Tag Archives: civil

A Black Challenger 850

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!

At Last, I Get a Shot of Another Icelandair Special

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Icelandair painted a couple of its 757s in special liveries a few years ago. One of them, called Vatnajökull, has never been where I was or, if it was, the conditions were bad, or I couldn’t take any images. Finally, I saw that it was coming in one weekend and would be departing when there was a northerly flow, and the sun was likely to be out. I finally had a good chance to get it. Icelandair is adding plenty of Max 8s to the fleet and they are becoming more common into SEA and they will be getting some A321neos soon so the 757s might not be a reliable visitor here before too long. Consequently, I was glad to finally get some good shots of this lovely looking jet.

Calspan’s GIII Makes a Brief Visit to the PNW

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The arrival of a Gulfstream III would be a good reason to head out in any circumstances but, when that GIII is one operated by Calspan, it definitely is worth a look. It was due to come to Paine Field but only for a very brief stop before heading back across the country. Why it was there I have no idea. It was due in early in the day so I was actually hoping for overcast weather since I would be on the wrong side for the sun. Of course, the sun burst through just as it lined up for approach. Nevertheless, it was still possible to get a reasonable shot of it.

I then headed off to the departure end to be ready for it to go. I did stop by the terminal to shoot it on the ramp but, when I saw one of the crew remove a chock, I didn’t hang around and got the departure end. The sun did last a little, so I had some nice light on it as it got airborne. The wind was very strong that day, so they were off pretty rapidly and climbing steeply. Of course, the sun was obscured as they got closer to me but what can you do?

The Buzz-saw That is the Skymaster

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When I was first flying, I remember looking in Pooley’s guide to see various places I might want to fly to. In one I recall it saying that piston singles and twins were allowed but no Cessna Skymasters. The noise they made resulted in them being banned from this airport. I can’t remember which it was but that’s not the point. They are a bit of a noisy beast (and this from a guy that loves Avantis). There is one that lives at Paine Field, and I have been lucky enough to catch it relatively recently. You don’t see a ton of them around anymore, so it’s good to get shots of one when the chance presents itself. This one is painted in an interesting green finish which I think looks pretty good.

Putting Away the DC-8 Each Night

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NASA chose to operate its DC-8 from the ATS facilities at Paine Field while they were deployed there for the trials program with the Max 10. They would start up from there and then taxi past the fire station for departure. I was more interested in getting the landing shots so I didn’t wait for their return there but, once the plane was on the ground, I did make a rapid move to get back where they might either be shutting down or would be disembarking. Quite a few people were onboard for each mission.

Closing everything down took quite a while and, once everyone was off, the steps were removed, and the ground power disconnected. They then towed the jet in to one of the open-ended structures so that the nose was under cover while the back end of the jet was in the open. This was the process each time, so I was able to take photos from different angles each time I was there. I never happened to be there when they reversed the process. The jet was already out by the time I showed up.

EcoDemonstrator Returns in the Gloom So Video It Is!

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Boeing flew the EcoDemonstrator 777 from Paine Field for a while last year. I managed to be up there for the return late in the day, but the conditions were not that great. Having shot the plane at other times, I decided that the stills option was probably not the right one to take. They would not look that interesting. Instead, I decided to shoot some video of its return. Since going mirrorless, video shooting is so much easier because I can continue to hold the camera up to my eye as I would if shooting stills. It makes for a (slightly) more stable platform so a little less camera shake.

Golden Global

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Most bizjets have pretty uninteresting paint finishes but occasionally you get one that is a bit different. This Global showed up one afternoon in this gold finish which looked rather special. It had a logo on the fin which I didn’t recognize but, a little bit of searching showed the plane as belonging to Enrique Iglesias. He was in town for a show and, with Drake having brought his 767 in previously, we got another performer and their jet. I hope everyone had a good time at the show. I didn’t see him depart.

Falcon 50 With Winglets

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If a Falcon 50 is coming and I have the time to be there, there is a good chance I will. What could make a Falcon 50 even more appealing? Having winglets fitted. I didn’t know that when I went to catch it, but you can guess that I was rather pleased when that turned out to be the case. It feels as if there have been lots of Falcon 50s in the area in recent months. Maybe I am just noticing them more or maybe they have been more common. Either way, I’ll take it. Add some more with winglets and that will be even better please!

Retirement for a Falcon 900EX Pilot

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I was chatting with one of the Sheriff’s team at Boeing Field one weekend and he asked me if I was there to get the retirement flight. I told him I didn’t know about it, and he said a Falcon 900EX pilot was coming in shortly on his final flight. They were planning a water cannon salute for him. The location of the hangar meant it wasn’t ideal to get shots of so I decided to go and get the touchdown of the flight and then do the best I could for the salute.

While I was waiting for the Falcon to return, I could see the fire trucks positioning themselves for the salute. They were a good distance off so I knew that I wouldn’t get really compelling shots. Nevertheless, I would be able to get something. They had a couple of quick tests to make sure the water was flowing and then waited. Soon enough the Falcon touched down. A helicopter came into land just beforehand and blocked part of my planned shot but there was no time to change so I just adapted to what I had. They rolled out to the north end of the field and then taxied in for the celebrations. The fire trucks started spraying their water and the Falcon taxied through the water arch. Then it was all over from my perspective. I imagine that they celebrated a little longer.

As an aside, I went to the hangar the following week and asked if they wanted any shots. They couldn’t have been less friendly if they had tried. If they didn’t want anything, that’s fine but try not to be so miserable to someone just trying to do something nice.

Rainy Sunday for the National Queen

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Given that National Airlines has a better than average livery, I will always be happy to get a shot of their planes. The 747s are a favorite given that they are less common post the pandemic. I was therefore really pleased that one was due into Paine Field one weekend. Of course, this is the Pacific Northwest and that means no guarantee of good weather. Sure enough, it was a bit overcast, and the air was damp. I wasn’t going to get gleaming illumination of the airframe, but I might get some vapor.

Things weren’t that great but there were some vortices streaming from the flaps as they came across the threshold at the north end of the airport. The grey of the livery was blending a bit with the clouds behind it, but the blues did still have a bit of punch to them. It could have been better, but it was still something I was pleased to get.