My Renton visit also allowed me to have a look around the production aircraft out on the flight line or in the factory areas. The shortage of engines has been a concern which I wrote about last year and which was supposed to be fixed by the year end. Judging by how many of these planes are still carrying ballast rather than engines, I guess things are still a bit behind schedule. Then again, with what has happened since, maybe the cost of accepting some engines is not something Boeing wants…
I was walking along the trail that goes through the park next to the airport at Renton taking a look at the stored jets. There is a bridge across the river that is used by Boeing to move jets from the production areas to the flightline and, as I got close to the bridge, I could see the tractor hooking up to a China Southern 737-800 that had yet to be painted. They looked like they might bring it across the bridge. I figured I might linger and see what was up.
Sure enough, they started to pull the jet out and towards the bridge. I stayed out of the way but the wings of a 737 hang over the trail when they are moving it. This was not a problem so they were happy for me to stand there as the jet was moved out. I figured a little iPhone video was in order.
They pulled the jet onto a taxiway and left it there so I figured it might be heading out on a test flight. With the light now slightly to the other side, I chose to go back to the car and move to the overlook on the west side of the field. The jet was starting up but they clearly had a few things to run through so I had time.
They taxied to the south threshold which initially disappointed me. The wind had flight operations in the other direction which would have meant a takeoff towards us and into the light. Going the other way meant they would be airborne a long way away and heading over the lake. What I hadn’t figured on was, just like at Everett, they would do a run with an abort first prior to flying. They carried this out and were then at the north end of the field.
A turnaround at the far end of the field and they were soon lined up. A floatplane was flying about in the background as they got ready to take off. Then it was power on and rolling. There was a lot of crap in the foreground and this was a bit of an obstruction at the point of rotation but I was able to get some good shots as they got airborne and climbed out past us. The green primer/protective film was glinting in the sun. The flight will have ended at Boeing Field where I hope everything was trouble free.
Parked up on the ramp at Renton was what appeared to me to be a de Havilland Canada Beaver on floats. However, it looked different to every other Beaver I have seen. This one seemed to have a fun that was cut right down. Initially I figured it needed a repair but then I realized that there was a large dorsal extension to the fin. This would compensate to some extent to the missing top but whether it is a good configuration, I can’t say. It didn’t look good to me but it looked airworthy so maybe it flies fine? Has anyone seen more about this and can share with me some of the history?
Engine supply is a bit of a problem for the big two airliner manufacturers at the moment. Rolls powered 787s are going through a drawn out program of rework and A320neos are sitting around awaiting both Pratt and CFM engines. Boeing is also short of CFM Leaps and the result is a lot of parked 737 Max jets at Renton and Boeing Field. Apparently, they are flying jets to Boeing Field and then trucking the engines back to Renton. As I flew over Boeing Field earlier in the week, the flightline did look full!
I wanted to see all of these parked jets so took a trip to Renton one weekend to see how things were. There were certainly plenty of jets around and quite a few had ballast weights attached to the pylons. Supposedly the backlog will not be sorted out until the fourth quarter (although some think that is a bit optimistic)!
Boeing has completed flight testing of the first version of the 737 Max family, the Max 8. The Max 9 is currently in flight test and I posted shots of one of those aircraft here. While some additional flight testing will be carried out on the Max 8, the test fleet is now done. In due course, these aircraft will be refurbished and sold on to customers. In the meantime, new production jets are being built for delivery – except when it comes to Southwest.
As a result of a crewing issue, Southwest is delaying taking its jets until they have removed the 737-300 fleet from service. Consequently, Boeing is building them but not delivering them. There are a number parked up in the parking lot at Boeing Field and some are still sitting at Renton. Engines aren’t fitted since this is one way to keep the cost down pending delivery. They will be fitted and flown nearer the delivery date.
The flight line of these dormant Max 8s sits alongside the municipal part of the airport. I created a panorama of the jets which you can zoom and pan around below.
Boeing has now certificated the first of the new Max versions of the 737. The Max8 has now entered service. I first saw a Max at some distance across San Francisco Bay as I wrote about here. I was passing Renton so I thought I would have a quick look at what was on the flightline. A few of the new jets were mixed in with the current builds of the NG aircraft. Customer jets were clearly awaiting delivery while a Max9 was also on the ramp. The test program for the Max9 is at a far earlier stage although it will be a shorter program given the amount of testing already completed by the Max8. A Max8 was close by and one awaiting delivery was behind the Max9.
