Tag Archives: airliner

Beach Towel Aircraft

1 Reply

Condor has gone on a bit of a Marmite route with its livery.  They have decided to paint their aircraft with a striped paint scheme that looks like a beach towel.  When they first went this way, the A330s that came to Seattle were leased jets and they only painted the fins rather than the whole airframe.  They had ordered new A330-900s from Airbus, and these were delivered with the full paint job.  I took a while before I finally saw one of these come to SEA and it was the green one.  I still haven’t seen beige or blue!  I have heard comments that really show how much people dislike this choice.  For me it is such a nice change from the norm that I am really happy to see them.  Something different is fun.

Just in Time for an Everts MD-83BCF

Leave a Reply

I was waiting for my mate to get through immigration at SEA after a flight from the UK.  He was telling me that there was a horrible line to get through, so I figured I had a little time.  I also knew that Everts Air Cargo’s MD-83 freighter was due to launch out of Boeing Field.  Originally, I had figured I would miss it but, since he was stuck in line, I might as well wait around and get the take off.  A slightly gloomy day but a Mad Dog freighter is still worth it!

United’s 737-10 Being Used for SAF Tests

Leave a Reply

The NASA DC-8 was up in the Pacific Northwest for the trials sampling the air when burning sustainable aviation fuel.  The aircraft that was actually burning the fuel that they were sniffing was a 737-10.  This Max 10 is ultimately destined for United Airlines.  Since the Max 10 is not certificated yet, I guess the jet was free for Boeing to use.  It had a special livery for the trials program.  Not sure whether this will be kept for service or not.  However, when I was shooting the DC-8, I usually got to shoot the Max as well.  It didn’t always get the best light, but I still got a few good shots of it.

Waiting at the South Concourse for Our Flight

Leave a Reply

When we headed to the UK we departed from the South Satellite at SEA.  It is the location used by most of the international operators.  We got there in good time so I had a chance to watch some of the other flights arriving and departing.  Here is a selection of shots of the airlines that came and went while we were there (including our jet to the UK).

Delta 321neos Abound

Leave a Reply

Delta has gone in for the A321neo in a big way.  They are taking delivery of them at a pretty steady pace.  That doesn’t mean you get them everywhere as some types get focused on regions that others don’t.  For a while, we didn’t see too many of the neo jets up this way but that seems to have changed now.  I am seeing loads of them if I am around SEA these days.  Here is a selection of shots of their jets that I have taken in recent months.

737-600 – The Unpopular Variant

Leave a Reply

It seems for each generation of airliner, the smallest one from the previous generation is the one that doesn’t do so well.  The 737-500 sold reasonably well but the -600 was the unloved on of the NG range.  The -700 sold well but the Max 7 is not really attracting any love (except from Southwest).  The A320 family has the same thing.  Apparently, the small one just doesn’t age well.  The 737-600 did not end up with many airlines so I have few shots of them.  Aside from the Janets, these are the only operators I have seen.

Finally, I Catch the NASA DC-8

Leave a Reply

I have not done well in my previous efforts to photograph NASA’s DC-8 environmental sampling aircraft.  I had taken some distant overhead images when I was down at Star Wars Canyon and had hoped to see it fly at the air show at Edwards AFB last year.  Sadly, that didn’t happen as it was down for some maintenance issues.  With it due for retirement soon, I figured that might have been it.  However, I was chatting to some friends a while back and they informed me that it was due to come up to Everett for about ten days of flying in November.

This proved to be the case.  A program with Boeing as part of their EcoDemonstrator program had a new 737-10 that is ultimately destined for United (if the Max 10 ever gets certificated) flying with sustainable aviation fuel and the DC-8 flying behind it to sample the air, identify the emissions particles and measure the types of contrails formed but the different elements of the fuels.  The Max 10 was painted in a special livery which included the EcoDemonstrator Explorer program name.

The DC-8 was operating from Paine Field for the trials.  I was not able to get it arriving, but it was there long enough that I didn’t miss out.  These shots are from the first time I was able to see it getting ready to fly and heading out.  Over the course of the time it was here, I had further encounters and some of those are worthy of their own posts.  Consequently, there will be more to share of this fantastic relic of a bygone era in passenger aviation.

Drake is in Town, But Not at a Good Time

Leave a Reply

Drake recently announced he was stepping back from touring, but this comes after he has been on quite a touring schedule.  Seattle was one stop he made.  He has his own 767-200 that is operated by Cargojet for him.  It is painted in a distinctive sky-blue livery.  It came into Boeing Field for the duration of his stay in the city.  Sadly, his schedule means he finishes a show and jumps on the plane to fly to the next location overnight.  That meant it arrive some time after midnight and departed at an inconvenient time too.  I only got it while parked and the light was not great either.  Still…

Frontier’s Weaselly Pun

Leave a Reply

Frontier Airlines names all of its planes and the names reflect the wildlife artwork on the fin.  One of their A321neos was taxiing out at Portland one morning.  It had some sort of weasel-like creature on the fin and the name of the plane was Kari the Fisher.  I certainly get the Star Wars reference but I had to look up Fishers to find out that they are a member of the weasel family.  I had never heard of them before.  Nice to think that my enthusiasm for aviation can be educational in other spheres!

Components for 767 Production

Leave a Reply

One of the reasons we get a stream of unusual freighters into Paine Field is the delivery of sections of fuselage for the production lines.  This can include front fuselage sections, center wing boxes and empennage elements.  One afternoon an Antonov showed up to deliver some of these parts.  While getting the plane arriving was why I was there, it was interesting to see these chunks of future planes (I believe these were for the 767/KC-46 line) being offloaded and driven off to be used.