Category Archives: civil

Uzbekistan Dreamliner Delivery

Rarity value of Boeing’s production jets is a nice feature of living here.  The 787 line is closing at Everett but there are still plenty of jets to be delivered as a result of some production quality issues.  An Uzbekistan Dreamliner was built last year and I saw its colorful livery on the flight line a while back.  It was finally lined up to depart recently so I decided to watch it go.  It had done some test flying in lovely light in the preceding days but I was unable to be there for that.

The conditions weren’t as nice as they had been previously but they were okay and it did mean that the heat haze which is a big deal at this time of year was not such a factor.  They were departing to the north so came out of the South Gate of the Boeing ramp and taxied to the south end of the field.  A long flight home means plenty of fuel but also no payload so a pretty early rotation.  Even so, managed to get some shots of a jet I am unlikely to see again.

A220 Engines Look Big Underneath

The A220 (or C Series as it was then) was the plane that spooked Airbus and then Boeing.  It was an efficient plane with a new engine – the Pratt and Whitney geared turbofan or GTF.  Airbus decided the re-engine the A320 family with a version of the same plane and the success of that project changed Boeing’s plans from a new plane to a reboot of the 737 which gave us the Max!  They went with a different engine to the GTF (and Airbus decided to offer both).  The GTF is a high bypass engine so it takes up a lot of space under the wing.  This A220 passed over me on approach to SeaTac and gave a good idea of just how large the engine nacelles are compared to the rest of the plane.

T-34 Low Departure From BFI

A civilian owned Mentor lives in the Pacific Northwest.  I don’t know which airport is its base as I have seen it flying from a bunch of locations but it is always interesting to catch.  One morning I was up overlooking Boeing Field when it taxied out to depart from the short runway.  It is a small plane for that distance but unusual enough to justify some attention.  They took off quickly but kept it nice and low as they built up speed before climbing away for whatever they had planned.

Life Flight PC-12

PC-12s are a common aircraft in the North American aviation scene so this one is nothing special.  Seeing one on approach, albeit in nice light, is not cause for much celebration.  However, it does mean that, with the light on the nose and a prop spinning up front, it is worth dropping the shutter speed and getting some prop blur.  If I try and fail, I haven’t lost a shot of something that I wanted desperately to get and, if it works, it’s a bonus.

Nice Looking Global 7500

The Global 7500 has been around for a while now but I have only shot one in flight.  I did see one on a ramp but I was keen to see another in motion.  Fortunately, one evening, an example was coming in to Seattle before heading off across the Pacific.  Since these jets have incredible range, I assume it was picking someone up or dropping them off since it could easily have made the trip in one step.

This one was slightly better than average because the owner had decided to paint it in a scheme other than plain white.  It had a couple of brown swoops along the side.  Makes for something a little more interesting.  I went with a relatively low shutter speed but, since I was keen to get the shot, I wasn’t quite as brave as I had been with less interesting jets.  I kind of wish I had taken it a bit lower.  Maybe next time.

777X Through the Clouds

When planes are on a southerly flow into the Seattle airports, the traffic comes over our house all the time.  The SeaTac traffic is always a bit higher but the Boeing Field traffic can be lower and visible from the window.  If I notice something is coming, I can grab the camera and take some shots of the jets passing overhead.  This includes the 777X test aircraft.  On a clear day, things are pretty straightforward but a bit of cloud can really make for more interesting shots.

Q400 Full Disc On The Props

I took this a long time ago but just came across it again.  I was under the approach path for SeaTac and one of the many Q400s that come in and out every day was setting up on final approach.  Since it was nothing special, I figured a low shutter speed was in order.  With the light on the front of the plane, this should show up the prop disc nicely.  It worked out pretty well.

Shooting Slower Landing Shots

One evening, I was shooting at Boeing Field.  The light was lower in the sky but it was still pretty bright.  The thing with corporate jets is that they are often predominantly white and the brightness of the jet with a darker background can make for more contrast than a camera sensor can adequately deal with.  You can sort out things in post but it is often too bright.  I figured I wanted to try and reduce the glare on the jet and that the polarizer was a good way to do it.

This has a second outcome.  Taking out that might light allows the use of slower shutter speeds without having ridiculously small apertures – a sure fire way to find every bit of dust on the sensor.  Since I was shooting bizjets at Boeing Field, things weren’t terribly special so I was happy to play around with going down to lower shutter speeds.  A boring side on landing shot is a bit more interesting when the background is blurred and the sense of motion is enhanced.  I need to practice this a bit to use it more often since it makes for a more interesting shot which I want to be able to use on something a bit more special.  Definitely need to lower the shutter speed further.

Belavia

Another new airline for me with this post.  Belavia is not an airline I am familiar with but I understand that they are from Belarus.  One of their Max jets was on test while I was at Boeing Field and it came in late in the day.  I was glad to add another unusual carrier to my library of shots.  Nothing special about it otherwise but nice to get something new.

Under the Biz Jets

While the 777X was the reason for being out at the end of Boeing Field, it wasn’t the only plane to come in while I was there.  I also got a couple of bizjets arriving at that time.  They are an easier target to deal with than a wide body airliner but they still show up quickly when they come in to view.  In this case, though, I stuck with the longer lens and just shot until they got too big.