Category Archives: corporate

Falcon Go Around

The smoothness with which air traffic is usually managed means that, whenever something doesn’t go to plan, it is quite a surprise. A go around on approach is a relatively rare occurrence. I have only been on three commercial flights that spring to mind when a go around was executed. I saw a couple at SFO last year on one day but that was when two of the runways were shut and they were squeezing as much as they could in making the chance of a conflict higher.

I was watching arrivals to Chicago Midway when I saw a Falcon 2000 on approach. As they got closer, they obviously got the call and the aircraft pitched up and applied power to climb away. It made for an unusual angle at which to see the plane as it banked away on to the missed approach procedure. It obviously was not a complicated procedure because they showed up again shortly afterwards. They were then followed by a similar Falcon 2000 and it was only later, when I was going through the pictures, that I worked out which one was the jet that had made the go around.

Globals at King County

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While I am not ever going to have my own business jet, I know the various types that would be high on my wishlist if I happened to go shopping for one. The Global Express jets from bombardier are right up there. They are big, comfortable, can go anywhere and they look pretty cool. They are also getting more common as sales have been very strong recently (although they are going to cut production a bit – I guess because the line is in need of a bit of a refresh). NetJets have also started operating the type which boosts the number you are likely to see around.

A visit to Boeing Field included the appearance of some Globals and this was a nice surprise. I got them on approach and departing which was nice. They also tend to taxi directly past where I was so you can have a good close up look at the jet. It was a busy day for business jets with a Falcon coming down the approach while one of the Globals was holding for departure. Bombardier did a nice job with this plane. The new Global jets are currently in development. I look forward to seeing what they look like when they start flying.

RAF Sentinel

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I really do appreciate an aircraft that looks elegant. One such type is the Bombardier Global Express. Built to take on the Gulfstream family, it is a great looking plane with a graceful front fuselage, cracking looking wing and even the empennage is stylishly done. Therefore, you might be forgiven for thinking that I was not impressed when Raytheon took a great looking plane and grafted on some enormous lumps and bumps to create the Sentinel.

Built for Britain’s Royal Air Force, the Sentinel is a battlefield surveillance aircraft in the mold of the USAF JSTARS program but a generation on a bit more compact. It also makes use of a more modern airframe as its starting point. While the changes have not done anything to make the plane look pretty, I do have a soft spot for unusual aircraft configurations and large radomes and sitcom covers fit with this idea. Consequently, I rather like the Sentinel. Seeing them in action at Red Flag was a nice opportunity.

Having spent a lot of money on the Sentinel, the UK government announced that, with the reduction in involvement in Afghanistan, the Sentinels would be retired. Retirement sounds inappropriate for something so new but that was the story. Fortunately, it appears that the plan has been adjusted and they have been reprieved for now. We shall see how that develops.

The aircraft are operated by 5 (AC) Squadron of the RAF. 5 Sqn was one of the early Tornado ADV squadrons when it converted to Lightnings. I liked their colors with the maple leaf on a red background. When I worked at Warton, one side project I got involved with was the repainting of a restored Lightning in 5 Sqn colors before it was put on display. Having the Sentinels showing up from 5 Sqn was nice, not least because one of the two jets had the squadron colors displayed over the usual dull grey finish. Both aircraft flew while I was there both day and night. They are an unusual sight to see so it was good to catch them at work.

San Jose Biz Jets

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San Jose is not an airport I had even shot at before. Paul and I decided to try it out on our way back to Dublin. There appeared to be a parking area near the threshold so we figured that was worth a shot and put it in to the GPS. As we drove there, Paul checked out Flightaware to see whether there was much due in. A few airliners and a couple of corporate jets were on the system but nothing too dramatic.

We got to the location and, sure enough, there was a good parking area with a pretty clear view of the approach if you avoided some trees. As we pulled in and sat in the car, a Global Express flew by. I was a touch bummed by this since, if we had missed a cool movement, would there be anything else. As it turned out, I was wrong to worry. San Jose seems to have a steady flow of corporate jet movements. Many of them are blocked on Flightaware, hence us not knowing they were coming. We didn’t have long before we had to be somewhere else but, in that time, we got a lot of biz jet traffic.

San Jose is convenient for a lot of high tech companies so they base their aircraft there. We got the Apple G650 in the short time we spent. I have to say, I thought Apple would have made it look a bit cooler but there you go. Maybe they want to be inconspicuous. One of the local guys told us which ones were regulars based on the field. He was less bothered by them but we were interested as first timers.

Small Corporate Jets

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While the big jets were an interesting target for me at Boeing Field, there is a good trade in smaller corporate jets too. The regularity of Citations and their ilk makes them a little less exciting but they can still be interesting if painted up nicely. However, one that caught my eye was an older Learjet. This is operated by Boeing Flight Test as a support and chase aircraft for their programs. It taxied by before departing over my location.

Also we got a Dassault Falcon 10. Quite a vintage type of jet these days so that was a nice surprise.

Big Business Jets

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I was back in Seattle recently and, while the reason for being there took up the majority of my time, I did have a couple of opportunities at the end of the days to pay a visit to Boeing Field. I had been there last year and made the best of the nice light later in the day then. This time, the light looked good but proved to be a bit fickle and the day was not as long given the time of year. However, I did get an interesting selection of aircraft to shoot. Boeing Field is a popular location for business aviation given its close proximity to Seattle city center. There were some very nice large jets visiting. An Airbus ACJ from Germany was parked up the entire time I was there but I never saw it move. However, I did get to see some Globals and Gulfstreams stretch their legs.

The Global Express is a great looking business jet. One arrived shortly after I did and I managed to get it as it came in. I was at a spot I hadn’t tried before. It gives a better angle on the aircraft as they approach and touch down but it does suffer from a more cluttered background which is a shame. The Global looked like it was heading out again as I got ready to leave for the evening so I decided to go to the departure end of the runway and try and get it head on. By now the light was really going but I ramped up the ISO and decided to go for it anyway. Having Mount Rainier in the background certainly doesn’t harm a shot but it was really a bit too dark.

The other nice visitor was a G650. The newest of the big Gulfstreams is a significant improvement from an aesthetic point of view as far as I am concerned. This one had a great paint scheme too so I was very happy to see it. The runway direction was changed just before it left so I got to see it as it was airborne rather than on the takeoff roll which was nice.

Throw in some Dassault Falcons and I had a lucky run given how limited the time was that I had there. Hopefully I will be back again sometime soon.

Another JetStar! Hurrah!

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If you go back a long time in this blog, you will see my tales to chasing a classic business jet, the Lockheed JetStar. Since leaving Chicago I have been frustrated to see a large number of movements of this fantastic looking machine showing up at Midway and Chicago Executive airports. They must have known I was gone and come out of the woodwork.

Fortunately, there is a local example. Hayward Executive is a short distance from me and I recently spotted that it was due to make an early departure for Mexico. With nothing to conflict with this, I headed across. Wanting a specific movement is often a frustrating thing since, while a flight plan will be filed for a given time, they often go at another time since it is all about when the person is ready to leave. You don’t have to stick to a schedule when you have your own jet!

In this case, I was lucky. They filed for an 8:42 departure and actually got airborne at 8:49. Not bad. The weather was overcast and not the greatest but, with the angle of the departure, more sun much actually have been a problem at this time of year. Anyway, I got a good view of the take off run and the turnout was towards me so a few quick shots to add to my JetStar collection and I was done. Back home for breakfast!

Office Picture

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I have been working in an office in Sacramento on a project for a while. With the end of the year coming up, an office calendar is being put together. The majority of the pictures in the calendar are from the team members and their activities throughout the year. However, there was also a need for a group photo. I was asked if I would take the shot. I was happy to do it but I also am a little less happy taking pictures of people than I am when it comes to inanimate objects!

I took a couple of flashes along with me and a remote trigger. However, I was not willing to find out whether the whole thing would work only when everyone was there. Therefore, a little early setup was in order. I had a couple of volunteers to help by standing in various places to see how the light was working out. Initially it was not good with the spread of light not avoiding some harsh shadows. A bit of tweaking improved things a bit. When everyone arrived for the shot, the result was a little different but acceptable. A few people still managed to get in shadows and the corners did not look as good as I would have liked but the team seemed happy with the result. I shall have to work out how I would do it differently another time. Not an area I work in a lot but one I would like to be better at.

A Rare Beast

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Over recent years I have made many trips that take me through Baltimore Washington International airport or BWI. It is the easiest route for me when heading to Washington DC. One of the nice things about BWI is that Northrop Grumman have a facility there that focuses on radar development. As part of this facility, they have a flight test department that makes use of some interesting aircraft. A few times I have seen one of them on the move while I was in the airport but normally I did not have a camera to hand to catch them. However, one time I did get lucky.

I managed to see their BAC 1-11 taxiing out for departure. This is an aircraft that has received a number of modifications for airborne testing of radar systems. While it is an old airframe and there aren’t many of them in service any more, it obviously still performs the required role well and they continue to operate it. It taxied past the terminal and then departed across in front of us. Since it is a bit dated, the noise levels were apparent even inside the terminal. However, it was fun to see it in action. A recent trip also spotted a smokey trail on approach. Sure enough, it was back. Sadly, no camera to hand that time!

Another Jetstar Moment

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A long time back (not that long if you think in geological terms), I wrote this piece about hunting down a Jetstar. I won’t bore you with the details in case you read about it the first time. If you didn’t and want to know, click on that link and you can find out more. Anyway, I still get updates when any Jetstars are flying in the US so I know if they are coming close. Normally, if they happen to be near me, the chances are that I am either already doing something or the weather is crappy (or both).

Recently, I got a morning email about a departure of the same jet as before from Midway. I was free and the weather looked good. Moreover, I still had time to get ready and get down to Midway before it was due off. I decided to give it a go. I needed to find a new location to shoot from so tried a couple of spots when I got there by checking out some of the other departures before settling on a location. Next time I might try a different lens but the result overall wasn’t too bad.