Tag Archives: 747-400

Been a While Since I Saw a BOAC Jet

When I was very young, BOAC still existed but it was soon merged in to British Airways.  I remember model kits being for BOAC jets and I have seen some preserved aircraft in BOAC colors.  As part of British Airways’ 100th year celebrations, they have painted up four airframes in legacy colors.  The first to appear was a 747-400 in the BOAC scheme.  I saw a bunch of shots of it online and was keen to see it for myself.  It appeared on the schedule for an evening arrival at SeaTac so I made sure to be down there.

They were making a southerly flow that day and the evening is not a good time for that approach path as there are few locations to get good shots.  However, I was “lucky” in that it was a crummy day for weather.  The water tower location would normally have been horribly backlit but, since there was no sun, it might just do.  I did get the shots and, by virtue of shooting quite heavily overexposed and then pulling back in post, I was able to get something I was reasonably pleased with.

I did really want the sun though and, not two weeks later, the jet was back on the SeaTac run.  Again the evening arrival but this time it was sunny and the flow was northerly.  This provides some opportunities for getting the iconic SeaTac arrival shot with Mt Rainier in the background.  I was certainly not alone as she came down the approach nicely illuminated by the evening light.  Thank goodness for time changes and being done with work by then!

BA QOTS Over the Bay

This is just a gratuitous Boeing 747 post.  The jets are fast disappearing from service with the major airlines but British Airways (those of you that call them British Air just stop!) has a substantial number of them left and they are due to stay around for a few more years.  This one was arriving at SFO in 2018.  It came into view across Coyote Point and headed down the approach in nice winter light.  There will come a time when they are gone so appreciate it now.  I have flown on more of them than I can recall so have plenty of happy memories of traveling on them.

Accidentally Getting Lufthansa’s New Livery

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.

Japanese Government Comes to Town

I was sitting at the gate waiting to board a flight when the sound of a heavy jet reversing thrust outside caught my attention.  It was a Japanese 747-400.  JAL retired their 747s a few years ago and that made an appearance on the blog here.  That meant this was a Japanese Government 747.  I was really annoyed to have only seen it at the last minute.  However, I was on the right side of the plane on takeoff to try and get a look.  I did get a shot but looking through the camera made me lose the wider view.  The Japanese 747s tend to travel as a pair.  Sure enough, a second jet was parked up and I didn’t spot it was there until too late.

Wamos – A New Airline for Me

There are many airlines around the world so plenty that you probably haven’t heard of and may never see.  Finding one in your backyard is a surprise though.  There I was hovering over LAX in a Robinson shooting pictures of the arriving and departing jets and a 747-400 appears on the approach.  Since they are becoming fewer and further between these days, this was a good thing.  When I saw the name on it, I had no idea what it was.

Wamos is apparently a Spanish airline.  They have been operating some flights to LA but, up until this point (and the subsequent research I did), I had never heard of them.  I guess we just never crossed paths.  A new airline and a 747 was a pretty sweet combination.  I was definitely on a roll on this flight as I got a number of treats.

Bye Bye United 747s

The disappearance of passenger 747s from service continues.  Today is the last day for the United 747 fleet.  I do not have anything of their earlier versions of the jet but I have seen the 747-400s in service a lot and have flown on them a couple of times too.  I won’t be doing so again.  A flight from San Francisco to Honolulu will repeat the first service and was sold out a long time ago.  The planes have been heading to the storage yards in recent weeks and after today, there is one more to make the trip.  Now the 777s and 787s will be responsible for the long-haul services.

BA 747 Formation with a Cessna?

The path of jets into SeaTac from the north takes them right over Boeing Field.  Sometimes, when you are watching something on one path, something going into the other field gets in your field of view.  Either that or a British Airways Boeing 747-400 decided to sneak up on a Cessna.  Knowing some guys who fly for them, I wouldn’t rule it out.

EVA 747s Are the Next to Have Gone

I have documented the demise of some of the fleets of Boeing 747s as airlines progressively send their planes to a new owner or a recycler.  The latest airline to join the trend is EVA Air.  Based in Taiwan and owned by the Evergreen shipping line, the airline was originally launched under the Evergreen name.  However, there was another airline called Evergreen at that time so they had to change the name to EVA Air.  Now Evergreen have gone bust, I guess they could change their name but at this point there seems little reason to do so.

I don’t know whether the retirement of the 747s includes from the freight services or whether it is just passenger use but I suspect the latter.  These shots are just of the passenger jets that I have seen over the years.  They have been harder to see as the 777-300ERs took on more of the routes and now they will be harder still!

Global Supertanker

Some of the news clips I have seen recently were showing the firefighting activities underway in South America at the moment.  With their summer in full swing, wildfires have been springing up and they have brought in a variety of aircraft to fight them.  One of these is the Global Supertanker, a converted Boeing 747-400.  I saw this aircraft at the aerial firefighting conference that was held last year in Sacramento.  It was very close to approval at that time and we were allowed to check it out.

The systems had previously been used on a 747-100 airframe but they had been migrated to the 400 series jet.  The airframe was an ex-JAL aircraft that had undergone the freighter conversion program and seen some further service before being acquired for the firefighting role.  The tanks and piping had been installed and we got to see a bit of the interior during the event.  Unlike the 100 series prototype, this one had been given a nice new paint job and it looked great being straight out of the paint shop.

It dwarfed everything else on the flightline and ended up being the backdrop for the group photo of the conference attendees.  I don’t get to appear in that shot since I was taking it.  I can live without having my presence recorded I guess.  Now it is in operation, there are some rather more dramatic images being captured.  For the time-being, I will have to make do with these shots.

Number Two is Cleaner

B11I1840.jpgThis United 747 was flying over the Bay during the Fleet Week display as I posted about in this post.  One thing that was very obvious as the aircraft was put through its paces by the crew was that the number two engine seemed to be burning a lot cleaner than the other three.  You wouldn’t pay much attention to the exhaust of a jet except when there is a clear discrepancy and, in this case, the number two was so obviously less smoky, I noticed.  Maybe it was fresh from overhaul.

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