Tag Archives: civil

Air France A350

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Regular readers will know I am quite a fan of the Airbus A350.  Getting a new operator of the jet in Seattle is nice for me and the Air France service has swapped from the 777 to the A350.  It started a while ago but the conditions have been so bad for a while, I didn’t even bother trying to get out and shoot it.  I was coming through the area when it was due in so made a diversion to get a few shots.  Not too nice a sky but still okay and I will hopefully get better conditions at some point before too long.  They arrive at lunchtime so the light is not ideal anyway at that time.

Will I See Another Lufthansa A340?

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The A340s are hard to find these days but Lufthansa is still using some A340-300s.  This is my favorite of the type and, having had them all in Star Alliance colors for a while, it is nice to see them in Lufthansa colors again.  With one coming to Seattle on a weekend as a substitute for the normal A330, I figured I should go out.  The day was a dull one but you just don’t know when you might get another chance so I figured it was worth a trip.

Pawnee Tow Plane

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I went up to Arlington one Sunday to see if Eviation was up to anything.  Their hangars were closed up but I did see a Piper Pawnee in an open hangar as I nosed around and I hoped it would be in action.  It is used by the local gliding club and, sure enough, it was going to get some use.  Ahead of any towing activities, the pilot took it up to get some circuits in.  I took a few shots of it as it hit the pattern.  The Pawnee is a really strange looking plane.  Very functional but not too elegant.

JinAir In Primer

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The nice thing about having the factory for airliners nearby is seeing aircraft in the colors of an airline that you would not normally see.  It is a little disappointing when they are not actually painted.  I like the primer look (I know the protective film isn’t really primer, but I don’t have a better term for it) but it would have been nicer to have the livery.  Only some marking on the composite parts that are already painted let you know what airline it is destined for.

Boeing’s Own BBJ

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Boeing developed the BBJ in partnership with GE if memory serves and I think they took the earliest examples to be built.  A modified 737 airframe, the BBJ is a big jet for a bizjet – unless you are seriously wealthy and have a converted widebody.  Their house colors are actually quite nice and, since Boeing Field is a big base for them, seeing their jet in is not a surprise.  It does look good, though.

More Alice Taxi Trials

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The testing of the Eviation Alice continues.  My first post on this was when they tried to do some high speed taxi trials but didn’t manage to get the plane going.  However, they have been making more progress since.  I managed to get up there when they were planning some more taxi trials.  I was hoping for some more fast work which they delivered.  Not fast enough to get the nose wheel off yet but progress all the same.

A few photographers were out to see what occurred.  The test team did not seem too happy about the level of interest.  I think they would prefer to get early testing work done without the world watching.  They did have their own multimedia team, of course.  Various cameras were doing the official recording and some drone work was done as they carried out the trials.  A NOTAM for the UAV was in place for several days.  I went with stills and video and put some stuff together for GAR and here is some of what I got.  Let’s hope to get more as they progress.

Straight Up Shots

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I like unusual angles for shots.  Most of what I get is pretty normal stuff.  I am most interested in straight down shots but I have not managed those yet.  However, straight up shots are possible and I have been getting a few of those when the opportunity presents itself.  It is an angle we are familiar enough with, but the shot interests me because it isn’t the regular view we choose.

Formation Arrivals

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Not really a formation I’m afraid.  I was shooting this PC-12 as it came in to BFI in nice light and a light aircraft was on the approach for the parallel runway.  I almost got both of them in frame but not quite.  However, I liked the shot so here it is.

Robbed Dreamliner

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Dreamliner deliveries have been stalled for about a year now with a brief interlude of deliveries early last year.  They are stored all over the place including this American Airlines jet up at Paine Field.  I think it had a radome when it was built but, clearly someone needed one and the easiest one to hand was on this airframe. Now it sits awaiting a replacement and – hopefully – acceptance and delivery!