Tag Archives: aircraft

Sabreliner Testbed

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The Sabreliner is a neat little jet under normal circumstances, combining as it does the wing of the Sabre with a fuselage for passengers.  This example, that now lives in the Evergreen Aerospace Museum in McMinnville Oregon, is even better because it is a testbed.  The nose has a new radome grafted into place to allow the testing of different radar.  Meanwhile, pods can be mounted under the wings to test a variety of different sensors and electronics.  Some of these different configurations are displayed alongside the airframe.  Good to know that after years of specialized service, the aircraft will survive in the indoor comfort of the museum.

Lake Union Departures

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The floatplane activity on Lake Union is fun to check out, not just for an aviation geek like me, but for plenty of visitors to the city too.  I have previously gone down to the lakeshore to check them out but, one evening, while driving into the city to drop a friend off, I was coming down the road on the hill overlooking the lake when a plane took off giving an interesting alternative perspective on its departure.  I figured this needed to be explored further.

The question was where to go.  The road I had been on was not one on which stopping was practical.  Parallel roads exist but there are buildings along most of them so the view is obscured.  However, I did find a location that had a clear view of most of the lake (aside from one building that was right in the touchdown zone!  I wasn’t around for much of the traffic but I did get to see a few arrivals and departures.  Looking down on the flights and having some scenery behind them including the cityscape rather than the sky is a nice change.  I may have to try this out again at a busier time.

The Candid Really is Russian

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The Antonov 124 is a reasonably regular visitor to the US when outsized cargo needs to be moved.  It is often commented on as being a Russian plane but, while one of the operators is a Russian company and some of the aircraft were assembled in Russia, the design and much of the production is actually Ukrainian.  Ilyushin, on the other hand, really is a Russian company.  Their IL-76 is also operated for freight services but it doesn’t show up anything like as frequently.  Consequently, when a Volga Dnepr example was scheduled in to SeaTac on a Friday afternoon, I was pretty annoyed I would miss it.  However, it ended up being seven hours late so arrived well after dark.

Departure the following day was going to be a practical proposition for me (and many others as it happened).  The weather was not going to be ideal with low cloud and rain but, when the visitor is a rarity, you don’t get to choose whether to go based on weather.  Fortunately, the departure was a lot closer to schedule than the arrival.  I drove past the cargo ramp and saw it parked up and all closed up so did wonder whether it would go on time but things were working well and they headed out.

This aircraft was the newer variant with the PS90 engines and takeoff performance was pretty good.  I had worried it would be low on the climb out and not in a good position to photograph but it climbed well and was in a good position to get a shot.  I had a big grin once it had gone as did the rest of the people waiting for it.

Every Morning You Great Me (Well, Evening This Time)

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A bit of a crummy song reference for which I should really apologize.  Edelweiss is a Swiss airline that flies to Vancouver.  Their flight arrived while Mark and I were on the north side of the field.  Lighting is less than ideal in that location but, once the plane is passed and turning to taxi to the terminal, you get some nice angles and very good light options.  This was my first encounter with an Edelweiss jet and I was pleased that the livery is a bit more interesting than the average these days.

Tower, Requesting a Flyby

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Another shot from the Portland Open House of the Redhawks and a gratuitous reference to Top Gun scripts.  In this case it wasn’t really a flyby.  Instead, the jets were launching off the near runway.  They were all doing a nice job of keeping it low on departure and they ended up pulling up as the passed the ramp and the tower.  A nice view as they pulled up with a few of them getting some vapor is they climbed out more steeply than the average departure from the airport!

Build a Blackbird Pano

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While I was wandering around by the SR-71 at Evergreen and taking some pictures, one of the museum docents approached me and asked if I wanted to go upstairs.  I had seen the stairs and a gallery but the signage showed it as closed off.  If I had an invitation, I wasn’t going to say no, though!  The location put you above the Blackbird giving a great perspective that you don’t normally get.  However, I was pretty close in so the lens I had was still not wide enough.  Time for a pano instead.  I took a sequence of shots to try and cover the whole thing as best I could.  Then it was up to the software to do the stitching.  The above shot was the result.

It’s a Long Way to Bole

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There are plenty of widebody flights out of Paine Field.  Since the flights are normally not very long compared to the capabilities of the aircraft, they tend to be light and get off the ground quickly.  A delivery flight is a different proposition if it is for an airline based a long way away.  Ethiopian was taking delivery of a 787.  The flight was a direct one from Everett to Bole.  Consequently, it was fueled up well.  Still, it didn’t have much payload and I was surprised to see it get off the ground pretty quickly.  They had a long flight ahead of them.

P-8 in the Wild

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Despite the number of them that are now in service, I have very little experience with the Boeing P-8 Poseidon.  I had only seen one flying and that was a test jet at Boeing Field.  When we got to NAS Whidbey Island, the P-3s were the thing I was more interested in but I certainly wasn’t going to turn down an operational P-8 for the first time.  It didn’t take long to get one.  We had not long arrived when one departed past us on the shoreline.

As we moved around for the arrivals, we got a bit more P-8 traffic.  Some arrivals showed up.  One was lacking in anything colorful for squadron markings but another included a bit more individuality.  I wonder whether we shall gradually see more color showing up on the jets or whether they shall be a fleet of bland, gray jets.  Fingers crossed!

Finally an Air Transat

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Air Transat is an airline that I haven’t seen much of.  I recall them flying to the UK decades ago with TriStars (if I am thinking of the right airline) but, since then I have not really come across them.  To be honest, I actually thought they were long gone but it turns out they continue to ply their trade.  As I was heading to Vancouver International, I saw one of their A330s climbing out and I was a bit annoyed to have missed it.  However, it wasn’t their only scheduled departure for that evening.  A later flight went while I was there and I managed to get my first shots of them in action.

Gate Guards

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The 142FW of the Oregon ANG has operated a number of different types over the years.  It was nice to see that the base has preserved some of the jets.  As you come through the main gate, the grass area to your left has an F-15A mounted on a pole looking suitably dynamic and reflecting the current jets used by the unit.

A short distance away is a memorial park with two further jets.  Both of these are in great condition (the F-15 looked a bit weathered from a distance).  There is an F-4C Phantom which is nice but the one I liked the most is an F-101 Voodoo.  The Voodoo is a jet I never saw fly.  I have seen various examples on the ground over the years but there is something about the lines of the jet I just like.  Oh, to have seen them in action.