Tag Archives: airliner

My First A220

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The A220 (or C Series CS100 if you are not yet ready to have it labeled as an Airbus) has been in service for a while but, until recently, I hadn’t seen one.  Then, while I was on the shuttle between the terminals at DFW, we came around the terminal that Delta uses and I realized that the jet that had just pushed back was an A220.

It was early evening so the light was quite nice.  The shape of the jet was quite distinctive.  Aside from the cockpit shaping, the wings are quite large (giving it quite decent range capability) and the large fans of the Pratt GTFs are conspicuous.  It is not a bad looking jet the Delta colors looked good on it.  Sadly it taxied to the other side of the airport so I didn’t see it depart but it was nice to finally see one for real.

Max 8 Departs Just Before Grounding

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Paul and I were in Vegas for Red Flag but the early morning is also a good time to shoot at McCarran International.  The morning light is ideal for the north/south runways and, with the wind playing ball, you can get the iconic McCarran shots of jets taking off with the weird and wonderful hotel buildings behind them.  Where else will you get a pyramid and the Empire State Building in the background.  Southwest has a big presence at McCarran and we saw a string of their jets head out including one Max8.  We watched it climb out little realizing that the grounding order would be coming within hours or even minutes.  Whether the jet continued to its destination or turned around, we don’t know but that was its last commercial flight for a while.

My Convair Up Close

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The Convair CV580 has shown up in a couple of posts at least so far.  Getting to Everett early one morning prior to heading to Whidbey Island, it was a pleasant surprise to see it out on the ramp.  It was even nicer to see the door was open.  Before too long the giant square blades of the props started to turn and they were heading off.  They did turn the opposite way to what I was hoping for when they taxied but nothing to sniff at.  We decided to see whether we could get to the end of the field before they did but they must have taxied smartly and got a quick take off clearance because they were up and away as we drove towards to the runway.  Still, a nice start to the day.

Back How it Was Delivered

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The BOAC retro jet that BA has painted up was a nice treat to get.  There are two other retro jets in other colors but, based on their interior configuration, they should not normally be used on the Seattle route.  Therefore, I wasn’t expecting a chance to get them any time soon.  Then, I saw that the Landor scheme aircraft was coming to SeaTac.  It must have been a substitution.  Now I was interested.  However, it pushed off the gate at Heathrow and then went back on with some engine start issue.  Was it going to scrub?

Apparently not.  The issue was resolved and they pushed again.  While the passengers were, no doubt, unimpressed by this, I was delighted.  It now meant the arrival was at nearly 7pm.  No problem to get to SeaTac after work and the light might be really nice.  The weather was better than forecast although the chance of Mt Rainier making a second appearance was low.  Again, plenty were out for the arrival.  She showed up on the approach and the light played ball.  This jet would have been delivered to BA with these colors so it was a case of reverting to how she had appeared many years before.

Kalitta Charter 727

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Boeing 727s aren’t a total rarity but they are certainly not common and, when one showed up at Paine Field, it was worthy of a look.  Operated by Kalitta Charter, it was making a trip around the west.  It arrived at Paine in nice light and a flight plan was filed for a departure shortly afterwards.  This turned out to be a bit optimistic but I had plenty to do so I sat nearby awaiting the departure.  It ultimately came later in the day so the weather was great.

What wasn’t great was that I missed them calling up on the radio as I was busy with some work.  I happened to glance up and see the aircraft rotating in lovely light.  I grabbed the camera and tried to get a quick shot but the camera was not happy and I got a second of open shutter.  Nothing usable.  A quick reset and then I was able to get tail on shots as it climbed away.  To say I was annoyed is an understatement.  At least I saw it, even if I have no shots to share.

Sands 747SPs

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It’s always interesting to see what is at the Sands ramp at McCarran.  The flight of luxury jets for bringing in the high rollers to play at the casino is a mix of types.  Some “normal” Gulfstream, an A340-500 and the Boeing 747SP.  I was delighted to see that two SPs were parked up on the ramp the morning I was there.  Seeing them move was a bit much to ask but getting them in some lovely light immediately after sunrise was a good alternative.

777X Prepping for Flight

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The 777X will make its first flight before too long.  Indeed, it might happen before this post goes live but we shall see.  It was due to have a roll out at Everett but that was toned down due to the ongoing Max issues.  Instead, it rolled out to the flight line where it has been in prep for first flight.  (We will get low and high speed taxi runs first of course.  I wonder whether I will be able to get up there for the flight or not.). I have seen it parked on the ramp at Boeing’s center.  From across the field, it is visible but subject to a lot of heat haze.  From the other side of the field it is closer but the view is a bit obstructed.  I saw it in the hangar during a previous tour but now it is out and in Boeing house colors.  This is a 777-9 version and the folded wing tips are clear to see.

Been a While Since I Saw a BOAC Jet

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When I was very young, BOAC still existed but it was soon merged in to British Airways.  I remember model kits being for BOAC jets and I have seen some preserved aircraft in BOAC colors.  As part of British Airways’ 100th year celebrations, they have painted up four airframes in legacy colors.  The first to appear was a 747-400 in the BOAC scheme.  I saw a bunch of shots of it online and was keen to see it for myself.  It appeared on the schedule for an evening arrival at SeaTac so I made sure to be down there.

They were making a southerly flow that day and the evening is not a good time for that approach path as there are few locations to get good shots.  However, I was “lucky” in that it was a crummy day for weather.  The water tower location would normally have been horribly backlit but, since there was no sun, it might just do.  I did get the shots and, by virtue of shooting quite heavily overexposed and then pulling back in post, I was able to get something I was reasonably pleased with.

I did really want the sun though and, not two weeks later, the jet was back on the SeaTac run.  Again the evening arrival but this time it was sunny and the flow was northerly.  This provides some opportunities for getting the iconic SeaTac arrival shot with Mt Rainier in the background.  I was certainly not alone as she came down the approach nicely illuminated by the evening light.  Thank goodness for time changes and being done with work by then!

737 Max8 Heads Off For The First Time

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I stopped off at Renton one Sunday morning to see what was on the flight line.  (This was prior to the groundings after the Ethiopian Max 8 crash.)  There was a first flight showing up on the flight plan so I kept an eye out for any sign of activity as I walked along the park trail.  Sure enough, the sound of an engine start reached me when I was down near the bridge between the factory and the flight line.  This is a bit far away from where I would want to be to photograph the take off but this is a first flight.  There is plenty to check before they go flying unlike a regular flight, so time was on my side.

I made my way back along the river in plenty of time for the jet to move.  Prior to flight they accelerate and brake to a stop.  They did this along the runway the opposite direction to that in which they planned to take off so they actually taxied up past me, turned and accelerated before turning again to make the actual take off.  This gave me plenty of views of the unpainted jet.  They climbed away and then redeployed the gear, possibly to cool off the brakes a bit.  They then turned off on their departure heading.  Moses Lake will have been part of the test plan but the flight will have ended at Boeing Field.

Pretty Mountain Backdrop

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My effort to shoot an arriving A350 at SeaTac provided a secondary benefit.  The majority of arriving aircraft land on the outer runway.  This is further away and also has a threshold further up the field.  This means the aircraft are higher up on the approach.  On a clear winter’s day, the planes have the backdrop of the snow covered Olympic mountain range.  They were a bit far away but did provide a rather scenic view.