Boeing was supposed to be making the first flight of the fourth 777X one Saturday, so I headed up to Paine Field to see it.  The weather was not great with low clouds and rain and it was below minima for the flight, so we didn’t get to see the 777X.  However, an American Airlines 787 was doing a test flight and it took off in the damp conditions.

As they powered up the jet, the moisture on the surface of the runway got sucked up in the vortex that forms between the inlet and the ground at high power and low forward speed.  A dull day makes it easier to see this as well, so I was able to get a few shots of it.  The lack of flying that day was a disappointment but this meant the days wasn’t a total bust.