View allAll Photos Tagged grayghost
No help from the Sun Gods today, but was fun to watch this male lay and wait for the female to fly by and the chase began. Ran into a good friend and great photographer at Bombay Hook today. Julio showed up just as I was leaving for the day. He said he would like to get a nice Gray Ghost so when I spotted this one I called to let him know. I think he got so really sweet shots today of this beautiful bird.
This male northern harrier (gray ghost) kept me company the whole afternoon while I watched the trains go by at Bay Point park. He would appear about every half hour to fly slowly up the abandoned railroad tracks looking for something to eat. His mate was on the other side of the tracks doing the same.
This male Northern Harrier was flying around a property I was watching, and he almost gave me a couple of good pix. But I have had not had much luck photographing the Gray Ghost, so I'm keeping them. Also, with this photo, the house is nice.
Gray Ghost coming in low over the trail, pivoting out towards the lake. The most amazing views of the low approach will have to be kept in my memory rather than my camera as they were quite the surprise (look up and whoa!)
APEX NC: Cody passed away six years ago last April. This is the first image of him that I have had the strength to post ANYWHERE. Cody, the apple of our eyes and lynchpin of our family, was with us for a bit longer than twelve years. It has been very tough without him and we miss him still.
Though appearing to everyone to be an esteemed member of royalty he was, in essence, a real hot dog. Cody acted as though the world revolved around him [it did] and he thought he was without peer [also true], but the truth was this, Cody was a natural-born clown and unintentional comedian.
Cody had a warm heart and a generous, people-oriented sixth sense. At the annual Shad Festival in NJ as we threaded our way through thousands of people we had to stop every 20 feet so females [two-legged variety] of every age could pet him, hug him, or tell him how handsome and charming he was.
I told Cody to disregard all of this fawning adulation but, of course, he did not listen. He believed every word these women, girls, and kids told him. After several hours of this my wife and I had had enuf and attempted to break from the crowd.
As we neared our car, Cody stopped and pulled us toward a girl sitting in a wheel chair. The girl, was in her early 20s, had serious physical and mental difficulties. She was restrained by chest, seat, and loose leg straps as well as a three-sided device to keep her head from bobbing. She had no expression and made only occasional utterances.
Cody guided us slowly to her side. He lowered his head on her lap very gently and the girl reacted with great joy. Her face beamed and emitted a HUGE smile as uncontrolled sounds of happiness flowed from her mouth.
As she had little control of her body her father guided her hand to stroke Cody's back. She grew quiet. And, she grew calm.
The girl's father embarrassed us with his deep gratitude. "I just want to thank you very, very much for bringing your dog to my daughter," he said.
"Uh, ya know, we didn't take Cody to your daughter. It is so crowded we could not have seen your daughter had we been looking. Cody spotted your daughter. He just wanted to say hello. He wanted to share his strength with her. He wanted to wish her well."
To this day I wonder if the girl's mother and father ever talk about that day at The Shad Festival on the Delaware River.
I wonder, too, if the girl remembers.
Another leased engine by CSX was the CITX #3080 SD40-2 a.k.a. The Gray Ghost. Seen here trailing 2nd on CSX Q418 through Yardley PA. Mile Post QA30.6 on the CSX Trenton Subdivision.
Photo Date: 9/1/15
The "Gray Ghost", acquired in 2010 by the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway and unveiled for service this year. Former UP UP 3651 built in December 1979. Seen on a loaded coke train waiting for a new crew in Connellsville.
Her maiden voyage was on May 27, 1936. Her career as luxury ocean liner changed drastically during World War II. She was stripped of her luxurious interior, her exterior painted a camouflage gray. Refitted as a troop transport, she eluded German U-Boats trying to find and sink her; in spite of a $250,000 bounty and the the Iron Cross offered by Hitler. She became well-known as "The Gray Ghost" .
During the war, she transported over 71,000 troops. A record never broken was a single voyage carrying 16,683 souls.
www.lostliners.com/QueenMary/grayghost.html
She's been in many many films and other productions www.jimusnr.com/QueenMary.html
G
Kia gives the Chuckar a kiss after training! She is such a gentle girl & so motherly to everything.
© All Rights Reserved. No reproduction/usage without written permission from kiasrkid.
Title: John Singleton Mosby letter
Date Original: 1895-12-27
Description: Mosby was known as the “Gray Ghost”
as a Confederate guerrilla fighter in the American Civil War. In this letter
Mosby requests that the addressee, Mr. Chinn, send him several copies of a newspaper
in which an item will appear regarding Mosby.
Creator: Mosby, John Singleton, 1833-1916
Subject(s): Mosby, John Singleton, 1833-1916
Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908.
Venezuela
San Francisco (Calif.)
Alternative Title: 080218-01
Publisher: Wofford College
Contributor:
Date Digital: 2008-09-03
Type: Text
Format [medium]: Manuscript
Format [IMT]: image/jpeg
Digitization Specifications: 800ppi 24-bit depth color; Scanned with
an Epson 15000 Photo scanner with Epson Scan software; Archival master is a
TIFF; Original converted to JPEG with Irfan View software.
Resource Identifier: 080218-01
Source: The original, accession number 080218-01, from which
this digital representation is taken is housed in The
Littlejohn Collection at Wofford College,
located in the Sandor Teszler Library.
Language:En-us English
Relation [is part of]:The
Littlejohn Collection
Rights Management: This digital representation has been
licensed under an Attribution
- Noncommercial- No Derivatives Creative Commons license.
Contributing Institution: Wofford College
Web Site: http://www.wofford.edu/library/littlejohn-home.aspx
Day 63, Looking good now we just need those darn pubic fractures to heal!
Here is a link to the best Christmas Gift ever... Kia's first walk at the dog park!
February 6, 2021 - Male Northern Harrier eating a Snow Goose at a Pond at Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge in Calipatria, CA. Male Northern Harriers are also known as "Gray Ghosts."
The F-101 Voodoo began its turbulent development as a jet escort fighter designed to replace the P-51 Mustang, designated the XF-88 Voodoo. McDonnell had won the competition in 1947, but when the first XF-88 flew in October 1948, top speed was disappointing, though the range was adequate to escort B-29 Superfortresses into the Soviet Union. Attempts to increase the top speed by installing afterburners shortened the range significantly; faced with this paradox, the USAF cancelled the XF-88 in 1950.
The service rapidly changed its mind during the Korean War, when MiG-15 intercepts of B-29s revealed the need for dedicated long-range escorts, and McDonnell was hurriedly ordered to resume work on an advanced version of the XF-88, called the F-109. Since this designation was out of sequence, it was changed to F-101, making the Voodoo the second of the Century Series.
Though the F-101 shared the same general planform as the XF-88, it was radically different. It was larger, with more powerful engines, allowing it to have both supersonic performance and the range required for the escort mission. It was found that a T-tail was more aerodynamic than the conventional tail of the XF-88, giving the Voodoo a unique appearance. Since most of the flight testing had already been completed in the XF-88 program, the F-101 went immediately to full production—and much to McDonnell’s chagrin, the first Voodoo had barely rolled off the production line when Strategic Air Command made the decision that its fast B-47 and B-52 bombers did not need escort, and cancelled their F-101As.
If SAC was not interested, however, Tactical Air Command was, seeing in the F-101A a good low-level penetration nuclear bomber. Converting a cannon-armed escort fighter to a nuclear attack aircraft was not as difficult as it was thought: the bomb could be carried on the centerline, while the F-101’s fire control system had already proven as adept at air-to-ground operations as air-to-air. While Voodoo pilots adopted a fatalistic view towards the mission—it was doubtful if the F-101 would survive a low-level nuclear explosion, and if so, probably would not have the fuel to return home—it entered service in 1957. The aircraft was reported as generally trouble-free, except for a tendency to pitch up into an uncontrolled stall in any radical flight maneuver; McDonnell was never able to completely cure this problem throughout the Voodoo’s entire career.
With the delays in the F-102/F-106 “Ultimate Interceptor” program, the USAF needed an interim aircraft to supplement the troubled Convair deltas. With the F-101 already in service, McDonnell proposed an interceptor that could enter production quickly and easily. The F-101B replaced the forward fuselage of the F-101A with a larger and more rounded version, containing a two-seat cockpit, the MG-13 fire control system of the F-102, and its weaponry: the four 20mm cannon of the F-101A were deleted in favor of a rotary weapons bay that could carry either four AIM-4 Falcons or two AIR-2 Genie nuclear-tipped rockets. The engines were upgraded, but were longer than those carried by other Voodoo variants; to avoid having to rebuild the rear fuselage as well, the engine casing and afterburners simply were allowed to stick eight feet out of the aircraft. The inflight refueling probe was removed in favor of an infrared sight. The F-101B was superior to any interceptor then in USAF service, including the F-102 it was supposed to only supplement, and quickly replaced earlier interceptors such as the F-89 Scorpion and F-94 Starfire.
As the 1980s approached, the Voodoo was clearly showing its age. Active duty units had retired their F-101Bs by 1972, but the type would continue with the Air National Guard until 1982, when it was finally withdrawn. Of 807 F-101s built, about 44 survive today in museums and as gate guards, not counting an extensive number of CF-101s preserved in Canada.
This F-101B, 57-0410, is a rather unique '101. It never served with a frontline or ANG unit, but was converted to JF-101B testbed on delivery to the USAF in 1959, It served with various test units during its career, including the Air Proving Ground Center at Eglin AFB, Florida; Air Force Systems Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; and Air Defense Weapons Center, back in Florida at Tyndall AFB. It was retired in 1971, and that's when 57-0410's most interesting phase of its career began.
After several airliners were lost in crashes in the 1950s and 1960s due to severe weather--what would later be learned was wind shear--the FAA was desperate to learn what was causing it. However, taking an airliner into a thunderstorm was a quick way to ensure another crash, but Colorado State University came upon an idea: use a high-performance USAF fighter. The USAF wasn't too thrilled on taking one of their frontline fighters into thunderstorms either, so CSU acquired 57-0410 on loan.
57-0410 was modified with instruments to measure wind speed and reinforced against lightning strikes. Technically, it was maintained by the 141st Fighter-Interceptor Group (Washington ANG) at Fairchild AFB, but it flew with Colorado State University markings on the fuselage--probably the only interceptor to be assigned to a university! Named the "Grey Ghost," it flew for CSU between 1971 to 1984, with ghost nose art and ten thunderstorm "kill marks" between the cockpit. When 57-0410 was retired in 1984, the Combat Air Museum was quick to make sure to acquire it.
Until 1990, 57-0410 was kept in CSU colors, but recently, as part of a restoration effort, the aircraft was repainted in plain ADC Gray with USAF markings, with no squadron markings. In my opinion, it's kind of a shame, since 57-0410 is so unique. However, given that it's not on display but in the CAM restoration hangar, it could be that the museum plans to restore it back to the Gray Ghost.
This is not the best picture, but I spent the better part of ten minutes trying to get a different angle. The CAM restoration hangar is so crowded, this was the best I could do.
Northern Harrier male who was sitting confidently on his favorite perch. Turns out favorite perch is just on the side of the trail, near the start of the trail, and I was dying to take a walk, so eventually I did walk past where he was ("on the far side of the trail" but it wasn't a wide trail) and he did take off, disgruntledly. He posed very well on his perch but in this direction, he was backlit, so I only ended up keeping one of the perching photos from this vantage.... Aha! Per Cornell, “Either the male or the female chooses the nest site, which is on the ground and usually in a dense clump of vegetation such as willows, grasses, sedges, reeds, bulrushes, and cattails.” He must be guarding a nest area behind him. A female was flying around nearby as well.