Tag Archives: 777-300ER

The 777-300ER is King

C59F7753.jpgThe gradual demise of the 747 is a topic that I have brought up on here before. The plane that has been the replacement on a number of services is the Boeing 777-300ER. I was hanging out at Coyote Point recently and, while the majority of arrivals were short haul jets and regional jets, there were a lot of long haul arrivals mixed in there. I was surprised to see just how many 777-330ERs were in the mix now. The A380s were also making an appearance but it seems the 300ER really is a dominant force in the long haul market. This is going to change soon with the arrival of its in house replacement as well as the A350 but, for now, it seems the 300ER rules the roost.

Cathay Pacific Go-Around

C59F9450.jpgYou don’t see a lot of go-arounds at major airports but they do happen.  I was down at LAX awaiting the arrival of a friend when a Cathay Pacific 777 came on to the approach.  As I looked back at it, the approach did not appear to be too stable.  It seemed to start off a little high, then it got back on glide path but it adopted a rather nose high attitude.  At this point I thought something seemed amiss but it then resumed a more normal approach angle and I figured they had got it under control.  It was at this time that they powered up and climbed away.

C59F9479.jpgThey were tucking up the gear as they came across the top of me.  They flew the missed approach procedure and then came around for a second go which went fine this time.  I don’t know what the issue was but I did talk to some other pilots that had flown the approach that day and they mentioned that construction work was underway that had meant some of the approach aids were out of service.  Maybe this was a factor.  Since airlines have strict procedures about going around if they are not stabilized by a certain point, maybe they were just too late getting it back and stable and had to follow the procedure.

Rainy and Dark at SeaTac

wpid13589-AU0E0409.jpgIn the past I have been able to get some reasonable shots of departing aircraft at SeaTac from the pier of the terminal that Southwest operate from while I am waiting for my flight.  I was heading home in the evening and thought I would have little luck because the sun would be on the wrong side.  Turns out, the sun was nowhere to be seen – this is Seattle so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

wpid13593-AU0E0433.jpgInstead, it was raining (shocking news) so, even though the light should not have faded, it was pretty bleak.  Normally, I would have thought this meant I would no be getting any shots.  However, I decided to have a go anyway.  Sometimes, the bad weather shots can come up with something a bit special.  I did not anticipate getting this but it would have been frustrating to watch and miss something cool.

wpid13585-AU0E0385.jpgAs it turned out, things weren’t too dramatic.  I did get a few shots of the jets and turboprops as they headed out.  Sometimes there would be puffs of vapor over the wings or clouds in the inlets but nothing too good.  An Emirates 777 took off which meant a fair bit of spray behind it as it powered away.  Sadly it rotated just as it went out of sight so the real clouds of spray were not visible from where I was.

Did Anyone Bother With This Livery Design?

AU0E1538-2.jpgNot long ago I complained about the dirty condition of a China Eastern A330. At the time, I thought it might be a non-standard jet because the livery was basically white with a couple of distinguishing marks. It turns out that I hadn’t appreciated that China Eastern have replaced their previous colors with a new and less colorful scheme. Since then I have seen some 777s come in with the new scheme. In an era of relatively bland airline colors, it seems to me that China Eastern have gone a stage further and taken any interest at all from the livery. Not a cool effort on their part I think. They should check out what China Southern is doing by comparison.

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Closest Yet on the 777-300ER Gear

AU0E9795.jpgYou might not think a really windy day was going to be a great time to head out and take photos with a long lens hand held. This certainly is not ideal but there are some advantages that a really windy day can bring. The purpose of the trip was to catch the new Virgin 787-9 service coming in to SFO on a Sunday afternoon when I didn’t have anything else planned. While the wind was very strong, the light was nice so I gave it a go. What I didn’t realize was that, while it was windy at home, it was really windy at SFO! Everything was operating on the 28s because the wind was above 30kts and gusting to well over 40kts. This also meant that departures got airborne quite quickly given that they started with over 30kts after zero takeoff roll!

AU0E9781-EditThe heavy jets were frequently airborne before the intersection of the runways and this included an Air France 777-300ER. Consequently, I was able to get a clearer view of the gear during rotation than I have managed before. Above are a still of the gear during rotation and also an animated GIF of the rotation in progress. I think I shall consider myself happy with this. It is the best I have got. Unless I get to spend some time out by the runway while one is departing, I doubt I will get a better chance than this.

Is That a Crosswind?

AU0E8364.jpgUnless you are on the center-line of the approach, you rarely get to see the aircraft directly head on. If there is a crosswind from your direction, though, you can get the planes pointing straight at you for a while. Sadly, this usually is while they are further out on the approach. If you are closer to the runway then you can get a shot that is more interesting because there is some ground to provide context to the angle of the plane. With a strong enough crosswind, you can get a head on shot until close to touchdown.

AU0E8460.jpgThere is a location that I shot at once that is no longer available. It provided a good opportunity to get shots on a strong crosswind day. A Cathay Pacific 777-300ER demonstrates what I mean. A long airliner like a 777 emphasizes the effect even better when it swings around just before touchdown. The photos don’t demonstrate that as well as a video would but it did look cool.  It wasn’t the only one either!

I Guess Humid Days Are Useful

AU0E9429.jpgIf you want to get some nice vapor from an aircraft, start with a good, humid day. The hours after a storm are perfect since there is plenty of moisture in the air and the ground is wet meaning it will keep feeding the moisture for a while. Now you just need a big jet to climb out at high power settings. Enter an ANA 777-300ER stage left.

AU0E9441.jpgThe engines were filling with inlet vapor as the beast hauled itself into the sky and the tip vortices were also doing their bit to pull the water from the air. The fact is was late afternoon so the sun was in a good position too meant that the combination was pretty ideal. We got a few like this for a while but eventually the humidity levels dropped and things returned to normal. Still, it was good for a while and there were other benefits to come.

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Another 777-300ER Wheel Post?

AU0E2336.jpgIf you aren’t already bored with my quest for something definitive on the takeoff characteristics of the Boeing 777-300ER, here is something more on the topic. Rather than animation, this time it is a couple of still shots. The first is a 777-300ER rotating. The second is a 777F. You can clearly see that the truck is rigidly rotating on the 300ER while the freighter has all wheels firmly planted on the ground up into it gets airborne. Maybe I will call that it for now. I promise no more posts on this for a while!

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Another go at the 777-300ER wheels

I have been trying to get evidence of a feature of the Boeing 777-300ER for many years. I previously posted on my efforts to get shots that showed the effect where the main gear bogie is locked to allow the aircraft to get a higher rotation angle at take-off. I have since had another go at this. Taking pictures during the winter has helped since the heat haze is a lot less obvious. Even so, the aircraft are usually quite a distance away. This time I managed to get a sequence that seems to show the effect quite well.

AU0E9767-EditI also had a go at doing the same thing from head on.  Not quite as clear cut but you can see some of what is happening.

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Jet Airways/Etihad

wpid12535-C59F2623-Edit.jpgThis one caught me out. I was at SFO getting some shots when I heard Etihad call up on the tower frequency. I didn’t realize that Etihad flew to SFO and then saw the plane was a Jet Airways 777-300ER – an Indian airline. I was a bit confused by all of this so took some shots thinking it was something unusual going on. Turns out it is not unusual. Etihad have leased some jets from Jet Airways to allow them to add service while they are short on jets of their own. This was one of those jets.

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