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» Forum Category: PT Boats of WWII
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» Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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» Topic:
Aerial Drone Video of PT658n Underway taken June 11 2014
http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/netboardr.cgi?cid=101&fid=102&tid=3585
Hello shipmates!
I just got this and it is a pretty cool Go Pro portable camera video on You Tube taken of the PT658 underway posted ton Youtube today. Footage was actually shot on Saturday June 7th 2014. It was taken using an RC helicopter drone. The Blue Williamette Jet Boat's stern is where the pilot is located. Pretty neat shots too. It gives you an idea of what the wake of the PT Boat looks like from an aircraft. Jerry
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUrXJUPxxfA&feature=youtu.be [/url]
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR
Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jun 11, 2014 - 3:56pm
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm
VERY cool!
Will
Posted By: Will Day | Posted on: Jun 11, 2014 - 10:49pm
Total Posts: 1955 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 4:19pm
Very interesting. Is that the Columbia River?
I am quite glad that there were no drones around during WWII, especially in the South Pacofic.
Posted By: Pat Rogers | Posted on: Jun 11, 2014 - 11:51pm
Total Posts: 72 | Joined: Oct 10, 2006 - 3:21am
Now that is cool. The video quality and steadiness are impressive.
Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Jun 12, 2014 - 1:11am
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am
Thanks for sharing that Jerry. I found myself concentrating on the wake as well. The only thing missing was the sound of the engines.
Dave
David Waples
Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Jun 12, 2014 - 3:50am
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm
Jerry I love it, a whole new perspective of the boat never before seen..............
Posted By: Frank Andruss | Posted on: Jun 12, 2014 - 7:30am
Total Posts: 3964 | Joined: Feb 9, 2007 - 11:41am
Hi Pat,
No that is the Williamette River, which passes right through downtown Portland. The Columbia is about 6 miles downstream from there, the confluence is at Kelly Point park.
Jerry
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR
Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jun 12, 2014 - 10:16am
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm
Great video Jerry, what a joy to see . . .
Thanks for always sharing all the 658 material on the board.
I think you mean "upstream" for the Columbia. 
? ? ? ?
Dick . . .
Posted By: Dick | Posted on: Jun 12, 2014 - 11:43am
Total Posts: 1417 | Joined: Aug 27, 2006 - 6:36pm
That was fun, and it is very impressive what that little RC helicopter can do. Jerry, how fast would you estimate 658's speed during that little jaunt?
Mike
Posted By: Michael Vorrasi | Posted on: Jun 12, 2014 - 12:17pm
Total Posts: 72 | Joined: Jul 1, 2013 - 11:46am
Hi Michael,
Yes the boat was only operating on 2 engines at idle speed, so I estimate we were moving out at about 12-15 knots. The boat slows down in the turn to about 7 knots. We cant go much slower than 11 knots ahead with just 1 engine in gear at idle. We were told by our auditor that the first day out we used 100 gallons of 100 octane, or in monetary terms, about $600. So after that we were careful to go slower.
Dick, so to get the terminology the same, the spot where we were filmed flows from there into the Columbia about 6 miles away. The water flows downstream, right? So the Columbia is downstream of where we were filmed, The Williamette River joins into the Columbia and then the combined waters flow into the ocean.
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR
Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jun 13, 2014 - 12:30am
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm
I would really like to see a picture of the drone and camera setup that you used to film it. If no picture then the nomenclature for the drone for sure.
Thanks
Jerry Beasley
Posted By: Jerry Beasley | Posted on: Jun 13, 2014 - 2:17pm
Total Posts: 89 | Joined: Jan 9, 2008 - 4:27pm
My bad . . . . wasn’t think the river’s flow direction just the simple north and south up or down direction.
I’m well aware of the Willamette river flow, I fished in/on it for many a year as a six grader through college years. Growing up part of my life in the Eugene area, It was advantageous to spend many hours fishing the Willamette from the confluence of the Mckenzie river and its ice cold waters from the Cascade mountain range to the east, on southward, on the Willamette’s eastern fork through Oakridge and/or the costal fork through Cottage Grove. For those not knowing the Oregon area the Willamette river is the states main inner river flowing from the mountain in southern Oregon, northward through great Willamette valley to Portland, where it flows into the Oregon/Washington shared Colombia river.
Dick . . .
Posted By: Dick | Posted on: Jun 14, 2014 - 9:37am
Total Posts: 1417 | Joined: Aug 27, 2006 - 6:36pm
Hello All,
We had a great time in Portland visiting the 658 and the crew.
It was really a dream come true.
We would highly recommend the trip to everyone.
It just could not have been a better experience.
The first sighting of the boat was emotional, it was like a dream to see it. We jumped off the transit train (MAX) and ran up a hill on a bridge to get a glimpse of it as the crew was out with the boat when we arrived. It was an unbelievable sight to see. I will try and post that photo. I tried to be creative and shoot the photo with the 658 in the diamond of the next bridge, like I had any choice. I didn't get another chance of any other photos at that time because we had to get back on the MAX.
The first step on the boat and when my husband Bob was at his fathers battle station, was another moment I had to hold my breath.
Did I say it was a GREAT Trip?
Jerry I would like to thank you personally for making our visit so memorable.
This is a fantastic video, I am sending it to all my family and friends.
I was wondering if someone could add some good WWII music to it?
When I have time to organize our photos I will post a few more.
Greetings to All our PT Boat friends,
Bob & Julie
Posted By: MN Gal | Posted on: Jun 21, 2014 - 7:34am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Jan 4, 2012 - 7:57am
Check out this reasonably priced one Jerry B, I've no clue as to quality but it looks fun as can be. This GPS version has a "return home" feature:
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16886113011&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=parrot_ar_drone_2-_-86-113-011-_-Product[/url]
Parrots web site shows some other rather bizzare R/C vehicles:
[url]http://www.parrot.com/usa/products/[/url]
Kids today have the coolest toys. I had a Schluter 60 back in the 80s but I never got it to do more than skitter along the ground. I was too fearful I'd cut my head off with it. It was fun to build though.
Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Jun 21, 2014 - 6:08pm
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am
Jerry, that was fantastic footage. Like David, I was mesmerized by the wake, but kept turning up my audio in hopes that the engines would come to life! I had several questions while viewing, but all have been answered already as others asked the same things.
One thing I was wondering, is there any possible way to try to describe the sound of the engines on a PT Boat? I've heard them on films before, but never in person. C.J., Earl or others...can you take a shot at describing the sound, and the vibration effect in your own words?
Thanks again Jerry, I hope to get up to Portland some day!
Randy Finfrock
Posted By: Randy Finfrock | Posted on: Jun 21, 2014 - 8:03pm
Total Posts: 97 | Joined: Nov 27, 2006 - 6:21pm
Thanks you guys. Randy we'll leave the light on for ya. Jerry
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR
Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jun 22, 2014 - 2:45am
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm
Randy I am a Higgins man but Elco's with the open exhausts were great to listen to especially when they started. They created enough noise that you sure knew where they were tied. The Higgins with under water exhausts have a more muffled sound but Elco's sure sounded sweet with the open exhausts. I liked to hear them when idling with the exhausts open. Both boats when running full speed had more of a roar sound. Randy it is hard to explain how they sounded.
C. J. Willis
Posted By: CJ Willis | Posted on: Jun 22, 2014 - 11:30am
Total Posts: 464 | Joined: Nov 5, 2006 - 5:02pm
When the Wisconsin -Illinois Bull Session group was fairly active, there were regular meetings headed up by Armin Meyers, Madison WI,and Ted Lepke, Waukesha, WI, The meetings were mostly around the Milwaukee area but I also attended the Green Bay and Sheybogan area. There was also a couple meetings in Illinois, Batavia, Sterling, Mount Prospect. Regardless where they were held they were enjoyed immensely. Every meeting there would be a collection taken up for PT Headquarters. Then Armin would arise and ask for a collection for the PT658 effort in Portland, OR. He could be quite persuasive. I am quite happy to know that our Bull Session contributions over the years helped to put PT658 afloat. I was an Elco man myself - PT154, RON 9.
P.S. I am now 92 and I am having trouble remembering names and knowing the spelling.
Posted By: Pat Rogers | Posted on: Jun 22, 2014 - 12:03pm
Total Posts: 72 | Joined: Oct 10, 2006 - 3:21am
I believe Frank Andruss posted a llink to an audio of the Packards starting up and running for a few moments sometime in the past...
You can also hear them start up and roar on the soundtracks of the two classic Hollywood PT boat movies, "They Were Expendable" (1945) and "PT 109" (1963), as well as on the Warner Bros. wartime documentary "Devil Boats" -- and maybe on the Elco documentary "Giant Killers," too...
Posted By: Drew Cook | Posted on: Jun 24, 2014 - 7:31am
Total Posts: 1306 | Joined: Oct 19, 2006 - 10:44am
Hi Drew,
The soundtrack of the engine room startup on the PT109 movie is not realistic. It sounds more like an aircraft engine startup to me. There is no High pitched whine on the real things. I think the sound recording technicians just found something that would fool most of the people and fit with the pre-conceived notion of what it might sound like, and trimmed something into the allotted time period to fit the scene being shown on the film. There is a blower that you should run to rid the engine room of any gasoline fumes before starting the engines, but nothing else makes that distinctive high pitched whine as you hear in the movie. I think that aircraft engines have an air motor that makes that noise when spinning the props during a startup. Just so you are aware of the truth. Jerry
Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR
Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Jun 24, 2014 - 5:16pm
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm
Remember the "PT-109" boats were really crash-boats (no Packards), so the live sounds would be different...
Will
Posted By: Will Day | Posted on: Jun 24, 2014 - 10:35pm
Total Posts: 1955 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 4:19pm