Tag Archives: airliner

Three Planes per Shot?

I haven’t shot at Fisherman’s Park before and I am glad Hayman suggested it. The location provides a slightly different perspective on the planes coming in to SFO. It also seems to be the right angle to get lots of planes in one shot. Parallel approaches will give you two but you can also get the aircraft departing off the 01s in the background too. Sadly, they were often in shade as they departed but it still provided some contrasting shots. Then it was just a question of whether you could get two arriving and two departing jets in the same shot or not. Sadly, not this time.

A Little SoCal Shoot As I Head Home

1 Reply

Half an hour of spare time on my way back to John Wayne Airport so I figured a quick shoot of approaches was worth a shot. It wasn’t going to be the most productive of shoots but why waste an opportunity. There were some regional jets and some airliners while I was there but also a few biz jets showed up. The sun was getting lower so the light was a bit more appealing. Even so, just a few stock shots for possible future use. Two Alaska Embraers came in but they were from different operators, Skywest and Horizon. I know someone who has a preference there (David).

DFW

Leave a Reply

Returning from a work trip to Dallas, I was flying out of DFW. I got to the airport in plenty of time so, with a bit of time to kill, I decided to take a ride on the train that runs between the terminals. It makes a loop of the whole airport in both directions. I decided to see what you could see from the train and did a whole loop of the airport.

First, it is not a great photo platform. Aside from shooting through the windows (which were actually not that bad), the stations are not well located for viewing the ramps and, when it has a clearer view, it is moving at speed and is a pretty unsteady base for shooting. There are always reflections too, of course.

DFW is an American hub and that is pretty obvious as you head around the terminals. No shortage of American jets including a few remaining MD-80s and one of the special scheme jets too. The longer view across the gates with the multiple fins was a shot you could get at a number of places. It wasn’t just American though. Obviously other airlines use the airport. It happened that a British Airways 747-400 had pushed as we got there and the train runs around the perimeter of that ramp so we saw it from almost all sides.

If you have a bit of spare time while waiting for a flight at DFW, I would definitely take a ride around the terminals. It is a lot more interesting than sitting waiting at a gate and the food options weren’t great either so take a ride and see what is going on and where people are going to and coming from.

Starflyer

Leave a Reply

Have you ever heard of an airline called Starflyer before? If you have, you are one up on me. I saw these guys at Haneda in Tokyo. I didn’t know anything about them but the black livery they apply to their A320s does make them stand out from the crowd. A few of the planes came in and out while I was there. I guess now I know!

FedEx Coming Through the Clouds

Leave a Reply

Clouds are not a rarity in the Seattle area but we do actually have lots of nice weather in the summer. You will still get plenty of clouds though and these can be nice to see with the arriving jets. A FedEx MD-11 was turning on to its approach over Kenmore when I was down at the lake and I looked up to see it popping in and out of the clouds above. It was pulling a little vapor of its own but the way it seemed to be peeping through the clouds caught my eye so I grabbed a few shots.

Trailing Some Streamers

Leave a Reply

San Francisco Bay tends to provide a bit of moisture in the air that shows up as vapor clouds in the trailing vortices of approaching airliners. Before the planes reach Coyote Point, they are often trailing these streamers but, as they get closer to the airport, something about the conditions must change as they do seem to peter out. However, on some occasions, the moisture content must have been higher as the streamers lasted longer.

Space Needle Air Traffic

Leave a Reply

The top of the Space Needle is a good place to watch the floatplane traffic in to Lake Union. They tend to fly really close by. Shooting through the glass is not ideal but the passing Otters are too good to pass up. If you can, getting to the gaps between the glass is a good idea but it is hard to do this and get a good angle on the planes as they pass. Boeing also helped out with an Oman Air 737 Max taking off from Boeing Field and coming our way.

West Seattle Bonuses

Leave a Reply

We made a trip to West Seattle with our guests while they were here. We were looking at the view of the city and also wondering what wildlife might show itself. I got a benefit in that departures from SeaTac and Boeing Field were coming to the north. I got a couple of nice airliner shots as they climbed out over us. They weren’t the only ones though. A KC-46 launched out of Boeing Field and climbed over us as it went off to its test area. I wasn’t paying attention, but my guests spotted something rocketing up behind it. An F/A-18C Hornet from the Strike Test unit was following it, presumably for some test work. It climbed rapidly but then leveled out, I assume to stay below the departure routes from SeaTac. Not a bad bonus for me while showing the sights to my guests.

I Am Liking the A350

Leave a Reply

When I first saw images of the A350, I did not think much of its looks. The nose profile seemed odd and I was disappointed. However, something about it has got to me. I have been seeing a lot more of them in service recently and something about the jet in person is appealing. It doesn’t hurt that a few of the airlines I have seen have interesting liveries.

Narita seems to be a popular destination for the type and I got to see examples from Delta, Thai and Vietnam Airlines while I was there. Deliveries have really ramped up now so it will not be long before I am seeing them regularly. Asiana has been using it to SeaTac for a while and China Airlines is bringing them in to Vancouver. Good that I like them since I will be seeing a lot more of them. Now I need to fly in one to see what it is like as a passenger.

Virgin Orbit

Leave a Reply

Everyone seems to have a plan for getting into space these days. Some companies have more than one! Virgin already has their Galactic operation that is based on the Spaceship Two design evolved (a lot) from the original Scaled Composites design. However, they have a second approach that is a small satellite launcher rather than a passenger craft. This one is going to be launched from a Boeing 747-400. They have provided one of the old Virgin Atlantic aircraft for this purpose.

I was down in Long Beach recently and saw the plane sitting on the north side of the field. Sadly, the light from the south side was very nice but it was too far away. A trip around the field did get me closer to it although now backlit. Not far away are the offices of Virgin Orbit. The launcher will be mounted on a pylon under the port wing making use of the hard point that was included to allow the ferrying of a spare engine.

How things develop we shall see in a reasonably short time I imagine. The operation seems to be pretty significant and will need to deliver something before too long. In the mean time, here are a couple of shots of Cosmic Girl when she was in passenger operation.