Tag Archives: Boeing Field

Air Malta Airborne

The Air Malta Max jets have been on here before. A subsidiary of Ryanair – everyone’s favorite airline – they have been stored at Renton for a while awaiting the commencement of deliveries after whatever delays have been preventing Ryanair from accepting any jets. With that now addressed, both Ryanair and Air Malta have been taking jets. Buzz still hasn’t accepted any and they still seem to be parked at Renton. I was pleased to have an Air Malta jet come in from a test flight while I was at BFI. It was an overcast day but there was a hint of light when it made its approach. Not great but better than sitting on the ground!

Falcon 50s Are Getting Rarer

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Dassault’s Falcon family has been getting larger both in the number of types and physically. Now there are long range and wide bodied corporate jets available in their catalog. Before the jets got wider, their first effort at a longer range version was the Falcon 50. It introduced the three engine configuration which made it well suited to longer range missions in the days before twin operations over long distances were widespread.

The 50 is now rather long in the tooth so you don’t see them around so often. That makes it all the better when one shows up. I was heading home one evening from an event south of the city and the lovely evening light made me stop off at Boeing Field to see if I could get any shots. Sadly, a cloud bank rolled in just before this Falcon 50 showed up. Still, it was great to see one in action. I was back the next day having taken a day off work and it happened to depart while I was there. Certainly more light but a bit harsh in the middle of the day.

Boeing 737 Max 10 in Flight

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I missed out on the first flight of the first Max 10 version of the Boeing 737 family. I got to Boeing Field as it was landing on its initial flight which I watched from the freeway as I got close to the airfield. However, a flight test airframe is going to get a lot of use so I knew I would have more opportunities. The Max 10 rolled out a long time ago so the start of flight test was heavily delayed, presumably as a result of the overall Max grounding and the more intense scrutiny being given to Boeing as a result.

I have now seen it flying a few times. It is still flying around with a trailing static cone so they either haven’t completed calibration of the air data system or just haven’t got around to removing the cone yet. It is in Boeing house colors with the large 10 on the fin being the main giveaway. It is longer than the Max 9 but not noticeably so. I’ll need to put them side by side to see where to identify the differences.

A Pair of New 737s in Nice Light

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With Max flight activity pretty much back to normal at BFI, there is no shortage of opportunities to shoot the jets on the approach. However, since it is now mid summer, the lighting is going to be pretty harsh most of the time. A little later in the day, though, and the light can be improved. I have also taken to using the polarizer to cut down on the harsher glare which is boosting the vibrancy of the shots. I got two of the jets during one visit.

One of them was a Ryanair Max 8-200. This is a special configuration that Ryanair has ordered that has an extra reader fuselage exit added to the -8 fuselage to allow the seat count to be increased. This jet turned out to be the first one to be delivered to the airline shortly after this was taken. The other was an Oman Air jet. Nice colors for the livery of this airline which were enhanced with the lower light angle and the polarizer. Sure, 737s are incredibly common but sometimes it can still be nice to shoot them.

Malibu Downwind Fast

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A Piper Malibu was launching out of Boeing Field last year. Things were quite busy and the tower asked them to make an early turn downwind once airborne. They clearly took them at their word because they barely seemed to be off the ground before yanking it in to a tight turn to the north. I doubt they even passed the tower! They were only going a short distance and were due back about fifteen minutes later so I guess they know the area well.

Charter SAAB 2000

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The SAAB 2000 was not a best seller when it was in production and they are definitely not too common in the North American market these days. That makes it a nice surprise to get one. The 340 was a reasonable looking plane anyway and stretching it and adding bigger engines resulted in a more elegant look in my mind. This one is apparently used for charter operations and was a nice thing to get when taking some time off recently.

Korean Air BBJ

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I was surprised to discover that Korean Air, while being a major airline, is an operator of corporate jets. I’m not sure how an airline ends up in the bizjet market but they have. They have Globals, G650s and BBJs. One of the G650s was in SEA recently but I didn’t have an opportunity to see it. However, I did get the BBJ on one of its visits to BFI. It was stopping at BFI before making a direct run back to Korea. It is quite a nicely painted jet. Lots of the windows are blanked out on the front fuselage. A check on their website shows this is where some sleeping seats are installed. Plenty of smaller accommodation at the back for your lackeys to use while you rest up front if you like.

More 777X Test Shots

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With the extended test program for the Boeing 777X, I have had ample time to shoot the four test aircraft. (The fact I have only shot the third jet on the ground is a function of the very limited flying it has done to date. It is the performance aircraft so they are not using the engines much to maximize performance until the configuration is tightened up and the performance tests are required.). That hasn’t stopped me getting shots of the jets when the opportunity arises.

They have flown over the house a few times when on the return journey to Boeing Field. I have also caught them on occasions when down at Boeing Field. I got two in one day with the second and fourth airframes heading out close together. I got the second as it rolled for take off and the fourth taxied past while I was eating my lunch. I’m sure I will get more shots of them with the test program scheduled to continue through certification at the end of 2023!

What Will This Neptune Get Labeled With?

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The Indian P-8I fleet is different from the P-8A Poseidons of the US Navy and that have a different name – Neptune. The original batch had Ark on the fin. The second batch had a different name but the current test aircraft I saw at Boeing Field both departing and arriving had a blank fin. I am not sure whether this is because it won’t have a unit name, whether it hasn’t been decided yet or whether it hasn’t been disclosed and will be added at a later date. It made for a slightly more boring look combined with the US registration taped over the paint scheme. I got it departing and returning so experimented with some slower shutter speeds to make things more interesting. The takeoff run was long so it must have been pretty heavy when it departed.

What Are You Planning With All Of These Robbies?

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Robinson operations at Boeing Field are very common. There are quite a few airworthy Robinsons – R22s and R44s – on the field. Apparently, someone has plans for a bunch more airframes though. This selection of airframes are stored awaiting something new. Not sure whether they are going to be overhauled or just turned in to parts supply for other airframes. They clearly aren’t flying any time soon.