Digitally modified photo of Place d’Youville in Old Quebec
This digitally modified photo shows a part of Place d’Youville, in Old Quebec.
I wanted to capture the church in the background, which seemed to be squeezed between two bigger buildings. It became the principal subject of the photo and it was positioned according to the rule of thirds. This rule is far from mandatory in photography but it often provides interesting results.
I liked the repetitive effect of the windows on each side of the picture and the fact that there were diagonal lines that lead the eye to the church. The vegetation in the foreground added a nice touch to the scenery. There was only one thing missing: a human presence.
With a little patience, three girls stopped on the sidewalk and started to talk, exactly where I wanted them to be. The wet sidewalk on which they stood helped to reflect the ambiant light and also lead the eye to the church, the principal subject in the photo.
I rarely digitally transform a photo in such a drastic way. The reason was simple: normally, when the ambiant light is not favorable, you can sometimes use the black and white setting. However, the light on that day did not offer the required contrasts to get sufficiently interesting results.
I did not want to leave Place d’Youville without having captured the energy I felt there. I opted for a radical option after having cropped the image in order to keep only the essential features.
The picture was taken with a Canon 5DSR full frame camera.
For other photos on the province of Quebec and also Quebec City, click on the following links from my blog:
Robert A. Milton managed Air Canada during the most tempestuous period of the history of air transport.
I translated the quotes from the French version of the book.
“It is all right to say to a Crown corporation to operate, starting tomorrow, like a private enterprise, but it’s like saying to a dog to walk on its hind legs from now on. The dog can succeed, but it will need time to adjust to this new idea”.
“Rod Eddington, the British Airways CEO, made everybody laugh when talking about the resistance to change of middle managers. He said: “As it is said for staff reductions, turkeys have never voted in favor of Christmas”.
“The most efficient system in the world can only work properly if the people who apply it want it to work”.
“No air transport society has ever succeeded in reducing its activities, except in the context of a restructuration under judiciary supervision”.
“One day, as I was walking through the department of technical operations, I looked around and noticed that some people were working in a cubicle fitted out along an outside wall. There were many windows in the wall, but they were all covered with brown paper. I was curious to know why. Was the outside view so terrible that nobody wanted to look through the windows? Or was it so beautiful that it could distract the employees? I checked and the view had nothing really special. It was not more beautiful nor uglier than the other views from the building.
When I asked for explanations, I was told that the employees working along that wall belonged to a group where the salary level did not allow access to a window. But, for different reasons, it had been necessary to position them near a wall with windows. A bureaucrat of the organization had been afraid, I suppose, that making an exception to the rule would lead to anarchy, and he ordered that the windows be covered to correct this unacceptable situation. Useless to say that the brown paper disappeared a few minutes after I received the explanation”.
“Quite often, people who progress slowly in their career without having to take decisions inevitably end up by having to take one. At that moment, they freeze like a deer being blinded by a car headlights, and they get knocked out”.
“If someone puts one finger in my eye, I react by putting two fingers in both of his eyes”
“The VISA Aerogold card is nothing else than a money making machine for the CIBC. It represents 20 to 25 % of the market capitalization of the bank”.
“It is necessary to respect the rules of the game, but to play in all seriousness by using all the tools that are available to you”
Here, Robert Milton quotes a former Minister of Transport of Canada: “He raised the governance problems and the airports inability to control costs, to show interest in customers and to build only the needed infrastructure, instead of the luxurious installations that are now appearing all across the country”.
“In the future, I see Air Canada recognized as one of the six best airline companies of the world, with connections in all regions of the globe and with an interior service representing a smaller, but all the same important part of its total income”.
The Canadian Craig Dobbin built the world’s largest helicopter company
“One hell of a ride” book cover about Craig Dobbin and the world’s largest helicopter company: CHC Helicopters
His view on management
“I’m not an expert on anything” he explained. “Whatever the job, whatever the challenge, somebody can do it better than I can. True entrepreneurs surround themselves with professional managers who share their vision and put form around it. Not only can you not do it all yourself, it’s not necessary, and it does not make sense. I believe in being a good casting director of people who work together and share together”.
Handling pressure
“It’s been a good week” Craig Dobbin might comment to his personal secretary late on a Friday afternoon. Then his face would cloud over and he’d say, “Get Keith Stanford on the phone and ask him for my financial summary. That’ll fuck up my weekend”.
A capacity to take huge financial risks
“The hell with the contract”, he grinned. “Let’s buy the buggers out and we’ll get the contract that way! We’ll start with Toronto [Helicopters].”
“One morning, shortly after the deal to purchase Toronto Helicopters was completed, Craig Dobbin strolled into Robert Foster’s Toronto office. “Robert” he said “I want you to get on a plane, fly to Calgary and buy Okanagan Helicopters for me.” “But Craig,” Foster replied, “you don’t have any money.” Dobbin shrugged and said “That’s your problem.””
On the importance of relaxing and have fun
“Over time, Dobbin introduced initiation rites for first-time visitors [to his fishing lodge]. Steve Hudson’s [a pilot] initial visit to Adlatuk involved a helicopter flight over the ocean in search of an iceberg drifting down from the Arctic. When a suitable iceberg was located, the initiate was given his instructions. “They handed me a hammer and an ice bucket,” Hudson explains. “My job was to jump out of the helicopter onto the iceberg and fill the bucket with chipped ice for our drinks back at the fishing lodge”.
Icebergs, Hudson discovered, are very unstable and riding one in the North Atlantic with a Super Puma hovering a few feet over your head is like trying to keep your balance while walking across a trampoline. “It was a lot of fun for the guys in the helicopter,” he says, “but not so much fun for me, trying to knock enough million-year-old ice of the berg to fill the bucket.” Back in the camp, the ice chilled several glasses of Jameson raised in a toast to the new crew member.””
“One hell of a ride”, from John Lawrence Reynolds
A genuine interest in people
“When he talked with you in social situations,” one business acquaintance recalls, “he was focused totally on you. He wasn’t looking over your shoulder or around the room, searching for someone more important. He was really interested in what you were saying. Everyone sensed this about the man and was drawn to him”.
Dobbin’s humanity
“Dobbin’s business acumen rarely overrode his humanity. On a flight to his fishing lodge in Long Harbour with a group of friends, Dobbin asked the helicopter pilot to set the craft down for a washroom break. The pilot chose an open area adjacent to a shack and tower where a provincial wildlife officer was spending the summer on fire-watch duty. The officer, a grizzled veteran of wildlife work, kept the group laughing for some time with his stories and anecdotes, and the short rest break extended into an hour’s impromptu entertainment.
“How long have you been here?” Dobbin asked the old timer as the group was about to board the helicopter and resume their journey. “Ten weeks,” the officer answered, with about another ten weeks to go before returning home. “Anything you need?” Dobbin inquired, and the man said he was out of sugar; it would be nice to have something to sweeten his tea, but he would get by.
An hour later, when everyone had disembarked at Long Harbour, Dobbin instructed the helicopter pilot not to shut down the aircraft yet. He entered the cookhouse and emerged with a two-kilo bag of sugar, ordering the pilot to fly it back to the wildlife officer they had met.
“Are you kidding?” the young pilot said. “I’ll spend about two thousand bucks in fuel alone to fly it there.”
Dobbin gripped the pilot’s arm. “Son,” he said, “that sugar will mean more to that old fellow than two thousand bucks will ever mean to me. Now get going.””
So far, this winter has been especially cold in Quebec City. There have been several weeks where the temperature stayed below -20 C. The STQ ferries, property of the Government of Quebec, must navigate the ice covered St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec City.
Government of Quebec ferry in the icy St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec. Winter 2018.
The ferries Alphonse-Desjardins and Lomer-Gouin, carrying cars and passengers between the two cities, must sometimes completely cancel the service. On three occasions so far, a ferry stayed stuck while trying to cross the ice covered seaway. The passengers had to wait patiently up to four hours for a crossing that normally takes ten minutes.
The picture below was taken from Old Quebec. In the foreground stands the “Le Vendôme” restaurant, which has been for sale for years now. In the distance, a ferry makes its way through ice towards Quebec City.
Ferry approaching Quebec during the winter in 2018
Ocean’s tugboats are also working on the seaway, regardless of the temperature. The picture below shows one of those tugboats enroute to the Jean-Gaulin refinery to help an oil tanker.
Ocean’s tugboat on the St. Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City. Winter 2018, by -20 C.
The pictures in this article were taken on January 7th 2018 with a Canon 5DSR equipped with a Canon EF 85 mm f/1.2L II USM. The temperature was -18 C.
The next day, a man who had fallen in the icy waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway was luckily spotted by one of the passengers who was standing on the Lomer-Gouin ferry heading to Quebec City. The man suffering from severe hypothermia was saved by the Government of Quebec STQ staff (Société des traversiers). Here is the link to TVA news (in French): Une personne tombe dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent à Québec.
The cold temperature and winds did not stop the Château Frontenac canoeists from training on the icy seaway in preparation for the Quebec Carnival competition. This year, the race will be held on February 4th. The Association des coureurs en canots à glace du Québec (Ice canoeists Association of Quebec) recently faced a tragedy went they lost one of their members in a training session during very harsh weather conditions.
Château Frontenac ice canoe team at work by -18 C on the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec.
An interesting challenge for flight simulation enthousiasts consists in searching and intercepting virtual aircrafts that are flying randomly: those without any known flight plans.
The degree of difficulty varies accordingly with the intercepted aircraft and the interceptor.
The screen capture below shows a relatively simple interception since it is not too difficult for the AV-8B Harrier to modify its speed according to the high cruising speed of a Beechcraft B350.
Virtual Beechcraft B350 aircraft intercepted by an AV-8B Harrier.
In order to increase the difficulty, the flight simmer could attempt the interception in flight of a relatively slow aircraft with a military jet.
A challenging virtual flight can be executed by using a CF-18 and adapting its speed and altitude to that of the intercepted aircraft while flying in formation for one minute. In order to succeed, it will be necessary to set the CF-18 in a slow flight configuration with the wheels out.
Virtual Cessna C208 aircraft intercepted by a CF-18
This type of interception is sometimes done in real life when an aircraft accidentally (or not) enters a restricted zone. A military jet must then take-off, reach the unknown target, get very close and make the appropriate signals ordering it to follow him to the closest military base.
Once in flight, do not forget to take a screen capture! Good luck and have a good flight!
Translated from German to French, this book is titled : « L’extase totale – Le troisième Reich, les Allemands et la drogue ». The original title was : « Der totale Rausch. Drogen im Dritten Reich ». The author is a German journalist and documentarist who worked for Stern and Der Spiegel. He has also written four other books. I tried to translate the quotes to the best of my ability.
The research made by the author shows that in the years preceding the Second World War, the German population regularly used drugs to better support the defeat resulting of the First World War. Drug consumption was a standard phenomenon. It became necessary to curtail this habit.
Front cover of the book “L’extase totale” by Normand Ohler
Hitler is thus presented as a « pure role model […], an ascetic, the enemy of drugs who disregards his own needs » (p.25). But if there is somebody in Germany who is becoming a regular user of drugs and who even has access to his own pusher, namely the well-known Dr Morell, it is Hitler.
In the documents presented by the author, Hitler is also described as thePatient A : « Hitler is getting used to repetitive shots and to those mysterious substances flowing in his veins to supposedly invigorate him » (p.37).
In 1937, the Temmler factories create the first German methylamphetamine, also known as « pervitin ». There is a widespread use in the German population as well as in the army. Pervitin is the artificial booster that lasts more than twelve hours, « solves problems » and keeps the German soldier awake for several days : « Use of pervitin becomes as natural as drinking a cup of coffee » (p.44).
The German troops, who sleep every two or three days now, rush through Europe. It is the famous Blitzkrieg. The armour do not stop anymore. While the Allied soldiers must sleep on a rotating basis, the German soldiers charge without taking any breaks, energized with methamphetamine.
Poland is the first surprised. « […] provided with a huge amount of drugs, but without dosage indications, the Wehrmacht attacks the Polish neighbour who is not doped and has no idea of what to expect. » (p.63).
Thirty five million doses are ordered for the army and the Luftwaffe. « The Wehrmacht becomes the first army in the world to widely use chemical drugs […]. A new form of war has appeared » . (p.76)
Peter Steinkamp, a medical historian, states that « the Blitzkrieg was led through the use of methamphetamine, not to say that it was planned with methamphetamine in mind » (p.85).
The German officers do not obey orders anymore, exhilarated by the quick victories : « Guderian […] continues his offensive while he has formally received the order to stop » (p.86). It is the same thing for Rommel who does not obey General Hoth’s orders : « He has lost all senses of danger, [which is] a typical symptom of an excessive consumption of methamphetamine. He maintains his offensive both day and night ». (p.88). Hitler does not control the generals of the armoured divisions who now act in an autonomous mode.
Decided to regain control of his officers, Hitler takes a decision that ignores any military strategy. He orders all his troops to stop during ten days, at a moment when they have almost surrounded the Allied. The German officers impress upon Hitler to complete the military campaign but « Hitler wants to show his ground troops that it is him and nobody else who leads this war » (p.95). At Dunkirk, « more than 340,000 French, Belgian and British soldiers escaped by the sea » (p.95).
Backcover of the book ” L’extase totale ” by Normand Ohler
The author refers to numerous research documents pertaining to extensive drug consumption among soldiers and officers. This habit was present up to the highest military ranks. The German population was also keen to use drugs on an extensive basis : « It does not take long before the number of doses that find themselves in the stomach or blood of Germans exceed the million doses » (p.114)
The melting pot of drugs used on a daily basis by Hitler has an important effect on his judgment. He makes a serious strategic mistake concerning the war raging with Russia. He forbids any retreat of the German troops without his official authorization. The Wehrmacht undergoes heavy losses to the elite Russian divisions « freshly arrived from Siberia » (p.135).
Another important strategic mistake happens in December 1941 when Germany decides to declare war to the United States : « Germany is already exhausted by the fights it wages on multiple fronts, while overseas, the industrial giant is ready for the battle » (p.139).
Hitler’s stubbornness « to refuse to give up an inch of the conquered territory has a more profound reason : that the chimneys continue to work as long as possible in the East, in the extermination camps in Auschwitz, Treblinka, Sobidor, Chelmno, Majdanek and Belzec. Hold all positions until all the Jews are killed. Distancing himself from the human laws, [Hitler] continues his war against the weakest» (p.140).
The author enumerates other military strategical mistakes made by Hitler. He also details the close relation that existed between Hitler and his personal doctor, Dr Morell. The reader learns about the content of Hitler’s daily drug cocktails, among which Eucodal, cocaine and morphine. Benefiting from his close personal relation with Patient A, Dr Morell also increases his personal influence and fortune.
The reader witnesses the Führer’s progressive decline and the consequences of his desperate decisions. It is quite surprising that among all Hitler biographies, his heavy consumption of drugs and their consequences are barely noted.
The end of the book deals with the harsh experiments made on prisoners in the concentration camps.
The book « L’extase totale » allows a different understanding of the Second World War and of the psychology of the German population at the time. The reader realizes the very strong impact of the chemical drugs before and during the war. Even the way the Blitzkrieg is traditionnally presented has to be reviewed.
The advanced technology combined with military strategy and extensive use of chemical drugs initially gave the advantage to the German forces. However, with time, a lack of control on pervitin and other drugs had irreversible negative consequences on a huge number of soldiers and officers. It was the cause of crucial military strategical mistakes. An exclusive identity-based nationalism was also responsible for the loss of millions of human lives.
Manually flying a huge aircraft like the MD-11F to make a virtual landing in Innsbruck surely will be fun for most flight simulation enthusiasts. Since the Innsbruck airport and its surroundings have been redesigned under ORBX Innsbruck, the immersion feeling is total. The landscape is absolutely fantastic.
A virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F is airborne from runway 26 at the Innsbruck airport (LOWI)
Start by taking-off from runway 08. Anybody standing near the fence at the end of the runway will feel the blast. Then, gain enough altitude to be able to do a 180 degree turn to realign the aircraft for runway 26.
A PMDG MD-11F preparing for a visual approach runway 08 at Innsbruck
Make sure to activate the “air turbulence” option on your virtual weather engine, since an approach near the mountains in Innsbruck generates enough turbulence to make your approach more difficult. The pilot must also, for this exercise, deal with the actual winds even if they do not favor runway 26.
Virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F approaching the Innsbruck airport (LOWI)
The flaps must be adjusted to 50 degrees for the MD-11F. Insure that the “Autopilot” function is set at “OFF”. The intensity of the automatic breaking is chosen according to the actual winds, the aircraft’s cargo load and the altitude of the airport. The margin of manoeuver with regards to the approach speed is not very large. I tried to maintain 150 kts.
A virtual PMDG MD-11F with full flaps (50 degrees) on final for runway 08 in Innsbruck
The Innsbruck runway is 2000 meters long. There is not much leeway for the MD-11F.
Virtual PMDG MD-11F arriving for runway 08 at Innsbruck
Virtual PMDG MD-11F breaking runway 08 in Innsbruck
Once on the ground, you must continue until the end of runway 26 in order to do a 180 degree turn. There is just enough space for the MD-11F.
Virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F backtracking runway 08 at Innsbruck
As you can see in the image below, looking at the windsock, the landing was made with a good tailwind.
Virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F exiting the runway at Innsbruck
The airport is superbly represented and a parking space is already reserved for bigger aircrafts. Employees are waiting for your arrival.
Innsbruck virtual airport and the Martinair Cargo MD-11F
PMDG virtual MD-11F parked at the Innsbruck airport in Austria
Virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11F parked at the Innsbruck airport
You can try landing with any other big carrier if you do not already own a PMDG virtual MD-11. If you would like to acquire this aircraft, you will realize that it is no longer offered by PMDG, at least for now. Try to put some pressure on the company so that they restart offering the aircraft on which they have put in so much effort. A message on their Facebook site should show your interest: PMDG
If you would like to see an exceptional two hour aviation video on a real flight that lasted ten days across the world, there is none better than the one made by PilotsEYE.tv: Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F in Quito
PilotsEye DVD on a ten day worldwide trip with a Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F
You witness part of the crew’s planning for a landing on the old Quito runway, in Ecuador. The airport’s altitude is so high that the MD-11F margin of manoeuver is extremely limited. Make sure to own a player that can decode European videos.
A Brazilian VASP MD-11 aircraft is on final for the Guarulhos international airport in Sao Paulo.
The picture above shows a virtual MD-11 aircraft with the VASP livery over Sao Paulo. In the flight simulator, I positioned it on final for the Guarulhos international airport in Brazil (IATA: GRU, ICAO: SBGR). This MD-11 was created by PMDG.
The landscape is modelized by ORBX and is made of overlapping layers of their different products in order to achieve this final aspect. There is first FTX Global Base Pack, then FTX Global openLC South America and FTX Global Vector. The last touch is added through FTX Global Trees HD, but it is not really visible here due to the late hour.
A Martinair virtual cargo MD-11 is airborne from the Innsbruck airport in Austria.
The mountains surrounding the Innsbruck airport are used as a background for this screen capture of a virtual Martinair Cargo MD-11.
The two pictures above show a MD-11 just airborne from Innsbruck, in Austria. The landscape of that region, in real life or virtual mode, is absolutely stunning. I am essentially using the FSX flight simulation platform for now, but I am always monitoring the progress made with Aerofly FS2. The virtual cloud textures for the three pictures are modelized by Rex Simulations and the weather engine used for the flights was FSGRW.
The MD-11 is an extremely interesting aircraft to fly in the flight simulation mode but it seems that PMDG is not bringing the aircraft up to date to follow the evolution of Microsoft operating systems. It has not been modified neither to work with P3D or other virtual flight platforms. Nevertheless, if customers start expressing their interest in that aircraft, I am convinced that PMDG would allow a bit more research in order to bring that MD-11 with today’s standards of flight simulation ( https://www.facebook.com/pmdgsimulations ).
The documentation offered for the MD-11 by PMDG is really complete. All the articles written in the PC Pilot magazine on how to fly the aircraft are also still available today in only one download.
Here are a few modified screen captures of a recent virtual flight made with the Captain Sim’s B-52.
Captain Sim’s virtual B-52 aircraft in southern California
The high quality of the modelized clouds and of the landscape in the background helped create screen captures that were even more realistic. FSX was the flight simulation platform used for the flight. REX Simulations made the virtual cloud textures.
The landscape is a creation of ORBX. At the base of the three screen captures were the following ORBX products: FTX Global Base Pack, FTX Global Vector, FTX Global Open LC North America, FTX Global Trees HD and NA Southern California. The time for the flight was early in the morning.
Virtual clouds created by REX. FSX flight simulation platform.
In the picture below, a few modifications were made using Photoshop to induce a feeling of speed. When comes the time to modify the screen capture of a virtual aircraft with an image editing software, the same rules apply as for a normal picture: moderation gives better results.
A virtual B-52 at high speed and low altitude in Southern California.
The sound of the Boeing B-52’s eight engines is quite impressive. Despite the enormous power available for take-off, the flight simulation enthousiast cannot simply apply full power and hope that the military jet will get airborne. By the book procedures have to be followed, otherwise there won’t be any take-off. A parachute can be deployed when landing for a better visual effect, but the flight simulator will not include it in its calculations for the required landing and breaking distance.
A young girl plays piano on Willows Beach in Victoria.
The photo above was taken with a Canon 5DSR full-frame camera in Victoria, British-Columbia. The exact location is a beach in Oak Bay called Willows Beach.
In many cities around the world, the trend is to install used pianos in unusual places hoping that citizens and tourists will take a few minutes to try their hand at the instrument. While a young girl was starting to play on this piano left beside Willows Beach, a young boy appeared in my viewfinder, upside down on his father’s shoulder. To each his own.
In the distance, it is possible to see the sailboats of the Oak Bay Yacht Club and the Washington State Olympic Mountains, in the United States.
