Tag Archives: 737 max 8

Two Max Jets on Test But Only One Works!

One evening, while at BFI, a couple of Max test aircraft taxied out.  One was painted up in Fly Dubai colors and the other was still in primer although the rudder seemed to indicate that it will be a United jet when delivered.  They both taxied out and then held on the taxiway.  The primer jet was second in line and held for ages.  Eventually, it took the intersection on to the runway and backtracked to the Boeing ramp.  No idea what the issue was but it clearly wasn’t ready to fly.  Their colleagues took off a short while before in their, apparently serviceable, jet.

A Pair of New 737s in Nice Light

With Max flight activity pretty much back to normal at BFI, there is no shortage of opportunities to shoot the jets on the approach.  However, since it is now mid summer, the lighting is going to be pretty harsh most of the time.  A little later in the day, though, and the light can be improved.  I have also taken to using the polarizer to cut down on the harsher glare which is boosting the vibrancy of the shots.  I got two of the jets during one visit.

One of them was a Ryanair Max 8-200.  This is a special configuration that Ryanair has ordered that has an extra reader fuselage exit added to the -8 fuselage to allow the seat count to be increased.  This jet turned out to be the first one to be delivered to the airline shortly after this was taken.  The other was an Oman Air jet.  Nice colors for the livery of this airline which were enhanced with the lower light angle and the polarizer.  Sure, 737s are incredibly common but sometimes it can still be nice to shoot them.

The Backlot at Boeing’s Renton Plant At Last

I had seen some photos of the lake side of the Boeing plant at Renton with 737s parked up there.  Looking on Google Maps made me think these shots were taken from the deck of the Hyatt hotel by the lake.  I drive down there one time to investigate but I was not planning on hanging around and didn’t feel like paying to park in one of the lots there so skipped it.  However, riding my bike down through there was a different story.  I detoured to the hotel and walked up to the deck area.  Turns out you get a good view of the back of the factory.  Not a lot of jets parked there but a few to see.  Ryanair and their affiliate Buzz in this case.

Ryanair Subsidiary Buzz

Ryanair has a subsidiary based in Poland that it has been rebranded as Buzz.  I must admit I knew nothing about this until, on my way back home from a meeting south of Seattle, I stopped off at Renton to see what was on the flight line.  A Ryanair jet was parked up and next to it was a Buzz jet.  It still had some taped markings on it but it was basically finished in Buzz colors and registered in Poland.  Obviously it won’t be going to them for a little while longer but, once the grounding is lifted, it should be heading to Eastern Europe.

GOL 737

The nice thing about living near an airliner factory is seeing airline color schemes that you would never normally be even close to.  The 737 line has recently been idled but they are still finishing off some testing of jets and this GOL Max shot an approach at Paine Field one weekend while I was there.  Quite an attractive livery I think.

Amazing Change in Weather Between Arrivals

My wait at Boeing Field for the 777X coincided with some very changeable weather.  The wind was strong and gusty for the whole time but what started out as wet and dreary gradually cleared up to be a sunny end to the day.  I shot a couple of 737s as well as some corporate jets.  When the 737 Max 7 test aircraft came in, it was absolutely hammering it down and the plane was pretty obscured by the rain.  When a Max 8 on a test flight came in later, things had cleared up quite a bit.  It wasn’t sunny at that point but there was a hint of light improvement which was making the green protective film shine a little more.  By the time the 777X came in, the sun was out!

Roll Out and Takeoff of a New Max 8

I’ve seen a few 737s make their first flights at Renton.  This example occurred on weekend morning and it caught me out a bit.  They roll the jets across the bridge from the assembly flight line to the runway flight line.  The bridge crosses the river just south of the park.  Once across, they are ready to start up.  This takes longer than a normal start up since this is the first time the plane is going to fly.

The fast taxi with rejected takeoff is the next step.  This takes place on the runway and, in this case, was heading towards me up near the Lake Washington end of the Renton runway.  All being well with this, it is time to take off.  I had hoped that this would involve a back taxi and then departure over the lake but I was to be disappointed.  They turned at the lake and powered up for a departure to the south.  I had not anticipated this so was badly placed.  The moist morning air resulted in vapor in the inlets as they accelerated past me and then climbed off in the distance.

737 Max8 Heads Off For The First Time

I stopped off at Renton one Sunday morning to see what was on the flight line.  (This was prior to the groundings after the Ethiopian Max 8 crash.)  There was a first flight showing up on the flight plan so I kept an eye out for any sign of activity as I walked along the park trail.  Sure enough, the sound of an engine start reached me when I was down near the bridge between the factory and the flight line.  This is a bit far away from where I would want to be to photograph the take off but this is a first flight.  There is plenty to check before they go flying unlike a regular flight, so time was on my side.

I made my way back along the river in plenty of time for the jet to move.  Prior to flight they accelerate and brake to a stop.  They did this along the runway the opposite direction to that in which they planned to take off so they actually taxied up past me, turned and accelerated before turning again to make the actual take off.  This gave me plenty of views of the unpainted jet.  They climbed away and then redeployed the gear, possibly to cool off the brakes a bit.  They then turned off on their departure heading.  Moses Lake will have been part of the test plan but the flight will have ended at Boeing Field.

Still Seem to be Missing Some Engines Here!

My Renton visit also allowed me to have a look around the production aircraft out on the flight line or in the factory areas.  The shortage of engines has been a concern which I wrote about last year and which was supposed to be fixed by the year end.  Judging by how many of these planes are still carrying ballast rather than engines, I guess things are still a bit behind schedule.  Then again, with what has happened since, maybe the cost of accepting some engines is not something Boeing wants…

 

Max Development and Production Jets

Boeing has completed flight testing of the first version of the 737 Max family, the Max 8.  The Max 9 is currently in flight test and I posted shots of one of those aircraft here.  While some additional flight testing will be carried out on the Max 8, the test fleet is now done.  In due course, these aircraft will be refurbished and sold on to customers.  In the meantime, new production jets are being built for delivery – except when it comes to Southwest.

As a result of a crewing issue, Southwest is delaying taking its jets until they have removed the 737-300 fleet from service.  Consequently, Boeing is building them but not delivering them.  There are a number parked up in the parking lot at Boeing Field and some are still sitting at Renton.  Engines aren’t fitted since this is one way to keep the cost down pending delivery.  They will be fitted and flown nearer the delivery date.

The flight line of these dormant Max 8s sits alongside the municipal part of the airport.  I created a panorama of the jets which you can zoom and pan around below.