Tag Archives: Boeing

Mexican 787 BBJ

My trips through Dallas Love Field resulted in some shots of the Kuwaiti Boeing 747-8 BBJ. That was not the only interesting aircraft that was undergoing completion for a VIP customer at that facility. Parked behind it during a couple of my transits was a 787 that was destined for the Mexican Air Force. Only one time did I manage to get a reasonable shot of it and I was glad I did because, shortly after I took this shot, it departed for Mexico. I hope it is proving to be a useful aircraft for the country. No idea whether I will ever see it again in it intended role so I am glad to have got it while the chance was there.

The Tennessee Jet Joins Southwest

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Southwest have a program of painting some of their jets up to represent states that they serve. One of the most recent additions to the fleet is a jet painted for the state of Tennessee. Having announced that the jet was joining the fleet, I decided to keep an eye out for it if I should be in a position to get a shot of it. Fortunately, I was in Oakland when it was due to depart. I popped along to the departure end of the runway to await it. It was scheduled on a flight a short while later. Another departure was due to go first so I figured I would shoot it as well in order to make sure that everything was working with my camera settings. Another Southwest takeoff is otherwise not too special. Imagine my surprise when they had switched the jets around. My practice turned out to be the Tennessee jet. Consequently I got the shot. If I had been waiting for the planned flight, I would have been sitting in the car when it took off. Lucky break and a good example of the benefit of not sitting in the car when something is happening!

Air Force One and More Bad Weather

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The Boeing VC-25, known as Air Force One when the president is on-board, made another visit to San Francisco a short while ago. I had previously gone out to try and get this aircraft when it was in town. One visit got there shortly after it had left. Another got there in time but the weather was a lot less than ideal. I wrote about the missed opportunity here and the slightly more successful time here.

The weather forecast for the time of departure was not good. Arrival had been around the time I was flying home a few days before so I had been more interested then in whether our flight was going to be delayed. With the weather looking poor, I was not making a plan to go. Instead I was visiting some people in Hayward to discuss another aviation project. As it happened, we wrapped up at about the right time for me to make the dash across the bay to SFO so I figured I would go. The rain had been bad but it did appear that things might be clearing up.

I got to the airport and could see that the VC-25 was still parked up. Aircraft were still arriving and departing so I knew I had some time. I just hoped it hadn’t all been delayed without me knowing. I hadn’t been there long when I got a visit from law enforcement. The big lens obviously got some attention. We had a chat and my details were verified but everything was ultimately cool. The cop was very friendly. As we finished up, I noticed that things had got very quiet. Nothing was arriving or departing – a good sign! The only thing airborne was a Coast Guard MH-65 in their new paint colors.

Meanwhile, the sun was making periodic peeps through the clouds. Was I actually going to get reasonable conditions? I could see the APU was running on the jet and a little while later, the beacon started flashing and the stairs were pulled away. Given that they don’t hang around, I figured we should see something soon. Sure enough, they taxied out from the parking area and headed for runway 28R via the taxiway on the opposite side of the peninsula on which the runways are built. A little worse for me with heat haze (yes, even on a crappy day the heat haze was still a problem).

I was aligned with the end of the runway so the jet taxied up and turned straight towards me before lining up and pushing the throttles up. The secret service vehicles that had followed it down the taxiway turned and raced alongside for a short while until the speed was too much for them. Unlike last time, they must have been a lot heavier because they used a lot of the runway before rotating. Then they climbed away. A successful shoot and time to head home!

A Very Pleasant VC-32 Surprise

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You go to Red Flag with the goal of seeing a lot of different combat aircraft. However, Nellis is a regular base and has other traffic. You don’t always see something during the course of a mission launch but sometimes it happens. While we were checking in at the gate, a VC-32 came down the approach. This is the USAF’s version of the Boeing 757 and it is a pretty nice looking plane. Unfortunately, when we are the gate, the security team is not too keen on us taking shots so we watched it land and figured we had missed our chance.

Turns out we were wrong. While we were out between the runways, the VC-32 taxied out and got ready to depart. Even better, it departed to the southwest which meant it came past us with good light on it. It turns out that Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter had been visiting and the plane was taking him onwards. I was very happy to get something I haven’t seen up close for a number of years.

Zero G 727

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If the weather is really crap, my first thought is not to go photographing aircraft. I have experimented with going out on bad days to see if you can get an unusual view of something but when the forecast is for heavy and constant rain, that isn’t too appealing. So, what do you do when you get a notification that the Zero G Boeing 727 is coming in to Oakland. (Zero G operates flights that provide multiple short exposures to weightlessness as the plane flies a parabolic arc.) A type that is not too common any more, an unusual operator, your local large airport and it is on a Sunday morning so you aren’t at work. Everything is saying go.

Oakland is not a great place to shoot when operations are in the normal direction. You are also on the wrong side of the runway for good light. However, the storm meant that the approaches were coming down from the north and they pass by some locations that give good views of the runway. All of these things were suggesting I need to take a chance. I headed off equipped with wet weather gear. I chose to get there a little early to get some practice in.

Oakland is a pretty busy airport during the week but the weekend schedules are a lot lighter. I figured I wanted to shot a couple of approaches before my plane came in to view to get things set up right. The light was crap so I had to ramp up the ISO. Also, while the sky is dark, a lot of exposure compensation helped to get detail on the fuselage itself. Having found a combination I was happy with, a heavy belt of rain came in and the visibility rapidly diminished. By now the 727 was not far out so I figured I might just have blown it.

Fortunately, the rain came in fast but eased off just as quickly and soon I could just make out the outline of San Francisco in the murk which told me I should be able to get my picture. They checked in with the tower for landing clearance so I knew it was time to get out and get wet. Initially, everything looked really grey as the plane came in to view. Fortunately, as it ran down the approach, it was in the clear all of the way and I was able to get off a burst of shots. Once it was down, the weather was not going to get better and there were not many movements scheduled anyway so I decided I was happy with the catch and preferred to warm and dry indoors.

Two Aborts in One Launch

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Red Flag missions are two periods of intense activity with an intermediate phase of nothing much. The launch develops in to a steady stream of jets taking off as everyone gets airborne for their phase of the mission. They have been preceded by the tankers and AWACS who are setting up to manage the throughout of the smaller jets. Once everyone is gone, the simulated war is occurring somewhere else. Then, everything starts to come back with a steady stream of the jets breaking overhead and landing before the tankers and AWACS come back at the end.

After the majority of the launch, we were at the EOR watching the occasional straggler go out or some based planes fitting in. Then we got a pair of F-15s come back. They flew an approach with one jet on the glide path while the other was clearly shepherding them in. The F-15 landed without incident and the wingman powered away to rejoin the flight. Some fire trucks rolled but everything seemed to be under control.

Not long after we had stopped discussing this, a pair of aggressor F-16s came into view. The same procedure and one landed while the other shadowed them down the approach. With a safe touchdown, power on and back to the battle. Technical issues are not uncommon but I was surprised to get two in close succession. Everyone seems to have handled them appropriately and they appear to have ended without further incident.

Another Night Launch on a Cold and Windy Night

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The evening launch at Red Flag is something I have had a go at on a number of occasions. Consequently, regular readers that pay close attention may feel that this post is a bit repetitive and they would be correct. I was a bit better prepared for the night launch than on previous occasions. I had brought a cable release and a Gorillapod to allow me to have a bit better a set up for the time lapse video of the launch. Meanwhile, I was shooting handheld with the second body.

Sadly, a couple of things were not working in my favor. First, it was pretty windy and, while I had the camera set up on the hood of the car, it was a bit vulnerable to movement as the car moved in the wind and the camera vibrated on the pod. Consequently, some of the video is less than ideal. However, conditions did seem to settle down a bit and the later part of the video seems to steady up a bit.

Second was that there was no moon. It was very dark and cold out there. I managed to get some shots of the B-1B launches but the only illumination was from the burners. No ambient light at all so they didn’t look as good as on previous attempts. I did try to stay for the whole launch and not to get the time lapse showing things in full swing when it ends but there is a limit to how long you want to hang out in the cold when everyone else has gone. I got most of the launch but I did see a bunch of jets head out as I passed the speedway. I probably should have tried getting some shots from there as they were still in burner at that point.

Any Expensive Jets Here?

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Airliners were not the only thing we got to see above LAX. On the south side of the field are some FBOs and they had an interesting selection of planes parked up on their ramps. As we passed overhead, it was a good time to see what was around. There were plenty of Gulfstreams on show. The view from above shows just how large the wing is on the largest of Savannah’s products. We also had some BBJs, a 757 that appeared to belong to a casino and some Cessnas, Challengers, Falcons and Hawkers. I am not sure I would be able to choose which one to use today. Maybe I will rotate them?

The Aussies Are in Town

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One of the things that I was really looking forward to about Red Flag 16-1 was the large Australian contingent that was going to be present. The Aussies were coming with Hornets and Super Hornets as well as a P-3 and an E-7 Wedgetail. They were also tanked across by a KC-30 although that sadly went somewhere else so I didn’t see it while I was there. Another benefit of the Aussies is that they bring some fun to the media panel. Sometimes these can be rather dull affairs and like pulling teeth. Previous RAAF officers have been very chatty and informative. This time was no exception.

I was pleased that the Wedgetail flew on the main media day. They were alternative AWACS resources and whether this was planned or luck I don’t know. I am just glad I got to see it fly. The Hornets have been to previous Red Flags but this was the first exercise for the Super Bugs. They have been deployed on operations, though, judging by the mission markings some jets were carrying.

I was included in a second day on base when we got to spend some time on the Aussie ramp prior to the launch of the first mission. A team of RAAF personnel escorted us around as we got a chance to check out both generations of Hornet. One of the legacy Hornets was carrying squadron anniversary markings which looked good on it. The team was operating out of a building that they had temporarily adorned with something more personnel. If you don’t immediately get it, say the phrase out loud as a response to the question “Where are you from?”

The team was also selling a bunch of squadron swag. I am not a collector of this stuff but it looked pretty cool so I was happy to part with some cash for the squadron funds. Then we retired to the EOR for the launch. Of course, that also included both types of Hornet taxiing out past us on their way to the runway. Cheers to all of the team for being so friendly and accommodating.

: A Royal Australian Air Force Boeing F/A-18A Hornet taxis to the runway for departure at Nellis AFB NV.

: A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet on final approach to Nellis AFB Las Vegas Nevada as part of a Red Flag mission.

: A Royal Australian Air Force Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet cames in to land at Nellis AFB NV.

: A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18A Hornet climbs away from Nellis AFB Las Vegas Nevada on a Red Flag Mission.

: A Royal Australian Air Force Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft on final approach to Nellis AFB NV.

: A Royal Australian Air Force E-7 Wedgetail on final approach at Nellis AFB Las Vegas Nevada after a Red Flag mission.

Rainy and Dark at SeaTac

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In the past I have been able to get some reasonable shots of departing aircraft at SeaTac from the pier of the terminal that Southwest operate from while I am waiting for my flight. I was heading home in the evening and thought I would have little luck because the sun would be on the wrong side. Turns out, the sun was nowhere to be seen – this is Seattle so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Instead, it was raining (shocking news) so, even though the light should not have faded, it was pretty bleak. Normally, I would have thought this meant I would no be getting any shots. However, I decided to have a go anyway. Sometimes, the bad weather shots can come up with something a bit special. I did not anticipate getting this but it would have been frustrating to watch and miss something cool.

As it turned out, things weren’t too dramatic. I did get a few shots of the jets and turboprops as they headed out. Sometimes there would be puffs of vapor over the wings or clouds in the inlets but nothing too good. An Emirates 777 took off which meant a fair bit of spray behind it as it powered away. Sadly it rotated just as it went out of sight so the real clouds of spray were not visible from where I was.