Tag Archives: cargo

FedEx Canadian Style

I saw something at Vancouver that I hadn’t seen before and that was a FedEx jet that was not registered in the US. I had assumed that all of their fleet was N registered but, apparently, that is not the case. A number of the jets are on the Canadian register and the 757 that departed while I was there was one of them. My first commercial flight was on a 757 with British Airways and many of those jets ended up with FedEx. I don’t know the origin of this example but it was good to see it still providing good service.

Anyone Know a Paint Shop Around Here?

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Portland International is home to a paint facility owned by Boeing and operated under contract to them. It provides additional paint capacity for their jets assembled up in the Seattle area. One of the jets landed at Portland while I was there for the ANG open house. It was a 777 freighter. It landed on the runway closest to us and turned on to the taxiway just in front of where we were standing. It then taxied back to the opposite end of the field where the paint facility is located. The only clue as to what airline it was destined for was the rudder which had a small element of the future colors. My guess is Qatar but I’m sure someone can put me straight if that is wrong.

A Primer 747 Really Catches the Sun

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A primer finish on a jet looks a lot more dramatic in sunny conditions. The green finish of the protective film is quite reflective so the sun really makes the plane shine. This 747-8F freighter was carrying out some production test flying from Everett during a visit. I was getting ready to leave when it came in so I got a bunch of shots. As I was driving away, I heard the sound of a jet and it turned out the plane had landed, turned around and taken off in the opposite direction.

I was a bit annoyed as I saw it climb and turn pretty sharply – I assume it was lightly loaded. Then it became apparent it was going to make a teardrop turn and come back in to land again. Since I was now on the road home, I pulled off into a parking lot somewhere close to the line of the approach path and got the camera back out. Into view it came and flew across right ahead of me. I got a few extra shots. Not the dramatic climbing turn but still a nice to have addition.

Dreamlifter Shape Explored

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Since the Dreamlifters are a regular feature around this part of the world, catching a movement is not a big deal. That gives you a chance to think about shooting the planes in a different way. I have been interested in the shape of the structure and the texture it has. Since the Dreamlifters have been built to serve one purpose – that of moving bits of the 787s around the world – they are functional rather than elegant. The shape is designed to maximize the capacity.

Meanwhile, the modifications have been made to a base airframe so some of the joints between the new structure and the original are pretty agricultural. The number of fasteners that are visible on the surface are substantial. This is not a problem. The plane serves a purpose and it does this well. The way in which the fuselage shape transitions from the original 747 lines into the Dreamlifter lines are also very interesting. A tighter shot gives you a good view of how the curves come together.

The Dreamlifter is not a beauty. I don’t even think it is as good looking as the Belugas that Airbus uses which have a more integrated feel to their design. However, it does the job well and it is nice to have a different shape in an era when every airliner is looking like every other. A bit of variety is a welcome thing and, while I am lucky to be close to them on a regular basis, I shall continue to appreciate what I get to see.

Ruslan Chases the Small Guys at Paine Field

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Antonov 124s make a regular appearance at Paine Field. Boeing obviously receives a lot of shipments which I am guessing may be engine deliveries. Plenty of the flights come from Columbus OH which is near a GE plant and the GE90-115 fan is too big for most freighters when installed. However, it could be for something else. Anyway, I got one coming in to Everett recently. Paine Field is a popular field for light aircraft so you get a lot of them flying patterns on the main runway. One called up on final when the Ruslan was turning on to final. They made it in without any trouble but it was quite amusing to see the little plane on final with the unmistakable silhouette of the Antonov not far behind.

FedEx Sneak in But the Background is Good

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While on the hunt for a different aircraft, I was getting some shots of the aircraft coming in to SeaTac from the south. I was pleased to see a FedEx jet showing up on FlightRadar24 but it seemed to be rather close to another plane. It turns out they were scheduling them in on roughly parallel approaches and the FedEx was going to the center runway – not near me. I was a bit annoyed and the view of the center was a bit obscured from where I was. Haze was also going to be a problem – plus the odd power line. However, there was one upside. Mount Rainier is in that direction so, while the shot wasn’t what I wanted, it wasn’t a total loss.

If You Snooze You Lose – Missing the Dreamlifter

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The move to Seattle meant lots of new things to shoot and that includes the Boeing 747-400LCF Dreamlifters. These transport the components for the Boeing 787s between the production locations and the final assembly lines. We were sitting indoors one Sunday afternoon when I saw one was inbound to Paine Field. I figured the light would be okay so I would head out to catch it. I had a bit of time. Did I get up there and then or did I mess around for a bit? You guessed right if you think I was wasting time.

I did finally get going. I head the scanner on in the car to listen out for it and, sure enough, as I was driving towards the field I heard them call final. As I got closer, the unmistakable shape of the jet was on short final. By the time I got there, it was safely on the ground. Crap! I was in place for it taxiing back to the base they operate out of. However, I would have been a lot happier if I had caught it in the air. Was the other stuff I was doing worth it? Since I can’t remember what it was, I seriously doubt it.

A Couple of Connie’s “Finest”

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Red Flag is a time for lots of military aircraft to do their thing. However, it isn’t only the military that show up. Transporting everything that is required to support lots of deploying jets might be done by military transports but it is not unusual for civilian organizations to get some work. Whether it was Red Flag support or something else, we got to see a couple of 747-400 freighters while we were there. Both of them came from the same company, Kalitta.

One of the jets was fully painted up and showed up on the approach one day. It flew a straight in approach and landed to either deposit or pick up some bulky items. The second jet was a bit different. First, it was in plane white with just some Kalitta markings. More importantly, it arrived during a Red a Flag mission. It ended up holding overhead for a long time while the launch was underway. Finally they brought them down for an approach. However, it wasn’t clear which way they would come. Nellis has a habit of bringing jets in from different ends almost at whim.

At first it looked like they would land on the 21s. Then they looked like they would go to the other end. We jumped in the car and headed that way. Just as we were getting close, the jet turned away and headed east. We did a quick about turn and followed suit. We hadn’t gone too far when they reversed course. Where they deliberately toying with us? Another quick reversal and we were getting close but now they were turning on to final. Time ran out and we pulled in to a parking lot by a tire dealership just as it came in to view. We had to work for that one.

777 Freighters at O’Hare

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Nothing terribly timely about this post. These shots were taken quite a while ago during a visit to Chicago. (At least they are so old that they are from when I lived there.) There was a time when the 747 was the freighter of choice. There are still missions for which the 747 is still required but few loads require the nose loading and the most versatile of the big freighters these days is the 777. (It seems that the 777 is taking over everything that the 747 used to do.)

One afternoon at O’Hare included a couple of 777 freighters. AeroLogic had one of theirs in town. I saw it coming in and also got so see it head out again. I don’t know where it was coming from or going to. Meanwhile, Air France also had one of their freighters making an appearance. It’s a shame that the 747 is not so prevalent anymore. It is a cooler looking jet and the 777 freighter is barely distinguishable from the multitude of 777s on passenger duty. However, that is the way it is these days.

Before There Were 400s

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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.