Category Archives: civil

Kalitta Charter 727

Boeing 727s aren’t a total rarity but they are certainly not common and, when one showed up at Paine Field, it was worthy of a look. Operated by Kalitta Charter, it was making a trip around the west. It arrived at Paine in nice light and a flight plan was filed for a departure shortly afterwards. This turned out to be a bit optimistic but I had plenty to do so I sat nearby awaiting the departure. It ultimately came later in the day so the weather was great.

What wasn’t great was that I missed them calling up on the radio as I was busy with some work. I happened to glance up and see the aircraft rotating in lovely light. I grabbed the camera and tried to get a quick shot but the camera was not happy and I got a second of open shutter. Nothing usable. A quick reset and then I was able to get tail on shots as it climbed away. To say I was annoyed is an understatement. At least I saw it, even if I have no shots to share.

Husky on Floats

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Renton may be home to the 737 and to plenty of other aircraft but it also has a floatplane dock at the north end. A Husky was dragged over to the ramp during my Sunday morning stroll and dropped into the water. The pilot powered up and proceeded to water taxi around for quite a while, presumably while the engine was coming up to temperature. Finally he was ready to go and given acknowledgement from the tower that he could go if he wanted. A surge of power, up on to the step and then airborne and climbing away. No two ways about it, flying floatplanes is definitely cool.

Sands 747SPs

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It’s always interesting to see what is at the Sands ramp at McCarran. The flight of luxury jets for bringing in the high rollers to play at the casino is a mix of types. Some “normal” Gulfstream, an A340-500 and the Boeing 747SP. I was delighted to see that two SPs were parked up on the ramp the morning I was there. Seeing them move was a bit much to ask but getting them in some lovely light immediately after sunrise was a good alternative.

Commercial Service Starts at Paine Field

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SeaTac may be the main commercial airport for Seattle but there is now a second airport for mainline service. Paine Field has opened its new terminal and commenced service. I had a trip to make so decided to give it a go. Not only is it closer to home but parking is cheaper and the prices for flights were pretty low. Time to give it a go.

It took me a while to find the long stay parking. The signage was useless. When I returned to pick up my car, I noticed that they had added new signs and had people hanging around in the access roads asking if you needed help. Could have done with them before. Interestingly, when I returned to pick up the car, the long-term lot was marked as full. Not sure how well that is going to work out. They did have some additional parking under construction.

The terminal itself is very nice. They were still debugging the check in systems at the Alaska desk when I got there. The process of handing over my bag was a little confused but, since there were only two of us at the two desks, it wasn’t like there was a lengthy delay. Similarly for the security line, while the website said there was TSA Pre, there wasn’t. I had to remove all of my camera gear from the bags but, again not many people there so it was easy to get done quickly.

There are two gates in the terminal itself. I never saw more than one plane on a gate at a time but, as other airlines start service, I imagine it will be a bit busier. There were sections of the waiting area that were empty for now so it has the ability to cope with more people. The gate area itself is very nice. Comfortable chairs and nice decorations, combined with a bar make it feel more like a dining location than an airport. Very cozy. There was a Beecher’s Cheese location apparently under construction which might be good for a snack when it opens soon.

The services were being operated by Embraer E175-E1s. There were plenty of ground staff to deal with the flights. There seemed to be loads of them and, with plenty of time between the flights, they didn’t seem over taxed. However, I suspect there was still a lot of training underway – hence the excess staff. Loading didn’t take long and then it was off to the runway, past the Boeing flight line and then departure. I found it a great way to get a flight and, with a surprising number of destinations available, I hope to use it more. It is certainly more convenient for me than SeaTac.

777X Prepping for Flight

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The 777X will make its first flight before too long. Indeed, it might happen before this post goes live but we shall see. It was due to have a roll out at Everett but that was toned down due to the ongoing Max issues. Instead, it rolled out to the flight line where it has been in prep for first flight. (We will get low and high speed taxi runs first of course. I wonder whether I will be able to get up there for the flight or not.). I have seen it parked on the ramp at Boeing’s center. From across the field, it is visible but subject to a lot of heat haze. From the other side of the field it is closer but the view is a bit obstructed. I saw it in the hangar during a previous tour but now it is out and in Boeing house colors. This is a 777-9 version and the folded wing tips are clear to see.

Been a While Since I Saw a BOAC Jet

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When I was very young, BOAC still existed but it was soon merged in to British Airways. I remember model kits being for BOAC jets and I have seen some preserved aircraft in BOAC colors. As part of British Airways’ 100^th year celebrations, they have painted up four airframes in legacy colors. The first to appear was a 747-400 in the BOAC scheme. I saw a bunch of shots of it online and was keen to see it for myself. It appeared on the schedule for an evening arrival at SeaTac so I made sure to be down there.

They were making a southerly flow that day and the evening is not a good time for that approach path as there are few locations to get good shots. However, I was “lucky” in that it was a crummy day for weather. The water tower location would normally have been horribly backlit but, since there was no sun, it might just do. I did get the shots and, by virtue of shooting quite heavily overexposed and then pulling back in post, I was able to get something I was reasonably pleased with.

I did really want the sun though and, not two weeks later, the jet was back on the SeaTac run. Again the evening arrival but this time it was sunny and the flow was northerly. This provides some opportunities for getting the iconic SeaTac arrival shot with Mt Rainier in the background. I was certainly not alone as she came down the approach nicely illuminated by the evening light. Thank goodness for time changes and being done with work by then!

737 Max8 Heads Off For The First Time

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I stopped off at Renton one Sunday morning to see what was on the flight line. (This was prior to the groundings after the Ethiopian Max 8 crash.) There was a first flight showing up on the flight plan so I kept an eye out for any sign of activity as I walked along the park trail. Sure enough, the sound of an engine start reached me when I was down near the bridge between the factory and the flight line. This is a bit far away from where I would want to be to photograph the take off but this is a first flight. There is plenty to check before they go flying unlike a regular flight, so time was on my side.

I made my way back along the river in plenty of time for the jet to move. Prior to flight they accelerate and brake to a stop. They did this along the runway the opposite direction to that in which they planned to take off so they actually taxied up past me, turned and accelerated before turning again to make the actual take off. This gave me plenty of views of the unpainted jet. They climbed away and then redeployed the gear, possibly to cool off the brakes a bit. They then turned off on their departure heading. Moses Lake will have been part of the test plan but the flight will have ended at Boeing Field.

Low Sun on the Light Aircraft

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While waiting for the UPS 747, there was a bit of light aircraft traffic in to Paine Field. With nice low sun, I wasn’t going to ignore them. They all looked nice enough but I was particularly impressed with a Cirrus that came in sporting a custom paint finish. It looked particularly nice.

Pretty Mountain Backdrop

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My effort to shoot an arriving A350 at SeaTac provided a secondary benefit. The majority of arriving aircraft land on the outer runway. This is further away and also has a threshold further up the field. This means the aircraft are higher up on the approach. On a clear winter’s day, the planes have the backdrop of the snow covered Olympic mountain range. They were a bit far away but did provide a rather scenic view.

UPS Delivered from the Paintshop

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A sunny and cold winter day provides nice light and an afternoon arrival of a jet at Paine Field from the paint facility in Portland was enough to tempt me out. UPS is the primary recipient of 747-8F jets these days and it was another of their getting close to delivery. It was approaching from the south so I was at the windsock with a few other locals. They flew a touch and go before making a full stop landing so I was able to try two different positions to get the landing. Conditions were really nice for getting a shot of a shiny new plane.