Tag Archives: civil

Rush Hour at Founders’ Plaza for Qantas

During my weekend in Texas, I headed to Founders’ Plaza to shoot some arrivals.  I timed my time there to start around the time when the Qantas A380 was due to arrive.  I got there with a few minutes to spare and struggled to find a parking spot.  The place was packed.  I found a space in the overflow area and got the camera out just in time to get a shot of the arriving jet.

As soon as it landed, everyone started to go.  A short while later, there was a backup of traffic as the cars filed out of the parking lot and away.  Within ten minutes, it wasn’t deserted but it was significantly quieter.  The thing is, shooting in the middle of the day was not great from a light perspective and things got progressively better as the afternoon wore on.  However, most people were interested in the A380 and after that they were done.

What to Do With A Big Tow Bar

One of the regular Volga-Dnepr AN124 flights to Everett was departing.  The jet was towed out of the Boeing ramp and on to the taxiway for start up and departure.  The Antonov is a big jet and its four wheel nose gear needs a special tow bar.  When you are one of the largest freighters in the world, why not just take it with you.  Once he plane was in place, the crew rolled the tow bar around to the rear cargo ramp.  There, they hooked it to two lifting hoists and the tow bard was hoisted into the aircraft and the rear doors closed.

If someone knows whether they leave it on the hoists in flight or whether it is stowed and secured in some other location when inside, please let me know in the comments.  I do like the self sufficiency of the whole approach.  Given how often they come to Everett, having a tow bar on site would seem plausible but I guess they will need it at any of their other, less frequented, stops so they have to carry it all of the time.  You never know where you are going next.

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.

Founders’ Plaza at DFW

I had heard about Founder’s Plaza at DFW before but I had never been there.  I took a couple of trips there during my free weekend in Texas.  It is a nice place to watch the planes and had a steady stream of visitors while I was there.  Not only are there seats with sunshades, but there is plenty of grass on which to hang out and kids can run around without parents being too worried.  You are close to the approach path for the western runways at DFW and there is a lot of traffic to watch.

You also see the planes taxiing out for departure on this side but the shots of those planes are sketchy as heat haze is a bit tricky for most of the day.  It does appear that you are able to walk around towards the centerline of the outer runway but I didn’t try heading over there on this occasion.  As the evening light settled in, the conditions got better and better.  I imagine it gets a bit repetitive if you are a regular but, as a visitor, it was great to try somewhere new.  I did end up with a lot of American Airlines jets, of course.

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!

My First A350-1000 – Thanks Qatar

The A350-1000 has started to be delivered in some numbers.  However, none of the operators that I get to see regularly has any in their fleet at this point.  Some of the early deliveries went to Qatar Airways and they have been flying them to Dallas.  Since I had a free weekend in the area on a work trip, I decided to catch my first examples.

Things conspired a little against me, though.  On the Saturday, the weather that had just passed through had left some northerly winds which meant the approaches were coming from the south which is not so handy for getting shots.  I did find a location but it wasn’t a great spot.  Heat haze was still a bit of a problem and the angles were rather limited.

On the Sunday, normal service was resumed with a southerly flow.  However, just before the A350 showed up, they decided to do a sweep of the runway.  They moved arrivals to the inside runway which meant it the Qatar jet was a bit far away compared to everything that had been arriving on the outer runway a short while before.  Still, I got the shots.  It also taxied out just before the sun went down.  However, they crossed to the other side for departure so not much of a shot opportunity.

Boeing’s T-38 Finally Comes Out in the Sun

I have struggled to get shots of the Boeing chase aircraft in decent light.  Whether it is the T-33s or the T-38s, my encounters have generally been on overcast days.  Finally my luck changed and one of the T-38s came in to Paine Field for a couple of approaches on a sunny day.  It was the middle of the day so the light angles weren’t great but it was certainly a step up.  A couple of passes and then they headed to Boeing Field.

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.