikes.

Last week, I had the honor of being able to fly with the 129th Rescue Squadron on two flights. Having lived within 5 miles of Moffett Field my entire life, I have watched the 129th fly their helicopters for years; from the HH-53E’s in the 80′s to their current helo, the HH-60G’s, which they transitioned to in 1991.

With an 8am show time, the two air crews of JOLLY91 and JOLLY92 gathered in the briefing room and went over the day’s mission.

For the first part, I was to fly on board with the crew of JOLLY92 as they practiced simulated ILS approaches to 32R

After that it was time to do a simulated hoist of a rescue swimmer.

After our approaches we headed out to SHIPWRECK, located in the middle of the SF Bay, to do our practice hoists. This location gives the pilots a safe and controlled place to practice as well as a visual reference to hover near.

What impressed me the most was the guidance and precision that the aircrew had over the aircraft.

The 129th RQW has rescued victims aboard ships located over 500 miles off shore. Providing medical treatment and extraction to those who otherwise would not have any other options.

At the time of this post, the 129th Rescue Wing has saved 598 lives. That is 598 people who would not be alive today if it wasn’t for the expert training and services that the Wing provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year both here and overseas.

And also shot our big, beautiful ramp queen…

Later that afternoon, a friend told me that it was going to be a full moon tonight. I was already meeting another friend to check out his new Canon 50D at SJC. While over there, I tried to capture a plane flying through the moon. Results weren’t quite what I had hoped, but still fun to try.