Jones Stadium from 6,500 ft. AT NIGHT.

[Mark McCall]

Talk about luck...

I'd reserved a Cessna 182 from a local flying service to fly me over Jones AT&T Stadium during Texas Tech's game with Big XII rival Oklahoma weekend before last.

Oklahoma was ranked #4 in the nation at the time. Tech was unranked. Shot was taken in the 1st quarter.

Tech won the game....the biggest win in school history, and I got aerial shots of it. Wild.
The loss knocked Oklahoma out of the national title race.

Little tidbit I found out from the FAA traffic controller...
Since 9/11,.....If your flying over a sporting event with attendance of more than 35,000, your required to stay at 6,500 feet or higher.
This night, the attendance was right around 52,000.

The bubble is the Athletic Training Center. The ATC is a pressurized workout facility with a 60 yard indoor football field, indirect lighting, running track, locker rooms.
Building at the top center (where the buses are parked) is the football training center. Weight rooms, training facilities, everything football related.
The dark area behind it is the football practice field.

[heartseye]

Absolutely beautiful photograph, Mark.

[badpickev]

neat

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by Mark McCall

Little tidbit I found out from the FAA traffic controller...
Since 9/11,.....If your flying over a sporting event with attendance of more than 35,000, your required to stay at 6,500 feet or higher.
This night, the attendance was right around 52,000.

The controller got it wrong...and the fact that you got it from the controller and not the pilot would bother me more.

NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) 3/1862 has a limit of 30,000 attendees and the restriction is for 3,000 ft AGL (Above Ground Level). The plane's altimeter needs to read the local ground elevation plus the 3,000 ft plus a few hundred for safety, unless it's dialed into the closest airport's barometric pressure.

In Phoenix, for the Cardinal's new stadium, that puts me at 4,500 ft MSL (1,500 ft gnd elev. + 3,000 AGL). Unfortunately, that bumps me into Phoenix's Class Bravo space and they just get mean about clearances during busy periods (or they're trying to watch the game).

Your pilot should have known all of this if he got a proper briefing prior to the flight from Flight Services. Pop-up TFRs (temporary flight restrictions) are getting worse and worse with the upcoming Presidential election and a pilot who doesn't check just before taking off risks a fly-by from an F-16 or Blackhawk helicopter. Not fun.

Nice image, btw.

[zero rc]

very cool!!!
is texas tech's colors red, because im seeing a sea of it filling the stadium! what is it like to shoot froma small plane? does vibration come into play? would IS help on a shot like this or are you working witha fast shutter speed? how many passes could you make over the stadium?( it would be awsome to pano a whole tract of city)
the building in the middle right has a great roof and shines liek a jewel! very cool pic!!!

[willy]

"This night, the attendance was right around 52,000"

Only 52,000...Must have been a scrimmage, huh? I'd love to get an image like this over the Big House in Michigan. Heck, right now, I'd settle for a decent season that ends with a victory over OSU and in a Bowl game.

BTW, love the shot - very cool!

Jeff

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by zero rc

what is it like to shoot froma small plane? does vibration come into play? would IS help on a shot like this or are you working witha fast shutter speed? how many passes could you make over the stadium?( it would be awsome to pano a whole tract of city)

Speaking as a pilot who has taken up friends for NON-commercial shots (for any FAA inspectors out there since I'm Part 91 and not 135 rated), it's easier than you might think.

The Cessna 182 is a rock solid, high wing airplane that's perfect for aerial photography. It's biggest drawback is the wing strut, which can be worked around by a knowledgeable pilot with some guidance by the photographer. The cool thing about the Cessna high wings is that the window can be flipped up at any speed (the limit is Vne (not to exceed) which is the point where the plane hasn't been tested any further. If you're there, you got bigger issues on your hands than an open window). No window = no glass = better shot.

Size and comfort-wise, it's like shooting out of a car. On clear nights, with next to no wind, the ride can be glass smooth. IS doesn't hurt but isn't a requirement. One of my favorite shots was done by a 8 year old girl out the back of Cessna 172 with a 2MP HP point&shoot.

[zero rc]

thanks for posting that shot brian! its a really remarkable view!! sometimes great pics are just a matter of being in the right places at the right times!! im sure its a ride she will never forget!

[Mark McCall]

Originally Posted by brian.austin

The controller got it wrong...and the fact that you got it from the controller and not the pilot would bother me more.

Brian,
Louie, owner of Hub City Aviation gave me those numbers.

I'll ask him why the discrepancy...I'd really like to get lower on these shots. Lubbock's elevation, maybe?
When we had a helicopter service in town, we could get much lower...even landing in city parking lots.

Originally Posted by zero rc

very cool!!!
is texas tech's colors red, because im seeing a sea of it filling the stadium! what is it like to shoot froma small plane? does vibration come into play? would IS help on a shot like this or are you working witha fast shutter speed? how many passes could you make over the stadium?( it would be awsome to pano a whole tract of city)
the building in the middle right has a great roof and shines liek a jewel! very cool pic!!!

Oklahoma's primary color is red too, so there was ALOT of red in the stands. The area of white on the visitor's side is the Texas Tech band, who's tops are white with black pants.

Shooting from a 182 is a real kick in the pants. If you ever get a chance to do it, jump on it. Plane, pilot, fuel costs about $100-$150 an hour.
I did not use my Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS, I used the Tamron 28-200 instead. (shorter barrel, was able to keep the lens out of the slipstream).
IS would help, but we can't get consistently sharp images from the Canon.
Wind buffeting is more of a problem than shutter speed.

I metered off the field for an exposure of about F8@60th, 400 ISO. This of course, makes the surrounding area too dark. I used HDR to composite multiple exposure values to brighten up the surrounding area.
We made about 7 or 8 passes on the field...once from directly overhead.

Originally Posted by willy

"This night, the attendance was right around 52,000"

Only 52,000...Must have been a scrimmage, huh? I'd love to get an image like this over the Big House in Michigan. Heck, right now, I'd settle for a decent season that ends with a victory over OSU and in a Bowl game.

BTW, love the shot - very cool!

Jeff

Jeff,
Funny you should mention Michigan's stadium.
I just saw a movie on HBO about the Michigan / OSU rivalry. Man...those fans are CRAZY, on BOTH sides. Those schools hate each other. I'm told Michigan's stadium holds 102,000.

[Goofup]

Boy is Tech in trouble next year! We're gonna nail them suckers!
(Nice shot, horrible game. We were working on coming back with our backup QB, but ran out of time).

[Mr. Pickles]

Great image. Probably sell a few of those if you didn't demand a high price

Goofup, Texas Tech laid over, thus the reason the Sooners made it "look" close....Easy to beat the Sooners if you THROW THE BALL and you do not play them in Norman...Just ask Colorado

[Goofup]

Insert the ole "Wait'll next year..." line.

[Mr. Pickles]

Go Missouri

[Goofup]

Aw, poor Missouri

Go OU!

(You knew that was coming, didn't you?)

[Mr. Pickles]

Yeah, I knew. Now we can hear how great OU is for losing to Colorado and getting hammered by Texas Tech and still winning the Big-12. In an odd year now less. They never done that b