Tag Archives: arrival

Fourth 777X Takes Flight

My previous unsuccessful trip to Paine Field on the Saturday for the first flight of the fourth 777X was followed up by a more successful Sunday visit.  The dull and dreary Saturday weather had been replaced by clear skies (the smoke had finally gone away) and the sun was out.  The time for takeoff was not going to be great because the sun would be high to backlit, but this was a first flight so the chances of it going on time were limited.

Sure enough, things got dragged out and the sun moved to a more favorable part of the sky.  A 777F from Lufthansa Cargo was doing some test flying to provide some other interest and there was plenty of activity generally to photograph.  Eventually the 777X was towed. From its parking spot to the south entrance to the Boeing ramp where it could start up.

It taxied up the Alpha taxiway to the hold point and then pulled into position.  Normal Boeing practice is to do an accelerated and rejected takeoff before flying. They sat on the threshold and powered up, but the wingtips had not been lowered.  I don’t know whether this was a test of the system that is designed to prevent taking off with the wing tips in the wrong position or not, but it seemed that way.  Either way, the jet didn’t move.

They then lowered the wing tips, powered up, accelerated and then braked.  Taxi back to the threshold again and a long way for some other traffic before they lined up again.  The jet wasn’t heavy, but I was slightly surprised how much flap they had for takeoff compared to the other jets I have seen taking off there.  Anyway, power on and off they went.

They were due to be flying for a few hours and then landing at Boeing Field so I figured I would make the trip down there for the arrival.  On pulling up at Boeing Field, I bumped into my friend David so we were able to talk rubbish about planes for a while waiting for any arrivals.  In due course the 777X showed up on approach by which time the light was a lot nicer than it had been for departure.  Things may have taken longer than planned and meant the day was not much good for anything else but it was a fun outing and a successful trip.

If You Can’t See Where You Are Going, It Is Your Fault!

We relocated to the other end of Boeing Field for the return of the Blue Angels.  They ran in across the field trailing white smoke.  Unfortunately, with little wind, this meant a pall of smoke was now hanging over the airport.  As they broke into the downwind and then turned onto final, it was sometimes hard to see them at all.  A healthy boosting of the contrast makes some of the shots a bit more visible but, in truth, the viz was really awful.  I only hope they had a slightly better view of the ground than we had of them since their being able to see was slightly more important.

Pairs at SFO

C59F3434.jpgThe layout of SFO with the two pairs of cross runways makes for some operations that are quite specific to this airport. At peak times, parallel approaches are made to the 28 runways from along the bay shore. These approaches require the following plane to make sure it does not overtake the leading plane. I don’t know for sure but I imagine the choice of which side leads is based on the wind direction so the wake turbulence doesn’t affect the downwind plane.

C59F5718.jpgGetting them close together is the goal as a photographer. Often they end up being separated by a lot more than you thought. When further out things look like they are close but then the approach turns out to be more offset than you expect and you don’t get a good shot when they come in to land.

C59F2343.jpgArrivals aren’t the only parallels though. The departures are sent of the 01s from both sides. The clearances are usually offset and the thresholds are slightly different so the planes often get airborne well apart. However, that is not always the case and sometimes you get what amounts to a formation takeoff. Once airborne, the planes turn to increase their separation. Getting a shot of them close together is something to try for if you can. They are too far away when they take off to be a great shot individually but getting both in frame certainly makes for a more unusual shot than is the case for most departure procedures for big airliners.