Tag Archives: airliner

The Eco-Demonstrator Lives – Where’s the New One?

Boeing has had a number of aircraft in its Eco-Demonstrator program. The most recent one is a 787-10 that they have been using to test air traffic control innovations including some trans-Pacific flights in coordination with control agencies in various Asian countries. When I shot the 777 demonstrator a while back, I thought it was the end of the line for that plane and it was heading to desert. Apparently not. It is back and flying and made a trip to the Paris Air Show. I got it on its return recently from Europe. Maybe we shall see more of it in the coming months. Now to try and find the 787!

Sun Behind a 747

Leave a Reply

I was flying home from the Midwest and, as we taxied off the active runway, I could see an Asiana 747-400F taxiing for departure. We crossed the runway before it took off and, since I was on the side of the aircraft facing the runway, I got a good view of the sunlight punching through the clouds off to the west. I got the phone out to get a shot having completely forgotten that the 747 would be on its way any time. As it came into view, I grabbed a couple of phone shots as it passed the sunlight. Phones are still not a true competitor to a decent camera, but they can really produce something useful.

Ameristar DC-9 But It Doesn’t Move

Leave a Reply

This plane was teasing me. Ameristar has DC-9s in its fleet and they are clearly not young airframes, but it is nice when they get a fresh paint job. One was at Boeing Field in a shiny new looking livery. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going anywhere while I was near it. I got shots of it on the ramp and near the terminal building. I also got an overhead shot of it from up on the hill. None of these involved it doing anything other than sitting there though. Let’s hope I get lucky with it before too long.

Lots of Approach Vapor for Video

Leave a Reply

Seattle is a place where you can get a fair bit of humidity at certain times of day. Earlier in the day, there might be a lot of cloud but it will burn off as the day goes on and you have some sunny afternoons and evenings. Watching the planes on approach to SEA on days like this can make for some rapidly changing conditions. I was watching a bunch of jets heading towards SEA as they came through the clouds and into clear air. They would be leaving trails in the cloud base behind them as they went but would be trailing their own little vapor fields behind them.

The conditions didn’t last long and soon the clouds were almost gone and the amount of vapor that they were pulling was minimizing. The vapor was clearly aligned with the flaps on the wings so you could see where the air was being worked the hardest. I did get some shots of them for this which I shall share later but the way in which the vapor puffs and dissipates is best seen in video, so I shot a bunch of that. Most planes were coming directly over me but a couple of the wide-bodies were going to the inner runway so were offset from my location.

Taking A Chance on Late Evening Light on the 727

Leave a Reply

I had been disappointed by a Kalitta 727 that had come into Boeing Field during the day when I was unable to see it. I was heading home from meetings south of the city and stopped by to see if it was leaving that evening and they almost did and then had a technical issue. I had to get home so missed it. I was, therefore, rather pleased when I saw it was coming to Paine Field a little while later. It was due to arrive early in the evening.

The 727s are rare beasts these days but Kalitta has been picking up more and more 737s so you have to wonder how long the 727s will be around. My enthusiasm was tempered a bit when I saw that the previous leg had been a few hours late so the planned arrival time was not realistic. Instead, once it got airborne, it was due in around 9pm. Sunset was 9:12 so this would be tight for time and would require the weather to cooperate.

I had dinner with Nancy, and we hung out for a while at which point I had to make the call. Would I go up to Everett or not. The weather looked okay where we are, but you never know what it will be like further up towards the coast. At that time of the evening, it is a quick run so I figured I would just see how things looked. As it turned out, the weather was pretty clear, and they made good time and a pretty direct approach. As the three-holed beast came down the approach, there was low sun illuminating it.

I then headed around to the terminal to see if I could get a shot of them unloading. The sun was now setting so the sky was glowing behind the jet as the crew worked to offload the cargo. The fuselage was in deep shadow, but I used some HDR bracketing to give me options to work with. Overall, it couldn’t have gone better. They were looking for a quick turnaround and return to Michigan, but I knew it would be dark by then so headed home. I actually heard it climb out over us just after I had got into bed!

How Many Jets in One Approach Shot?

Leave a Reply

I was waiting for one specific jet at SEA (which has long ago made an appearance on this blog) but, while I was hanging around, I was shooting different angles up the approach. In a few shots I could see a number of aircraft lined up on the approach or turning on to it. I played around with seeing how many I might get in one shot. It needed relatively clear air to get the more distant planes visible. A hazy day would not do the trick.

Qantaslink 717 Finally Makes It Through Seattle

Leave a Reply

Word was circulating amongst the local photographers about the impending arrival of a Boeing 717. Qantaslink has been operating the 717s in Australia for many years but is now in the process of replacing them. One of the first to be replaced had made its way as far as Anchorage and was heading to Victorville for repainting and refitting for its next operator. It was due to stage through Seattle before the final leg to California. However, while the flight plan was filed, it never left Anchorage.

The process was repeated for multiple days. I think it may have been over a week before the plane actually moved from its parking spot in Anchorage and headed for the runway. To be honest, I was still wondering whether it would get airborne but, once it did, I prepared to head down to BFI. The journey must have been relatively uneventful as they arrived when expected. There was already a flight plan for the next stage of the trip, so I hung around waiting for the departure.

Part of me wondered whether the jet would break again but all was well, and they headed off. The flight crew had Australian accents and were working for a ferry company judging by the flight number. With the plane safely delivered, I am now curious to see whether more of the fleet will make the same journey. Maybe we’ll get bored of Qantas liveried 717s coming through.

Skylease Cargo 747 Makes a Gloomy Weekend Appearance

Leave a Reply

Not long ago I posted about the variety of operators of 747s that I have photographed over the years. The number of operators is gradually declining so, the likelihood of a new one showing up near me is reducing. However, I did get a new opportunity one weekend. Skylease Cargo had made a few trips to Paine Field for Boeing but these had all been when I was at work. This time, one was due in on a weekend.

I headed up first thing in the morning to catch it coming in from Miami. The weather was not good at home and it was worse at Everett. There was a low cloud base. Things were rather gloomy but you take the opportunities when they come along. At least, since the weather was bad, I wasn’t going to have to worry about being backlit this early in the morning.

No doubt about it, the conditions did not result in shots that I am going to treasure. A white jet on a cloudy day is never going to provide a competition winner. Never mind. It was a new operator of a favorite jet and what else was I doing on a dull weekend morning anyway?

Western Global Decides to Mess With Us

Leave a Reply

We had a brief phase a few months ago when Western Global was bringing in jets to Paine Field. The first one I encountered was a 747 freighter. It arrived in okay conditions but was flight planned for a departure that afternoon. The weather was getting better and better and, when they missed their original slot, I wasn’t complaining since the light was only going to improve. However, there was absolutely no sign of them moving. The crew appeared at one point and then left again. Eventually it became clear that they weren’t going.

The jet was parked in a position that meant the tail was slightly obscured. That meant the shot was not quite what I would have liked but it was going to have to do. They didn’t end up leaving until the next day but that was no longer the weekend, so I didn’t see it go. A touch frustrating but such is life!

Two Goes At Singapore Arrivals

Leave a Reply

Singapore Airlines has been flying into SEA for a while. Initially they stopped at Vancouver and then continued to SEA before reversing the journey, but I guess loads were good enough that they changed to a direct flight. It arrives first thing in the morning and then heads out mid morning to go home. I have tried to get shots of it but the combination of weather issues and making it work for a weekend morning when I can plausibly be there has been tricky. One weekend, the weather wasn’t great, but I decided to give it a go.

I was looking to shoot from a location that gives an angle on the touchdown zone which I figured would help overcome the less than ideal weather conditions with more ground in the shot. However, I was disappointed to find that they were bringing the jet in on the outer runway. Consequently, it was a bit more distant than ideal (although the crummy weather meant haze was less of an issue than might otherwise have been the case).

The following week, I had a second go. The weather was slightly better but still not great. I was rather worried that I was going to have a repeat of the previous week. Not great conditions and would it go to the outside. As I watched the track inbound, I could see a bunch of other aircraft vectoring in for their approaches. Busy arrivals can often mean the heavies get sent to the inner runway to avoid wake turbulence requirements causing delays to the narrow bodies. This was the case and I got what I was after. The only issue was that there were quite a few planes taxiing out for departure and obscuring my shot (and throwing out some heat as well). However, I did get a shot so let’s count that as a win.