Tag Archives: delta

Another Delta A350 – This One From TAM

Delta acquired a bunch of A350s when airlines were disposing of them and they have progressively been heading from storage at Victorville to Singapore for reconfiguration.  I have posted about these already with a couple of LATAM jets having come through.  The most recent one I saw was actually an ex-TAM aircraft.  Again, not the best of conditions for shooting its arrival but it was still fun to see something you would normally never see at SEA.  It was a bit damp so there was a little vapor over the wings which was nice.  Next time I see it, it will be indistinguishable from the other Delta A350s.

Better Timing With This Ex-LATAM Delta A350

The movement of the ex-LATAM Airbus A350s that Delta has picked up on their way to Singapore via Seattle got me out once before.  The jet was arriving after dark but I gave it a go anyway.  The next one to make the move from California to Singapore came through at a more convenient time for me being both daylight and also when I wasn’t at work!  The weather was not perfect but the sun did pop out which made for some reasonable lighting and it was a chance to catch a jet in LATAM colors which I probably won’t get very often.

Delta/LATAM Comes in After Dark

Delta picked up a few ex-LATAM Airbus A350-900s as part of that airlines restructuring during the downturn in the airline business caused by the pandemic.  They went initially in to storage and then have been progressively moved to Singapore for updating to the Delta configuration.  Seattle has been the location for them to come through on their way to Asia.  I have missed a few but one was due to come through when I could see it.  Sadly, it departed a little late from Victorville and was showing due in after dark.

Since it was an unusual movement, I figured it was still worth the effort.  I would use the 500mm since it has a wider aperture and test the low light capabilities of the camera to the full.  It still meant some very low shutter speeds but I let the tech compensate for my low skill levels.  I was pleasantly surprised by how well some of them came out given the lack of light.  Since this shoot, I did also reprocess with PureRAW3 and this improved the quality of the shot further.

Team USA Delta A330

Delta was the official airline of the US Olympic team during the Winter Olympics in China.  They painted one of their A330s with Team USA colors.  I knew it had been in and out of Seattle a few times but I had either not had a chance to go and see it or it was in crummy conditions.  Finally it was due in early one weekend morning so I headed down to SeaTac to catch it.  The forecast was not great but I had a feeling that the early sun might hang around and, for once, I wasn’t wrong.  The light was generous and the plane came in on the right runway to get a good shot.

The S4 Was A Beast

A while back I posted some shots of a Lancia Delta Integrale.  The Integrale was the road homologous on version of the rally car that came about when the Group B rally cars were closed out.  However, the Group B cars were the really crazy ones.  The S4 was the Lancia that competed in Group B.  It replaced the Lancia 037 and, at Chateau Ste. Michelle, the two were on show together.  Both were road versions for homologous on but they were both beasts.

The S4 was the pinnacle of crazy rally cars.  A huge engine and four wheel drive in what was really not a road car.  They built some to meet the rules and this was one of them.  It was surprisingly nicely finished on the interior given what type of car it was.  However, the way in which the body looked like it was different pieces bolted together made you know this was not a car designed for consumers.  I was designed with a single purpose in mind.  However, it looked like it could eat anything else on the road.  What as absolute monster.

One Day I’ll Get the NEO in Good Light

Shortly after my A220-300 landed, another Delta jet was due in.  (Actually, quite a few were but they weren’t terribly interesting.). It was an A330-900, the NEO version of the A330.  I have shot a few of them but have really struggled to get them in good conditions or nice lighting.  Since the weather was crummy on this Sunday morning, that luck wasn’t changing.  However, it was there so why not get a few shots.  At some point I will get one in good light.

C Series Stretch

It’s true that the C Series is no longer called that but the A220 is not such an exciting name and the title was dull enough as it was so I figured some artistic license was allowed.  I have shot A220s a number of times both in Seattle and Dallas Fort Worth since Delta flies them to both locations.  However, to date, my only experience had been with the original aircraft, the A220-100.  The -300 is the stretch version (or the actual original idea if you believe some analysts) which is proving to be the more popular seller.  Delta has started taking delivery of them and one was coming to Seattle on a Sunday morning so I went out to catch it.  Conditions were not ideal.  In due course, these will be a common sighting but a first is still a first.  Loads are flying in to Vancouver with Air Canada but, until the border opens, I will have to make do with this one.

A220 Engines Look Big Underneath

The A220 (or C Series as it was then) was the plane that spooked Airbus and then Boeing.  It was an efficient plane with a new engine – the Pratt and Whitney geared turbofan or GTF.  Airbus decided the re-engine the A320 family with a version of the same plane and the success of that project changed Boeing’s plans from a new plane to a reboot of the 737 which gave us the Max!  They went with a different engine to the GTF (and Airbus decided to offer both).  The GTF is a high bypass engine so it takes up a lot of space under the wing.  This A220 passed over me on approach to SeaTac and gave a good idea of just how large the engine nacelles are compared to the rest of the plane.

Delta Jets at Moses Lake

While production Max jets awaiting delivery are all over Moses Lake, they aren’t the only 737s stored there.  Coming up on the south side, the first jets to be visible were Delta Airlines 737-900ERs.  I assume these have been stored here while a substantial portion of the fleet is inactive due to the massive downturn in air travel resulting from the pandemic.  No idea how long these jets will be here but I guess Delta will pull them out as they increase the schedules.

Delta A220s (Or C Series for the Purist)

The Airbus A220 is now getting more widely established in service.  Indeed, the slightly smaller and highly efficient nature of the jet means that it is likely to be pretty popular as service gets reestablished for a lot of airlines.  Sadly, I haven’t seen any other than those with Delta.  I have seen a decent number of those, though.  As a continuation of my lockdown trawl of the archives, here is a variety of shots of Delta’s A220 flight.  If you prefer to call this a C Series from its Bombardier days, feel free but that ship has sailed!