Tag Archives: experimental

Lucky Encounters With NG’s Testbed

This is a continuation of my string of good luck. I was back at Boeing Field awaiting the G700 movements. I had headed down to the south end of the field and was glancing at FlightRadar24 when I saw a CRJ700 on the display making a track that looked like it was coming to BFI. Normally, aircraft like that show up with a call sign/flight number rather than just as a CRJ. For some reason, I thought this might be an unusual CRJ and my mind jumped to the Northrop Grumman testbeds.

I had missed them once at BFI before when one took off while I was over at the museum. Having seen the BAC-111 testbed many years ago, I wanted to catch this one. I decided to try and get to the other end to see what it was just in case. The road along the airfield is not well suited to swift travel but I was patient as I figured there was just enough time. I made it to the other end and grabbed the camera quickly. Barely any time passed and then there it was. It was indeed one of the NG testbeds. Result!

I hung out for a while before deciding to head back to the other end. Nothing interesting was due in so I figured I’d see what was departing. When I got back, I pulled up FR24 just to see what was moving on the field and, lo and behold, the CRJ was up at the hold, ready to go. Rapidly out of the car, grab camera and, just as I am ready, here it comes. This was a continuation of my string of good luck. It’s all going well. Then I see that some Sabreliners are heading north. The streak continues!

Experimental Grand Caravan That Was Lost

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I was down at Renton and drove around the back of the ramp. There was a Cessna Grand Caravan parked up and I was tempted to get a shot. They have made that area a lot harder to see recently and I didn’t bother. However, I was up on the other side of the field at the overlook when it taxied out for departure. I heard the call sign was experimental which caught my interest and I grabbed some shots as it took off.

A few days later I heard of a plane crash up near Snohomish. I had seen this plane flying patterns up there when I was looking earlier in the day and, when I saw pictures on the news sites of the crash, I could see the registration was the same plane. I understand they were trialing something new – perhaps a baggage pod – but I have no idea what happened. It looked as if the wing had separated in flight since it was a long way away. The test pilot was one of the Kenmore Air staff. He died along with one other person on board. A very sad story.

Jet Ranger X (Experimental)

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The Bell 206 JetRanger was an immensely successful single turbine helicopter and was ubiquitous for decades. However, the type was dated and more modern helicopters had come along and taken market share. Bell needed to come up with a solution and that was the Bell 505 which has since become branded as the Jet Ranger X. The project was not as smooth as intended but it has now entered more widespread service.

That didn’t mean I had actually seen one, though, until recently when I got to photograph one at Boeing Field. At this point, trouble has reached the program again with fatigue failures in the controls for the right seat meaning you aren’t supposed to fly one solo from that seat until a redesigned control is fitted. This will get addressed, of course, but it is another issue for the type. The example I saw was marked as Experimental so I wonder what purpose it was being used for. According to the FAA, it is registered to Bell but what it is doing is anybody’s guess. Putting aside its technical issues, my biggest problem with the 505 is that I think it doesn’t look very good. It reminds me of a tadpole and seems to have a slight feel of a toy design compared to the other types in this class (or the original JetRanger). That is not going to make or break it of course – just a personal observation.

Talon Hate

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Talon Hate is a program that the Air Force is running involving an infrared sensor mounted in the front of a centerline fuel tank. It is mounted on an F-15 from the operational test unit at Nellis AFB. The first time I saw it, I was walking along the flight line at Nellis. We were shooting with the California ANG unit that was the next space along the line. As we walked past the Talon Hate jet, we were under strict instructions not to photograph it. I was right there but nothing I could do.

During my visit to Red Flag 16-4, the Talon Hate jet flew a couple of times. It flew with a second F-15 each time and sometimes with other jets. The pod is clearly visible on the jet but the other modifications are less conspicuous. There is a satellite communications antenna mounted on the back on the jet. When it turns for final, you can see the antenna mount. I don’t know what the outcome of the program will be but it is cool to see the venerable F-15 still trying out new stuff.