I took this shot at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The 787 has sold well with the Japanese carriers – my trip to Tokyo was on a JAL 787-8 and ANA was the launch operator – and with these two airlines competing strongly for the Japanese market, it seemed slightly appropriate that they should both be in this single shot.
I was in a location where a couple of the departures from SEA were overflying me. I happened to have the camera to hand (of course I did) and I had the polarizer on there at the time. I had an Alaska Airlines 737 (what a shock from SEA) and a Hawaiian Airlines A330. I grabbed a few shots. The thing I like about the polarizer is cutting down on the glare from the white fuselages but they were still pretty bright. The rest of the sky was darkened considerably and, when editing to address the white fuselages, even more dark. I quite like the deep and moody look it gives to the shots with very little editing involved. Both jets pulled some vapor as they came through the same area so clearly there was extra moisture in that one spot. Maybe it was a thermal?
There is some rationalization underway in the Japanese airline business at the moment. JAL and ANA are both taking control over smaller operations as a result of the difficulties that COVID has placed upon them. However, even before COVID reared its ugly head, JAL had created a new subsidiary. This is called Zipair. I recently read that it is due to start operations soon which surprised me because I thought I had seen its planes before. It turns out I saw one of their 787s as it was parked up at Narita when the flight I was on was taxiing in after landing. I guess that airframe hasn’t had much use yet.
The Aloha Air Cargo 767 was the reason for me being out early one morning but it wasn’t the only freighter coming in. (Indeed, this was the case for both of my efforts to get the Aloha jet.). Kalitta were also operating a 767 which is under contract to DHL. Some of Kalitta’s jets are plain white so you wonder whether a given day will bring something in that has a bit of color to it or not. On this occasion I was lucky. It might not be the most dramatic of the DHL schemes but it is better than no color at all!
A 767 freighter conversion made its way across the country and stopped off at Boeing Field recently. Unfortunately, there was no way I was going to be able to get there to see it so I figured it was just one of those things I had missed. However, not long after that, it showed up with a flight plan to SEA. The flight plan was listed against Northern Air Cargo but the plane is marked for Aloha Air Cargo. I was taking the day off and it was due in at the beginning of the day so I decided to head down to try and get a shot.
Sadly, the traffic was getting busy at SEA and, with plenty of departures and not too much on arrival, they put it on the outer runway. It was a bit far out from where I was but I got some shots, although nothing too special. I then saw it was coming back on the Sunday but this time it was due to land at 5:30. With sunrise just after 5am, this would produce some good light. However, I didn’t plan on getting up.
At 4:30 on Sunday morning, I woke up. I thought this was an opportunity so decided to get up and head out. At that time of the morning, no risk of traffic problems. I got down there in good time and, while it was a few minutes early, I was ready for it. The sun was barely up so the light was really excellent. Also, with no departures at that time of the morning, they came in on the closer runway so a total win!
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.
Dreamlifter operations at Paine Field are heavily curtailed these days. No more 787s are being built there so no parts deliveries are required. However, the jet is being used to deliver the occasional 767 cockpit section which means there are still occasions when they show up. One morning, the light was great, and one was due in. Moreover, the wind was from the north and the airport was on northerly flow, so it meant getting an approach shot was achievable. I was ready and waiting. However, despite the other ops being northerly, the Dreamlifter was sent to the north to make a southerly approach – maybe for the ILS? I was at the wrong end. It didn’t even taxi all the way to the end, so I only got it as it turned off a bit north of me. These chances are not frequent, so I was pretty annoyed!
During the winter, I shot a British Airways 787 as it approached landing at Seattle Tacoma International. There was some low cloud base and it was just skirting the bottom of the clouds as it passed me by. It was appearing and disappearing from view within the clouds and, even when clear, was pulling a bit of vapor along with it! An all-white jet against a cloudy backdrop does not make for a contrasty shot but the elusive nature of the plane with such a background made the shots interesting to process.
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!
The KC-46 Pegasus program continues to be a problem for Boeing. Delivery rates are lower than planned and articles describing the shortcomings in the jets continue to get circulated. They have a long way to go, and Boeing is going to have to spend a lot more money before they are fully capable. Meanwhile, jet do continue to be built and delivered. The earliest jets were given civil registrations because they were undergoing a civil certification program as well as a military one. Two of those jets are now back at Everett getting reworked – presumably because they will ultimately get delivered to the USAF. I shot a couple of them on the airfield while up there one sunny weekend.
