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737 First Flight

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.

Does Cold Water Help Tired Muscles?

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Two of the later obstacles in the Spartan Race involved water. The first was crossing a small river. It wasn’t too deep but the cold water on tired leg muscles was not nice. The banks were also getting very muddy and slippery given the number of contestants that had been before. Then there was a second water crossing. This was across and back the river with bank climbs on both sides. The water was also a lot deeper and the bottom of the river was uneven. Here people really struggled and the tiredness was really showing.

Eagles Scouting the Lake

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The ospreys on Lake Washington have got some attention on the blog recently. However, they are not alone. Some bald eagles have also been showing up. They aren’t around in such large numbers and I didn’t see so much fishing activity close by but they were out there having a hunt for some food and sometimes came closer in allowing a shot or three. They are an impressive looking bird.

Odd Beaver Fin

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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?

The Ability to Swing

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A couple of the obstacles in the Spartan Race that I saw involved getting yourself across a series of ropes and hoops or using grab handles that moved while you hung on. These obstacles would be tough if you were fresh but they were in the latter portion of the race when tiredness was already very apparent. It was fascinating to see the different techniques people used and the success or otherwise. Dropping off was very common given how tired people were and the resultant 30 burpees will not have helped.

The physiques of people didn’t seem to have any indication of the probability of success. Some people looked like they would struggle as they set up to start and would then surge across. Others would look good and then drop off quickly. Knowing how I would have fared, I was very sympathetic. A few were in fantastic shape and just flew through. Others got so close to the cowbell at the end that signified success and would drop when almost in reach. You were willing people on.

One of the toughest to watch was one of the elite female competitors. She was in third place coming to the last obstacle and nearly made it across before slipping. She headed off to do her burpees and, while she was doing them, the person in fourth approached. She got onto the test and made it across cleanly jumping into third place. The other competitor had to finish her burpees which must have been so hard having just seen your podium position slip away.

Spirited B-25 Pairing

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The two B-25s that live on Paine Field are regular performers. When they both went up at Skyfair, I have to admit that I was not so excited. However, I was not anticipating a series of flypasts that were significantly better than I had seen from them before. They brought them in with a tight formation and some angles that allowed some great topside shots as they curved around on to the runway alignment.

Watching them line up, you could see that they weren’t going to come so close and ruin the photo opportunities. Instead, we got lots of banking and pulling with far better shots than I had achieved previously. I was not alone in appreciating the effort. Everyone around me was most impressed by the performance.

Anyone Have Any Engines?

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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)!

Spartan Race Setting

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My buddy, Jim, was taking part in a Spartan Race. The event was being held in Snohomish so, while I wasn’t willing to get up quite as early as him, I did go up to see the race and what people were prepared to put themselves through. The whole thing was being held on land that is usually an equestrian center. The Beast race was a 13.2 mile trek punctuated with a variety of tests and obstacles that the contestants had to negotiate. Fail to succeed on any of them and there was an area for you to head to where you would have to do 30 burpees before you could move on!

There was a central area for spectators and those who were waiting to start or who had already finished. (A sprint course was also available so the whole Beast course was not the only option.) A number of the obstacles were close to this area while many others were scattered out in the woods and fields. There wasn’t anything to stop you heading out to the other areas if you wanted to and, as I was there longer, I did go a bit further afield. Not all the way out though. I wasn’t testing myself!

This shows the main area and the people that were there to be involved. Some of the obstacles were worthy of their own post so there will be more to come.

Dahlia Collection

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The Rose Garden in Point Defiance Park was a feature but there weren’t only roses. They also had a dahlia section. Nancy loves dahlias so we checked this out. The variety of these blooms was almost as good as it was for the roses!

Now It Is Raining Avantis – Well, Not Quite

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Having made the effort one lunchtime to go and see an Avanti, I was quite surprised to see another one taxi out at Paine Field during Skyfair. It was a different airframe and it looked rather special. A bit of the distinctive Avanti whine and it was on its way.