Tag Archives: atlas

A400M Atlas Demo from RIAT 2019

Leave a reply

I was working through some shots from my last trip to RIAT in 2019.  Amazingly enough, I hadn’t finished editing some of the shots from that visit and I wanted to get rid of a lot of surplus shots to help the old hard drive space issues!  As I was working through them, I got to some shots of the A400M displays I saw over the course of the weekend.  I think the A400M is a cracking looking jet.  Whether it is doing what everyone wanted of it, I have no idea.  I just know it looks great and is capable of some really impressive demos.

For some reason, I had been feeling very brave during RIAT when it came to shooting some of the props.  I had gone with quite low shutter speeds with long lenses and the results were not necessarily all I would have wanted.  There were always going to be blurry shots to get culled, but the number of sharp ones was a little lower than I would have liked.  However, all was not a total loss, and I did get a bunch of shots that I was happy with.

Here is a selection of shots from across the show including the official displays by the Airbus test crew and some of the operator aircraft too.  The weather for RIAT 2019 was not that great.  We did get some nice light occasionally but one of the days was very wet (and I was feeling crappy too) and the others were overcast a lot of the time.  Not the most exciting light for a grey painted plane but they had the potential for prop vortices.  Will I have big prints of these on the wall?  No, I don’t think so.  However, it was okay and there will be other times, I hope.

Sometimes Missing Sunset Is Not a Problem

Leave a reply

The last 747 to be built was conducting test flights from Everett in advance of being delivered to Atlas.  It was due to get back from a test flight one evening and the timing looked good for a landing just before sunset.  Along with plenty of other photographers, I headed up to Paine Field to await its return.  As we tracked the flight, it was looking more and more like they would not get back before sunset.  A few people decided that this wasn’t worth the wait and headed off.  I figured I had made the effort so I was going to get a shot, even if the conditions weren’t any good.  I was there, after all.

Sure enough, the sun went down while we waited and a little while later, the familiar shape of the 747 appeared in the distance.  However, luck was going to be on my side this time around.  While the sun had now set, the higher-level clouds off to the west were now being illuminated from below turning them a warm red color.  The light from these clouds was now what was landing where we were and, as the 747 came down the approach, it had a warm and soft glow to it from the remnants of the day’s light.  Far from being a disappointment, this was actually really attractive.  What a lucky break for me and those that remained.

Some A400M Samples

Leave a reply

As I was skipping through some images, I saw a few extra shots of the A400M at RIAT.  I figured that I hadn’t seen many examples of the transport in service – just the test aircraft performing in displays.  However, I have seen both Luftwaffe and Armee de l’Air planes at times so thought I would share a few shots of them plus some test planes for good measure.

Cathay/Atlas/Polar – Whichever!

Leave a reply

A 747-8 freighter came in to Portland while I was at the ANG base.  I could see it on FlightRadar24 before it landed, and it was listed with a Cathay Pacific flight number.  I was pleased to get a Cathay jet but, when it landed, it wasn’t in Cathay Colors.  Instead, it was in Polar Air Cargo colors.  I figured it was a subcontract operation by Polar.  However, when it taxied closer, on the side of the fuselage was the notice that it was operated by Atlas.  Atlas and Polar are related so I guess this shouldn’t be such a surprise.  Finding who actually operates any jet can be a bit of an exercise these days.

Armee de l’Air A400M

Leave a reply

The A400M Atlas is now in service with a number of air forces.  My encounters with them, though, have only involved the development airframes displayed by Airbus.  That changed in Sacramento when The Patrouille de France arrived as part of their North American tour.  They brought an A400M as he support plane.  I was rather disappointed that it arrived late in the evening, after I had gone home and disappeared early the following morning to recover some delayed jets.

It was back for the day of the display though.  It started up at a remote location but then proceeded to give a short flying display.  It then taxied back to the crowd line where it shut down and was opened up for visitors.  The people were lined up to get inside it for ages.  The plane still looked pretty clean so I guess it had not been in service too long.  I was glad to get a close up look around the outside as well as to see the crowds inside and the flying display itself.  Not a dramatic performance like the test crews have put on but still good to see.