Tag Archives: transport

MC-130 on Exercise

Leave a reply

In this previous post about the hangars at Moffett Field, I mentioned that I was there to cover an exercise.  The MC-130s were a big part of the exercise.  They were loading up and launching down to remote landing strips on the California coast.  The holds were full of equipment including off road vehicles.  Loading these up was a tight fit.  While the crews spent time getting everything ready to go, I was reasonably free to wander around the airframe and get some shots.

Here are some that I got that day.  These were some of the oldest Combat Shadow (and maybe Hercules) airframes around at the time and I suspect that they have been replaced by now, I think by Combat King J models.

First JASDF KC-46 Pegasus

Leave a reply

The Japanese (JASDF) were a customer for the tanker version of the Boeing 767 when Boeing was offering it in the early days.  Japan and Italy were the only customers that I am aware of for that aircraft.  Therefore, it was not a massive surprise that Japan ordered the KC-46 when Boeing developed it for the USAF.  The first aircraft is now being completed and has been parked on the ramp up at Everett recently.  Here it is undergoing some testing.  Hopefully we shall get to see it flying soon.

Pegasus Heading Out and Back

Leave a reply

Boeing seems to have addressed a lot of the problems with the KC-46 Pegasus program (but not all of them yet) and so the Air Force is taking delivery of jets at a regular rate.  Since plenty have been built, there are enough to deliver.  I was at Paine Field a while back when one of the jets was heading out on a test flight.  I ended up being there for both the departure and the arrival since the flight was not that long.  The good summer light that Seattle gets but we don’t like people to know about meant I got some reasonable shots of it.

Lucky C-17 Overflight

Leave a reply

This goes back quite a while to a day when I was at Paine Field for some 777X activities.  After all that I had been there for was done, I was getting ready to pack up and go when I saw something off to the east approaching the field.  It was large but seemed rather slow.  It turned out to be a C-17.  It made a pass straight across the field and I was hoping that they would break into the pattern but I was to be disappointed.  They turned to the south and headed off towards McChord.  Still, it was a nice addition to a sunny day of aviation photography.

C-32s

Leave a reply

The demise of a bunch of airline fleets of 757s at the moment is a shame as it is a type I was always fond of from the days of British Airways using them for shuttle services around the UK as well as being the first commercial jet I flew on heading to Lisbon from Heathrow.  The military has also made use of the jet of course.  The New Zealand 757 displays in the past have been pretty impressive and maybe that gives me an idea for a future post.  The USAF has a bunch of them, designated as C-32, and they are used for VIP transportation.

They are not a type that you often come across but I have seen them on a few occasions.  An Andrews AFB Open House provided one movement – they are based there so not such a surprise.  Another was at Nellis AFB when one launched just prior to a Red Flag launch when we were waiting between the runways for the action to kick off.  The VIP colors of the USAF jets are quite elegant and they suit the 757 nicely.

Marine Corps Herc

Leave a reply

The heat haze was a bit of a problem on this day so I was hoping that they would roll out a bit long to get into usable range.  They couldn’t have been more obliging.  It turned out to be a US Marine Corps KC-130J.  They didn’t exit early for the taxiway even though they could have done so with ease but instead rolled all the way to near me before exiting and taxiing back to the ramp in the other direction.  This was very kind of them.  I got them close enough in to have little in the way of heat haze and to get a decent look at them.

Some A400M Samples

Leave a reply

As I was skipping through some images, I saw a few extra shots of the A400M at RIAT.  I figured that I hadn’t seen many examples of the transport in service – just the test aircraft performing in displays.  However, I have seen both Luftwaffe and Armee de l’Air planes at times so thought I would share a few shots of them plus some test planes for good measure.

Dreamliner Wings Moving to the Factory

Leave a reply

I have shown a bunch of images of the Dreamlifter bringing in components to Paine Field for the production line including shots of the unloading of parts.  During a more recent visit, I happened to be there when they were moving a pair of wings from the storage facility to the production facility across the airfield.  They had escort vehicles to lead and follow up as they crossed the runway.  The wings look a lot less impressive in the travel jigs.  The completed 787 looks substantial but the wings alone don’t provide the same impact.

Wright Patterson C-17 Visiting Texas

Leave a reply

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.

Car Transporter

Leave a reply

The movement of cars around the world requires a specialist type of ship and, while they may be functionally effective, they are not good looking ships.  They have the appearance of a box on the water.  The large rear loading ramp allows the cars to be loaded and then they get driven around the multitude of decks for storage.  This example was coming up the Solent and heading in to Southampton.  A similar example had a shift of load in this area and was put aground on the Brambles Bank to avoid sinking.  No issues in this case, of course.