Many years ago, I met a man who owned an aircraft parts business. I was like a kid in a candy store when I got to walk through the facility. Anything aircraft is just one of those things that sends my nervous system into a WOW mode. Watching balloon's envelopes being cold inflated does the same thing and when they are cold inflated enough to switch to the hot air being pumped into the envelope from the burners so that they can then stand up-right is where my spine shivering stops and I have to go to work taking pictures.
Old planes, old trains still have that WOW factor for me. While growing up, my dad knew a lot of WOW factor guys and we would go out along a country road or along the fence row of a field where crop duster pilots made there bi-wing planes do amazing things. Talk about guys that had ice running in their blood. When it came to fear and the crop dusters that I grew up watching, those guys were icy boys.
This past weekend, trying to find the best area where planes going into Love Field put down their landing gears has been a challenge for sometime. Generally, there is about one area on the final where this happens. For Love, it's after they start their turn into their final. I'm getting close, but I'm not totally there yet to get the full sequence of a 737 from door opening to the wing strut gears beginning their fold-down. Of course, most of the 737s don't have doors covering those wheels, but the arms just comedown and lock. The front nose wheel is a double door. Never-the-less, I'm driving to the last place where I got close to getting the image that I need but I went a couple of streets over from where I was before. I pulled over and got my camera out of the bag and was changing lens when I glanced up to see that I wasn't in any one's way when that WOW factor kicked in and chills hit my neck nerve causing me to shiver with excitement. I had accidentally happened onto one of those out-of-the-way places that operate one of those amazing businesses. After that find, I packed away the camera and headed for the home and barn as a happy camper! My day had been made complete. This is what I found.
 |
| Wing Heaven |
 |
| I bet they know where to get a pair of wings! But the old crop duster that I grew up watching was also yellow. |
