Birds and snakes, an aeroplane…

Al Denelsbeck

… and Lenny Bruce is not afraid.

Now that I have that earworm firmly established, let’s get to the pics.

pair of basking northern water snakes Nerodia sipedon sipedon
A few days back we got a ton of water dumped on us here in central NC, like most of the country I believe, right after temperatures had gotten above 25°c, then dropped precipitously (sorry) during and after the rains. Yesterday, with the sun out and the temperature climbing again, I visited Jordan Lake to see what was happening, and the first thing that I noticed was the plethora of northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) basking on the rocks alongside the boat ramps. Given that I’d found maybe three watersnakes in years on the lake shores there, this was unprecedented; I believe they were driven out of their hidey-holes by the significantly-higher lake levels, at the same time trying to get their internal temperatures up to snuff. Of the two above (yes there are two,) the smaller was perhaps slightly smaller than average, but the larger was quite impressive, close to my wrist in girth. Despite this, they were all very spooky and dove into the water if I was the slightest bit incautious, so these various pics required careful stalking.

Save for this guy.

northern water snake Nerodia sipedon sipedon basking boldly on rock
Easily the smallest with the girth of my finger, this one showed all the others as the cowards they were by remaining atop this rock in plain sight as I worked along the shore. Or you could just consider it too stupid to know better – either works.

I returned again today, earlier in the morning, to see how many more I could get, and of course to see the AM bird action, but that netted me this favorite perspective:

northern water snake Nerodia sipedon sipedon peeking from under surface of water
Not for nothing do they call them watersnakes, and this one was checking to see if the coast was clear (literally) before venturing out again to warm back up. They can only hold their breath for about two minutes, and most times they raise their snouts very close to debris, roots, or clutter to remain camouflaged as they check for danger, but this one couldn’t have been more obvious, perhaps chastened by the little one yesterday. The cloudy eyes (which many of them displayed) indicate that it would be shedding soon, and yes, it does limit their vision, which in turn makes them more defensive and quicker to bite if threatened. They’re non-venomous and harmless – the bites sting a bit, but not even like wasps, and I can’t count the number that I’ve received (though none either of these days, I’m sorry to inform you Mr Bugg.)

northern water snake Nerodia sipedon sipedon splayed across rocks
This one was about average in size, so roughly half a meter long and 4-5 cm in thickness, and it slowly eased out of the water and along the rocks to a good basking point as I watched. Some closeups of the head showed why it never reacted to my careful movements only a few meters away.

close up of northern water snake Nerodia sipedon sipedon head, displaying tongue and possibly injured eye
Aside from catching the tongue out, we’ll look closely at that eye, which is nowhere near normal in appearance, nor is it how they appear when close to shedding – I suspect it’s an injury, though how recent I couldn’t begin to say. What was curious to me was that it consistently maneuvered with this side facing the boat ramps, away from the sun, which does not seem to be the most efficient at spotting danger. The biggest threats would likely be from the land side, while if there’s any vision in that eye at all, it would be more useful on the sunny side where something throwing a shadow across it would still indicate danger. But then this takes consideration, and it’s hard to say how much snakes actually have, though it’s certainly not much.

I heard some sudden, suspicious rustles on the other side of the boat ramps too, but likely they all came from species like this:

American five-lined skink Plestiodon fasciatus not long after shedding
This is an American five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus,) and unlike the snakes, they don’t shed their skin in one nice intact piece, because legs, so this one is sporting the remnants on the side of the head and along the tail – it took seeing these images, cropped, to determine that it wasn’t actually injured like it appeared in the viewfinder. This little guy would have been an easy meal for even the smallest of the watersnakes, so it’s better that he was well away from them – or at least the ones that I’d seen myself. It could, as I type this, be making its way through the alimentary canal of yet another…

Though I did mention birds, right? Not too many this time, but enough.

osprey Pandion haliaetus returning to perch with captured fish
While I never saw the capture, this osprey (Pandion haliaetus) cruised past grasping a nice fish – or perhaps I’m assuming too much about the fish, which could have been a serial killer for all I know, in which case, nice job, osprey! We’re right at the beginning of nesting season here, but as I was soon to discover, this one was not bringing home the takeout meal.

[A small photographic aside: these were all shot with 1 full stop overexposure compensation for the bright skies, and should have been a little more though it would have bleached the skies pure white, but I was shooting almost due east, looking at the shadowed side of the bird, so there was only so much that could work anyway.]

osprey Pandion haliaetus taking perch on dead tree with captured fish
This dead tree sat right on a small point between two boat launch areas and is easy to plot in Google Earth, so it let me perform a small exercise. I estimated the distance at about 75 meters, but in reality it was closer to 125, so we see how accurate my perception is. Next time I’ll just assume I’m right and not bother with facts – you know, the Republican way…

osprey Pandion haliaetus eating fish in tree
Only a few osprey were showing while I was there (and two distant bald eagles which didn’t make for worthwhile images,) none of which wanted to do much hunting even though the lake was thin on boat traffic and the thermals pretty distinct; I know because I could see the vultures riding them. So this one finished its meal and then sat for roughly a half-hour just chilling with its lake view.

osprey Pandion haliaetus in dead tree after finishing fish
Actually, I could check that too with the timestamps on the images, and in this regard I was much better: 26 minutes between the last apparent actions with the fish and when it took flight again, though I admit to not remaining locked onto it the entire time. I did catch this horrendous belch, however, one that echoed back from across the lake.

[I lie of course; the osprey might have been calling, warning off another that circled nearby a few times, or simply yawning, or trying to get that taste out of its mouth. But I like the tongue.]

However, it left its perch, cruised almost directly overhead and then, with elaborate casualness, skimmed down to the lake and snagged another fish as if it had left it there earlier – no circling, no pausing or backing, nothing whatsoever of the telltales to warn a guy that a capture is imminent.

distant osprey Pandion haliaetus just making capture in lake
The autofocus and/or the image stabilization weren’t really up to the job, and the sequence was crap, but I throw down just a couple for the record.

distant osprey Pandion haliaetus climbing from surface after snagging fish
Definitely a successful capture, and appearing almost effortless too, but this one was carried away around the point and I never saw where they went to. Maybe this time it was to the wife sitting on the nest…

osprey Pandion haliaetus wheeling overhead backlit
Another did circle overhead a few times, pretty close, and I could do a sequence of frames as it was backlit by the sun, which came up fairly nicely. No missing or damaged feathers, symmetrical, good angle – could have been a tad sharper, but I’ll keep it for now.

As I was returning to the car, I spotted a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) circling in the distance, then another, and they drifted closer and permitted me some decent detail shots.

red-tailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis circling with talons dropped
The two were in moderately close proximity and this one, the highest, dropped its talons down, and I wasn’t sure if I was about to see a territorial dispute or a mating display. It eventually turned out to be neither, as they drifted apart again, but this one thought something was going to happen, anyway – they don’t cruise around like that. They cruise around like this:

red-tailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis banking overhead
I’m not sure if it was the same as above or not, but this one very cooperatively skimmed quite close overhead – I’ve learned my lesson now and offer no estimate of distance. But we can now see the talons tucked up under the tail, nice and streamlined, while it steers for some reason visible only to it in the trees behind me. The tail doesn’t appear to be very red, and often doesn’t, but the pale belly with the crossing band of dark speckles is more indicative of the species.

And yeah, an aeroplane to flesh out those lyrics:

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 approaching RDU

Tripod holes 15

Al Denelsbeck

Great egret Ardea alba with tiny flounder on southern beach of Jekyll Island Georgia
N 31° 1’12.86″ W 81°26’4.40″ Google Earth Location

It’s a little disturbing to discover that this was taken four-and-a-half years ago, since I wouldn’t have said that much time had passed, but here we are. This came from a inadvertently brief trip to Jekyll Island, Georgia; we’d planned to be down there for a week, hopefully catch a sea turtle nest hatching, but another damn hurricane cut that short. If I remember correctly (old, you know,) the hurricane wasn’t slotted at all to hit the area, but back home at Walkabout Estates instead, and The Girlfriend was concerned about the cats and if we’d lose power back up there, so after a mere day on the island we returned. Yet it was a damn productive day.

This was later afternoon on a beach close to Jekyll Point, the southern end of the island, and the birds had gathered to fish – perhaps enticed by the humans that were both bait-fishing and using a drift net. This great egret (Ardea alba) had snatched a tiny flounder that had been discarded from one such net and was doing an extended juggling session to get it into position to swallow it. It would have been a great candidate for video, but I didn’t have video capability handy then, and in fact was using the Canon 100-300 L lens handheld – video would likely have been too shaky for the focal length. Whether such subjects are to be found dependably there, I cannot say, because we only visited this particular locale the one time, but the entire island seems rife with shorebirds, so on return I will have the tripod in tow and be ready for any such drama.

Of course, when you go (and you will – I am declaring it,) you have to visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center only a few kilometers away on the island, the best rehab center that I’ve seen. And North Beach, and go sand dollar hunting on the east side beaches, and so on…

Lizard licks

Al Denelsbeck

Boy, this took too damn long…

I’ve had the video clips for several days now, and largely edited together for over a day. It took a lot longer than anticipated to get the voiceover done, but the real delay was in the rendering. The first version seemed a little large to me and I’d prefer to upload leaner, less space-consuming videos if I can, but Kdenlive just couldn’t handle making any changes to display size and crashed no less than five times, so I eventually had to go with the original, which is finally uploaded and ‘administered’ now (all the little doodads like tags and description and who can do what with it.) Thus:

Oh, you want a closer look? Yeah, I did a few frames.

pair of male Carolina anoles Anolis carolinensis with jaws locked in territorial dispute
If you look closely at the lower one, you can see the teeth along the edge of the jaw, but also surprisingly few injuries from this extended altercation. So you know, the body size of these ran roughly the size of your finger (not counting the tail, if possessed,) with the heads being perhaps 10-12mm in width.

All of this, by the way, was early in the week when the temperature topped 25°c and it was easy to believe it was summer. Then the front came through and made it easy to believe it was winter for several days, and the lizards and frogs all disappeared. Sheesh.

Not just yet

Al Denelsbeck

Been a little busy this week, without much time to even consider the blog, but that will change shortly – I have some video clips of cool stuff to edit together, and when I say they’re cool stuff, well, you’ve been warned…

Meanwhile, storms rolled in last night and the lightning tracker began going off, so I set up to see what would happen, which unfortunately wasn’t much:

time exposure after dusk looking for lightning
That’s the whole frame, which was just barely successful, and this was the best I got. You’ll have to look very close or, you know, keep scrolling down just a tad more:

faint trace of cloud-to-cloud lightning from same frame
That’s a crop from the center of the frame, showing that something was faintly visible. It was actually a little more visible than this, in person, because I was using a wider angle of 18mm, but still not impressive – most of the activity passed well north of us. However, while out there I was hearing the toads in their mating season, and watching several bats zipping past very close by, and had at least one beaver cruising the pond not ten meters away, all while pleasantly warm. This was the harbinger of the front moving in, and all those are gone now because it brought late-winter temperatures with it and far, far too much rain. So it’ll be a few days before we have conditions for more decent nature photos, which should give me plenty of time to edit the video. As long as I don’t get involved in other projects.

Sorting finds n+4

Al Denelsbeck

Once again, something that I noticed while doing the sorting of images from the initial unloading folders into the proper categories of stock (or, as it may be, simply deleting them as not being worthwhile – shocking as it may seem, it happens every once in a great while.) While checking the images from this past Skyfest NC, I noticed something a little odd about one of the aircraft passing overhead. First, the only-slightly-cropped shot:

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter of All Veteran Group passing overhead at Skyfest NC, Johnston Regional Airport
This is a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter carrying the All Veteran Group skydiving team aloft – I eventually determined this by finding the Skyfest Faceblerk page, because like so many businesses and suchlike these days, they felt Faceblerk was adequate to inform the general public about their event and thus put no effort whatsoever into their web page. I mean, it’s not like everyone who’s passed through sixth grade in the past twenty years can handle simple HTML…

something sticking out open hatch of de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter overheadAnyway, what caught my eye is the non-standard protuberances out the port side of the aircraft aft of the wings, which we get a closer look at here. The Twin Otter is frequently used for skydiving because of its short-takeoff-and-landing capabilities, appreciable rate of climb, notable interior cabin space, and the very large, removable rear hatch; holding open a standard hinged door in the slipstream of a moving aircraft is rather taxing. With that in mind, and of course how our society is anymore, what we’re seeing becomes clear, and even more clear when we see one of the skydivers as they approach the ground:

All Veteran Group skydiver approaching ground with pair of action cameras atop helmet
Ah, yes, he’s got a pair of those cutesy little action cams affixed to his helmet. Though this is actually one of the few uses that I approve of for them, because the perspective is rare and entertaining, unlike the thousands of mooks who use them on their skateboards and motorcycles and so on to try and garner the appreciation of identically-uneducated mooks who actually watch such shit. In fact, I may have seen one of the skydivers as they cruised through the crowds in a golf cart, holding their helmet aloft to film while on their way to the dropship.

So out of curiosity, I checked to see if any of this footage could be found, but had no luck, which means that you are once again spared any slight chance of seeing what I actually look like, even if it was from 800 meters or so – don’t say that I’m completely heartless. I even kept this down below 500 words…

Tripod holes 14

Al Denelsbeck

Mediterranean house gecko Hemidactylus turcicus on staged setting indoors
N 30° 2’38.48″ W 95°22’57.28″ Google Earth Location

For a couple of months in 2001 I lived in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, though while there, I did almost no photography. This is one of the few exceptions, the first wild gecko I’d seen, much less photographed, but I was cheating: I’d captured it almost as soon as I spotted it, knowing that attempting to photograph it in situ would likely result in it vanishing before I could even focus. So this is indoors in a simulated setting on a sprig of cypress (I think) with a houseplant in the background – credit to the gecko for not leaping off and secreting itself someplace in the apartment. It’s a Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus,) which as the name clearly indicates, is not native to the US, though they’ve spread enormously since their introduction; I was later to find the same species (but probably not the same specimen) in Florida and do a few more detailed shots there, including close-ups of their feet on a glass pane. The overall length of this specimen was comparable to my finger, making that head only the size of my fingernail. They are, of course, excellent climbers and can easily scamper upside-down across a ceiling, primarily nocturnal, which makes my finding this one somewhere around midday fairly lucky. I now regret not hanging onto it until after nightfall to capture those pupils more dilated; geckos have the best pupils, vertically slitted but with four ‘beads’ of greater openings, not really visible here, whose purpose escapes me. I’ll look it up if I’m asked nicely, “nicely,” meaning, “with money.”

There’s absolutely nothing that I miss about Texas, but this little guy at least gave me one pleasant memory of my brief time there, though I’ll hazard that this was probably not reciprocated despite being released soon after this frame was taken.

You think you have it hard?

Al Denelsbeck

Today, March 31st 2023, is the 100th anniversary of the untimely death of one of the first serious wildlife photographers, Jamfer von Schnocklefausen, a true pioneer in the field. Schnocklefausen was trained to be a goat polisher, but as photography was becoming more popular in the late 1800s, he soon gravitated to the field because, as he succinctly put it, “Ziegen sind Arschlöcher.” Schnocklefausen didn’t actually speak German, having been raised in Venezuela by seriously illiterate parents, but failing to wear adequate protection while polishing a goat will do that to you, as well as ensuring that offspring are out of the question.

After cutting his teeth on the typical portraits of wealthy patrons and pictures of his food that he would pin to his front door, Schnocklefausen soon became enamored of wildlife, and wished to specialize in behavioral and action images. Given that he was using glass plates that had a typical exposure time of 30 seconds and took two-and-a-half minutes to change, this was an ambitious undertaking but Schnocklefausen was, if nothing else, creative in his approaches. His first attempts to stop the motion of a jaguarundi long enough for a decent image was by jingling his keys, causing the cat to pause; this might ostensibly have worked, but the developing chemicals became fouled with his own blood and the plates were inconclusive. Later on he began experimenting with wood panels coated with a strong adhesive, placed cleverly along the hunting trails, to hold wandering wildlife in place directly in front of his camera. This worked for a short while, albeit producing poses that did not exactly spell out, “majestic,” until he inadvertently snagged a local hunter; the benefit of being held in place while Schnocklefausen beat a hasty retreat was negated by the shotgun that the hunter carried.

After his release from the hospital, Schnocklefausen tried a different tack, deciding that slowing down the animals might be enough. To this end, he began putting out bait food laden with various pharmaceuticals. While this did indeed slow the motions of the animals that found his bait, the resulting images were largely of species either examining their paws for hours on end, or giggling incessantly. He did, however, achieve the first images of a wild boar with an erection that lasted over four hours. He also became more accepted amongst the local hunters who had chanced upon his former photo subjects and subsequently declared the meat, “Groovy.”

Schnocklefausen was soon to realize that, while stopping the animals was decidedly difficult, perhaps he could move in unison with them; this would not stop the blur of their legs, but perhaps keep the bulk of their bodies centered in the frame long enough for a proper exposure. To that end, he outfitted a horse with an elaborate sidecar rig to hold the tripod, and attempted to train the horse to run a parallel path with a cougar. This did not go as envisioned, for two reasons. First, the cougars generally considered horse a better meal than stringy rhea, and second, the horse (named ‘Hans,’) realized that it could avoid the cougar and any further onus with a few will-timed bucks. It was only by doggedly hanging onto the heavy, solid camera that Schnocklefausen managed to survive his own methodology and eventually discourage the cougar.

Once again released from the hospital, Schnocklefausen found that he now had an ardent following of new photographers, though they paid little attention to his teachings or discussions of theory. Instead they chose to photograph Schnocklefausen himself during his various experiments, publishing them in the local newspapers with clever captions; in this manner, Schnocklefausen became the unintended creator of memes. It is because of this that we even know what he looked like, garnering no fame as a wildlife photographer himself (and thus setting a standard that continues to this day.) Ardent historians of these various images can pinpoint the dates taken by cataloging the dwindling number of Schnocklefausen’s eyes, ears, fingers, and feet.

It was just as he was stumbling upon his best discovery that Schnocklefausen met his demise. Realizing that lightning was an excellent source of very bright light that would eliminate the necessity of long exposures, he endeavored to capture his images during electrical storms; being fanatical about light direction and shadows, he began placing lightning rods in strategic locations around his photography blinds. It was as he was driving one of these rods into the ground that he unexpectedly pierced a septic line and asphyxiated on the fumes released. And you thought you saw it all coming, Mr. Clever-Me-Lad.

Few aspiring wildlife photographers today recognize Schnocklefausen’s contributions to the pursuit and so continue to do stupid-ass things far too close to wildlife. Medical professionals, however, praise Schnocklefausen’s name for his variety of educational injuries, a contribution that would only be surpassed by the combined advent of skateboards and cellphone cameras. So in recognition of his endeavors today, call your utilities company before you dig, and be sure that your blood type is listed in your wallet. Ciao!

Shipping out

Al Denelsbeck

Yes, another month is kaput, and that means a photo dedicated solely to this, because it’s a tradition on the blog now and we all know how important such things are. That’s right, not at all even slightly a little bit. But we’re still gonna do it, as if extra-terrestrials aren’t watching us and shaking their cephalothoraxes.

blurred heron over twilight reflections on lake
Yeah, we’ve had similar before, but we’re gonna keep doing it until we get it right. This does at least come from this month, out on the lake because that’s largely the only place I’ve been to take photos, save the airshow. After the sun set, a lone great blue heron (Ardea herodias) cruised low over the water in the dimming light, and I panned with it to fire off a few frames. This is “creatively” cropped to camouflage the fact that the original was quite centered, which I completely ruined if you were actually reading this. It’s easy to keep secrets on a blog no one ever visits…

Skyfest NC

Al Denelsbeck

Four members of Full Throttle Formation Team passing overhead
Finally getting around to posting the pics from Skyfest NC this past Saturday, part of the delay being, there really wasn’t a lot to see for this one, which I made worse by leaving early (there was, at least, a helicopter rappelling demo that was scheduled.) Pictured above and below are four members of the Full Throttle Formation Team as they flew overhead. Many of the pilots for the team are veterans, and Skyfest NC was aimed at benefiting veterans, so it was fitting to have this team flying.

four members of Full Throttle Formation Team in diamond formation
I’m a little unsure of the aircraft used, partially because the website never specifies, but I pulled up a flight radar app during the show and determined that two types of aircraft were in use at the time: Vans RV-4 and Vans RV-8. They’re very similar, but the RV-4 is leaner and better at aerobatics, so I suspect that these are RV-8s for a reason that will soon be apparent. Both are lightweight, inexpensive but high-performance planes, often available as kits, but kitbuilding aircraft is a daunting task and not something that I’d want to tackle.

Vans RV-4, possibly, on taxiway of Johnston Regional Airport, NC
This was the other aircraft that was in the sky when I checked the app, and I’m going to consider this the RV-4, both from the fact that it performed more aerobatics and from that minimal rear seat space (yes, there’s one back there.) Johnston Regional really is built on a wicked slope, which makes takeoffs and landings a special skillset.

[No, I lie like a proper bastard: it’s just me failing to hold the damn camera level, and the frame was too tight to correct in post.]

Inverted Vans RV-4, possibly, during aerobatics demonstration at Skyfest NC
While this frame might still not be perfectly level, I’m not that bad – the plane really is inverted. This individual aircraft performed more aerobatics than the formation team, but Vans aren’t as powerful or dedicated to the pursuit as some Extra or Pitts models, so there were no elaborate spinning, twisting, or high-speed maneuvers for this show. Which also made it considerably quieter – those dedicated aerobatics planes can howl.

There was also a precision skydiving demonstration, the lead-off aerial display, but I neglected to get the name of the performers.

two skydivers exiting Twin Otter jump plane over Skyfest NC
The framing of this isn’t ideal because I (stupidly) wasn’t expecting the second diver. There was a stiff wind from the south, at least 20 knots, so the divers had to exit well south of the airport to be carried back to the landing zone, which they handled well. An attendee tipped me off that the aerial performance box was on the southern expanse of the airport, so I was positioned down there for the best view, while the target area for the skydivers was directly east of the show grounds and I didn’t have the best view of their touchdowns. Plus the sun.

precision skydiver lost in the sun
This was really not a well-planned event, and had they published the diagrams or maps, I would have stayed in the parking area, on the far side of the runway, and had much better lighting for the entire show. They also, for reasons unknown, lined up nearly all of the vendors and food carts between the crowd area and the runway and target zones, blocking most of the view and putting the ‘storefronts’ in shadow. I’ll credit them for having parking organized extremely well, though.

Their static aircraft displays were also ridiculously lacking.

Aero L-39 Albatros on semi-display
This is an Aero L-39 Albatros, which I can only tell you from experience, since no one provided anything at all to explain this jet sitting in the middle of the crowd – no placards, no attendants, no nothing. They even left the canopy cover in place. It is a Czechoslovakian trainer and light fighter that, with the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, came onto the international aircraft market by the dozens, at remarkably low prices, and were bought up by air racers and speculators – it’s easy to find them with air adventure businesses and even fly one, with an instructor of course. Nice sleek little jet – I’ll pick one up with only a few more photo sales…

Duke Life Flight Airbus H-145 medevac on display
This particular helicopter passes over Walkabout Estates at least three times a week, because we’re not that far from both Duke University Hospitals and UNC Hospitals (it will evac patients to either as the situation warrants.) Short story: this is an Airbus H-145. Much longer story: the registration plate will list it as an MBB BK-117 C2, indicating that it was originally developed by Messerschmidt Bolkow-Blohm from Germany, paired with Kawasaki from Japan, before they were absorbed into Eurocopter, later to be purchased by Airbus. Seriously, keeping up with current model numbers requires effort. Real quick, I’ll point out the two “blades” on the front of the fuselage, top and bottom, and the extended “pointy toes” on the landing skids. These aircraft often operate from accident scenes and thus fly into unprepared landing zones; the blades are cable cutters, just in case someone misses the cables overhead (which are considerably harder to see from above, but also nigh-invisible at night even with powerful lighting,) while the toes help push any cables beneath the skids. Whenever possible, there’s an experienced spotter on the ground to establish a safe zone, but again, at night this is exceptionally tricky.

There was also an Air National Guard UH-72 ‘Lakota’ on display, which is the military designation of the H-145 D2, with an enclosed ‘Fenestron’ tail rotor. Annnnddd that was it, really – the Vought F4U Corsair shown on the website, as well as any other warbirds (with one exception) were completely lacking. No military aircraft at all, save for the Lakota, though the shorter runway at Johnston Regional prevented a lot of such aircraft from arriving. The only other static display of note was this:

Argo Sherp Pro XT all-terrain vehicle
Again, not a damn thing to explain its presence, so we rely on my zooming in on the front panel and typing that into Ecosia. This is an Argo Sherp Pro XT all-terrain vehicle which, you know, I wouldn’t turn down if someone wanted to unload one on me. Granted, the number of places where I could legally and with permission use it are few and far between, but I’d find a few.

And finally, we close with the North American SNJ-4, which is the US Navy designation of a training aircraft, known to the US Army Air Corps as the AT-6 Texan – this was the only warbird to be seen at Skyfest NC. They were produced in vast numbers and have been used countless times since, often repurposed as various WWII combat aircraft for airshows and films. This one did much the same aerial display as the RV-4 above, differing mainly from the sound of the much-more-powerful rotary engine. But unless the organizers do a hell of a lot more for planning and displays, I’ll be skipping this one in future years.

North American SNJ-4 inverted over Skyfest NC

I don’t get it

Al Denelsbeck

I’ve mentioned before, perhaps too many times, about getting involved in 3D printing, but it’s served to keep me busy during the lean winter months, and I’m slowly picking up some design skills. I’ve joined a few online repositories for such things and have uploaded a handful of designs, such as the long lens grip that I use regularly – it helps a lot, believe me. And a couple of designs were just for printers themselves, small upgrades or enhancements. On the analytics page of an account, you can see how many views, likes, and downloads each design receives – on one of the websites, this actually earns you points that can be used towards purchases in their store, so hey, fine.

On a whim one day, I altered someone else’s design (this is common and even encouraged) for an aircraft altimeter – their intent was for flight simulators, but mine was much more frivolous, mounting on the back of one of the printer motors and ‘gaining altitude’ as the printer fed filament into the extruder; all it took was attaching the needle post to the back of the hub extending from the motor, while the dial was simply run off the laser printer. It required perhaps an hour to redesign, about the same to print, and I liked the effect.

For giggles, I uploaded it to the online repositories for anyone that had the passing interest. It was silly, but the communities are fond of tchotchkes.

What I didn’t expect was for the damn thing to explode in popularity, exponentially above anything and everything that I’d uploaded before.

statistics from author's Thingiverse designs
That’s it on top, blowing away the long lens grip, the deep lenshood, and even the printer display mount (which I also consider a great addition to my own printer.) It’s been up for 20 days, while all of the others have been up for months.

In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t be so surprised; there are only so many photographers on such sites, but everyone is interested in enhancing their printers, though it’s a stretch to call this an ‘enhancement.’ And for a lot of printer designs, the back side of the motor (any of the common stepper motors used) doesn’t face in a useful direction. But hey, if it’s popular, I’m not arguing. I’m not gonna bring it up at my high school reunion (or even attend,) but it’s perfect for, you know, a blog post…

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For those who have the interest:

Thingiverse.com
Printables.com
Cults3D.com

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