Tag Archives: 727-200

Is This My Last Kalitta 727?

The 727 is a rarity already and one of the remaining operators, Kalitta, is close to ending their operations too. I read that they only have two left and that they will both be gone later this year. Consequently, I was rather pleased when one was due into Seattle. Unfortunately, it was due to land at about 8pm. I did think of getting out to try and see what the ambient light would be like but decided against it. It then got delayed and didn’t arrive until after 10pm.

They filed to head straight back out that evening so I figured I would miss out. However, something was not right with the jet, and they didn’t leave. The following day, when I saw that they hadn’t gone, I was able to come by and see if they were still there. Indeed they were. It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of an engine running and thought I might be in luck. Sadly, the open panels were a sign that they were just doing an engine test. I had to leave shortly afterwards and was wondering whether they would depart while I was absent.

Luck continued to be on my side, and they were still there later in the day. No flight plan filed, and I was wondering whether they were either not going at all or might wait until after dark. I was pondering driving around to the other side of the field to see if I could find out anything when my friend messaged me that a flight plan had been filed for a departure shortly. Now, I never trust the timing of a flight plan for a freighter, but this was still promising.

Needless to say, they did not go promptly. This was not a bad thing, though. As I waited, the conditions were steadily improving with some nice light. At this time of year, though, that light doesn’t last too long, and I was fearing it might disappear before they left. Fortunately, they finally fired up and taxied past me. The light was looking great. Now to hope that they didn’t have a long wait for ATC release.

I had wondered whether they would get off the ground fast or not. The 727 was capable enough in short fields but they don’t leap off the ground. I chose a location that I thought might be good for rotation shots and I am glad I did. I had just about the perfect spot. They rotated in front of me, climbed out in lovely light and disappeared. I wonder whether this will be my last Kalitta 727 shot or not.

Another 727 But This One Has Winglets

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I had been talking with some friends at Boeing Field about the Kalitta 727s that we had seen recently and we got on to the subject of winglets on the 727 and that the jets we had seen didn’t have them. Little would I know that I would address this a short while later. Kalitta Charters II was bringing another 727 in to Paine Field on a weekend evening and it was a different airframe to the ones I had photographed to that point.

It was also fitted with winglets! I am not sure how good the winglet design is on the 727. It looks like a pretty basic design and doesn’t seem to be very well integrated in the way that later winglet designs are. However, it must provide some benefit because they have sold a fair few of them. I clearly made the trip up to Everett to catch its arrival and I wasn’t alone. One more 727 in a time when they are not very abundant and a different configuration to boot.

Another 727 Chance Before Sunset for Departure

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The arrival just before sunset of a Kalitta 727 was the subject of a recent post. It departed later that evening, but it was very dark by then and I didn’t hang around. It wasn’t long before the jet was back again and this time it arrived a little earlier in the day. That meant that there was a chance that they would depart before sunset. That was something I was willing to take a chance on. In the later evening, it is a quick jaunt to Paine Field from home. Sure enough, they obliged by being prompt. I had barely got there when the jet taxied. The light was very nice, and they were flowing to the north so I was able to get a few shots, hop in the car and be home so fast that Nancy thought I must have blown off the idea altogether!

Taking A Chance on Late Evening Light on the 727

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I had been disappointed by a Kalitta 727 that had come into Boeing Field during the day when I was unable to see it. I was heading home from meetings south of the city and stopped by to see if it was leaving that evening and they almost did and then had a technical issue. I had to get home so missed it. I was, therefore, rather pleased when I saw it was coming to Paine Field a little while later. It was due to arrive early in the evening.

The 727s are rare beasts these days but Kalitta has been picking up more and more 737s so you have to wonder how long the 727s will be around. My enthusiasm was tempered a bit when I saw that the previous leg had been a few hours late so the planned arrival time was not realistic. Instead, once it got airborne, it was due in around 9pm. Sunset was 9:12 so this would be tight for time and would require the weather to cooperate.

I had dinner with Nancy, and we hung out for a while at which point I had to make the call. Would I go up to Everett or not. The weather looked okay where we are, but you never know what it will be like further up towards the coast. At that time of the evening, it is a quick run so I figured I would just see how things looked. As it turned out, the weather was pretty clear, and they made good time and a pretty direct approach. As the three-holed beast came down the approach, there was low sun illuminating it.

I then headed around to the terminal to see if I could get a shot of them unloading. The sun was now setting so the sky was glowing behind the jet as the crew worked to offload the cargo. The fuselage was in deep shadow, but I used some HDR bracketing to give me options to work with. Overall, it couldn’t have gone better. They were looking for a quick turnaround and return to Michigan, but I knew it would be dark by then so headed home. I actually heard it climb out over us just after I had got into bed!

G-Force One Returns

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G-Force One is a cool 727 that is operated providing zero g experience to people who are willing to pay. It shows up at Seattle periodically, presumably because one of the tech companies is giving rides to some employees (but maybe it is just a rich person chartering it themselves). Zero G is the company although the plane is operated on their behalf by Kalitta Charters. I have had mixed luck shooting this plane but I did okay on this visit. I got it arriving and heading out on a flight. I missed the return and was actually driving along I-5 south alongside Boeing Field as it departed back to Long Beach. Not the perfect combination but at least I got a few good shots of it this time.

It Might Be Raining, But It Is A 727!

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Winter in the PNW does not mean reliable conditions for photographing planes. If the weather is bad, you might decide it isn’t worth going out. If it is raining and threatening to rain harder, there is a strong possibility you would skip a shot opportunity. However, 727s are getting pretty rare these days so that seems worthy of a trip out.

The weather was unpleasant when it made its approach but not as bad as it got a short while later. I went with my normal approach for shooting in really bad conditions by pushing the overexposure pretty high. I include a couple of edits. For the main image, I actually blended two different process versions in Photoshop to get the combination that most reflects how the shot looked through the view finder. The other edit is a straightforward Lightroom edit where the angle and the light suited it.

Kalitta Charter 727

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Boeing 727s aren’t a total rarity but they are certainly not common and, when one showed up at Paine Field, it was worthy of a look. Operated by Kalitta Charter, it was making a trip around the west. It arrived at Paine in nice light and a flight plan was filed for a departure shortly afterwards. This turned out to be a bit optimistic but I had plenty to do so I sat nearby awaiting the departure. It ultimately came later in the day so the weather was great.

What wasn’t great was that I missed them calling up on the radio as I was busy with some work. I happened to glance up and see the aircraft rotating in lovely light. I grabbed the camera and tried to get a quick shot but the camera was not happy and I got a second of open shutter. Nothing usable. A quick reset and then I was able to get tail on shots as it climbed away. To say I was annoyed is an understatement. At least I saw it, even if I have no shots to share.