Blog

The official photo blog of J. David Buerk Photography.

2013 Dulles Day Plane Pull and 5K on the Runway

2013's Annual Dulles Day Plane Pull to benefit Virginia's Special Olympics drew the largest turnout of any event at Dulles, with over 16,000 attendees. This year marks the first year that Dulles Day was kicked off with a 5K on the Runway. 2,000 runners looped around the adjacent taxiways, high-speeds, centerline of R/W 19C, where they passed underneath a Boeing 777 supplied by United Airlines. The full album may be viewed here.

Scroll to the bottom of this post for a few short areal video clips.

As the race concluded, aircraft began arriving for display during the Plane Pull.

What'cha doin'?

Oh, nothin'. Just... backing up my PLANE.

A real treat came in for aircraft aficionados at half past noon; the only privately owned Harrier Jump Jet in the World was flown in for display from its home in Maryland, climaxing in a vertical landing... but not before performing a few fly-bys and hovering maneuvers to showcase its abilities. The treat for myself as I covered the Plane Pull was to be in the air for the Harrier's arrival and departure. Unfortunately due to fuel constraints of the helicopter and the Harrier (which later performed a standard departure), we were unable to go air-to-air with the Harrier as planned... but I still got some great areal photos both of the Harrier, and the crowd that gathered to watch.

I requested we fly by Dulles' Main Terminal for some photos. I've wanted these photos for almost as long as I've been photographing... and I finally have them now...

And then of course was the Pizza Eating Contest compliments of Famous Famiglia Pizza.

Soon the day was drawing to a close, and it was time for 2013's Dulles Day show-stopper, the Harrier, and it's wingman to depart.

Likewise, it was time to gear up and take to the skies again. It's always interesting to me that people wave at helicopters but not planes.

Of course, before the Harrier taxied to the runway, I captured this little Easter Egg... Zoom and ENHANCE!!!

And with that, it was time for the final team to pull FedEx's plane; The Chesapeake Sheriff's Office, who successfully defended their title for the 7th year in a row.

And lastly, there was this guy, who photobombed...

The 2013 Dulles Day Plane Pull and first 5K on the Runway was a massive success, and continues to grow larger every year. Shockingly, this was only my second time at the Plane Pull, and my first year widely covering the event - last year I didn't even see a single team pull. My coverage this year was an amazing experience - thanks to everyone at Dulles who work hard to make Dulles Day such an enjoyable and inviting family event! See you all next year!

Special thanks to Chris Browne and Steve Settle for arranging my areal coverage. Thanks to Steve Bussmann for donating his time to fly each year.

Special Features / Behind the Scenes

As promised, I shot a few videos while flying. I was concentrating on shooting photos rather than video (which I hastily shot on my iPhone 5), so the quality isn't cinematic.

A few more fun things from the event. Steve is a very skilled pilot and I had a blast flying seated in the door with him. This wasn't my first foray into areal photography via helicopter, however it was my first time flying with my feet dangling outside the aircraft. Here is some perspective, along with some steep banks. But first, a photo of myself and photographer Andrew Shippin, before lifting off.

That being said, there's this: "Oh, don't worry; it's just $5,000 of camera in my lap, and a few hundred feet straight down. You know, if you like vertigo. BlackRapid's got my back." You can see the Plane Pull in my glasses' reflection. Yes, I am strapped in, and so are my cameras (note the black harness); we do things safe around here.

Jalopnik at Katie's Cars and Coffee

UPDATE: This blog post was featured on Jalopnik on August 26th, 2013. See the full story and comments there. It's been a busy month of exciting things happening this August at Katie's Cars and Coffee in Great Falls, Virginia. The weekly auto drive-in and show has recently grown in popularity this Summer, thanks to more frequent appearances of extremely rare and expensive cars, such as an original Cunningham C2R that first made an appearance on May 25th (and a return trip on August 17th)...

...and more recently, two separate Bugatti Veyrons. The first made an appearance on July 6th, coming from nearby Volkswagen corporate offices in Dulles, and a second, privately owned Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport on August 10th, which flew in earlier this month on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight to Washington Dulles International Airport, and has been seen touring its way up the Eastern seaboard. This is the same Veyron which has been spotted in Georgetown, downtown Washington, DC, and most recently sustained damaged in a collision with a truck in New York City, just yesterday.

All this attention hasn't gone unnoticed by local automotive enthusiasts of car news website and blog, Jalopnik, and this past Saturday (August 24th), a number of Jalops (active members of the Jalopnik community) met to enjoy a Cars and Coffee event at Katie's Coffee House. Among the group was Washington, DC based Jalopnik writer, Patrick George, who arrived in a Cadillac ATS on loan to him for review.

The group met in the company of fellow car lovers, and toured this weekend's Cars and Coffee offerings, stopping to chat with drivers, and discuss interesting stories of ownership, and automotive history behind some manufacturers and their innovations.

The meet was an amazing success, only made better by perfect weather. The group stood for a picture in front of the classic Bently, and parted ways, until the next time we choose to meet. A special thanks to Nick for helping organize, who unfortunately was unable to attend.

This blog post has been republished by J. David Buerk onto Oppositelock. For the full set of photos, view the album at his Facebook Page. All photography is by J. David Buerk, and is copyrighted All Rights Reserved.

Brussels Airlines at Dulles

Brussels Airlines is proud to announce new daily service to Washington Dulles International Airport. On June 18th, 2013, Brussels Airlines' Inaugural Flight landed at Dulles, and was welcomed with a water arch at the gate. As the aircraft taxied, the pilots displayed the Belgium and American flags to mark the newly formed air route.

All photos may be viewed here.

As we were waiting for Brussels' aircraft to arrive, I captured this interesting photo of British Airways departing.

After the speeches and ribbon cutting, there was a small reception with champagne and cake in the Lufthansa First Class Lounge.

With just a 6 hour turnaround time, Brussels' first flight out of Washington departed. Every passenger was presented with a box of Belgian chocolates as they boarded the flight.

Katie's Cars and Coffee: May / June

I recently attended two Cars and Coffee events; one on Memorial Day Weekend, and the other on Father's Day Weekend. Cars and Coffee is a weekly car show event sponsored by Katie's Cars and Coffee in Great Falls, Virginia. It is completely free, as it is more of a free gathering celebrating exotic and / or classic car heritage. Though it is a small event, located in the heart of Great Falls (an upscale suburb of Washington, DC in which many very expensive cars call home), it has national attention, and often guests will drive hundreds of miles just to participate and grab a Saturday morning coffee while sharing the car culture.

Memorial Day Weekend, 2013:

One of the more interesting cars on hand (at least to me) was this Corvette powered Miata. The owner who converted this Miata cooly placed an LS1 badge on the fender.

The notable car for Memorial Day was the original Briggs Cunningham; an extremely rare car; only a few were ever built.

Father's Day Weekend, 2013:

For Father's Day, I decided to surprise my Dad and take him to Cars and Coffee. He's never heard of it before, and I didn't tell him where I was taking him. He certainly didn't realize we had a weekly car event just a few miles from home.

As I pulled in, he got excited when he saw some Cobras in the lot, but thought they just happened to be parked there. A moment later it was "Oh my God! Look look look look look look!!!" when he had spotted the Arial Atom I parked beside. I think it was when he saw the Diablo VT next to the Atom that he realized it wasn't a coincidence all these cars were in the same place. I know he loved going to this!

This true track Ferrari garnered a LOT of attention once people realized it had shown up.

Another cool little gem was this Miura S. Probably under-appreciated by most who saw it, this car was number 1 of only 140 produced, and is valued in the $500,000 - $800,000 range.

Upon leaving, people were still puzzled by the clearly Corvette based SV 9 Competizione - myself included. This Italian redesigned automotive costs almost $100,000, is powered by an LS3 Corvette engine modified to output 450 horsepower, and is just one of 1,000 made.

Solar Impulse at Dulles

After many weather delays, the Solar Impulse aircraft finally made its way to Washington Dulles International Airport, landing just before midnight on June 15th, 2013. It was the 2nd to final stop on its trip across the United States, before a planned 2-seater variant is to attempt a global circumnavigation in 2014. The experimental Swiss aircraft is entirely solar powered, weighting a mere ~3,500lbs (900lbs of which are batteries), has the wingspan of a 747 (almost 200 feet), and has only a single seat for the pilot. It is powered by four 10-horsepower electric motors, and has a cruise speed of just 37 knots (~43 MPH).

The Solar Impulse moves at extremely slow speeds; for this reason, the FAA only allows it to fly at night, when air traffic is at a minimum. Nighttime flight is possible with the 900lbs of Lithium-Ion batteries, built into the wings underneath the solar panels that charge them. From the ground, the Solar Impulse appears to be stationary in mid-air - the LED lights make it look like a UFO.

Media and special guests arrived at Dulles, and awaited the Solar Impulse on the runway. For most of those present, it was a reality check of how dark an airfield truly is at night, even with the airfield indicator lights. All of my photos were shot at ISO 6400 and above for this event.

All photos are available to view and purchase here.

As the Solar Impulse turns on its lights, the crowd gasps at how stationary it appears from its distance. Traffic is visible well behind the Solar Impulse, as the ATCT gives it plenty of working room to land on R/W 19L, which was closed specifically for the Solar Impulse team.

To prevent damage to the wingtips and props as the Solar Impulse lands, cyclists chase along underneath the wings as they lose lift, and catch them to prevent them from scraping the ground.

The entire event was broadcast live. The small crowd watches as Pilot Bertrand Piccard is helped out of the cockpit and welcomed to Dulles.

Dulles' Customer Service Manager Dennis Hazell presents Pilot Bertrand Piccard with Dunkin' Donuts after a 20 hour flight. Captain Piccard said he had been eagerly awaiting landing just to get the donuts, and that it was one of the most memorable things he's been presented with since the trip began.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard answers questions in a press conference, both in Swiss and English.