fjbering.com

• 27Aug

  AirVenture 2011

  General, History, Images, Travel 1 Comment
  

  At the end of July every year, one of the greatest shows in aviation starts in Oshkosh, Wisconsin – EAA's AirVenture.  This year I was hoping to have my dad along in tow, but that just didn't work out.  Instead, I went up by myself for "Warbird Friday."  The weather had been somewhat cloudy and rainy f=during the week, but Friday was a gloriously beautiful day with very few clouds in the sky, bright sunshine and unlimited visibility.  A great day to head to an airshow.

  Since I was going on Warbird Friday, you can assume that I'm there primarily for the classic military aviation planes.  You'd be right, and my favorites are the WWII aircraft.  It is always a treat to see the B-25s, P-51 Mustangs, and all the other aircraft, but the excitement is seeing them fly.  As part of this year's show, the only flying B-29 in the world would be at this year AirVenture.  FiFi (which I had seen the previous week at DuPage Airport would be flying in the Friday afternoon airshow.  That was something I wanted to see, but little did I know I would have further surprises in store for me.

  In addition to the old warbirds, there are plenty of other aircraft to take a look at – commercial, current military, homebuilt, experimental, and other aircraft types.  This year another star attraction besides FiFi was Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

  I spent the day looking around at the aricraft, admiring the detail that the planes carries, many of them looking like they just fly a WWII sortie.  I was awestruck by the attention that is given to these aircraft – not from a maintenance perspective because that's a given – but from a reverence to pay homage to the machine and the men who flew them in combat.  The further surprise came later in the day when I got to witness not only FiFi fly, but also an F4 Corsair and a P-38 Lightning.  These planes had been at other AirVentures I have been to, but I never got to see either of these aircraft types fly before.  It was an additional treat for the day.

  Overall, I had a great day, as evidenced by the pictures below.  If you have a chance to visit EAA's AirVenture in the future, I would highly recommend it.  Even if you don't fly or have no interest in flying yourself, but have interest as an "aviation enthusiast" you will have a great day (or days as AirVenture is a week long event).

  Enjoy the images below.

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

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• 04Aug

  Monaco Panorama

  Fun Stuff, General, Images, Travel No Comments
  Here's another panorama image I just cobbled together.  This is a view of Monaco and the harbor as viewed from Monaco-ville.  I took these images on my last day in town before heading to Nice and then home.  Unfortunately, most of the days I was there were cooler and rainy – not warm and sunny as pictured here.  Off to the left you see some of the old fortifications of Monaco-ville, moving to the expanse of the city-state of Monaco (the most densely populated country in the world) and then the bright waters of the Mediterranean.

  

• 03Aug

  El Morro Panorama

  Fun Stuff, General, Images, Travel No Comments
  Over the walls of the 16th century Spanish fortress of El Morro looking toward Old San Juan.  I was playing with some images and a new photo stitching program and decided to give the panorama view a shot.  The image didn't turn out too bad, I only see one real error in it, but it's still a pretty cool image.  This was the view that Spanish defenders inside El Morro saw if they were facing an attack from land.

  

• 26Jun

  New and old

  General, History, Images, Travel No Comments
  So a friend of mine recently asked if I had any pictures from San Juan, and I answered – Yes, I do.  However, I've just been too lazy or busy to put them up.  Well, I'm trying to rectify that now, so here are some images from those few short days on that very pretty island.

  I went down to Puerto Rico to help with an iPad deployment, and I was busy for much of the working hours.  Now while I did not have lots of time after work, I would have been able to see some sights in the evenings before the sun went down, however, it was an unusually stormy few days with lightning and thunder that reminded me of home.  Thankfully, the last full day in country I was about to visit Castillo de San Cristobal – a Spanish fort built in the 1600s to defend the landward approaches to San Juan city.  The harbor of San Juan was recognized by the Spanish as a very important anchorage for their merchant ships, so defense was needed.  This massive fort complemented the older fort protecting San Juan harbor – El Morro (built in the 1500s).  The images below show shots of both forts and some shots of old San Juan.  Hope you enjoy.

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  123456►
• 27Mar

  Greetings from Monaco

  Fun Stuff, General, Images, Travel 4 Comments
  Earlier this month, I traveled on business to Europe – Monaco specifically. I was looking forward to it, but when I got there the weather was less than spectacular. I was able to venture around the small principality and took some pictures. Due to work and the resulting problems that arose during the short time I was there, I really didn’t see much outside of the Fairmont Monte Carlo and the Le Meredien hotels. Although the walk between the two was beautiful – against the Mediterranean water front – it was soggy some of the time due to the rain.

  During my short stay, I saw Monacoville – where the Prince resides – the Monte-Carlo Casino, and the marina. It’s truly a beautiful area of the world. And if you do go, stop by McCarthy’s Irish Pub for a Guinness!

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

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