Category Archives: civil

Putting Away the DC-8 Each Night

NASA chose to operate its DC-8 from the ATS facilities at Paine Field while they were deployed there for the trials program with the Max 10. They would start up from there and then taxi past the fire station for departure. I was more interested in getting the landing shots so I didn’t wait for their return there but, once the plane was on the ground, I did make a rapid move to get back where they might either be shutting down or would be disembarking. Quite a few people were onboard for each mission.

Closing everything down took quite a while and, once everyone was off, the steps were removed, and the ground power disconnected. They then towed the jet in to one of the open-ended structures so that the nose was under cover while the back end of the jet was in the open. This was the process each time, so I was able to take photos from different angles each time I was there. I never happened to be there when they reversed the process. The jet was already out by the time I showed up.

EcoDemonstrator Returns in the Gloom So Video It Is!

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Boeing flew the EcoDemonstrator 777 from Paine Field for a while last year. I managed to be up there for the return late in the day, but the conditions were not that great. Having shot the plane at other times, I decided that the stills option was probably not the right one to take. They would not look that interesting. Instead, I decided to shoot some video of its return. Since going mirrorless, video shooting is so much easier because I can continue to hold the camera up to my eye as I would if shooting stills. It makes for a (slightly) more stable platform so a little less camera shake.

Golden Global

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Most bizjets have pretty uninteresting paint finishes but occasionally you get one that is a bit different. This Global showed up one afternoon in this gold finish which looked rather special. It had a logo on the fin which I didn’t recognize but, a little bit of searching showed the plane as belonging to Enrique Iglesias. He was in town for a show and, with Drake having brought his 767 in previously, we got another performer and their jet. I hope everyone had a good time at the show. I didn’t see him depart.

Falcon 50 With Winglets

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If a Falcon 50 is coming and I have the time to be there, there is a good chance I will. What could make a Falcon 50 even more appealing? Having winglets fitted. I didn’t know that when I went to catch it, but you can guess that I was rather pleased when that turned out to be the case. It feels as if there have been lots of Falcon 50s in the area in recent months. Maybe I am just noticing them more or maybe they have been more common. Either way, I’ll take it. Add some more with winglets and that will be even better please!

Retirement for a Falcon 900EX Pilot

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I was chatting with one of the Sheriff’s team at Boeing Field one weekend and he asked me if I was there to get the retirement flight. I told him I didn’t know about it, and he said a Falcon 900EX pilot was coming in shortly on his final flight. They were planning a water cannon salute for him. The location of the hangar meant it wasn’t ideal to get shots of so I decided to go and get the touchdown of the flight and then do the best I could for the salute.

While I was waiting for the Falcon to return, I could see the fire trucks positioning themselves for the salute. They were a good distance off so I knew that I wouldn’t get really compelling shots. Nevertheless, I would be able to get something. They had a couple of quick tests to make sure the water was flowing and then waited. Soon enough the Falcon touched down. A helicopter came into land just beforehand and blocked part of my planned shot but there was no time to change so I just adapted to what I had. They rolled out to the north end of the field and then taxied in for the celebrations. The fire trucks started spraying their water and the Falcon taxied through the water arch. Then it was all over from my perspective. I imagine that they celebrated a little longer.

As an aside, I went to the hangar the following week and asked if they wanted any shots. They couldn’t have been less friendly if they had tried. If they didn’t want anything, that’s fine but try not to be so miserable to someone just trying to do something nice.

Rainy Sunday for the National Queen

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Given that National Airlines has a better than average livery, I will always be happy to get a shot of their planes. The 747s are a favorite given that they are less common post the pandemic. I was therefore really pleased that one was due into Paine Field one weekend. Of course, this is the Pacific Northwest and that means no guarantee of good weather. Sure enough, it was a bit overcast, and the air was damp. I wasn’t going to get gleaming illumination of the airframe, but I might get some vapor.

Things weren’t that great but there were some vortices streaming from the flaps as they came across the threshold at the north end of the airport. The grey of the livery was blending a bit with the clouds behind it, but the blues did still have a bit of punch to them. It could have been better, but it was still something I was pleased to get.

Falcon 10s Aren’t Too Common These Days

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The Dassault bizjets line continues to flourish but it all goes back to an earlier generation. Interestingly, The Falcon 10 came after the Falcon 20 despite the numbering and is not related in anything other than name to the Falcon 10X which is the latest development from Dassault. It is still a popular jet but there just aren’t that many of them around anymore. However, they aren’t extinct and catching one is a nice result.

I have actually caught two of them in recent(ish) times. The first came into Boeing Field and I have to say the weather was playing ball for a change. Lovely winter light as it showed up and I was quite happy with the results. Indeed, I thought this might be my last encounter with one for some time, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that one was coming into Phoenix Sky Harbor the day I flew down there. Just before sunset it showed up. It is a small plane so was a bit distant on the northern runway but still a result!

Some of My Rides on Safari

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We took three internal flights while we were in Kenya and Tanzania and all three were interesting aircraft. Better still, they were all different types. One was a new one for me to fly on, but you might be surprised as to which that was. Our first trip was on a Let 410. It took us from the Serengeti to a short strip just short of the border with Kenya. This wasn’t my first ride in a 410 but it was my first landing. Previously I jumped out of one as part of a tandem skydive. This one had far more comfortable seating.

Once we crossed the border, we took another flight into the Maasai Mara. This was on a type that is ubiquitous in the area – the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. I have never been on one of these. They were very densely configured and getting through the cabin to a seat was quite an effort. I don’t care to think what getting out in a hurry might be like! We saw so many of these with different operators over the course of our visit.

The last type we flew was a Dash 8 100 Series. A far larger type than the others, this flies some heavier routes, and these might involve multiple stops along the way picking up and dropping off customers. Ours picked us up in the Mara and took us direct to Nairobi. No intermediate stops for us. It has been a long time since I flew in an early generation Dash 8, and I hadn’t thought of them as doing rough field ops. However, supporting remote communities is part of their history so of course they are fine on these strips. Unfortunately, heavy rains at the strip 90 seconds from our camp meant we had to drive for forty minutes to another strip to make this flight. It was a good trip, though. This part of the world was great for people like me that like close up encounters with aviation!

They Continue to Fly the Max10 But it Is Going to Be a While

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The 737 Max program continues to be a total bear for Boeing. As I write this, they are just recovering from the Max9 door plug incident. Prior to that, it was issues with rudder components not rigged properly and then it was rear bulkhead production issues. All of these follow on from the disaster that was MCAS. The Max7 and Max10 have both been flying for ages but still haven’t achieved certification. The Max7 was thought to be close, but it needed an exemption for inlet heating which Boeing had applied for. In the aftermath of the door plug incident, that exemption application has been withdrawn and now the Max 7 might be a year away from approval.

The Max10 is behind the Max7 so it is possible that it might get approval by 2025 but, at this point, who knows when it will actually be. Meanwhile, there is still testing underway. The first Max 10 jet is active at the moment undertaking testing work. It was due out from Boeing Field on another test heading off to Texas. I figured it would run a little longer given that it would be heavier so chose my spot for the shots. However, I did still use a longer lens to get a tighter shot for rotation. The light came out nicely as they rolled and the rotation was ideal for where I was. It is going to be a while before I see these in service but at least I get to see them on test periodically.

How Long Can a Falcon 50 Remain in Reverse?

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The Falcon 50 only has a single thrust reverser, and it is fitted to the centerline engine. The nacelles on each side are not fitted with reversers. I was quite a way down the runway from this Falcon when it landed, and I could hear the reverser kick in. I was not expecting it to stay in reverse for very long, but they kept it in all the way through the roll out and even as they exited to the taxiway. Is that normal procedure?