Tag Archives: aircraft

SeaTac Widebody Evening Arrivals

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I was out one evening awaiting the arrival of something that currently escapes my memory.  In the meantime, I was in position to get the arrival of a few widebodies.  Since SeaTac tends to put the widebodies on the inner runway, they are the ones you can get from this park location while almost everything else (plus the occasional wide body!) goes to the outer runway behind you and through the trees.

On this evening, we had four widebodies come in.  Condor brought their regular 767 flight.  This were joined by an Air China Cargo Boeing 747-400F, a FedEx 777F and last but by no means least, a British Airways 747-400.  The evening light was very favorable and this location is both easily accessible and pretty good for this approach.

Getting a Little Closer to Helijet S-76s

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The Helinet S-76s are something I am always looking out for.  I have seen them many times although the shots have sometimes left me wanting something better.  While I was last in Stanley Park, I got to see a lot of their movements.  The best bit was that, on some occasions, they flew pretty close overhead me.  I was able to get some shots I was pretty happy with.

I could watch them descend to the heliport on the other side of the harbor but that was a long way off.  The climb outs sometimes came close but the arrivals were the best.  I was quite surprised by the gear lowering sequence with the mains seeming to pop out like they were on springs.  No slow and steady deployment for these guys.

Turkish Phantoms

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F-4 Phantoms are rapidly disappearing from service.  They remain in a few countries but their replacements are lined up in most cases.  The Turkish Air Force is still using them and brought some examples to RIAT.  They made their way to the west end for us to get some shots.  These jets had been planned for replacement by the F-35A Lightning II.  However, with the political fall out of the Turkish acquisition of Russian missile systems, they have been blocked from the program.  Maybe the F-4s will live on a little longer after all.

Hansajet Throwback

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The Hansajet was an odd airframe and one of those examples of manufacturers trying innovative things out that didn’t really go anywhere.  It had a slightly forward swept wing to improve efficiency but forward swept wings have largely failed to gain any traction.  It was operated by the Luftwaffe and this example was an attendee at an Air Fete at Mildenhall, I am going to say in 1991 but that may be wrong.  I saw it on approach and then again in the static display.  Quite a neat looking jet I think.  Anyone know if any still fly?

Patrouille de France Takeoff Configurations

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I was working through some RIAT photos of the Patrouille de France display.  I had some tight shots of the first four jets as they took off and, as I looked closer at them, I was confused as to why two of the jets had a more nose high attitude than the other two.  Since they are taking off on formation, I figured that they should look the same.

A closer look at the images and it seems that the flap settings of the jets vary.  The nose high aircraft seem to have less flap – hence their need for a higher angle of attack – than the other two jets.  I have been trying the think why they would adopt this approach.  With all jets accelerating together and climbing together, I had imagined that they would all be in the same configuration.  I wonder whether there is something to do with the outwash from the nearby jets that requires a different configuration but I haven’t come up with anything conclusive.  I throw it out to the aero engineers that read this to propose your ideas as to why.  If any of you know anyone in the PdF, feel free to ask them instead!

Ryanair Max Jets in Storage

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Ryanair is the launch customer for the Max 200 version of the 737-8 Max.  The Max 200 name is going away I believe since it is a high density version of the -8.  With the grounding of the Max fleet continuing, a number of the Ryanair jets are now parked awaiting deliveries to recommence.  I was walking through the park at Renton on a sunny weekend morning and the Ryanair jets were lined up across the airport from me.  Knowing Michael O’Leary’s enthusiasm for direct communication, I would love to know how his conversations with Boeing over compensation are going.

Smokewinders Not Smoking

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My F-16 shots from RIAT didn’t just throw up vortices (like this post).  They also showed something that seems to be a common occurrence in flying displays.  That is the failure of a Smokewinder to perform.  Smokewinders are a smoke generating pod that fits on a Sidewinder launch rail.  They are controlled from the cockpit and should add a nice effect to a display sequence.  The Belgian Air Force display aircraft was using them for its display.

In the early 90s we used them on the BAe company Hawk demonstrators at shows.  The crews had got to understand the workings of the pods well and knew what could cause them to quit during a display.  At one Farnborough, they actually helped out one of the other companies that was having trouble keeping theirs running smoothly.  I guess the problem hasn’t gone away and the knowledge is not widely shared as the Belgian jet lost one pod during its display.  In the shot above, you can see a small amount of flame emerging rather than the intended smoke and, a short while later, the pod quit for the rest of the display.

Veteran Tribute Extends to the Embraer

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Alaska Airlines has a 737 flying in a special scheme as a Salute to Veterans.  I have shot that in the past and it appeared on the blog in this post.  I wasn’t aware until recently that they had painted a second jet in a similar scheme – this time from their regional fleet.  This is an Embraer E175-E1.  Here it is departing SeaTac one morning while I was awaiting my flight out.

Arrivals at RIAT

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Arrivals day at any air show is a good opportunity to catch the movements of aircraft that will only be in the static display as opposed to the flying display.  At RIAT, there are park and view areas at the east and west ends of the airfield.  I have used both over the years but the east end can be really hectic.  It does give you the chance to shoot the aircraft on final approach but you can really be fighting for space.

I chose the west end this year.  Planes were landing at the east end but it was pretty normal for aircraft to taxi to the west end to then be led to their parking location.  Of course, a few interesting types managed to turn off early or backtrack before they got to the end but, on the whole, we did well.  The weather wasn’t great but there was a fair bit of sun which helped.

Some of the more exotic types made it up our way.  The Ukrainian SU-27s and their IL-76 came up as did the special schemes on some of the F-16s.  The Luftwaffe brought some marked jets along too.  An F-15E taxied past twice and provided a couple of speed brake waves for the gathered photographers.  It could get a bit congested and, with jets holding in the turning loop, they did occasionally send their jet wash across the path of the incoming jets which sabotaged a few photo opportunities.

Later on the Thursday, a few practice displays were also flown by crews qualifying for the show which provided a different angle on some of the performances.  An F-16C of the USAF did its full routine and then added a few extra banana passes bringing out right over us at speed several times.  Much appreciated!

Another Rapide!

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I posted some shots of John Sessions’ Dragon Rapide in this post.  I was pleased to see another Rapide show up at Fairford for RIAT.  I managed to get a few shots of it.  It was painted in a nice color scheme and looked very elegant as it pottered by.  Not a speedy plane (despite the name) so plenty of time to enjoy it.