JET BLAST: This past month has been full of Seafair activities in the Seattle area. The culmination of the summertime festival is a performance by the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels.
We four went to a hillside on the south slope of Lake Washington on Saturday afternoon to watch the show. Though it was from afar, and smoky skies somewhat limited visibility, it was spectacularly entertaining, nonetheless.
On Sunday, lucky Annabelle got to get up close and personal with the Blues and other aviation amazements.
Following are her words describing the experience. ...
On August 6th, I went to the Museum of Flight's "Jet Blast Bash" event as part of the Amelia's Aero Club. Being part of the club allowed me to visit the booths at the event without paying museum admission. When I first arrived at the museum, our group met in a private room inside the Red Barn, a permanent exhibit detailing Boeing's beginnings (photo taken from that classroom window, above).
After introducing ourselves with an icebreaker game, the club immediately continued to the Jet Blast Bash event booths set up in the parking lot.
One of the very first things our group saw was a new type of trampoline called the "Springfree". The trampoline, as the name suggests, has no springs; it instead has plexiglass rods which give it an extra bounce. There are also sensors wired throughout the trampoline that can detect where you jump. When connected to a tablet, the sensors allow you to play games, including one where you must "stomp" on aliens. The trampolines start at a whopping $1,499!
Another exhibit that really caught my eye was the Puget Sound Navy Museum's temporary exhibit, "When Baseball Went to War."
On their website it's described as an exploration of "the history of Navy baseball from its earliest years through World War II. The first ship-based baseball teams formed in the 1880s. By World War I, baseball had become fully integrated into Navy training. America’s involvement in World War II resulted in an unprecedented explosion in Navy baseball. During the war, service baseball flourished in both the European and Pacific theaters, as well as Navy bases throughout the United States. The stories of Navy baseball players including Yogi Berra, Bob Feller, and Ted Williams are highlighted in the exhibit."
The exhibit is on view at the museum through January of 2018. The exhibit includes many details on how baseball got its start in the Navy and how it was introduced around the world.
The largest section of the parking lot, however, was dedicated to a number of old war planes. One of my absolute favorite things to do at the museum is see the interesting designs painted onto these aircraft. This plane, the "Tangerine", was no exception.
There were also smaller things like this private plane used for the museum's "First Time Fliers" program.
Below, this model of an aircraft carrier from the PBY Naval Air Museum was surprisingly detailed.
This plane, the "Shady Lady" (below) has a painting of a woman riding a Canadian Goose on the sides. The reason the propellers are so high on the vehicle is because it was able to land in the water as well as on land.
One of the last things we saw before the Blue Angel's performance was this Navy fighter jet. We were also introduced to its pilots.
Multiple mission patches were available for purchase, including this humorous Nestle Crunch inspired one.
The club also got to take a picture with Alex, a female member of the squadron. Alex studied economics while she was in flight academy and now works as a technician and tracker in the "backseat" of the jet. Her job is to keep an eye on location and guide their air missiles. When asked about the effects of G-forces, she said that on landing, it felt "like a roller coaster" and that she screams and laughs almost every time. (In case you were wondering, in this picture I am on the left side in a Women Fly shirt and sunglasses. Ms. Alex is one person to my left in the flight suit.)
End of Annabelle's written summary.
Check out this video she got of the Angels taking off from Boeing Field!
WHAT'S IN THE WATER?: While the aqua colored water in the photo below might make you think tropics, it's really the Pacific Northwest.
More specifically, it's the waters of Hood Canal are a light greenish blue this week. 
A NASA MODIS satellite image showing the teal-colored Hood Canal as a plankton bloom occurs on July 31, 2017 (Photo: NASA/MODIS)
A NASA MODIS satellite image showing the teal-colored Hood Canal as a plankton bloom occurs on July 31, 2017 (Photo: NASA/MODIS)
Naturally, locals have been noting the brightly teal-colored waters in Hood Canal over the past several days.
Caused by a plankton bloom, the phenomenon is visible from outer space, as shown in these photos from NASA's MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite.
A huge bloom of microscopic phytoplankton plated with white calcium carbonate are causing the color, according to Kathryn Hansen with the NASA Earth Observatory program.
A huge bloom of microscopic phytoplankton plated with white calcium carbonate are causing the color, according to Kathryn Hansen with the NASA Earth Observatory program.
Per a NASA press release, "Under the right conditions, these coccolithophores flourish to such an extent that they are easily visible from space," Hansen said.
Satellite images started picking up the bloom on July 30, and the blooms have sustained through early August. Hansen reports the bloom was there last summer, but before that, they hadn't been seen since 2007.
Per the press release, "Teri King, marine water quality specialist with the University of Washington, says the likely cause of the recent bloom is 'Hood Canal’s warm, stratified waters with limited nutrients. Water in Hood Canal does not always mix well, meaning the upper layer of water can have different temperature and salinity from deeper layers. Other phytoplankton species could have been limited by the poor nutrient conditions, under which coccolithophore blooms can do quite well.' "
While it's out of the ordinary, scientists say the bloom doesn’t pose any risk to swimmers nor eating any fish or shellfish from the waters.
FREE RANGE CELLO: We happened across an amazing video of a musician climbing to an altitude of 10,000 feet, carrying her cello the whole way. Once at the summit of the Wallowa Mountas in Oregon, the musician and climber played an amazing Bach piece. Here's a link to the video. (I'm afraid you have to have Facebook to view it.)
Unfortunately, both satellites failed to deploy, their farings not separating properly. Over half a billion dollars and years of work wound up as expensive space junk.
NASA conducted post mortems on the failures and those investigations led to irregularities at a Northeast Portland (Oregon) aluminum company, Sapa Extrusions.
Read the whole awful story here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2017/08/after_failed_space_flights_nas.html
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