Tag Archives: airplane

A Vietnam Airlines 787-10 Might Catch the Sun

The run up to the end of the year can be handy if you want to see jets on test flights because Boeing is looking to get as many sales completed as possible before the end of the financial year. While it wasn’t built at Everett, a Vietnam Airlines 787-10 was there for rework/modification and then delivery. I love Vietnam Airlines because they have an interesting livery in a time of white planes with limited color.

I was able to catch it taking off one Saturday morning. The light was great as it rotated and climbed away. Later in the afternoon, Nancy and I had been out to see the salmon run and she was fine with a small diversion to Paine Field to catch the return. The light had faded a little compared to the lovely morning conditions, but it was good to catch the returning jet. I think it was delivered not long after this.

Global 7500 Sketchy Takeoff

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For the longest time, I struggled to photograph a Bombardier Global 7500. Over time I have seen a few of them but that initial drought makes me still feel as if it is something special when I catch one. They have sold really well and there are loads in service so they really aren’t something I should be so excited about but apparently my brain hasn’t worked that out yet. I was happy to get one at Boeing Field when it was taking off.

It taxied out and headed to the north end of the field for departure. I was not expecting a lot because they have good field performance and are likely to be well airborne before they get near where I was going to be standing. Sure enough, they did get off the ground quite quickly but, as they rotated, there was quite a roll that developed. Not sure whether it was a big gust or that they weren’t anticipating the crosswind, but I imagine it must have spilt a gin and tonic or two. They quickly recovered the situation and climbed out without any further problems, but I hope there wasn’t much clean up required onboard.

A Little Time with Some LAX Arrivals

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A while back I posted some shots from a hotel at LAX that I took at night. The next day, I was also able to work from the rooftop terrace at the hotel which allowed the occasional arrival to make their way into my viewfinder. LAX is a great airport to see some different airlines and types but, like a lot of major airports, it does get a ton of movements that are the same airlines and types. Consequently, you can afford to be picky about what you shoot.

This also means you can get other stuff done most of the time and just keep an eye out for something more interesting when the opportunity presents itself. Even so, I didn’t have a lot of time there with the various other things I had going on so it was not the full selection of interesting arrivals and departures that LAX can offer. Despite that, I was happy to get a few shots of things that interested me at least.

At Last, This Otter Is Nicely Lit

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There is a privately owned DHC-3T Otter that lives in the Puget Sound area, and it comes in and out of BFI on a regular basis. I have seen it plenty of times but have always struggled to get either a nice angle on it or favorable light. I won’t claim it is my white whale, but it has begun to frustrate me somewhat. Therefore, I was delighted when I heard it call up on approach one evening when the sun had popped out from behind the clouds and the warmth of the light was nice.

I saw it far out on approach as it angled in towards the longer of BFI’s two runways – occasionally disappearing behind the trees as it maneuvered in. I was using a lot of lens to see it and even then, it was a bit distant but, since the conditions were favorable, I wasn’t struggling with haze issues. Soon enough it was on short final, and I finally was able to get the types of shots I have been hoping to achieve for a long time. Now I can move on in peace!

Stored Airtankers Awaiting Their Turn

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Quite a while back, I made a trip to Abbotsford. In more recent visits I have created posts of their Q400 based airtankers out on some test flights. However, before they became tankers, these were all airliners that had been retired from passenger service. Conair buys up these older airframes when the price is right, and they come to Abbotsford to await their time in the conversion program.

A few of them were sitting on the ramp when I made my visit. Some were being worked on while others were just waiting for some attention. Various bits were missing – often the expensive bits like engines. It is possible that some of the airframes might only be acquired to provide a source of spare parts and they will never fly again. I have no idea whether that is the case for any of these. Hopefully they will have since made it back into the air and are now being used to fight wildfires somewhere.

Refueling the Hornet

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Two quite different versions of the same thing here. The Comox Air Show this year included demonstrations are aerial refueling with the RCAF Hornet. The first of these was perfectly sensible because it was the Hornet formating on the C-130 Hercules fitted with refueling pods. The Hornet took up station behind the drogue units to demonstrate how refueling would be done.

Later in the show, there was a slightly odder version of things. A USAF KC-135R Stratotanker (which was carrying Kadena tailcodes which might be a first for me) was airborne and the Hornet formated on this too. Some KC-135s do carry hose drogue units on the wings or a drogue adaptor on the end of the boom but this was not one of them. Instead, they simulated the boom refueling. The Hornet can’t refuel from the boom but, since it was just an airshow, I doubt too many people were bothered by this.

Bizjet Departures from Airside

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I was kindly given some airside access when some F-15s were operating from Boeing Field for flyovers in the city. While the fast jets were our primary interest, they took off and landed in amongst some of the more familiar movements at the airport. Business jets are a constant part of Boeing Field ops and being so close to the runway made it easy to get some interesting shots of the bizjets. Fortunately, the amount of the runway that they needed coincided well with where we were for the F-15s. Here are some of the shots.

Flyby Planes for the 100th Anniversary

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The 100^th anniversary of the round the world flight by the Douglas World Cruiser was celebrated in an event at Magnussen Park in Seattle – the location from which they had departed a century before. I didn’t go to the park for the celebrations themselves but instead decided to be at Boeing Field from where the participating planes were due to launch. This included the B-29, Fifi, which had been sitting on the ground since its arrival the previous week as discussed in a post I wrote earlier.

The selection of planes taking part in the flyby was a little odd. High point for me was a Bellanca replica that lives across the state but came in for the event. It was to be one of the last planes taking part. A WACO was also included but then it came down to a selection of more modern light aircraft including some types that had no obvious connection to the event.

Initially, everything was parked up on the ramp at the Museum of Flight. You were able to wander around between the planes and have a good look at them. I arrived a little late to the event and only just in time. I wandered through the planes for a while and then they started clearing everyone out to be ready for the start up and taxi out. At that point, I needed to change locations anyway since I wanted to photograph them from a different place.

They all launched out in sequence for their times over the event before returning – except for two that went straight home afterwards. Not stellar conditions for the event but it was something different and the more unusual types were worth a look.

Kenmore Rush Hour During the Show

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One more in my selection of posts from Seafair and, specifically, the gap in the show when movements were allowed for a while. Boeing Field is a busy base for Kenmore Air. They operate scheduled services to various locations along with some pleasure flights. These tend to be undertaken with their Cessna Caravans and Grand Caravans although the occasional PC-12 will be included.

The Cessnas are more than capable of operating from the short runway at Boeing Field and so, when things opened up, they fired up some of the planes to get out while they could. I imagine the schedule had to be amended during the show but at least they could continue to provide service. One would be lined up on the runway ready to go with another pulling up at the hold just behind it. They got out with some precision before the field closed to non-air show operations a little while later.

If You Have an F-104, Wouldn’t You Mount it on the Wall?

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The California Science Center has featured quite a bit in previous months with the various aircraft and that are preserved outside. There is one I haven’t included previously and that is a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. This one is a bit more dramatic. It is mounted on a structure attached to the wall of the museum giving it a rather dynamic pose. Seems appropriate given the nature of the Starfighter. It does look like it could do with a repaint, though.