Category Archives: Pacific Northwest

ALCM

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The Museum of Flight seems to have two examples of the air launched cruise missile.  This is the Boeing developed AGM-86 missile.  One of them is hanging from the roof in the main museum complex while the other is in the restoration facility up at Paine Field.  I don’t know which versions of the missile they are.  Some were nuclear armed (this version remains in service I believe) while others had a conventional warhead (and I read that these were retired recently).  The missiles were widely deployed on B-52s and B-1Bs but I understand that only one wing of the B-52 now has them.

Fire Truck Renovation

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Aviation museums tend to be full of airframes of various types but sometimes they have associated items that they work on.  The Museum of Flight restoration facility at Paine Field has a fire truck that they have rebuilt.  It is tiny compared to current fire trucks but it is a great example of a truck from a time long gone and it is in great shape after all of the work put in to it.  I thought I would share it here since it probably won’t get a lot of attention from everyone other than those that worked on it.

GOL 737

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The nice thing about living near an airliner factory is seeing airline color schemes that you would never normally be even close to.  The 737 line has recently been idled but they are still finishing off some testing of jets and this GOL Max shot an approach at Paine Field one weekend while I was there.  Quite an attractive livery I think.

A Day of T-38s

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This is part one of a two-parter.  I was at Boeing Field sitting taking calls and doing emails and keeping an eye out for anything interesting.  That included the Boeing chase T-38s but they are going to have their own post.  They weren’t the only T-38s though.  Three jets from Beale AFB also showed up.  I missed the first and got the second as it landed.  The third followed a while later.  Strangely for Boeing Field (which sits under the SeaTac approach path) it did an overhead join and then broke into the pattern before landing.

The three jets were on the ground for a while and didn’t leave to late in the day.  I heard them call up that they were taxiing and decided to try and get down to the other end of the field for the departure.  As I drove down, I could hear them on the radio getting ready to go.  I knew it was going to be close but sadly, it wasn’t close enough.  As I pulled in to the parking area, they took off in formation.  They kept it low and the light was gorgeous.  It looked great but no photos to prove it.  The third jet had taxied out but must have had an issue because it returned to the ramp.  Oh well…

Bouncing Growlers

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The sun was forecast, I had some time to spare and there was even suggestion of southerly winds so I took a day off and headed to Whidbey Island.  Coupeville was planned for some FCLP training for the Growlers from Ault Field so I went up to see what I could see.  With winter light, the sun is way to the south.  It cross the centerline of the runway by late morning and, unfortunately, the first flight to arrive came after this time.  They only had one meatball on the field and it was set up at the south end.  The wind was southerly but not strong so they clearly decided a small tailwind was easier than dragging the lights to the other end and aligning them.  Crap!

I spent some time on the sunny side which is far from the touchdown zone.  I shot some stills and some video.  The jets only get close when they are well airborne but it was possible to get a few shots that were okay.  When they had finished the practice you knew it was the case because the jets cleaned up and powered away.  I headed down to the water to have some lunch.

It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of jets again.  I saw a couple of them turning over the bay and descending to the field so headed back up.  While the light was on the wrong side, I figured I would just try something new since the alternative was just more of what I already had shot.  It even was the same jets as the earlier session.  I shot some backlit landings near the touchdown zone (and I was not alone – plenty of people stopped their cars to watch).  With a bunch of shots and video done, I figured it was time to head home.

Frosted Trees Along the River

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While I didn’t get the shots of the trees over the pass on Vancouver Island and I did get some shots from Port Alberni, I did pull off the road as we descended to take some shots across a valley that we were passing through.  The local fire station was on a small rise which gave an elevated view of the valley that was still covered in frost.  Plenty of farm structures provided a bit of interest to the shot.  The wider shot was nice but the power lines which are, no doubt, very useful to the residents were a bit more annoying to the photographer.  I wonder which is more important…

Surprise Sharpshooters Visit

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My Saturday morning trip to Boeing Field was to see the Gulfstream test jet covered in this post.  I wasn’t expecting much else other than the usual traffic but I was very happy when I pulled up early to see three F/A-18D Hornets from the Marine Corps training unit, the Sharpshooters.  They were parked on the other side of the field  but had people around them and one was already strobing.  It looked like they were going flying.  All three soon powered up and taxied out.

The taxiway on that side of the field has a kink in it which provides an interesting angle on the jets as they taxi up together.  I was wondering how the departures would look since the weather was heavily overcast and a gray jet with a gray sky is not ideal.  The first jet got airborne and climbed quickly which was disappointing.  However, the number two kept things a lot lower as they gained speed which helped a lot.

About an hour later, I heard them call up on approach.  No run in and break at this airfield.  The traffic over the top for SeaTac makes that more complicated so it was straight in approaches for all three jets.  They did run down a decent distance and then turned off to return to their parking spots.  That was a bit of a bonus.  I don’t know whether they were flying again later as I had other plans but a launch and recovery was welcome.

Chasing the Ball

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Beaches are great places for dogs.  Plenty of space to run and then there is the water to play in if they like.  As we were walking along Long Beach in Tofino. One guy was throwing a ball for his dog to chase and fetch.  The dog was having a fantastic time roaring around the beach after the ball.  The guy seemed to be happy too but I think I was almost as happy as the dog watching it having such a good time.  A couple of times it came towards me and I wanted the guy to throw the ball my way more often to get some shots but I think he was throwing it away from me to avoid inconveniencing me.  I should have said not to worry.

New Hummer Feeder Improves the Light

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We have been having some issues with our hummingbirds.  One of them has decided the feeder is his and no other birds can use it.  He sits around and feeds to his heart’s content.  Even when he is in a local tree, anyone coming close gets chased off quickly.  We have named him “Cartman”.  One of the recommendations in such a situation is to have a second feeder so we have added one to the fence nearby.  One of the benefits I have found with this is that it puts the birds at a different angle between me and the light and it brings out the colors more vibrantly.  Here you can see Cartman – he is still trying to dominate the place.

The Light Almost Catches the T-33

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I caught one of the Boeing T-33 chase aircraft that had been out supporting the 777X flight trials.  The weather had been crappy which is par for the course when I am seeing the Boeing chase planes.  However, it did start to improve.  A hint of sun came out as it came down the approach but the light was better a bit far out.  I could see it in the distance but it was more shady as it got close.  Still, not too bad.  I heard a rumor that they might be retiring them before too long.  I hope that isn’t the case but we shall see.