Flight Over N. Ireland

[martinastro]

On fri my Dad and I hired a single engine plane and had a nice flight over the N. Ireland countryside. The pilot was great and even let me fly AND take off from the run way. It was a cloudy overcast day which hampered the photogenic potential but the cumulus and scattered showers made for a good excuse to talk to the pilot about updraughts and thunderstorms. The conversation was fascinating. Took images from the cockpit but I just couldn't get a good one, maybe it was the excitement at the time. It was great to see my own house from above.  Here are a few.













More images and a short video clip here...

http://www.nightskyhunter.com/Temp%20Page%201.html

[Tyler]

Martin,  saw your account last and was jealous  Im sure its great to see your area from an aerial view. you got great images! but as you said, you could use some crystal blue skies.  really great country you guys live in, just a beautiful green color, with gentle rolling hills. you must have had a blast, Good Luck for next time with the weather, and I really look forward to your next post from a plane  very Impressive

Tyler

[Paul]

Now that is some day out Martin! Great images - looked at your website as well - very impressive stuff!

Later...... I forgot to mention - I love the shot of the wind farm - I should run it past the BBC.

[rjgjr]

Great images Martin. It's amazing how much the shots of the forests remind me of Oregon except being less mountainous. Good job!

[jjb]

Great images Martin i bet you had a brilliant time cruising above ni  it would come in handy to get a look at lulin this weather

jonathan.

[martinastro]

Thanks very much everyone, it was a great experience. Next time a clear blue sky with a good Sun angle should make all the difference.

Jonathan, that's a darn good idea, with all the cloud around lately that would be the thing to do. I know John 9929 has done that before with two comets!

Paul, I might just sent it in thanks for the suggestion.

[Big Dipper]

Some great shots - both here & on your website Martin. I also enjoyed the YouTube footage. I can only imagine how the views must have looked from the plane. Hope you get some bluer skies for next time though I like the dramatic effect that the cloud has here on many of your images.

[martinastro]

Thanks very much Andy. As I'm into the weather it was nice to be able to see the clouds at their own level and even fly through them which was surreal. A blue sky and bright green fields would make a major difference in quality. Hopefully next time the weather will be on the kind side. Cheers 

[jgs001]

Martin, an excellent series of shots. I'm jealous. I've always wanted to try this. Love the windfarm shot.

[JohnMurphy]

Nice work Martin - sorry did I say work? I'll bet you had fun. I'd love to try something like that.
As you say a clear, sunny day would make all the difference, but they're beaut shots as it stands.

[martinastro]

Thanks very much John and John M. On the road to the air strip I seen a stunning scene with that wind farm that would have made a wonderful image but I was too far away to get to it in time. There was a dense silver bank of fog which covered all the of the wind vanes (stands and everything) , except for one huge blade which periodically penetrated through the fog and vanished again. It was a creepy sight...what a shot that would have made.

[JohnC]

Great images,Martin.  What a great idea  to go up in a plane. That's all of Maghera is it ?. You should have put an arrow where your house is lol..I don't know if the others have seen the video but when I click on the link it takes me back to the top of the page so I haven't been able to see it.

[martinastro]

Cheers John. I don't know why the page returns to the top after you click on the youtube link. Could it be a thing with Mac users?. It appears fine here, I will recheck it again. If one click doesn't open the video then try a double click. Yes, that's Maghera lol, not a very big place is it. At least the lack of large population means less lights and a better night sky for observing. I was tempted to point out the house but I thought better of it for security reasons.  I've already had one 'semi-staker' last year who used the info on my site to watch me so I don't want to give any more details away.