Category Archives: Pacific Northwest

A Couple of A350s (One is Closer Than the Other)

The A350 is becoming a lot more widespread now. China Airlines has been flying them in to Vancouver for a while. I actually shot one last year on approach but it was coming in from the sea on the opposite runway near sunset so it is a tiny spec in the distance! This time I got one coming in a bit closer. The sun was getting low so the conditions were turning into something very nice. I touched down right in front of me with the sun pretty much on the nose.

It wasn’t the only A350 that day. Lufthansa also operated one in but it arrived before I got across the border. It did depart while I was there but departures are from the opposite runway so it was a bit far away. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much distortion in the air and I was able to get a reasonable view of it although not something that would have much use. The fleet will only grow so there will be more opportunities to get the German jet.

Tourist Boat in the Lock

Leave a Reply

While watching a bunch of leisure craft heading through the locks at Ballard, a tour boat was coming from the opposite direction and was fed into the smaller lock. I headed across to watch it come into the lock. It was a pretty snug fit. All of the people onboard were out on the deck watching the lock process. I was watching them watching us. They were below me when the boat entered the lock but, once the water level was up, they were looking down at us on the lock side.

Dreamlifter at the Other End

Leave a Reply

When planes are arriving at Paine Field from the north, I am usually up near Future of Flight. However, I was down at the south end when a Dreamlifter came in. They used the full length of the runway and turned on to the taxiway when they reached the end. This meant I got a good chance to shoot the plane from a place I had not done before. The weather was overcast which actually helped to show some of the textures associated with the modifications that the base 747-400 had received.

Don’t Float Too Long, I’m Using the Big Lens!

Leave a Reply

Mark had pointed me to a good spot at Vancouver for evening arrivals when the summer sun has come around more to the north. I trudged to the top of the “hill” lugging my gear with me as I didn’t know exactly what to expect and what lenses would work. Consequently, I brought a selection with me. It turned out that the 500 was good for a lot of shots but, once the jets got closer to me, it was too much. For a wide-body, it was definitely too much but a narrow-body was okay until after touchdown – usually! An Air Canada A321 in the new colors came down the approach but he flared a little high and floated. He was getting closer and closer and the viewfinder was rapidly filling. The touchdown of the wheels happened just before bits of the airframe were cut off. This shot is exactly as it came out of the camera. Good lesson for some of the later arrivals.

Space Needle Rehabilitation

Leave a Reply

At some point last year I was driving downtown in Seattle and I realized that the Space Needle had changed. A scaffolding arrangement had gone up around the saucer at the top of the needle and it seemed to be fully enclosed. I figured that a rehab program was underway but I guess I don’t see enough of the local news to have found out how much they were updating. With my mum coming to visit, I was hoping that they would have concluded the project before she came since a Space Needle visit was going to be on the cards.

Memorial Day must have been the target for getting things ready because, shortly before she arrived, things started getting opened up around the top. Part of the scaffolding was still there but it was getting a lot more open. I thought we would be in good shape. It turns out we were but they are certainly not yet finished. The wire fencing at the deck level has been replaced with glass screens. These lean out so you can look straight down. There are glass benches which means you can lean back on the glass – something that certainly seems to upset a few visitors.

Meanwhile, construction work continues. The level inside the viewing deck is still undergoing a lot of work. The restaurant downstairs is not yet open but I assume these will all get sorted out as summer progresses. I was a little worried that the glass screens would impede photography. The old wire fence provided clear access. However, there are gaps between the panels that you can shoot through. A big lens might not fit but my mirrorless did fine. We shall have more visitors so I will get to see how the whole thing looks when it is finished I suspect.

Finally, an Antonov Antonov

Leave a Reply

There have been quite a few appearances of Antonov AN124s on this blog. They all have something in common. They were operated by Volga Dnepr. There is another operator that I have not had much success seeing. That is Antonov Design Bureau. They never seem to be operating near to me. That was why I was so pleased when one was scheduled in to Everett. I was taking a week off work anyway so no reason not to go.

The weather wasn’t great but how many chances would I get for an ADB AN124? A genuine Antonov Antonov. Time to go. They were arriving from the north and it was morning so the only option was Future of Flight which wouldn’t normally be good for a morning flight. However, with a grotty overcast, sun on the wrong side wasn’t going to be such a problem.

There was a bit of a breeze from our side of the runway so the early approach looked like they were coming straight for us. They floated down the approach and touchdown of all of those wheels resulted in plenty of smoke. Then they taxied back to the Boeing ramp (after some confusion with air traffic) and shut down.

Tranquility By the Shore

1 Reply

The walk along the beach in Deception Pass State Park starts out in amongst a lot of people. The West Beach near the parking lot had a lot of people enjoying themselves while we were there. However, they didn’t want to go too far it seemed as, when we started walking along the shoreline towards the North Beach, we rapidly found ourselves a lot more isolated. There was the occasional person passing the other way but we were, for the most part, on our own. Standing on the shore and looking out across the water on a sunny afternoon was really relaxing.

P-3s Coming Out of the Sun

Leave a Reply

When Ault Field is operating on 25, the aircraft taxi out to the departure end along a taxiway that gradually brings them into view from the crash gate. The sound will usually precede them and, in the case of the P-3s, that is a pretty distinctive sound. As the day wears on, they are coming at you out of the sun so a bit more silhouetted but that helps to make them look more interesting. They pull around to the hold point, sometimes mixing in with the Growlers before departing off to the west. This is a sight that will soon be gone as the P-8s take over.

Turbulence in the Channel

Leave a Reply

When the bridge was built over Deception Pass, it provided a reliable method of crossing off Whidbey Island. Prior to the bridge, a boat was needed. I was there on a rough day – the weather was lovely – but the current running through the pass was pretty impressive. Watching the boats fight it made the flow very apparent. Closer to the shore, the current would churn up the water to create standing waves a short distance away from the beach. It looked like the sort of thing that could easily overwhelm a smaller craft if you didn’t know exactly what you were doing.

What Goes On These Pylons?

Leave a Reply

An older generation of Learjet was heading out from Boeing Field. I almost ignored it but I got a few shots as it rotated and climbed out. As it did so I noticed it had a pod on an underwing pylon. A little further research shows it belongs to Phoenix Air. Apparently, they have a few Learjets that have electronic gear fitted – sometimes on pylons and sometimes internally. This pod appears to have dielectric elements front and rear so may well be an EW pod of some sort. I wonder if anyone knows more about these guys and what they would be up to.