Martin Mars in Vancouver Harbour – Jan 15-18

Mark12:
You are indeed a hard one to convince however your concern for the young boy on the right edge of the last photo is duly warranted. The boy had initially been playing (while waiting for the return of the Mars with his family) much closer to the centreline of my brother’s landing approach and the photographer (the Lake Elsinore undertaker) thoughtfully warned the boy to move back to where he appears in the photo. CalFire officials did a great job keeping the public back from the base of operations on the east side of the lake (where refueling the Mars from tanker trucks took place) however they did not restrict the public from accessing the approach area at the northwest tip of the lake. My brother actually remembers seeing that boy (out the corner of his eye) on the shoreline as he passed over on one of his landing pick-ups. The boy was standing approximately one wingspan (200 ft.) to the right of the approach centreline in actuality.

It was necessary to put the Mars down literally in the first few feet of the lake and get the probes down within 2 seconds of touchdown to be able to scoop an 18 second load (25 seconds required for full load). See additional attached photo, taken at the instant the probes were being lowered, @ 150′ from shoreline. The largest load my brother was able to extract from Lake Elsinore was @ 5,400 USgal and still have sufficient room at the southwest tip of the lake for terrain clearance at his 3 engine climb speed (with load discharged). Despite the notorious fire-fanning Santa Ana winds, Lake Elsinore (being in a hole) was remarkably calm, making take-offs and water pick-ups much more difficult. The media will undoubtedly cover the planned demo drop in Vancouver harbour tomorrow afternoon at 3:00PM (Pacific time) when The Mars will drop a full load (7,200 USgal) of salt water which is slightly heavier than fresh water. Perhaps someone will post a copy on YouTube.
Regards, Mk1
——————-

Mk.I

Now if only you had said in the first post that your brother was flying the aircraft… 🙂

This stuff circulates around and around on the net…and photoshop etc.

Mark

The 8 minute company video posted on U tube is a very impressive account of Coulson operations.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1y6Tnczjuw&feature=related

Martin Mars in Vancouver Harbour – Jan 15-18

Mark12:
You are indeed a hard one to convince however your concern for the young boy on the right edge of the last photo is duly warranted. The boy had initially been playing (while waiting for the return of the Mars with his family) much closer to the centreline of my brother’s landing approach and the photographer (the Lake Elsinore undertaker) thoughtfully warned the boy to move back to where he appears in the photo. CalFire officials did a great job keeping the public back from the base of operations on the east side of the lake (where refueling the Mars from tanker trucks took place) however they did not restrict the public from accessing the approach area at the northwest tip of the lake. My brother actually remembers seeing that boy (out the corner of his eye) on the shoreline as he passed over on one of his landing pick-ups. The boy was standing approximately one wingspan (200 ft.) to the right of the approach centreline in actuality.

It was necessary to put the Mars down literally in the first few feet of the lake and get the probes down within 2 seconds of touchdown to be able to scoop an 18 second load (25 seconds required for full load). See additional attached photo, taken at the instant the probes were being lowered, @ 150′ from shoreline. The largest load my brother was able to extract from Lake Elsinore was @ 5,400 USgal and still have sufficient room at the southwest tip of the lake for terrain clearance at his 3 engine climb speed (with load discharged). Despite the notorious fire-fanning Santa Ana winds, Lake Elsinore (being in a hole) was remarkably calm, making take-offs and water pick-ups much more difficult. The media will undoubtedly cover the planned demo drop in Vancouver harbour tomorrow afternoon at 3:00PM (Pacific time) when The Mars will drop a full load (7,200 USgal) of salt water which is slightly heavier than fresh water. Perhaps someone will post a copy on YouTube.
Regards, Mk1
——————-

Mark12… what is suspicious about the guy on the right? Sorry, but i dont see it.

These might be of interest… they show her landing on the same lake….

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Aojnkhe3kM8

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GkfHCRChve8&feature=related

Mark12:
The image is indeed genuine (taken by the local undertaker, no pun intended!) Due to the pint size of Lake Elsinore, the Mars was landed within 100 ft of the approach end of the lake in order have a chance at grabbing a 50% load….an extremely demanding locale to operate a large, heavily loaded aircraft. Another (similar) shot is attached.
Mk1
———-

Sorry, but I am even more suspicious.:) Look at the position of the innocent on the far right of you latest image.

Mark

Mark12:
The image is indeed genuine (taken by the local undertaker, no pun intended!) Due to the pint size of Lake Elsinore, the Mars was landed within 100 ft of the approach end of the lake in order have a chance at grabbing a 50% load….an extremely demanding locale to operate a large, heavily loaded aircraft. Another (similar) shot is attached.
Mk1
———-

HOLY MOTHER OF… I don’t think I’d want to be on the receiving end of that 50% load… I’m only imagining pebbles, stones, etc. picked up and falling like a shot-gun blast… choices, choices… burn me or stone me…. still gotta love the big beauty!

😮

Eat your heart out, John Goodman! :diablo:

😮

And in normal English: an interesting approach (all other descriptions that I can think of contain strong language).

Martin Mars in Vancouver Harbour – Jan 15-18

Mark12:
The image is indeed genuine (taken by the local undertaker, no pun intended!) Due to the pint size of Lake Elsinore, the Mars was landed within 100 ft of the approach end of the lake in order have a chance at grabbing a 50% load….an extremely demanding locale to operate a large, heavily loaded aircraft. Another (similar) shot is attached.
Mk1
———-

How come some of the foreground shrubbery seems to terminate to rear of the hull centre line.

An interesting, but I suspect spoof, image.:)

Mark

Think you are too suspicious! Check post 16 on the last thread, the Mars had to come in VERY low when landing on Lake Elsinore!

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=75512&highlight=Martin+Mars

How come some of the foreground shrubbery seems to terminate to rear of the hull centre line.

An interesting, but I suspect spoof, image.:)

Mark