Boeing developed the BBJ in partnership with GE if memory serves and I think they took the earliest examples to be built. A modified 737 airframe, the BBJ is a big jet for a bizjet – unless you are seriously wealthy and have a converted widebody. Their house colors are actually quite nice and, since Boeing Field is a big base for them, seeing their jet in is not a surprise. It does look good, though.
I have scanned a lot of old negatives that the family has accumulated over the years including some my mum sent me last year. Some of those were of the cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth 2 or just QE2 to most people. We used to see QE2 a lot. She would sail in and out of Southampton so would pass our place often. After she returned from the Falklands, she went in for a major refit. She had to replace a lot of what was taken out when she was used as a troopship as well as remove the helipads that had been welded on her after decks.
One change they made when refitting her was a new paint scheme. Gone was the black hull and in came a gray color and a red funnel. It was a strange look and out of keeping with the traditions of Cunard. I don’t know how long it lasted exactly but a few years later, she was back in the more familiar colors and they remained until she was retired. One morning she came up the Solent in the fog. The combination of fog and a gray paint scheme was quite ghostly. These shots were taken from our window.
The testing of the Eviation Alice continues. My first post on this was when they tried to do some high speed taxi trials but didn’t manage to get the plane going. However, they have been making more progress since. I managed to get up there when they were planning some more taxi trials. I was hoping for some more fast work which they delivered. Not fast enough to get the nose wheel off yet but progress all the same.
A few photographers were out to see what occurred. The test team did not seem too happy about the level of interest. I think they would prefer to get early testing work done without the world watching. They did have their own multimedia team, of course. Various cameras were doing the official recording and some drone work was done as they carried out the trials. A NOTAM for the UAV was in place for several days. I went with stills and video and put some stuff together for GAR and here is some of what I got. Let’s hope to get more as they progress.
Living in the Midwest provided plenty of stormy weather days. The way in which the storms could brew up on warm afternoons was really impressive. I have always loved lightning and sometimes we got so much of it, you would stop paying attention. One afternoon, there was a storm forecast to roll across the city. I decided to head out to the planetarium since it has a great view of the city and I was hoping for lightning behind the skyline or maybe even on some of the high buildings. I am not sure whether it is a thing but it seemed like the lightning would be more prevalent at the leading and trailing edges of the storm so I was hoping to get shots before the rain made it no fun to be outside.
Things didn’t work out quite as planned and there wasn’t the lightning I was hoping for. However, I did get some amazing cloud formations rolling across the city. Watching this come towards me, it was hard to recognize that this wasn’t some CGI on a movie but was actually heading my way. It looked amazing. It wasn’t long before I retreated to the car once the rain showed up.
On another occasion, I was flying in to Midway. As we made the turn back towards the city after flying out over Lake Michigan, a really intense storm cell was sitting north of the city. It came into view as we turned and I videoed it with my phone. It was another beast of a storm, and it was probably rather damp underneath it.
I like unusual angles for shots. Most of what I get is pretty normal stuff. I am most interested in straight down shots but I have not managed those yet. However, straight up shots are possible and I have been getting a few of those when the opportunity presents itself. It is an angle we are familiar enough with, but the shot interests me because it isn’t the regular view we choose.
Not much of a story this time. We stayed in a hotel downtown last year and had a lovely view across Puget Sound from our room and the roof terrace. The sun was setting over the Olympics and it looked lovely. Consequently, here are some shots of the sunset.
Not really a formation I’m afraid. I was shooting this PC-12 as it came in to BFI in nice light and a light aircraft was on the approach for the parallel runway. I almost got both of them in frame but not quite. However, I liked the shot so here it is.
Our trip to Cannon Beach got delayed a day by snow on the hills which you have to cross to get to the Oregon coastline. When we did make the crossing, not only were we properly equipped (as shall be seen in another post) but the weather was transformed. The sun was out, and it looked picturesque. The snow was still heavy on the trees and the hillsides while the road was compacted snow. Consequently, it was white everywhere. We were on a major road that would normally be traversed at speed but, due to the traction devices fitted, we were limited to 25mph. It made the crossing pretty protracted, but it did provide ample time to look around and see the scenery – and the occasional vehicle off the road!
Dreamliner deliveries have been stalled for about a year now with a brief interlude of deliveries early last year. They are stored all over the place including this American Airlines jet up at Paine Field. I think it had a radome when it was built but, clearly someone needed one and the easiest one to hand was on this airframe. Now it sits awaiting a replacement and – hopefully – acceptance and delivery!
As the gateway to the west coast of Canada, the area around Victoria has a military history. One location that is now no longer in service is Fort Rodd Hill. It sits overlooking the entrance to the harbor with the navy base sitting a short distance across the water. It is like many of the forts you find on the west coast with gun emplacements, bunkers, accommodation and spotting locations for the gunners. The biggest threat you now face is the large number of geese that seem intent in getting in your way and also contaminating where you are walking!
The location is well maintained and, since it was a weekday when we re there, not terribly busy. With the sun shining, it was a nice stroll to explore the facilities. The walls were pretty substantial, and it might have been fun to get a drone up to look down on everything but a) I don’t have one and b) that close to the navy base probably means they aren’t allowed anyway.
