Tag Archives: 747

How Many 747 Operators Have I Shot?

The delivery of the last production 747 got me digging out a lot of older shots of operators long gone or unusual ones that I had come across.  This then triggered me looking through my collection of 747 shots to see just how many operators I had got images of.  There are others I have seen but didn’t photograph in my younger days like Continental but, once I added them all up, I was surprised to see that, including some government jets and some testbeds and counting freight operations separately from passenger for some airlines, I have over 70 operators that I have shot over the years.  I was rather surprised about that.

I am not going to include a shot of all of them.  That would make for a very long post and I doubt too many people would get to the bottom.  Instead, I shall just provide a selection of some of the more unusual ones.  The full list is as follows:

British Airways, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, JAL, Asiana Cargo, Air Atlanta, Lufthansa, United, Pan Am, JAL Cargo, South African Airways, Qantas, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Airlines Cargo, Polar Air Cargo, Air New Zealand, KLM, EVA Air, Kalitta Air, Tradewinds, NCA, PIA, Thai, Saudia, Air France, Northwest, Air China, Air China Cargo, UPS, China Airlines Cargo, Southern Air, Korean Air Cargo, Cargo 360, Northwest Cargo, Focus Air, Malaysia, Air Pacific Fiji, Air India, China Cargo, NASA, Delta, Southern Air, Great Wall Airlines, Yangtze River Express, Atlas Air, Evergreen, Asiana, Cargolux, British Airways World Cargo, China Southern Cargo, Rolls Royce, Centurion Cargo, State of Kuwait, Japan, TWA, Global Supertanker, Sands, Qatar Amiri Flight, Boeing, Qatar Cargo, UAE, Wamos, Virgin Orbit, SF Airlines, Cargo Logic Air, Cathay Pacific Cargo, Pratt and Whitney, Western Global

Joe Davis Airpark

I have been through Palmdale a few times but none of those previous trips coincided with a time when the Joe Davis Airpark was open.  I got to look through the fence at the aircraft on display but couldn’t go in.  This time, I was better prepared and was able to check the place out at my leisure (if you ignore having to do a Teams call halfway through while trying to find some shade and avoid noisy kids).  As it happened, they were planning on closing earlier than scheduled that day so I could have had another miss if I had waited until later in the day!

The park has a wide variety of aircraft types scattered around.  Photography is okay as things are not right on top of each other but the desert sun is still pretty harsh and so doesn’t make for the best results.  Still, I’m not going to stop shooting images just for that reason.  There are a couple of more unusual types on display and at least one of those is going to get its own post.  There are plenty of fighters and trainers.  An F-14 is always a welcome jet on display but an A-7 is also going to go down well with me as will an F-101.  The C-140 was a nice surprise as I do like a JetStar.

The larger aircraft start with a C-46 which was a bit close to the fence so made for a more busy background.  It is a small exhibit compared to the two largest items on display.  B-52s are well represented in museums around the US.  They were certainly built in large quantities.  This one has a Hound Dog missile alongside.  Next to it, though, is the most special asset.  A 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.  Retired by NASA at the end of the Shuttle program, it now resides in the sun a short distance from its old home at Edwards.

Anchorage Jets

A step back in time to the mid 2000s.  I had a work trip to Anchorage having been invited up by a potential client to discuss their business.  We lived in Chicago at the time and I needed to fly to Seattle to connect to Anchorage.  (Interestingly, the return leg was possible to make direct overnight.). I had not expected Anchorage airport to be too much.  I knew, even then, that it was a hub for freight traffic across the Pacific but I did not think it would be that busy.

When we landed and I walked down the jet bridge, I looked out of the window to see rows of 747s, MD-11s and DC-10s.  It was quite an eye-opener to see just how many large jets were laying over there.  There was a steady stream of movements too.  These planes were not just waiting around for business.  The airport downtown was another reminder with everyone I spoke to in the bar being a crew on layover.

The meetings went well but didn’t lead to anything.  The timing of the trips meant I had some time to kill so I spent a bit of time out at the airport watching the arrivals and departures.  There were the unusual locals that Alaska is known for and the props will definitely be worth a separate post.  For this one I shall share the jets that came and went.  Many of these are types or operators that have ceased to be.  It was a great thing to see and I’m glad I got the chance to be there, however briefly.  A specific trip up is something I would like to try and do at some point.  All those Alaska Airlines points have got to be worth something!

Some Old SFO Jumbos

The 747 was still the mainstay of many long haul operations when I started shooting digital and SFO was a place that was served by a bunch of airlines using the type.  I used to go to SFO quite a bit when I lived in Chicago because work brought me to the Bay Area frequently.  That meant I got some opportunities to shoot the movements there.  Of course, in due course we moved to the Bay Area so I got more chances but, by then, the 747s were swiftly disappearing and the 777 was becoming dominant.

Here is a selection of shots of different marques of 747 and different operators all operating in to SFO.  Hope they amuse a few of you.

Fin Repaint

I’m not sure why but recently the 747 fin in Future of Flight at Everett made it to be a popular photo on Airliners Net.  The fin sits inside the museum section and it was painted as a 747-8 fin, even though it actually came from a British Airways 747-100.  The picture had it with the -8 paint finish.  I have a similar shot but the fin has recently been repainted in a blue finish.  Not sure what the purpose was but, since Boeing have taken over Future of Flight, they must have had a reason.  If anyone knows why, let me know in the comments.

Trailing Static Cones

For the people that don’t care for my aviation posts, this one won’t be of interest.  For the aviation fans that don’t care about the techie stuff, this will also be of limited interest.  That probably leaves a very small group of readers by now (Gary, I am trusting you are still here).  This is about a piece of flight test instrumentation that often causes questions when people see it.  It is the trailing static cone.

The aircraft has sensors that measure air data, two of the most important of which are the pitot probe and the static port.  The pitot probe measures the dynamic pressure of the air which increases as the speed increases.  The static port measures the air around the aircraft.  The difference between the two is used to determine the speed of the aircraft and the static is used to determine the altitude.  These are both vital information for a pilot.  However, the aircraft affects the flow of the air around it so, while you can calculate what the pressures should be, you need to validate what the actual readings are.  The first flights are carried out prior to calibrating the system so you need to have a bit of margin in the speeds you use until you have confidence in the readings.

Measuring static pressure is hard to do.  The plane will have a static port on the skin of the plane as well as possibly incorporated with the pitot head.  However, the air has accelerated to go around the fuselage so it is assumed to have a lower pressure than ambient.  Because the plane is disturbing the flow, you need a way to measure the pressure some distance away from the plane.  The answer is a trailing static cone.

This cone incorporates pressure measurement sensors and it attached to a long cable.  This is held on a reel inside the aircraft and fed out of the aircraft at the rear.  For airliners, this is usually through a modification to the top of the fin.  A comparison between the test aircraft and a production jet will show the different structure.  The cable dangles out of the fin and, as the speed increases, the cone pulls the cable taught and streams backwards.

When the testing is required, the cable is winched out and the cone is a long way behind the aircraft in what is relatively undisturbed airflow.  If you go to the Museum of Flight, the prototype 747 is on display and it includes the trailing cone equipment in the fuselage.  The reel is shown in its mounting location and the trailing cone is hung inside to allow you to take a look at it.

Delta Bids Farewell to the QOTS

The disappearance of the 747 from the world’s airline fleets continues apace.  The most recent company to bid the Queen of the Skies farewell is Delta.  Delta did operate 747s in the early days but its current fleet was acquired as a result of the takeover of Northwest.  Northwest has operated plenty of 747s over the years and was the launch operator of the 747-400.  They continued to operate older generation freighters for a number of years too.

Delta carried out a farewell tour for the type and it included a visit to Seattle.  Prior to going to SeaTac, the plane stopped off at Everett, the place where it, and every 747 before or since, was built.  It was a dismal day with low cloud and rain.  The plane emerged from the clag on final approach and zipped low over the threshold to touch down before reversing thrust in a cloud of spray.  It parked up at the Boeing facility next to the Future of Flight Museum where it stayed for a few hours before heading to SeaTac.

Here are a few shots of the Northwest/Delta aircraft I have photographed along with the farewell tour jet as it landed at Everett.

Where to Park Your 747?

Evergreen Aerospace Museum has a couple of 747s as part of the campus.  They are retired freighters from the now-defunct company that provided a lot of the backing for the museum when it was established.  One of the 747s is sitting out in front of the main museum building.  The other one is slightly more dramatic.  It is parked on top of a water park that is next to the museum.  The waterslides come from within the fuselage.  Getting the plane up there must have been quite something to watch.  Now it is an eye-catching way to let everyone know where the water park is.

Zoomify the Boeing Flightline


Everett is a busy production facility.  787s are being built at a fair rate while 777 production continues, albeit at a reducing pace.  There are some 747s and 767s coming out as well.  The flightline for their testing is consequently rather full.  I figured a panorama was a good idea but they are hard to put on the blog without making them too small.  Time for zoomify again.  You can pan around and zoom in to see what was on the line this day.

Before There Were 400s

The 747-400 has been around for so long now and has sold so well that it is by far the dominant version of the jet in service.  However, before the late 80s, there were previous versions of the 747.  The 100 series through to the 300 series and the SP.  The 400 series is the one you see now but, before the 400 took over, the earlier models were the ones that were everywhere.  Since I wasn’t taking a lot of photos in those days, I have a lot less photos of the earlier models but I do have some.

Pan Am operated the 100 Series jets and I saw them at Heathrow in the 80s.  200 Series freighters were built in some numbers and many are still around or were until relatively recently.  I think the only 300 Series jet I ever photographed was a Saudia example at Heathrow.  These shots are some of the ones I have come across in my time.  With the 400 Series jets now starting to disappear, it is no surprise that these earlier jets are mainly a thing of the past.