Category Archives: Pacific Northwest

Anyone Have Any Engines?

Engine supply is a bit of a problem for the big two airliner manufacturers at the moment. Rolls powered 787s are going through a drawn out program of rework and A320neos are sitting around awaiting both Pratt and CFM engines. Boeing is also short of CFM Leaps and the result is a lot of parked 737 Max jets at Renton and Boeing Field. Apparently, they are flying jets to Boeing Field and then trucking the engines back to Renton. As I flew over Boeing Field earlier in the week, the flightline did look full!

I wanted to see all of these parked jets so took a trip to Renton one weekend to see how things were. There were certainly plenty of jets around and quite a few had ballast weights attached to the pylons. Supposedly the backlog will not be sorted out until the fourth quarter (although some think that is a bit optimistic)!

Spartan Race Setting

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My buddy, Jim, was taking part in a Spartan Race. The event was being held in Snohomish so, while I wasn’t willing to get up quite as early as him, I did go up to see the race and what people were prepared to put themselves through. The whole thing was being held on land that is usually an equestrian center. The Beast race was a 13.2 mile trek punctuated with a variety of tests and obstacles that the contestants had to negotiate. Fail to succeed on any of them and there was an area for you to head to where you would have to do 30 burpees before you could move on!

There was a central area for spectators and those who were waiting to start or who had already finished. (A sprint course was also available so the whole Beast course was not the only option.) A number of the obstacles were close to this area while many others were scattered out in the woods and fields. There wasn’t anything to stop you heading out to the other areas if you wanted to and, as I was there longer, I did go a bit further afield. Not all the way out though. I wasn’t testing myself!

This shows the main area and the people that were there to be involved. Some of the obstacles were worthy of their own post so there will be more to come.

Dahlia Collection

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The Rose Garden in Point Defiance Park was a feature but there weren’t only roses. They also had a dahlia section. Nancy loves dahlias so we checked this out. The variety of these blooms was almost as good as it was for the roses!

Now It Is Raining Avantis – Well, Not Quite

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Having made the effort one lunchtime to go and see an Avanti, I was quite surprised to see another one taxi out at Paine Field during Skyfair. It was a different airframe and it looked rather special. A bit of the distinctive Avanti whine and it was on its way.

Tacoma Narrows Bridges

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Ask any engineering student about famous bridges and the Tacoma Narrows has a great chance of coming up. The original bridge failed pretty spectacularly due to aeroelastic issues. It was replaced and the bridge has stood since without significant issues other than overcrowding. Consequently, a second Bridge was added a few years ago. The pair span the narrows and provide a roadway for the busy local traffic.

The hike around Point Defiance Park takes you out onto the overlooks the narrows and, as you move along the trail, you get differing views of the bridges. The further south you get in the park, the clearer the view is of the whole span. I grabbed a few shots of the water and the bridges and also shot some closer shots to make a pano when I got home.

Accidentally Getting Lufthansa’s New Livery

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Lufthansa changed their livery recently. It was not universally appreciated and I can’t say I disagree. It really is rather dull. I hadn’t even bothered to keep an eye on whether it was on a jet coming to Seattle. Instead, while out in Federal Way, I saw a 747 heading my way so decided to take a couple of shots. Turns out it was the new colors (or lack thereof). Soon it will be a common sight as they repaint the fleet but this was my first encounter.

Sammamish River Trail

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The Sammamish River Trail runs through Woodinville and heads south towards Redmond or west through Bothell. We decided to try it out one weekend day. We were not alone as there were plenty of walkers and even more bikes. It was a pretty warm day and sections of the trail are exposed which made it hot. However, as we got closer to Bothell, tree cover meant it was a lot more comfortable. Plenty of people were also on the river in kayaks and canoes so the river does seem to attract a lot of users in one form or another.

Two Seat Scooter

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The A-4 Skyhawk is a great little jet and I really miss seeing the Warbird Heritage Foundation’s Scooter on a regular basis. I haven’t seen others fly for quite a while, despite one being based on Boeing Field. I had intended to go to a show at Tacoma Narrows to see it but the weather was bad so I didn’t bother. This one had taxied out at Olympia last year and then scrubbed. However, it was scheduled for Skyfair this year so I was hoping to finally have some success.

Indeed I did. Not only did I see it fly at Skyfair but I was lucky enough to be at Paine Field the evening before when it came in from Boeing Field. It was fashionably late but this only improved the light so I wasn’t complaining. The two-seater might not look quite as slick as the single but it is still a pretty neat jet. The passes it gave at Skyfair were nice and close and, despite the harsh heat haze, I was pleased to see it up and about.

Rose Garden

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Point Defiance Park had a rose garden that seemed worth a visit. Walking in to the garden I was immediately struck by the fragrance of the flowers. Some roses are a lot more fragrant than others but, stick enough of them together and you are going to get a strong smell. Roses are interesting in how many varieties that they come in. Some look exactly like you might imagine a rose while others are very different in shape.

The garden was laid out around a central point with rows of blooms curving around the middle. They were attracting human and insect visitors in large quantities. Some blooms seemed to be quite persistent while others looked like they reached their peak before quickly wilting and being replaced by another bloom.

We had entered the garden from one side but on the other was a more structured entrance which took you through an arch covered in multiple blooms. The concentration of flowers made it visually striking. Also, having the light coming through from above meant that the flowers were backlit which made for a nice look and a filtered color of light inside the tunnel. Hardly a person passed without taking their own photo.

Ospreys on the Hunt

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Sitting out by Lake Washington watching the boat and floatplane traffic also provided a view of the local residents fishing. These residents aren’t the humans on the pier with fishing poles. These are the ospreys. There are lots of ospreys that are around the north end of the lake at this time of year. They are circling overhead looking for targets and then swooping down to catch them.

It is not usual to get them making their catch close in but sometimes you can see them diving in the grab a fish. However, when they catch something, they do head back passed the shore as they make their way to their nests. A fish tucked under their body and held in a forward alignment to make it easier to fly with is not a rare sight. You also can get them circling overhead as they look for some food but I guess nothing too tasty was near me.