Rare photo of DoLF CF-046 as seen from chase plane

While sorting through the archives of the Department of Lands and Forests railway I came across this rare photo of the Horten Go229 flying wing the group obtained in 1946 when DoLF was still part of the Department of Lands, Forests and Skies. This 1965 overhead photo of a low altitude pass was taken from the chase plane escorting the newly refurbished and freshly painted CF-046 back to its home base at Lake Timothy. It's thought the photo was shot somewhere over the area where NASA was training its astronauts in lunar surface operations. Normally all one sees of this rare bird is its distinctive shadow skimming across the landscape.

What the photographer saw

What the photographer saw on that day the Gmeinder visited.

Model vs Art Piece

Abduction! A new Space Hopper-ization candidate?

I was talking about the Space Hopper conversion with 30Squares' Head of Research a couple of days ago. At one point he mentioned that it was interesting that I had ground off the hopper side detail in the areas where the decals were placed so they would adhere better. It seemed that by removing detail this transformed the project from being an exercise in model making to one of creating an art piece, something lower down in the hierarchy of miniatures. It's true the Space Hopper would never win a contest, be featured in a magazine, or be taken seriously by real model railroaders, but it was fun to build, and brings back some pleasant, light-hearted memories. So, although it isn't a model, or an art piece for that matter, I think of it as a significant object built in the style of Casualized HO, in so-called HO^c.

Why did you leave your hopper so far from home?

You gave us the greens of summers?

 

And before the apartment shell . . .

. . . . and even before the Fortran building, my aunt's house was on the land where the post office is. When the Farland brothers came around and offered to buy her and her neighbour's place, she took the money and bought a condo down south. She'd been trying for years to sell, but there weren't any takers. It was a nice house, and I've got good memories of the times I visited, but she'd had enough of the city and wanted to leave. Can't blame her.