Boeing is churning out P-8s at quite a rate these days. Most go to the US Navy but a fair few are for export and the most recent export customer to have their jets delivered is Norway. The Royal Norwegian Air Force has started taking their jets – the first of which I saw on the ramp at Renton. I did recently catch one coming back from a test flight which was a bit more interesting. The Saint symbol on the fin seems to be common to the jets I have seen so far.
While waiting for an arriving 777X, I looked back across Boeing Field at the Boeing military ramp. They had a bunch of P-8s on the ramp at that time but one seemed a bit odd. First, it didn’t have the fin cap attached. I am not sure what might be the reason for removing it. Also, something about the paint on the fin was odd. It looked like someone was in the process of repainting it. Since it was on their ramp and the rest of the airframe was obscured, I couldn’t see which airframe it was or which customer it was destined for so no idea what the story might be. Anyone with any suggestions?
I mentioned in one of my earlier posts about walking along the runway at Boeing Field during the FOD walk that there were some limitations on what we were allowed to take photos of. Fortunately, I was at the end of the runway that didn’t have any limitations. Therefore, I could shoot anything that was on the Boeing civil ramp as well as the main terminal ramp for the airport.
There were 777Xs on the ramp, KC-46s and plenty of 737 Max jets. The bizjets near the terminal was also in abundance. Here are some of the planes I shot on that rather gloomy morning.
After my afternoon out up in Skagit for the fly day there, I migrated with the guys down to Arlington. They were having an evening flying display that would include the Ryan I previously posted about. An overcast evening did not make for great light for photographing the aircraft. There were only a few displays to see so it wasn’t too much of an event but it was still nice to be out shooting planes again. Rene Price put on a good display in his Sukhoi and the Yak-18 display was a great example of what the plane can do. Interestingly, there was the occasional hint of sunlight from the horizon while it flew which would glint off the white airframe since it was high enough to see the light we weren’t getting.
Grumpy, the B-25, flew a bunch of passes having come across from Skagit. I guess with not much else flying, they were allowed to fly as many passes as they wanted. Other than that, it was a pretty low key affair.
I was sitting at Boeing Field having had a relaxing time getting some shots on a sunny afternoon when I got a notification that the A-26, Sexy Sue, was up again from Renton. It is just over 10 minutes to get over there so I figured I would have plenty of time to get across once my next arrival was in. The trip across to Renton was not an issue and I was there in plenty of time for their return from the San Juans.
They took some really long winded route to the south of the field before doubling back on themselves, all specifically to avoid the best of the light at the field. Things had clouded over a little by the time they arrived but I still was okay with the shots. I then headed down to the parking area at the entrance to the airport to be in position for them to taxi in. I got there just in time and they taxied in towards me and shut down.
I waited for them to put the plane away. I am not sure why they spent such a long time thinking about it. Part of me wondered whether they were waiting for me to get lost but finally they started to move her back in to the hangar. Having a look at some of the shots afterwards, I saw the BOAC Speedbird logo on one side of the fuselage along with a lot of names of individuals. If you know the story behind this, please let me know.
P-8 production is really moving along at the moment. Aside from the US Navy aircraft, there are planes destined for the Royal Air Force, the Indian Navy and the Royal Norwegian Air Force in production and on test. One afternoon I got both an Indian and an RAF jet arriving in close succession. The nice thing about arrivals from the south when they are military jets is that they then taxi back past you as they head to the military ramp.
Thanks to my friends, Bob and David, I became aware one Saturday morning that a fly day was underway that day up in Skagit County. The Heritage Flight Museum was going to have a few planes flying so I made a quick change of plans and headed up there. The conditions were a bit overcast so not ideal but it was still worth a look. There were a few of the regulars up there too so it was a chance to see some people I hadn’t seen for a while.
Of the various warbirds that they had flying that day, the A-1 Skyraider was the one that was of most interest for me. It was the only one I hadn’t seen at previous events so I was keen to get a chance to photograph it. On takeoff, it seemed to be trailing a fair bit of smoke. Since it was recently off overhaul, this concerned me a bit but it seemed to clean up as they flew for a while so everything seemed to be fine.
There were straight passes across the field from various formations followed by some arcing turns over the museum ramp individually. I backed up the road a bit to try and get a bit more of an angle on the planes as they ran across. It would certainly have been nicer to have a bit more light on them but it was still good fun to be shooting something different. I’m very grateful to the guys for giving me the heads up.
After a very lean start, I have done a lot better in recent times with getting shots of the Boeing chase T-38s at Boeing Field. I have shot them airborne and in good light so nothing to be unhappy about. However, the one thing that I haven’t had in the past is a good close up shot of them while on the ground. They have either been landing when on a northerly flow or coming from the other direction and so they haven’t taxied close to me.
Finally managed to break that one not long ago. Some tankers were heading out – one appeared to be a production test flight for an Air Force example while the other was one of the Boeing development airframes. The T-38 followed it out – presumably their flights were connected but I don’t know for sure. It taxied right passed me so I got a good look at it on the ground for a change. It took off, of course, so a little extra chance to get some shots with a cluttered background!
I saw an article in Flight about the first P-8 for the Royal Norwegian Air Force having rolled out at Renton. It showed an airframe with a large saint emblem on the fin. I figured this would be worth a look when I could next get to Renton. My day off to chase planes provided that opportunity. Sure enough, there on the flight line was the new P-8. It was sitting next to an RAF P-8 – their eighth example. The RAF jet flew that day but I imagine it won’t be too long before the Norwegian example follows it in to the air so I shall have to keep an eye out for that.
I was hoping for an approach and landing when I saw this Black Hawk heading downwind but, sadly, it was just passing by, presumably on its way back to JBLM. It was a bit distant but I still decided to get some shots. The crewman was looking out of the side of the cabin as they flew by and a few of the shots seem to have them looking directly at me. The helmet and mask combination that they use is very intimidating. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, honestly.