Air-to-Air Piper Arrow

skier

skier

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
968
Location
CT
Display Name
Display name:
Skier
This past Saturday the stars finally aligned after about a month of cancellations. The weather looked good and our schedules all lined up. As we approached the departure time, high-level clouds started rolling in from the west and by the time we were airborne we were completely in shadow.

We altered our plan in real-time when we spotted some good light to the South and East. After two large loops through the remaining sunlight, we called the shoot. Good timing too, as my SD card filled up right as the Arrow broke away.

The pilot of our photoship did a great job spotting the light and giving me a heads up about what lay ahead. He also made a few suggestions during the flight on positioning the Arrow for the upcoming terrain. It made my job easy.

I'm based in Connecticut and am always looking for more subjects. If you're in the area or are willing to fly here, PM me and I can give you more details.

img_1073_edit2.jpg


img_1739_edit1.jpg


img_2226_edit1.jpg
img_1590_edit1.jpg


img_1562_edit1.jpg


img_1871.jpg
 
Nice! Arrows are actually really pretty airplanes.
 
Good looking Arrow,nice shots.
 
I had no idea how much the wheel stuck out of the wing when retracted. I have around 40 hours in an Arrow but never saw it from that angle. Nice shots.
 
Timbeck2 said:
I had no idea how much the wheel stuck out of the wing when retracted. I have around 40 hours in an Arrow but never saw it from that angle. Nice shots.
Click to expand...

Short neck? Won't stretch that far? :D
 
skier, can you share which adjustment on the camera allows the prop to be depicted as such? I have a fancy camera and would like to take some aerial pictures someday.
 
Beautiful shots! Your silhouette shots are particularly good.

I bet the owner looks into having his gear serviced after seeing the shots :) The nosewheel doors don't close all the way, and the main wheel doors aren't sitting flush with the wing, either. I bet that needs a look-see.
 
Timbeck2 said:
skier, can you share which adjustment on the camera allows the prop to be depicted as such? I have a fancy camera and would like to take some aerial pictures someday.
Click to expand...

I forget Tim but I asked @Lowflynjack about that with his pics. That's one thing I love about Jacks pic, the propeller arc. He gets it perfect every time.

Still workin' it Jack! ;)
 
Last edited:
Timbeck2 said:
skier, can you share which adjustment on the camera allows the prop to be depicted as such? I have a fancy camera and would like to take some aerial pictures someday.
Click to expand...
Slow your shutter speed down. I typically use 1/80 or 1/60. That's very hard to do and still get sharp photos though. Takes a ton of practice!
 
paflyer said:
Nice! Arrows are actually really pretty airplanes.
Click to expand...

It's funny that you say that. I was thinking the same thing as I was editing the photos. For some reason I tend to overlook them on the ramp, but they do have some nice lines (especially in silhouette).

Timbeck2 said:
skier, can you share which adjustment on the camera allows the prop to be depicted as such? I have a fancy camera and would like to take some aerial pictures someday.
Click to expand...

Slower shutter speeds will get the prop blur. The easiest way to do that is to put the camera into shutter priority and set the shutter speed to something slow. I just looked up the settings from the photos above. The first one with the full prop disk was actually at 1/125.

Think about it this way. The prop is turning at around 2200 RPM. That's 36 revolutions per second or 1 complete revolution every .027 seconds. 1/125 is .008 seconds. That means I should be capturing approximately 30% of a revolution of the prop. Since this plane had a 3-bladed prop, the blades (taken together) are covering 90% of the prop circle (324 degrees).
 
You guys are killin me
I'm trying NOT to buy a plane.

These awesome pics y'all are showing are like the perfect advertisements.


upload_2017-11-29_18-11-47.jpeg
 
I really like the cowl on the turbo models.

Nice pics!
 
Skyrys62 said:
You guys are killin me
I'm trying NOT to buy a plane.

These awesome pics y'all are showing are like the perfect advertisements.
Click to expand...

I'm planning to post another thread in day or two with the results of another shoot. But in the meantime maybe this teaser will help convince you that you don't want a plane.

IMG_2333.jpg
 
Last edited:
Very nice pics!

For me, with a 2-bladed prop, the magic shutter speed is 1/80 sec or slower for the full prop disc. 2400 rpm which is 40 revs/sec, or 1 rev every .025 sec. You only need to capture 1/2 rev, because there are two blades. So, .0125 sec or slower should get the whole prop disc. .0125 sec is 1/80 sec. I'm no photographer, but the math is easy.

Did I say that those pics are very nice, indeed!!!
 
Those are some great pictures and a great looking airplane! Thanks for sharing! Only have about 5 hours in the arrow but really like them!

Timbeck2 said:
I had no idea how much the wheel stuck out of the wing when retracted. I have around 40 hours in an Arrow but never saw it from that angle. Nice shots.
Click to expand...
I thought the EXACT same thing.
 
Piper Apache and early Aztecs, too. (This is N4374P -- I got my AMEL-CFI in this airplane years after this photo appeared in the 1961 brochure)

N4374P_03a.jpg

The POH for this model said,

The Apache is designed to take gear-up emergency landings without extensive damage to the structure of the airplane. All three wheels protrude about one-third of their diameter when retracted, and structure is provided to take minor loads in this condition.​

In the PA-28R and PA-32R, the retracted main gear tires don't quite conform to the airfoil contour, so the trailing edges of the tires protrude more from the wheel well.

pa-28r-200_1969.jpg
 
Timbeck2 said:
(insert smart assed comment here about how a picture of any other aircraft other than the Arrow makes any relevance to the conversation.)
Click to expand...

Gear Tim! Look at the gear! Which btw is retracted. That's all. Resume your last activity.
 
And here I thought you had installed air to air missiles! I've often wanted them!
 
Last edited:
As a fun experiment during this air to air shoot, I also tried using a Petzval Lens mounted on another camera body. It's a lens design that dates back to 1840 that has some interesting optical qualities, but there's no autofocus so it's not exactly user friendly. However, I think the photos I took with it are kind of fun.

You can read more about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petzval_lens
https://microsites.lomography.com/petzval-lens/

email_Petzval_MG_8983_edit1_noise.jpg

email_Petzval_MG_9014.jpg

email_Petzval_MG_9015_edit1_noise.jpg
 
I owned an arrow 10 year ago. It had relatively new paint and I thought she was beautiful ... but yours is just gorgeous. Congratulations
This is how she looked like after I sold the plane
 

Attachments

  • 56244.png
    56244.png
    79.7 KB · Views: 36
Very nice aerial shots. Arrow is one fine looking specimen and one of my personal favorites.
 
Personally, I think the T tails are better looking!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top