Tag Archives: Boeing

The T-38 is Back Out Again

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It has been a long time since I last saw one of the Boeing T-38 chase jets.  I don’t know whether they hadn’t flown for a long time or whether it is just I didn’t know anything about it.  However, one of them started showing up a while back making a series of flights.  The question was whether I would be able to be around on one of those occasions?  Fortunately, the answer proved to be yes.  I have not always been lucky with the light on the T-38s but, on this occasion, things were pretty good.  When will I catch one or other of them next?

Leaking Fuel and Engines That Won’t Start

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The Memorial Day weekend included the visit to Boeing Field of four F/A-18 Hornets from the US Marine Corps.  I had heard that they were in the area but wasn’t able to get out to see them until the Monday of the holiday weekend when they were due to head home.  Weather was a bit overcast so not great for shooting a grey jet!  Still, I wasn’t going to ignore them.  When I got there, the crews were just beginning to look like they would be ready to go.

However, things were not going to be smooth.  One of the jets was the color jet and I had heard that it had been leaking fuel during the stay.  Sure enough, when they fueled it up for departure, it must have leaked again because a bunch of ground crew – presumably from the FBO – were suddenly out with absorbent pads and brooms to clean up whatever had spilled.  This took quite a while to get done so the four pilots were hanging around the jets waiting to be clear to go.

Finally, everything was tidied up and they crewed in for departure.  The sound of engines starting was a positive one but, as one jet fired up one of the engines, it definitely didn’t sound like it was spooling up at the same rate as the others.  Sure enough, one jet shut down and the pilot hopped out of the cockpit, walked back down the fuselage and slid to the ground.  I’m not sure what he did to the jet but he then retraced his steps, back up on the jet and strapped back in.  This time, the start sequence went okay and they were all ready to taxi.

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!

Qantaslink 717 Finally Makes It Through Seattle

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Word was circulating amongst the local photographers about the impending arrival of a Boeing 717.  Qantaslink has been operating the 717s in Australia for many years but is now in the process of replacing them.  One of the first to be replaced had made its way as far as Anchorage and was heading to Victorville for repainting and refitting for its next operator.  It was due to stage through Seattle before the final leg to California.  However, while the flight plan was filed, it never left Anchorage.

The process was repeated for multiple days.  I think it may have been over a week before the plane actually moved from its parking spot in Anchorage and headed for the runway.  To be honest, I was still wondering whether it would get airborne but, once it did, I prepared to head down to BFI.  The journey must have been relatively uneventful as they arrived when expected.  There was already a flight plan for the next stage of the trip, so I hung around waiting for the departure.

Part of me wondered whether the jet would break again but all was well, and they headed off.  The flight crew had Australian accents and were working for a ferry company judging by the flight number.  With the plane safely delivered, I am now curious to see whether more of the fleet will make the same journey.  Maybe we’ll get bored of Qantas liveried 717s coming through.

Skylease Cargo 747 Makes a Gloomy Weekend Appearance

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Not long ago I posted about the variety of operators of 747s that I have photographed over the years.  The number of operators is gradually declining so, the likelihood of a new one showing up near me is reducing.  However, I did get a new opportunity one weekend.  Skylease Cargo had made a few trips to Paine Field for Boeing but these had all been when I was at work.  This time, one was due in on a weekend.

I headed up first thing in the morning to catch it coming in from Miami.  The weather was not good at home and it was worse at Everett.  There was a low cloud base.  Things were rather gloomy but you take the opportunities when they come along.  At least, since the weather was bad, I wasn’t going to have to worry about being backlit this early in the morning.

No doubt about it, the conditions did not result in shots that I am going to treasure.  A white jet on a cloudy day is never going to provide a competition winner.  Never mind.  It was a new operator of a favorite jet and what else was I doing on a dull weekend morning anyway?

Western Global Decides to Mess With Us

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We had a brief phase a few months ago when Western Global was bringing in jets to Paine Field.  The first one I encountered was a 747 freighter.  It arrived in okay conditions but was flight planned for a departure that afternoon.  The weather was getting better and better and, when they missed their original slot, I wasn’t complaining since the light was only going to improve.  However, there was absolutely no sign of them moving.  The crew appeared at one point and then left again.  Eventually it became clear that they weren’t going.

The jet was parked in a position that meant the tail was slightly obscured.  That meant the shot was not quite what I would have liked but it was going to have to do.  They didn’t end up leaving until the next day but that was no longer the weekend, so I didn’t see it go.  A touch frustrating but such is life!

Sunny FCLP With a Color Jet

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With a nice forecast, the wind in the right direction and an indication of some operations, I figured a day off was worthwhile and headed up to Coupeville to see if I could get some Growler operations.  I was pleased to see the fire trucks getting ready when I arrived, and that the meatball was at the north end.  Looked like I was going to be in luck.  Yes and no!  I did get some ops and plenty of patterns but only a couple of jets actually showed up.  Fortunately, one of them was a squadron color jet so I was able to get a bunch of shots to play with.  I also shot a load of video so here is the edit of that too.  Could have been a busier day but they finished up and the crews headed off so I did the same.

Xáat Kwáani

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The repainting of the Salmon Thirty Salmon jet caught a lot of attention and was the subject of a previous post.  The jet was not destined to be in standard Alaska Airliners colors, though.  Instead, it went to be painted in a special livery that has a salmon connection.  This time it is adopting a native theme to the painting.  The name is Xáat Kwáani which means Salmon People.  It was unveiled in an event in Anchorage and made a couple of flights within Alaska before coming home to Seattle.  It arrived on a Friday evening so plenty of people were out after work to catch it landing.  I’m sure I’ll see it again plenty of times but it was nice to get it on a lovely evening.

Different Angles on Sentimental Journey

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A jump back to the visit of Sentimental Journey last year.  Because she was here for a while, I was able to shoot from a variety of locations to try and get some different shots of her.  The weather played ball while she was in Seattle unlike the conditions at Arlington the following week.  It was fun to try some different angles on the same plane since I had got the initial shots I wanted.

The Negus 747-400

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We were in the Cotswolds for a wedding earlier this year and the morning of the wedding found my with little to do while everyone was getting ready.  I was only 30 minutes or so from the old RAF airfield of Kemble, now Cotswolds Airport.  Surely it would be churlish to not take a look since I was killing time?  Kemble has quite a lot of interest and will mean there are several posts to come.  The first will focus on one of the largest residents.

British Airways painted three of its 747s in retro liveries.  The jets had different interior configurations which meant they were used on specific routes.  I got to shoot the BOAC jet and the Landor jet when they came to Seattle but I never saw the Negus jet.  When BA retired the 747 fleet during the pandemic, the Negus jet apparently made its way to Kemble to become a venue rather than get reduced to parts and scrap metal.  However, I didn’t know this.

Consequently, I was rather surprised to find the jet sitting there as I drove up to the airport main buildings.  There are other 747s stored on the field at Kemble but this one is very accessible.  It was early in the day when I arrived so I could wander around unfettered but there were already crews showing up to bring in fixtures for an event that they were going to be hosting.  Renting out a 747 for an event sound like just the sort of thing I would do!  I was very pleasantly surprised to see the third of the retro jets and to see it in such good condition.  (Sure, they have a few nacelle panels that have been switched around but it still seems in good shape.)