Tag Archives: Boeing

Down By the Lake at Love Field

Bachman Lake sits at one end of Dallas Love Field.  Early one morning, I decided to see whether the trail alongside the lake made for a good spot to get some shots.  The traffic at Love Field is heavily skewed towards Southwest 737s so I wasn’t expecting a lot of variety but instead wanted to see what angles I could get.  It also would be nice to have a stroll along the lake in the morning light.

There are two runways at Love Field so you have a bit of a guess as to which one will be used at any one time but that is fine.  The view across the lake as the jets come to the northerly runway provides a nice wider view of things.  The near runway allows getting together front quarter shots or to go right underneath for a different perspective.  While most arrivals were Southwest jets, I did see a couple of corporate jets while I was there so there was a bit of variety.

Wright Patterson C-17 Visiting Texas

I headed to Alliance during my time in the Dallas area.  There was a C-17 parked on the ramp a bit away from where I was.  However, it was in nice light at the beginning of the day.  Things improved a lot when I saw the beacons come on followed by the sound of engines cranking.  It wasn’t too long before the jet taxied for departure.  The Wright Patterson markings on the fin meant it was easy to see that this jet was from Dayton.  I don’t know if that was where it was headed or whether it had stopped at Alliance en route to somewhere else.

Never Heard of 21Air Before

One Saturday morning, I was scanning what was moving around the Seattle area and saw a Boeing 767-200 coming to SeaTac, operated by 21Air.  I had never heard of this operator before and the picture online made the jet look like it was painted more interestingly than the average freighter.  I figured I would pop down to get some shots, even though the conditions were not great.  The light actually perked up a bit when the jet arrived so the results were better than I hoped.  I asked a buddy about the operator and he, having never seen them before, was actually looking at two of their jets in LA.  I wonder why they are suddenly on the west coast.

Sunrise on Stored KC-46s

Boeing is now delivering KC-46s to the Air Force at a rate that is a bit of an improvement.  There are still plenty of issues with the project (with some only recently discovered) but at least jets are now making their way to the customer, even if they are not flying them too much!  However, there are still a lot of the jets parked at Paine Field.  The early morning sun provides some nice light on the line of aircraft.  It is a rather cluttered view with plenty of airfield material in the shot but the light makes it a bit more appealing.

Dreamlifter in the Early Mist

My buddy Paul was visiting so we had a day out looking for some interesting shot opportunities.  We started off the day at Paine Field before the sun was really up.  A Dreamlifter was due in and we figured we would give it a try.  However, as we drove towards Everett, the fog was pretty thick.  The field is on the top of the hill so we thought it might be clear, but things did not look promising as we got closer.  The low cloud was also blocking off the sun that was just above the horizon which, given that it would have been backlighting the jet, might have been a bonus.

The Dreamlifter came out of the cloud very late on the approach and I was able to grab a few shots of it as it emerged.  It was a rather ethereal look as it came into view.  The dampness of the air meant that the plane was pulling vortices as it floated across the threshold and in to the touchdown zone.  Conditions might not have been the sort of thing that sounded good, but the result was a really cool shot opportunity.  As the plane taxied in to park, we got more shots of it although there was one that would have been fantastic, but Paul only spotted it when it was too late and I didn’t see it at all.  I won’t say what it was but maybe there will be another chance in which case you will see it here!

Stored 777Xs (777-9)

Boeing has many internal issues with its planes currently but, when it comes to the 777X program, GE is the one that is causing the problems.  The lack of engines for the test program means the jets are on the ground.  Meanwhile, the production line continues to turn out the airframes at the rate original scheduled.  Consequently, there are stored jets around Paine Field.  The first two jets were turned out in house colors and have appeared on the blog.  Meanwhile, a couple of white jets have appeared and they are stored on the flight line.

The latest two jets I have seen are not even painted.  They are in the protective film the airframe is built in which looks a bit like primer.  Stored on the airfield, they will get engines at some point and then go to the paint shop.  In the interim, they have ballast attached to the engine mounts.  The first time I saw one, I thought it was another KC-46 being stored until the fin caught my eye and I realized it was a 777X.

Dreams Take Flight

Boeing has marked up a 787-9 is a special color scheme to reflect their internal charity organization.  It is a jet that was supposed to go to Hainan Airlines but the financial issues with the airline means that they have not taken delivery of a number of jets.  This is not a paint scheme but is a giant vinyl wrap.  It looks very impressive.  The jet has been used for flyovers at events Boeing has sponsored and it is also going to Dubai for the air show (which will be in the past by the time this post goes live).

Finding a New Place for the Outer Arrivals

SeaTac is not the easiest place to get shots of the arrivals in the afternoon if the flow is from the north.  The inner runway is okay but the outer is not so easy without bugging the more experienced locals.  I was heading to the airport for a meeting but, with easy traffic, I got there a little early and decided to do a quick trip around the airport.  I came across a gravel parking area that gives a view of short final.  The planes appear quickly and are soon below the sight lines for the runway but there is a window in which you can shoot.  On this day the weather was crummy with rain constantly coming down – sometimes very heavily.  This was just a recce but I did get an A220 and some other types in the few minutes I was there before heading to my meeting.

SeaTac Widebody Evening Arrivals

I was out one evening awaiting the arrival of something that currently escapes my memory.  In the meantime, I was in position to get the arrival of a few widebodies.  Since SeaTac tends to put the widebodies on the inner runway, they are the ones you can get from this park location while almost everything else (plus the occasional wide body!) goes to the outer runway behind you and through the trees.

On this evening, we had four widebodies come in.  Condor brought their regular 767 flight.  This were joined by an Air China Cargo Boeing 747-400F, a FedEx 777F and last but by no means least, a British Airways 747-400.  The evening light was very favorable and this location is both easily accessible and pretty good for this approach.

Ryanair Max Jets in Storage

Ryanair is the launch customer for the Max 200 version of the 737-8 Max.  The Max 200 name is going away I believe since it is a high density version of the -8.  With the grounding of the Max fleet continuing, a number of the Ryanair jets are now parked awaiting deliveries to recommence.  I was walking through the park at Renton on a sunny weekend morning and the Ryanair jets were lined up across the airport from me.  Knowing Michael O’Leary’s enthusiasm for direct communication, I would love to know how his conversations with Boeing over compensation are going.