Tag Archives: Boeing

Myrtle Avenue on a Windy Saturday

My plans for a Saturday had changed as a result of something outside our control and I was free in the afternoon. With nothing I needed to do, I was tempted to make a trip to Heathrow to get some shots at Myrtle Avenue. I thought my sister might be tempted to check this out too and that proved to be the case. She was persuaded to tag along and so we headed off aiming to be there just before 3pm for the runway switch over. I wasn’t intending to be there for too long – dinner was definitely a necessity! However, there would be plenty of time to get a few different types arriving.

The wind was strong but there was quite an overcast so not perfect conditions for photos but it still offered opportunities. 3pm came and the switch happened. We were not the only ones with the idea and there were plenty of people on the grass when the first jet showed up. It was almost as much fun watching the people that were there as it was the planes. Some families had come out as had photographers and spotters. The ice cream van showed up a few times while we were there so clearly, he was doing a good business.

I did move around a bit to see the different angles. It is a short walk along the A30 to be right on the centreline amongst the approach lights. Having the planes come directly overhead gives some interesting shot possibilities. The overcast conditions were not making this easy and the shadows were dark and the clouds, while not as bright as a clear sky, do actually have way more light than the undersides. Still, it allows some playing around.

There were a few interesting types coming near the time we needed to go. I packed up the stuff but, as we walked back up Myrtle Avenue to the car, we did wait around to catch some different shots. Looking back down the street as the planes appear over the rooftops gives exactly the sort of context that is lacking when just shooting from the grass. I doubt I will go there many times, but it was a fun way to kill a couple of hours.

Heathrow Departure and I Resurrect an Old Camera

I had something coming up where I might be a bit limited in my camera that could be accommodated so I dug out an old camera as a possible alternative. This is my EOS M6. It is a little mirrorless unit that has really been overtaken by the developments that Canon has undertaken but it was still a useful piece of kit. It is an APS-C sensor camera with some specific lenses which don’t have a role in the current product lines. However, it will do the job with some limitations.

Ahead of the intended usage, I decided to take it with me on a work trip to check it was still working as expected. My journey took me out of Heathrow so I decided to see what shots I could get of the planes around us as we headed out. Things all worked pretty much as I remembered. It isn’t a fast camera and the 55-200mm lens I have on it in these circumstances is okay but not special. However, it does okay and, when shooting through a dodgy aircraft window, the problems are more likely to be that than the kit you use. Sitting on a taxiway does give you some views of jets you wouldn’t normally have access to so that is fun. Plus, some A350s will always make me smile.

What a Difference the Angle Makes

I shared some shots from a brief visit I made to Feltham to get some airliner departures from Heathrow when they were on an easterly flow. Some of the planes turn to the south shortly after takeoff giving you a view that is not quite a topside but is close to it. When photographing them, you are naturally shooting them at an angle as they are climbing quite steeply. However, if you want to play around with the shot afterwards, you can change the impression of the shot quite a lot. Rotate the fuselage until it appears horizontal in the shot and now it looks a lot more like you are flying alongside the aircraft. This is cheaper than sorting out and air to air sortie! Here are a couple of before and after shots to show what I mean.

Canadian Hornet Visits BFI

Digging back through some stuff from last year and I came back across a surprise that I got at BFI. A Canadian Hornet had been visiting – presumably an overnight stop. It was heading off to its next stop and I have no idea whether that was back over the border or further into the US. Its presence had clearly attracted a fair bit of attention. There were loads of people out on the Modern ramp when it taxied out.

Hornets can get off the ground pretty quickly and I was hoping that the pilot would not be very high by the time he came by. With all of those people on the ramp, it would be nice of him to keep it low and he didn’t stay on the deck but still made a good effort. As he passed the perimeter fence, he pulled up a bit harder and was a bit too distant for a good shot of the vortices forming on the LERX, but I managed a hint of it.

This is Further Away Than I Expected to See an Air Canada Max

During my brief visit to Heathrow, I got a bunch of long-haul departures and loads of single aisle types serving destinations closer in. However, I was caught off guard slightly by one 737 Max 8. It belonged to Air Canada. I’ve seen a few of those including when they were on test, but I hadn’t anticipated seeing one in the UK. However, the longer range of the Max means that Air Canada is using it serve Halifax from London. I guess that is not really much longer a flight than plenty in Europe, so it makes sense and is probably more efficient. I just didn’t expect to see one of their narrowbodies there. Given that the A321neos are now becoming so prevalent, this is likely to be a regular thing for other airlines too. JetBlue is already doing this so others will be too.

KC-10s Are Consigned to History

The retirement of the KC-10 Extender by the USAF caught a lot of attention when it happened. I was intending to write something then but got distracted by other things. I won’t put much together to be honest. Our team at Global Aviation Resource made a better effort of that so check that out if you are interested. Instead, I am just going to post some of my favourite images of the Gucci tanker. Strange to think it has gone given how effective it can be.

Second Weekend Flyover – Super Bugs

The football season includes both college and professional games. I shared some shots of some US Navy F-35Cs that had been in Seattle for a UW football game flyover. They were not alone, though. The Navy also brought some Super Hornets for the Seahawks game on the Sunday. Nancy had come along with me to see the F-35s depart and I was ready to move on, but she enjoyed the departure of the first jets and was happy to wait for the Hornets to go out too.

The nice thing about flyovers is that you know that they will go on time because the game will start to a schedule. They often depart early and fly around locally until the time comes for the flyover. I assume this also builds in some capacity in case they have an issue with one of the jets. We watched them blast out of Boeing Field and then headed on. The return would have been okay, but I wasn’t that bothered, and it was a nice day to be out.

Cargolux Turns on to the Approach

The joy of the 200-800 lens is the ability to get some really distant shots of something when a spontaneous opportunity presents itself. I was in Seattle at the locks in Ballard when I saw the familiar shape of a 747 approaching. Since passenger 747s are few and far between these days, I figured it would be a freighter and, sure enough, the Cargolux colours were on this example. It came close overhead as it headed for the approach path to SEA.

It was well beyond our location when it started to turn south on the approach but, courtesy of the long reach of this lens, I was able to get a decent shot of it as the topside came into view during the turn. It was a bit of a gloomy winter day, so the conditions weren’t ideal. However, no big heat haze issues to reduce image quality too much – although you aren’t getting great clarity at that range. How nice it is to see a 747 these days.

A Quick Evening Stop at Heathrow

I made a visit to Kemble for a Buccaneer event that will get a separate post. As the day went on, the weather got nicer and nicer. I took a look at the weather at Heathrow and saw that they were operating on easterlies. I figured that, since I had very limited time photographing at Heathrow and that there would be the chance to shoot from Feltham Park which I had never tried before, I would make a brief stop off there before heading home.

It was a bit late in the day which has its pluses and minuses. The light was a bit lower and would be on the jets that were turning south after getting airborne. However, I had missed the busier time for the long haul departures. However, this is Heathrow so there are always going to be some long-haul flights heading out.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I managed to catch in a relatively short period. I did just miss an Emirates A380, but I got Saudia, Cathay, American and Royal Jordanian along with the local BA and Virgin traffic. I did focus more on the widebodies but there was a Lufthansa neo and my first Air France A220-300. I needed to get home so this was a quick stop off for me but it was fun to try a new place to me, even if it is one that has been used by so many.

The Ride to the Next Phase

This is just another British Airways Boeing 787-10 so maybe not something too exciting. However, this was the plane that was going to take me and Nancy to the UK as we wrapped up our time in the US. The plane was just another plane making another trip but, for us, it was the transition from one phase of our lives to the next. I have occasionally wondered about the journeys people are making when I see a plane coming from a long way away. It could just be a work trip or a vacation but sometimes it is a really significant transformation. This flight was that for us. Onwards!