Tag Archives: a-26

Another Encounter with Sue

I was sitting at Boeing Field having had a relaxing time getting some shots on a sunny afternoon when I got a notification that the A-26, Sexy Sue, was up again from Renton.  It is just over 10 minutes to get over there so I figured I would have plenty of time to get across once my next arrival was in.  The trip across to Renton was not an issue and I was there in plenty of time for their return from the San Juans.

They took some really long winded route to the south of the field before doubling back on themselves, all specifically to avoid the best of the light at the field.  Things had clouded over a little by the time they arrived but I still was okay with the shots.  I then headed down to the parking area at the entrance to the airport to be in position for them to taxi in.  I got there just in time and they taxied in towards me and shut down.

I waited for them to put the plane away.  I am not sure why they spent such a long time thinking about it.  Part of me wondered whether they were waiting for me to get lost but finally they started to move her back in to the hangar.  Having a look at some of the shots afterwards, I saw the BOAC Speedbird logo on one side of the fuselage along with a lot of names of individuals.  If you know the story behind this, please let me know.

Sexy Sue Returns

An A-26 Invader, marked up as Sexy Sue, is based at Renton.  It is flown pretty frequently.  It is normal for it to take off and head up towards the San Juans before looping around and coming back down to Renton.  A flight lasts about 40 minutes which means, even if I knew exactly when it got airborne, the chances of getting to Renton in time to get its return are pretty limited.  I have caught it out and about one time when it landed from over the lake on a cloudy day.

My day off with the planes had me at Boeing Field when I got a notification that the A-26 was airborne from Renton.  I was anticipating the arrival of something at BFI so wondered where I should put my priorities.  It is about fifteen minutes from Boeing Field to Renton so a quick reposition is possible.  I figured I could probably just make it when my other arrival touched down.  However, I had assumed incorrectly about the direction of flight and the A-26 was heading off through Snoqualmie Pass instead of going north.

I tracked it for a while anticipating a turn but it kept going and eventually landed at Walla Walla.  I did wonder whether they were heading to Oshkosh or not.  Once it was on the ground, I forgot about it for a while.  Then, when checking something else a little later on, I realized that they were up again and heading back home.  Again, there was a question about something inbound to BFI but timing looked good so I waited for the first shot to be made and then hopped in the car to Renton.  The lights all seemed to take forever but I was at the overlook in plenty of time.  I wondered whether they would try for an approach across the lake and I would need to relocate but there was a lot of light aircraft traffic so they slotted in to the normal pattern having gone north a way before turning back in.

They were easy to see while downwind and then turned across the housing around Renton before lining up on final with Mt Rainier in the background.  I decided to risk a slower shutter speed since the light was very bright and with such a cluttered background, I needed to blur things as much as possible to try and make the plane stand out.  It worked a bit but it was still noticeable how much the background takes over shots from that location.  As soon as they touched down, I was ready to head back to BFI since more things were due there.  This day off was proving very fruitful.

A Bonus With the A-26

Aside from my two HondaJets and a little other traffic, things were not looking too busy at Boeing Field.  I was contemplating my next move when I glanced at FlightRadar and saw a Douglas A-26 was flying over Seattle.  This is one that is based at Renton and used as a personal transport by the owner.  I have never seen it in action before.  Consequently, I was quite excited.  At first, I thought it looked like it was turning towards Boeing Field which would have been handy but then it headed north up towards the San Juan Islands.

I figured that, even if it was landing up there, it would be coming back to Renton later on so headed off in that direction to work out what flow the pattern was using.  The A-26 had departed over the lake to the north but all of the movements now seemed to be from the north so I figured it would come in from that direction.  No chance of shooting it from above at the overlook point at the south end but still plenty of options.

Unfortunately, they have closed off part of the park at the north end of the field and erected fencing.  This takes away an area of higher ground which gives a good view of the threshold.  However, with a couple of Cessnas bashing the circuit, I was able to see roughly what would be good and what wouldn’t.  A check on FlightRadar showed that they had finished flying around the San Juans and were coming back over the city.

They followed the water from the coast in to Lake Washington and I thought would be coming straight for me.  However, they continued over Bellevue instead.  I wondered if they were off somewhere else but soon they had turned back and were heading for Renton.  Looking up the lake, I could pick them out a long way out, long before they had even configured for landing.  With the fall foliage still evident on some of the shorelines, it made for quite a nice shot – something that wouldn’t have been the case at the other end.

The A-26 is pretty speedy so they were soon on final approach and I grabbed a bunch of shots both tight and wider.  Then they zipped by and behind the newly erected fencing!  I packed up my stuff and headed off but, as I drove back south, I saw they were still on the ramp outside the hangar.  I pulled in a watched them put the plane away.  Only at the last minute did I realize that I could have got a closer shot from near the gate but I shouldn’t complain given how lucky I had been to see them out on my day off.

A-26 Invader Visitor

I have seen very few airborne A-26 Invaders in my life.  They have been in museums and have been on this blog but the last time I think I saw one active was at North Weald in the late 80s.  To see one at Skyfair was, therefore, a treat.  It flew a couple of times and was flown with some vigor during its flypasts so we got a good look at it.  It is a beefy looking aircraft and to see it hurtling by was a lot of fun.

A-26 Invader

The A-26 is a plane that had a longer life in service than many of its stablemates.  It found use as a ground attack aircraft in Vietnam despite having its origins in WWII.  It cropped up along the way between these extremes.  Some of them found use as corporate transports too including the one I saw at Lyon Air Museum.  It had been used by Howard Hughes at some point.  Now it is restored to something closer to its operational configuration.

It was tight in amongst the other exhibits which made getting good shots tricky.  It is also finished in black which can make the photography a touch more challenging.  However, having not shot a lot of them, I was keen to make the best of it.  These shots are a summary of what I got as I checked out this speedy beast.  How I would like to get some airborne shots of one.  I believe one lives close to me but I have yet to see it out in the wild.