Tag Archives: civil

More on the Stored Southwest Jets

When the pandemic first hit in a big way, I wasn’t going anywhere to shoot but, once it was okay to make trips without interfacing with other people too much, I did got to Paine Field to see the stored Southwest 737s and I wrote about it in this post. I was back up there recently and, while they have been cycling jets in and out, there are still a lot of their 737s parked there – predominantly but not only, 737-700s.

Some of them are up near the old cross runway and lined up in a good spot for a shot when the morning light is on them. I was a little later than ideal but I still managed to get something. Many of them are around near the FHCAM facility – still sadly closed and with no idea what the future might hold. I had brought some steps which meant I could shoot over the fence. The planes are really tight in there so I may a lot of use of panos to get decent coverage of the planes. I did also get some of the planes further away.

The coverings on the openings on the airframes were pretty comprehensive. Everything that is exposed has been taped over to prevent moisture or creatures getting in and causing harm. There have been various stories coming out of the issues affecting planes that have been in storage for a long time so, while this prep is good, there will still be much to do when these planes are returned to service. Meanwhile, Southwest is now taking delivery of its Max jets so it will be interesting to see how many of these planes do have a future.

Boeing Flight Test Ramps

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From my new spot, you have a good view of the main civil ramp at Boeing as well as a slightly more distant view of the military ramp. The civil ramp was full of Max jets waiting to get delivered now that customers can start accepting the jets again. Not all agencies have cleared the Max so I guess Boeing was focusing on those that have and aiming to get as much cash as they could in before year end. You could also see the stored jets on part of the ramp as well as those in the parking lot across Marginal Way.

There were three 777X development airframes parked while the second jet was out on a test flight. I was hoping to get it returning but it was out over the Pacific off the Oregon coast and I rightly guessed that, despite the online forecast, it wouldn’t be back before sunset. The military ramp was a little quieter than I expected with a couple of KC-46s and some P-8s including the next one for the Royal Air Force. There were also two KC-46s up on the civilian flight test ramp. Plenty to see and it would have been better in morning light.

What Is It With the Dorniers These Days?

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The Pacific Northwest suddenly seems to have a bunch of Dornier 328Jet ops at the moment. I posted here about one coming in to BFI. I saw another one on the BFI ramp recently too and Paine Field had a visitor over the holidays. The weather was pretty nice for this one when it showed up so I popped out to get a shot of it coming in. I was not familiar with Taos Air. They had made a couple of stops before arriving at Everett and departed for California shortly afterwards. I wonder what the story was behind that?

XOJet Colors Change Again

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I shot an XOJet Citation X at Paine Field over the holidays. The light was at a nice low angle since it was not long after the shortest day and it picked out details on the airframe nicely. I was surprised to see that the jet was in a grey paint finish. I have shot a few XOJet Citation Xs over the years. Some of the earlier ones were in a pretty standard looking livery, not unlike NetJets.

I then started to see them in an all white paint finish. This was definitely not too exciting and had the look of someone that was ready to save money when they sold their jets without the need to repaint them. The new scheme is not much better but at least it looks slightly more deliberate than a plane you couldn’t decide what to paint it. I wonder if this is a new standard for them or just an oddball?

777X Line Up

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The number of 777X airframes at Paine Field keeps growing. I pictured some before in this post and, one morning over the holidays, I was up that was for something else and figured the morning light is good on the east side of the field where some stored jets are. There are a bunch in a line along the disused cross runway so I got a shot or two before continuing with whatI had gone up there for.

Where It All Began for Gulfstream

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Everyone always associates the Gulfstream brand with business jets. These days that is all that they make but it started out with a turboprop. The first Gulfstream was a straight winged plane with a low set tailplane and a pair of Rolls Royce Dart turboprops for power. If you look at the airframe, it is not hard to see how it was married to a new wing, power plants and empennage to create the G-II, However, the turboprop is the original. I remember seeing Ford’s aircraft operating from Stansted to their European bases. However, I have rarely shot one of the originals.

I have two that were operating at different locations but, judging by the registrations, they are probably from the same operator. Not much diversity there. I also have shots of an old NASA airframe stored as part of the Pima Air Museum’s collection. Not sure whether it has been reassembled at this point or not but, hopefully, one of the locals there can let me know. This was the beginning of a long line of top of the range bizjets.

New Location to Shoot at KBFI

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A while back I took a drive around some streets on the hill overlooking Boeing Field. I was looking for a good location to get a shot of the field and, since you have a lot of elevation, to see whether you could get a look down on arriving and departing traffic. At the time, I didn’t find much. There is a lot of tree growth up there where there aren’t buildings and I thought I was out of luck.

More recently, I was looking at some photos posted by local photographers and saw exactly what I had previously been looking for. I took a look at the backgrounds to the shots and tried to triangulate where the photographer might have been. I focused on an area that looked like it would be right and then took a closer look on Google Maps. There appeared to be a pathway through the bushes to an open area so I figured an exploration was in order.

The path was there if a little overgrown. There was some crap at the entrance which made me wonder whether this was somewhere I really wanted to go but I walked in sans kit to see what it was like. Turned out to be a pretty good spot. A great view over the airfield looking down on the ramp but the terminal and the Boeing ramp on the opposite side. It is a morning location ideally because, at this time of year, the light has moved around by late morning. However, while I was late, it was still an option. If things get cloudy, it helps a lot.

You are quite a way from the action. It was time for the longest lenses and, even then, a bit of cropping is required for some angles. Also, you get some cluttered backgrounds against which the smaller planes can be lost making the shots of little value. It does provide for a different view and, unlike the other spots I shoot at BFI, you can get arrivals and departures. I did try a second visit one morning but it was foggy and the field was shut down! However, I shall given the location another visit at some point soon. The light would last longer in the summer but I suspect heat haze will be a real problem by then.

EMS Bell 407

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A non floatplane visitor to the Splash In at Clear Lake one year was a Bell 407 that was used for EMS work. It flew in and landed in the parking lot next to the area where the planes were parked after coming out of the water. At some point, early in the day, I heard it firing up. Apparently it had been called out on a mission. Off it went, sadly not to return for the rest of the day.

Widgeons at the Splash In

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I found myself looking through some old photos (as I have done a lot in the last ten months) and came to the Clear Lake Splash In that takes place in California. I only made one trip up to this event and, while I was told that it was a quieter year than previous events, it was still a pretty cool thing to experience. Three Grumman Widgeons showed up at the event. The classic Grumman amphibian look was cool to see in action.

They landed on the lake and then dropped the undercarriage to allow them to power up the steel plate ramp that had been laid to provide access to the parking field. The three of them were parked together over near the trees. One went out to do some flying during the course of the day and then they all headed home when things wrapped up.

Watching something of this size transition from the water to the land was most impressive. Similarly, the trip back down the ramp and in to the water was cool to witness. The Widgeon sits pretty low in the water when it is not at speed but, once it is up on the step, it is a very different beast. Since they were operating parallel to the shore, it was possible for them to be quite close while they were at speed which was great.

NetJets Gets the Good Conditions

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In this previous post, I mentioned the good light I was hoping would be available for a Dornier 328Jet. While that didn’t work out, I did get a NetJets Latitude arriving at that time. NetJets colors are certainly not very exciting so they are a bland subject normally (and a Latitude is hardly the most exciting looking bizjet either. However, with the right lighting, even this can look pretty dramatic!