Tag Archives: 757-200BCF

FedEx Has A New Base

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The end of 787 production at Everett has also meant that Boeing doesn’t have a need for the Dreamlifter operations center that they had built there, next to the Future of Flight visitor location.  I assume the space was leased from the airport but that might not be right.  Whatever the case, a new use has been found for it.  FedEx has set up a small operation there.  SeaTac is their main base in the area and they have a steady stream of wide body freighters heading through there.  Everett is a single 757 each day.  I assume this is the beginning of things and that there will be more to come.  I can’t imagine that they will make that investment for one freighter a day.  We get a bunch of FedEx 767s on test prior to delivery but the 757 is a nice addition.

How To Blow It When You Want to Do One Thing!

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In the run up to Christmas, I got to photograph the Asia Pacific Airlines Boeing 757 freighter while it was being used to supplement capacity for UPS.  Prior to that, I had noticed it was operating a circular route from Seattle to LAX to Honolulu and back to Seattle.  This seems to have started again.  With a nice forecast for a Saturday morning and it due in early in the morning, I figured I would head out and get some shots in the nice morning light.

The jet was projected to be in to SeaTac at around 7:25 so I left a little before 7 to try and be there.  The forecasts on the sites are often a bit optimistic but I still took my breakfast with me rather than risk missing out.  I got to my intended location just coming up on 7:25 and, as I pulled in to the lot, I saw a Korean Air Cargo 747-8F on final approach to the inner runway.  I grabbed the camera and, while it would be backlit, figured I would get a bonus.  I took the shots and then looked on the iPad to see where my jet was.

An ad ran on the app for about 30 seconds which was annoying but I finally managed to search on the jet.  Apparently, it was right there.  It was almost directly behind me.  I had intended to walk up the hill to get past the tree line.  Instead, I just turned and shot as it passed through the one gap in the trees I had.  Crap!  If I hadn’t looked at the 747, I would have been fine.  I went all that way and only got a side on shot. The light was really nice too!  What a dope.  Maybe there will be another opportunity – we shall see.

Asia Pacific 757 Freighter Helping UPS

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Looking for something unusual keeps things interesting when you have been shooting the same stuff for a while while not able to go anywhere.  I had seen a couple of movements in recent months of Asia Pacific Airlines and their Boeing 757s.  However, I had never been in a position to catch one.  Christmas Eve I was off work and one was due in to Boeing Field.  It was on their own flight number but I had a suspicion that they were supporting UPS.

Sure enough, when the jet landed, it taxied up to a spot on the UPS ramp and started unloading.  UPS had been running a large amount of movements through Seattle that day and the preceding days so I guess the Christmas rush meant it was necessary to charter in additional capacity to deal with the demand.  An interesting looking plane and nice to see something different for a change.