Korean Air’s Unusual Dreamliner

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A Boeing 787-8 showed up at Boeing Field a while back.  It is listed as operated by Korean Air, but it is not in their markings, and it is identified as being used as a corporate transport.  I don’t know the details about it, but I doubt I will ever be needing to charter it, so it probably isn’t an issue.  I went over by the terminal to see it arrive in the morning.  I hadn’t anticipated where it would park but it did need to clear customs first and they parked it at one of the larger ramp areas near the customs pad.  This meant it taxied back to where I was which was handy.  Plenty of people were on hand to handle it when it taxied in.  I don’t know how long it stayed for.

Stadium at Night

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Cleveland Browns Stadium was across the way from the hotel I was staying in while in Cleveland.  There was a bar up on the roof of the hotel with an outdoor area, so I headed out there one evening to get some images of the stadium while it was illuminated.  There was glass all around the area, so I had to make use of the small gaps available and then stitch the images together to make a pano of the whole stadium.  It worked out pretty well for some night images with the phone.

Singaporean F-16s

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While Luke AFB is now predominantly an F-35 base, there are still some F-16s based there.  The Singaporean Air Force has its US based jets at Luke, and we were glad that they were active on the day we were there.  Their two seat jets have the enlarged spine and so stand out compared to US aircraft.  They also have some special paint jets on base, and we did get a look at these.  One of the jets did a low approach followed by a go-around which resulted in it passing by low with the gear up, which was a welcome piece of action.

The light was bright and harsh, which isn’t ideal for photographing dark jets, but you go with what you have.  Trying to get the most of the markings of the jets meant playing with the images in post quite a bit.  If the high clouds make for a bad backdrop, nothing much you can do about that.

Historic Hydroplane

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Hanging from the ceiling of MOHAI in Seattle is a hydroplane, Slo-Mo-Shun IV.  According to the museum information, this boat brought innovative design concepts to hulls that continue to be relevant to current boats.  It is quite a striking looking boat and will have been cool to see in action.  August in Seattle is Seafair time so the latest generation of boats will be competing, but this one is now preserved in pristine condition.

The Second Freighter Conversion Finally Arrives

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Alaska Air Cargo has been having a tricky time with its new freighters.  These are conversions of some of its older 737-800s and will provide more capacity than the current 737-300BDSF fleet.  I got the first of the jets not long after it arrived, but it then was out of service for ages.  They have finally got it in regular use now but the delivery of the second aircraft was delayed while they sorted things out.  It is now delivered and operating regularly, and I caught it climbing out of SEA one weekend.  The second shot is the same airframe back when it was in passenger service a few years ago.

Carbon Fiber Details

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The German day at Exotics@RTC included some rather high-end Mercedes and there was one with a lot of little aero details that caught my eye.  When I see how someone with a good eye can find the details on a subject in a way that I can’t I am very jealous.  It doesn’t stop me from looking to see which details do gain my interest, though.  Carbon fiber can be tricky to shoot on a sunny day since it is dark but can also be reflective.  I used a polarizer to try and cut the glare and show off the texture of the layup.

Huskie Video Since I Don’t Know When I Might Have Another Shot

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I recently posted some photos of the Kaman HH-43 Huskie doing a display at Olympia.  I mentioned in that post that I also shot some video.  The way in which the Huskie flies is quite different from most helicopters and stills do not portray that.  I figured some video was in order.  We got lucky in that, after it landed, there was some other movement on the field, so they ended up getting airborne again and flying another pattern to land over near the hangars.  I hope the air show music in the background doesn’t get me in trouble with YouTube!

Parakeets in Their Natural Habitat?

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Parakeets must be remarkably adaptable birds.  When they escape, they seem to rapidly establish themselves in cities from which they did not originate.  When we lived in Chicago, there was a park on the south side of the city which had a large parakeet colony.  Richmond Park in London is a similar spot.  We heard the parakeets before we saw them, but their bright flashes of color made them easy enough to spot when they got moving.  They just seem to flourish wherever they are, even if they really should not be there.

A Westwind Is as Rare as Rocking Horse Poo!

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The older and less common that planes get, the more interesting they become.  The IAI Westwind is definitely in that category for me now.  I have only seen a few over the years and I have even less that I have photographed.  One was coming to SEA one weekend and that was too good to miss.  It was going to be landing at a time of day which meant I needed a new location to try and get reasonable shots of it.  Being close was also a good thing since heat haze was going to be a problem.

I found a spot I thought might work along with some backup options.  I was able to experiment on the other arrivals to see whether things would work out before the Westwind showed up.  Fortunately, the location proved to be adequate to the task and this low-slung little rocket was soon in my viewfinder and then gone.  This one looked in great condition.

Some Vintage Volvos

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Exotics@RTC gets a lot of regular attendees so you will often see the same cars week after week.  Getting something a little different is really appreciated.  I have seen some old Volvos at Exotics before but whether it was these or not, I don’t know.  (The modified one has definitely been before but more of that in a second.)

The P1800 is a cool looking car and, if you are old enough and have seen episodes of the original Saint TV show, you will recognize it.  It was partnered with a more sedate vehicle which was also in great condition.  Next to it was one that was a bit more tricked out.  I don’t think carbon fiber was a key element of Volvos in those days and I imagine under the surface, this one has been uprated a touch.  Good to have something a little different amongst the regular vehicles.