Tag Archives: 777-9

Which Do You Prefer and Do You Care?

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As mentioned in other posts, I have been playing around with lower shutter speeds when photographing planes at Boeing Field.  Getting a blurry background to emphasize the speed of the plane is the goal and it also removes some of the annoying distractions that a cluttered airfield can provide.  I use filters to reduce the light in order to get the shutter speed down without having ridiculous apertures.  Naturally, I end up with a bunch of blurred photos which get deleted but the selection process for the keepers is what this post is about.

I have some photography friends that don’t like the effect that the differential speeds of the parts of the airframe have on sharpness.  A sharp nose might mean a pretty blurry tail since the relative motions as I pan are different.  When I am filtering through the shots, I often “focus” on how the nose looks since it is like having the sharp eyes on a wildlife shot.  I care less about the tail unless it looks terrible.  However, getting the middle of the airframe sharp might result in a sharper overall shot even if the nose is a little blurry.

These are the things I was thinking about with these shots of a 777X landing at Boeing Field.  The reason for the post is to see what matters to other people.  These shots are a mix of which part of the airframe is sharp and which bits are more blurred.  I may spend a fair bit of time deciding on which is best, but I wonder whether anyone looking at them is going to like the same things as me or will even care about it.  Maybe the composition of the image is all that they care about, and the pixel peeping is irrelevant.  I would really appreciate feedback if you have an opinion.

What A Difference A Few Minutes Makes

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Paine Field is getting rather full of spare 777X airframes.  They are getting stored in all sorts of locations and a recent spot for them is alongside the main assembly building at the north end of the field.  I was using the long lens and so, rather than change lenses, I shot a few images to make a pano.  It was a little dull but more of a record shot.  A few minutes passed by the the clouds behind me had moved on and the light on the airframes had improved significantly.  I reshot the scene before it changed again.  Looking at the two shots, it is hard to believe that they were only a few minutes apart.  What an impact a change in lighting can bring to a shot.

WH004 Back at Paine Field

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The 777X program is hardly zipping along.  The four test aircraft have been in use for a while now but the certification is not due until the end of 2023.  After being built at Everett, the test jets all headed to Boeing Field.  However, the fourth test aircraft, WH004, recently went back to Everett.  I’m not sure why but it did a bit of flying out of there.  One evening, I popped up to get a photo or two when it was returning.  Conditions were ideal but a white jet will always have a bit of light on the airframe.

Finally WH003 Thanks to Nancy

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Of the four 777X test aircraft, one had eluded me.  I had shot the third jet on the ground but never in motion.  Supposedly it is the performance test aircraft so the suggestion was that it was being preserved until a lot of configuration work had been done to make sure the engines were in peak shape prior to measuring fuel consumption. Recently I heard that it had been making a bunch of flights.  The good news was that these flights – lots of straight line flying out over the Pacific – were quite long and they usually landed in the early evening.  A trip after work was on the cards.

The problem with this timing is that is clashes with dinner.  Fortunately, I have a wife that is tolerant of my interest (although I think it would be wrong to say she understands my obsession!).  Nancy was willing to delay dinner until it came back (and I could then get home).  With test flying, there are no guarantees about timing so I would watch the jet head back up the coast only to turn around and go for another run south.

Fortunately, it finally turned back towards Seattle and it was pretty certain it was coming back.  The benefit of this waiting is that the light is getting better and better.  The downside of shooting the 777X is the size means the long lens is too much for the touchdown area.  The wide lens doesn’t do well for the rest of the approach though.  Two cameras was the answer.  I thought I had one set up right but it turns out I had messed up something with the result that the shots were rather overexposed.  Fortunately, RAW came to the rescue and I was able to get the shots back to what I wanted.  Now I have them all in flight.

777X Parking Lot

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Boeing is not having a good time of it at the moment.  The 737 Max saga hurt it significantly and it is still getting in to delivering jets that have been stored for a long time.  Some countries have still not cleared it to fly.  Meanwhile, the 787 program is in a bit of a hole with a variety of quality problems showing up such that deliveries have almost ground to a halt.  Those two programs are supposed to be cash generators at the moment which allow investment in the next program.  The KC-46 is also not what you would call a success!

That program is the 777X and it is not going well either.  In the aftermath of the Max problems, the certification program is getting significantly dragged out.  Initially engine problems delayed first flight but now that is a distant memory as all sorts of other things are meaning that service entry is not likely until early 2024.  They should have been in service last year under the original plan.

Production of the last original 777s other than freighters is now complete and production of 777X airframes is well underway.  However, there is nothing to do with them for now so a steady stream of green airframes is piling up at Paine Field.  The cross runway (it doesn’t seem fair to call it a runway given that Boeing has used it as a parking lot for the last decade) is now filling up with airframes with weights where the engines would be and either no wing tips or they are covered with film to disguise the customer airline markings.  Line numbers are taped to the gear doors.  It all looks rather familiar and sad.  It will be a while before these jets are readied for customers and it will be interesting to see how many Paine Field can hold before the production line churns out even more of them than there is space for.

More 777X Test Shots

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With the extended test program for the Boeing 777X, I have had ample time to shoot the four test aircraft.  (The fact I have only shot the third jet on the ground is a function of the very limited flying it has done to date.  It is the performance aircraft so they are not using the engines much to maximize performance until the configuration is tightened up and the performance tests are required.). That hasn’t stopped me getting shots of the jets when the opportunity arises.

They have flown over the house a few times when on the return journey to Boeing Field.  I have also caught them on occasions when down at Boeing Field.  I got two in one day with the second and fourth airframes heading out close together.  I got the second as it rolled for take off and the fourth taxied past while I was eating my lunch.  I’m sure I will get more shots of them with the test program scheduled to continue through certification at the end of 2023!

777X Through the Clouds

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When planes are on a southerly flow into the Seattle airports, the traffic comes over our house all the time.  The SeaTac traffic is always a bit higher but the Boeing Field traffic can be lower and visible from the window.  If I notice something is coming, I can grab the camera and take some shots of the jets passing overhead.  This includes the 777X test aircraft.  On a clear day, things are pretty straightforward but a bit of cloud can really make for more interesting shots.

777X Over the Top

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Having shot the 777X test aircraft a bunch of times, I was looking for something a little different.  I figured I could head out to the north end of Boeing Field and be under the jet as it was on short final.  I shot something similar at LAX a number of years ago and liked the results so decided to have a go.  This was not as simple as I had hoped for.  First, the plane is out of sight for most of the approach with buildings and power lines in the way.

Second, I didn’t have lots of big jets to pay with.  It was my first opportunity so I didn’t have time to get the hang of it.  As it was, I didn’t do as good a job as I would have liked.  I was shooting with a wide lens and tracking the airframe to fill the frame was trickier than expected.  In the early shots, it was too far to one side of the frame and I ended up with the nose closer to the middle than ideal with the result that many shots lack a back end of the airframe.  I will try it again with these issues in mind and I shall skip the long lens shots first.  Making a quick switch meant I was not as well prepared as I could have been.  I did grab a shot through the fence of the jet heading for touchdown with Mt Rainier in the background too.

777X Low Approach at Paine

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A nice bonus during my evening photographing at Paine Field was the visit of a 777X test airframe from Boeing Field.  They often file to go to Paine for a low approach and maybe some pattern work before returning to Boeing Field but don’t always follow through – sometimes just heading back to BFI.  This time, they did show up.  A nice evening with smooth conditions and they flew down the approach before powering up and going around as they cross the airfield boundary.  A few shots in nice light are always welcome.