Category Archives: aircraft

Super Puma On The Doorstep

I made a kit of an RAF Puma when I was a kid and have had a soft spot for the type ever since. The Super Puma is a capable airframe that has had a few problems over the years but is still very impressive. If I can see one anytime, I will try to do so. The good news is that one has shown up at Arlington. It was parked outside a hangar without rotors when I saw it and got some shots. It has since moved indoors and I assume it is being fitted out for operations. If so, I can’t wait to see it in action.

MH-65E Hanging Out By The Lake

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I went to see Seafair itself for the first time this year. I had been to Boeing Field to watch launches and recoveries before but this was my first time down by Lake Washington for the show. I was down close to Seward Park and, on one of the small bits of land jutting out in to the water was the location that the Coast Guard had parked their MH-65E Dolphin. It was part of the display but I suspect it was also on duty if there were any issues during the show.

I was looking forward to getting shots of it moving but, as a result of a re-planning of a presentation to a client which had been originally scheduled for the day before, I needed to take this call on my day off at the show. The call coincided with the Coast Guard demo. I was sitting on a Teams call on my phone as the Dolphin lifted off right next to me and did a dynamic low transition. Oh to have been able to photograph that!

I did get shots of it on the (sloping) ground and, at the end of the show, they took off to head back to wherever they were overnighting. At least this time, I was able to get shots of them starting up and taking off. Sadly, the departure was far less dynamic than the one for the show. However, there was nothing I could do about that. It was still cool to watch them from relatively close quarters.

Surge of 787s

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Nothing too special about this post. I was out at Boeing Field for the flights of Sentimental Journey but the traffic to SEA was passing overhead. Most traffic is domestic but you do get the international movements too. In this case, I got three 787s in very short order. They came from British Airways, JAL and ANA. I figured they could have their own post so here you go.

MC-12W (Possibly?)

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The C-12 Huron is the military version of the King Air. While it has been successful as a transport, it has also been the basis for a ton of derivatives. I am not an expert on this type and all of its subtypes so, when I see one, I can’t say for sure what it is. The most recent versions have been the MC-12W but I am not sure that they all look alike. When I saw this plane taxiing out at Boeing Field, I wondered if it was an MC-12W and asked a couple of friends that know more than me. They weren’t sure either. It might be or it could be something else. Whatever it is, it was an unusual visitor.

Scaled Composites 401

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The day after I went to the Edwards show, I was hanging around the area and headed up to Mojave to see whether Stratolaunch was going to move. It didn’t, which was disappointing but the time up there was not wasted. I got to shoot some stuff around the airport that I hadn’t previously and I went to the north end to look down the runway in case anything was moving. I saw that a Western Global 747 was coming in and decided to head to the south end to get it arriving. As I left, an L39 took off to the north. I should have paid more attention to it.

I short while later – once I was well away, it was followed by a more interesting plane that it was acting as chase for. A Scaled Composite 401 known by a variety of names including Son of Ares. To miss that climbing out past me was bad. It got worse when I realized the 747 had approached from the north so I missed it anyway. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake when the 401 returned.

I did have to wait for quite a while. They were undertaking flights at altitude and running racetrack patterns. I could get the occasional distant shot as they went overhead. Eventually the L39 returned and I figured it wound’s be too long before the 401 was back. I had picked a spot on Google Maps that looked promising for the approach. As I waited, I realized some other photographers were on the other side of the road and closer to the centerline. I wondered about moving but also didn’t want to miss it while I did so. I stayed where I was. A bit distant but still worth it for an unusual type. It has been seen at Boeing Field but not by me!

SOFIA Makes An Entrance

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One of the highlights of the show at Edwards Air Force Base was the appearance of NASA and DLR’s SOFIA airframe. A Boeing 747SP that has been converted for infra-red astronomy, this was my first time seeing SOFIA. It has a large telescope mounted in the rear fuselage with a huge rotating door that opens up when at cruising altitude – above the majority of the atmospheric blockage to IR – to allow the telescope to make observations.

SOFIA is being retired. There is a debate about whether this is purely budget related or whether the successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (which also observes in the infra red spectrum), means that it is no longer needed. Whatever the reasons, it is being retired and this show was a bit of a swan song. As part of this, they actually opened up the door for the telescope which, apparently, is a first since it was first commissioned other than while it was observing.

The plane made a run in from show left making a cool pass but this was the side without the telescope visible. They then turned around and made a banked pass along the crowd line with the telescope visible. At first I thought that they had blown it because they had a nice bank angle on but were lining up too soon. However, they straightened up for a while before bringing the bank back on and giving the crowd a good view.

They landed after this and taxied in to where I was waiting but that will be a separate post.

The East Side of Heathrow Proves Fruitful

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My visit to Myrtle Avenue proved to be a success, even if it had been a lot shorter than intended. As I headed back to the Tube, I was ready to call it a day. The arrivals had moved to the northerly runway and I figured that was not going to be practical to shoot. However, I could see the arrivals in the distance and decided to try one of the overpasses to see if I could get any shots. This location was not great but I decided to walk a little along the road to see whether there was anything better.

What I had not thought about was that, since I was on foot and didn’t have to worry about parking, I could really try anywhere. This worked out very well and I progressively made my way up the perimeter road trying out different locations that either had good angles or were closer to the approach path. The good news was that there was plenty of traffic and, while British Airways A320s were extremely prevalent, there was a lot of variety.

I am not sure the next time I will get to shoot an Iran Air A330 for example. I was also getting lots of arrivals of Middle East carriers as well as African airlines. All of this is a nice change from the regular traffic I see on the west coast of the US. I was also getting a few jets from airlines I meet see at home but not the types that I would normally see. All of this combined with the sun being particularly cooperative and I was quite happy with the conditions. I was mainly shooting stills but I did occasionally try a bit of video as you can see below.

Balloon Low Over Woodinville

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Balloon flights in the area around Woodinville are very common in the summer months. It is not unusual to see balloons early in the morning as I head to work or later in the day after I have got home. They are usually not too far away but, as I was coming out of a place in the town after seeing some friends, I was rather surprised to look up and see a balloon right above my head. The phone was all I had to hand so I grabbed a couple of shots of it as it drifted south and down towards, what I presume was its landing site. A nice surprise for me!

United’s First Max10 (Sort Of)

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I saw this jet on the flight line at Renton a while back. It is a 737-10 and is the first one to be in the colors of United Airlines. It will probably be their first jet in service (assuming the 737-10 ever gets certificated) but, in truth, the development jets are also going to United (again assuming that ever happens) so they are really United’s first jets. However, you get the gist of what I am saying.

K-Max Ready To Fight The Fire

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I have never shot an airborne K-Max. I have seen them flying – indeed one flew over the house during the pandemic and I looked out of the window as it came low over me but no camera was handy. It is a bit of a problem for me that I have not yet shot one flying. I did manage to get close to one recently, though. The Bolt Creek Fire broke out up near Index and a number of fire fighting helicopters were drafted in. They were based at Harvey Field in Snohomish so just up the road from me. I went up to see what was afoot. Sadly from a photographic point of view (and from many others too), the fires had resulted in so much smoke in the area, the visibility was too poor for anything to fly.

Instead, I was able to chat to the crews and walk around the helicopter as it sat on the field waiting to see what would happen next. The orange paint scheme is pretty conspicuous as if the unusual configuration Kaman knows best was not conspicuous on its own. The airframe is minimal – space for a pilot, engine, fuel and transmission and not much more. From every angle, it is a strange looking beast. However, it is so interesting. A few weeks later it had moved to Arlington from which it eventually ferried home. Of course, that happened when I wasn’t there so I continue to wait for the chance to shoot one airborne.