SkyFair was a great time to see a bunch of warbirds flying around. It didn’t stop the normal operations of the airport though. As the day wore on, a Gulfstream made an arrival. It didn’t do anything special for the remaining crowds but it was still something a little different to add to what had been a great day.
Have you ever heard of an airline called Starflyer before? If you have, you are one up on me. I saw these guys at Haneda in Tokyo. I didn’t know anything about them but the black livery they apply to their A320s does make them stand out from the crowd. A few of the planes came in and out while I was there. I guess now I know!
Clouds are not a rarity in the Seattle area but we do actually have lots of nice weather in the summer. You will still get plenty of clouds though and these can be nice to see with the arriving jets. A FedEx MD-11 was turning on to its approach over Kenmore when I was down at the lake and I looked up to see it popping in and out of the clouds above. It was pulling a little vapor of its own but the way it seemed to be peeping through the clouds caught my eye so I grabbed a few shots.
San Francisco Bay tends to provide a bit of moisture in the air that shows up as vapor clouds in the trailing vortices of approaching airliners. Before the planes reach Coyote Point, they are often trailing these streamers but, as they get closer to the airport, something about the conditions must change as they do seem to peter out. However, on some occasions, the moisture content must have been higher as the streamers lasted longer.
The top of the Space Needle is a good place to watch the floatplane traffic in to Lake Union. They tend to fly really close by. Shooting through the glass is not ideal but the passing Otters are too good to pass up. If you can, getting to the gaps between the glass is a good idea but it is hard to do this and get a good angle on the planes as they pass. Boeing also helped out with an Oman Air 737 Max taking off from Boeing Field and coming our way.
We made a trip to West Seattle with our guests while they were here. We were looking at the view of the city and also wondering what wildlife might show itself. I got a benefit in that departures from SeaTac and Boeing Field were coming to the north. I got a couple of nice airliner shots as they climbed out over us. They weren’t the only ones though. A KC-46 launched out of Boeing Field and climbed over us as it went off to its test area. I wasn’t paying attention, but my guests spotted something rocketing up behind it. An F/A-18C Hornet from the Strike Test unit was following it, presumably for some test work. It climbed rapidly but then leveled out, I assume to stay below the departure routes from SeaTac. Not a bad bonus for me while showing the sights to my guests.
When the Korean Air 747 pulled away from the gate, the ground crew all lined up to wave goodbye. I loved the personal touch. Not something you ever see in the US. I did wonder how many people on board were looking out of the windows to appreciate this gesture.
When I first saw images of the A350, I did not think much of its looks. The nose profile seemed odd and I was disappointed. However, something about it has got to me. I have been seeing a lot more of them in service recently and something about the jet in person is appealing. It doesn’t hurt that a few of the airlines I have seen have interesting liveries.
Narita seems to be a popular destination for the type and I got to see examples from Delta, Thai and Vietnam Airlines while I was there. Deliveries have really ramped up now so it will not be long before I am seeing them regularly. Asiana has been using it to SeaTac for a while and China Airlines is bringing them in to Vancouver. Good that I like them since I will be seeing a lot more of them. Now I need to fly in one to see what it is like as a passenger.
Everyone seems to have a plan for getting into space these days. Some companies have more than one! Virgin already has their Galactic operation that is based on the Spaceship Two design evolved (a lot) from the original Scaled Composites design. However, they have a second approach that is a small satellite launcher rather than a passenger craft. This one is going to be launched from a Boeing 747-400. They have provided one of the old Virgin Atlantic aircraft for this purpose.
I was down in Long Beach recently and saw the plane sitting on the north side of the field. Sadly, the light from the south side was very nice but it was too far away. A trip around the field did get me closer to it although now backlit. Not far away are the offices of Virgin Orbit. The launcher will be mounted on a pylon under the port wing making use of the hard point that was included to allow the ferrying of a spare engine.
How things develop we shall see in a reasonably short time I imagine. The operation seems to be pretty significant and will need to deliver something before too long. In the mean time, here are a couple of shots of Cosmic Girl when she was in passenger operation.
Aside from FedEx, MD-11s are becoming pretty thin on the ground. Lufthansa Cargo has had a decent fleet of them but there will come a time before too long when they are all gone. I figured one weekend I would nip out and get the arrival of one of them. The arrivals of heavy jets, particularly freighters, are often put on the inside runway which gave me a bit of a chance but, at that time of day, there aren’t great spots. I found a place that is rather close to being underneath the jet but it would have to do. I still think it is a nice looking jet, even if it didn’t prove to be a success in its originally intended role.
