Tag Archives: bizjet

Korean Air’s Unusual Dreamliner

A Boeing 787-8 showed up at Boeing Field a while back. It is listed as operated by Korean Air, but it is not in their markings, and it is identified as being used as a corporate transport. I don’t know the details about it, but I doubt I will ever be needing to charter it, so it probably isn’t an issue. I went over by the terminal to see it arrive in the morning. I hadn’t anticipated where it would park but it did need to clear customs first and they parked it at one of the larger ramp areas near the customs pad. This meant it taxied back to where I was which was handy. Plenty of people were on hand to handle it when it taxied in. I don’t know how long it stayed for.

A Westwind Is as Rare as Rocking Horse Poo!

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The older and less common that planes get, the more interesting they become. The IAI Westwind is definitely in that category for me now. I have only seen a few over the years and I have even less that I have photographed. One was coming to SEA one weekend and that was too good to miss. It was going to be landing at a time of day which meant I needed a new location to try and get reasonable shots of it. Being close was also a good thing since heat haze was going to be a problem.

I found a spot I thought might work along with some backup options. I was able to experiment on the other arrivals to see whether things would work out before the Westwind showed up. Fortunately, the location proved to be adequate to the task and this low-slung little rocket was soon in my viewfinder and then gone. This one looked in great condition.

Once More for the Sunset Avanti Shots

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A local Lynk Air Avanti coming into Paine Field might attract my interest, but I would probably skip it. However, if it is going to show up about ten minutes before sunset and the conditions are lovely, that is enough to tempt me out in the evening. (It doesn’t hurt that the journey time is really short at that time of day.) I got myself in position and waited for the arrival from the north.

I could just about make out the plane as it approached from over the sound, and it flew a quite tight base leg which meant it was clearly visible above the trees. Then the buzz became apparent as it lined up on final. I was being brave with shutter speeds since the Avanti deserves shots that make it look fast. A rapid burst of activity and it was down. It didn’t hang around on the ground too long continuing on its way about forty minutes later, but the light was done by then, so I headed home instead of waiting for it.

Chinese Air Ambulance Quick Visit

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You see a fair few air ambulance operators through Boeing Field. There are often flights moving people to and from the city from Alaska and other parts of the state. The ones I am used to, though, tend to be older Learjets and US or Canadian registered. We do get the occasional one from overseas, but I was quite surprised to get a G550 from China showing up as an air ambulance. It seemed worthy of a look. It was a pretty brief stop for the jet before it headed across the Pacific. The naming seemed quite amusing – Happy Air!

HondaJet Shapes Are Fascinating

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This HondaJet had come from outside the US, so it had to clear customs at BFI after landing. That put it right in front of me while I was waiting for something else (although I can’t remember what it was). I find the jet very interesting although I am frustrated by the way in which all the ones I see have the same paint scheme with only a change in what color is used. Since this one parked up near me, I got to look at it from a variety of angles and that is a good way to appreciate the unusual shapes the airframe has.

The pylons are cambered and the way in which the nacelles sit on the wing is more easily appreciated from behind. It is great to have something different. I look forward to seeing the big brother when it makes it into service. A shame that Honda seems to have given up on their own engines but not a massive surprise.

A Short Time Between Two Visions

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It doesn’t take long for the weather to change in the Pacific Northwest. One afternoon I got a couple of Cirrus Vision Jets into Boeing Field. The weather was a bit overcast for one of them and then cleared up nicely by the time the second one showed up. The result was a far nicer shot for the second jet than for the first. It is amazing how quickly conditions can change and what a difference it can make to the images.

Steve Ballmer’s G650 I Think

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I’ve shot this jet before but, on this occasion, I was really happy with the angles I was able to get on it. The big bizjets have so many power that, unless they are making really long trips, they are usually off the ground in no time at all. This time, this G650 ran a bit longer and allowed me to get some pleasing angles on it at rotation. When I was looking through the images afterwards, I saw the logo on the inside of the winglet. It looked like that of the LA Clippers. A quick Google search confirmed that the Clippers are owned by Steve Ballmer and, since he is one of the Microsoft founders, it made sense it would be here in Seattle. Quite a nice looking jet!

Two C-37s With One Being a Bit Shy

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The US military operates a bunch of Gulfstream jets for transportation of key individuals. One afternoon, I was at BFI and there was a C-37 from the USAF sitting on the ramp. It had the powder blue livery common across the USAF VIP fleet. I was hoping to see it takeoff, but it was not moving while I was there. A little while later, it was joined by a second example. This one was a lot less conspicuous. It had no livery and no obvious markings at all. The USAF has been toning down its planes recently and this was definitely in that style. The lack of a registration might have told you that it wasn’t a civilian Gulfstream but the bigger giveaway would be the array of antennae that were on the fuselage. This clearly could communicate with more than the average bizjet.

Tight on a Departing Falcon 7X

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When shooting departing jets at BFI, I often have a conundrum about the lens to use. For some of the higher performing aircraft, they get off the ground quickly, so the longest lens is probably going to be best. However, other types use a lot more of the runway and can rotate a lot closer to some of the places I like to shoot from. The long prime can be best a lot of the time but, if they run long, I might be too close for the shot. A Falcon 7X can run a bit longer if it is heavy as a result of the three-engine configuration versus the twins like the Gulfstreams and Globals. This one did that but, it rotated quite close to me. I was actually really pleased with how things turned out and then I spun around to get the climb out from a tight angle as well.

A Black Challenger 850

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What do you do if you have built a large fleet of 50-seat regional jets and now no one really wants a 50-seat regional jet? You take that jet and refit it into a corporate configuration and change the name to match your other bizjets. That is the way a CRJ200 suddenly transforms into a Challenger 850. It’s a bit ironic because the CRJ was developed from the original Challenger jet anyway so maybe the reverse process is not a big deal. Anyway, it finds a second life for some jets.

I wouldn’t have gone out specifically just to get a Challenger 850 (you might ask why that is when I go out for any number of other aircraft of niche interest), but this one was painted all black and I am partial to any jet that doesn’t look like all of the others. A glossy black finish is definitely worthy of some attention and, if the light is going to play ball, it should look pretty good. In the event, it did come out rather nicely. I don’t know whether the operator will be back here on a regular basis, or this will be counted as a limited time offer but good to have had the chance!