Tag Archives: Everett

Kalitta Charter 727

Boeing 727s aren’t a total rarity but they are certainly not common and, when one showed up at Paine Field, it was worthy of a look. Operated by Kalitta Charter, it was making a trip around the west. It arrived at Paine in nice light and a flight plan was filed for a departure shortly afterwards. This turned out to be a bit optimistic but I had plenty to do so I sat nearby awaiting the departure. It ultimately came later in the day so the weather was great.

What wasn’t great was that I missed them calling up on the radio as I was busy with some work. I happened to glance up and see the aircraft rotating in lovely light. I grabbed the camera and tried to get a quick shot but the camera was not happy and I got a second of open shutter. Nothing usable. A quick reset and then I was able to get tail on shots as it climbed away. To say I was annoyed is an understatement. At least I saw it, even if I have no shots to share.

Commercial Service Starts at Paine Field

Leave a Reply

SeaTac may be the main commercial airport for Seattle but there is now a second airport for mainline service. Paine Field has opened its new terminal and commenced service. I had a trip to make so decided to give it a go. Not only is it closer to home but parking is cheaper and the prices for flights were pretty low. Time to give it a go.

It took me a while to find the long stay parking. The signage was useless. When I returned to pick up my car, I noticed that they had added new signs and had people hanging around in the access roads asking if you needed help. Could have done with them before. Interestingly, when I returned to pick up the car, the long-term lot was marked as full. Not sure how well that is going to work out. They did have some additional parking under construction.

The terminal itself is very nice. They were still debugging the check in systems at the Alaska desk when I got there. The process of handing over my bag was a little confused but, since there were only two of us at the two desks, it wasn’t like there was a lengthy delay. Similarly for the security line, while the website said there was TSA Pre, there wasn’t. I had to remove all of my camera gear from the bags but, again not many people there so it was easy to get done quickly.

There are two gates in the terminal itself. I never saw more than one plane on a gate at a time but, as other airlines start service, I imagine it will be a bit busier. There were sections of the waiting area that were empty for now so it has the ability to cope with more people. The gate area itself is very nice. Comfortable chairs and nice decorations, combined with a bar make it feel more like a dining location than an airport. Very cozy. There was a Beecher’s Cheese location apparently under construction which might be good for a snack when it opens soon.

The services were being operated by Embraer E175-E1s. There were plenty of ground staff to deal with the flights. There seemed to be loads of them and, with plenty of time between the flights, they didn’t seem over taxed. However, I suspect there was still a lot of training underway – hence the excess staff. Loading didn’t take long and then it was off to the runway, past the Boeing flight line and then departure. I found it a great way to get a flight and, with a surprising number of destinations available, I hope to use it more. It is certainly more convenient for me than SeaTac.

777X Prepping for Flight

Leave a Reply

The 777X will make its first flight before too long. Indeed, it might happen before this post goes live but we shall see. It was due to have a roll out at Everett but that was toned down due to the ongoing Max issues. Instead, it rolled out to the flight line where it has been in prep for first flight. (We will get low and high speed taxi runs first of course. I wonder whether I will be able to get up there for the flight or not.). I have seen it parked on the ramp at Boeing’s center. From across the field, it is visible but subject to a lot of heat haze. From the other side of the field it is closer but the view is a bit obstructed. I saw it in the hangar during a previous tour but now it is out and in Boeing house colors. This is a 777-9 version and the folded wing tips are clear to see.

Janet is Local!

Leave a Reply

I have photographed Janet 737s operating out of their hub at McCarran International in Las Vegas before. They have made it on to the blog too. However, it turns out I can get them a lot closer to home. Normally when they leave Las Vegas, they fly for a while and then disappear to wherever they are headed. In the case of the destination being Paine Field, no need for such subterfuge. Like a lot of operators, it seems they use ATS for maintenance.

I knew an aircraft was in as they had been filing flight plans for a number of days but never going anywhere. The weekend came around along with another flight plan so I was skeptical. However, when they got airborne, I figured it was time to be ready for the return. The weather was doing its usual thing. Clouds everywhere but with sun regularly popping through. Could we get the same thing?

Hardly surprising that a big cloud rolled in as they were lining up on the ILS. There was still hope of light further up the approach and the cloud was moving fast. In the end, we had good light far out, a lot of gloom for most of the approach and then sun just over the threshold. Not perfect but it would do. The flight must have been successful because the departed for Las Vegas later the same day. We have had some before so hopefully there will be more. The 737-600 is pretty rare anyway so this is one of the few times I get to see one.

Juggling the Pegasuses

Leave a Reply

While the UPS freighter had enticed me to Everett, I was interested to see that Boeing was busy moving KC-46s around. They have a hangar at the south end of the field where they work on the Pegasus aircraft and they were taking on out of the hangar. To do this, they needed to move a bunch of them out of the way so they had a juggling act underway putting different planes in odd locations while they all were moved. They stuck a row of them down by the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum.

The plane came out of the hangar and was rolled off to park. Then, one that had been sitting outside for a while was moved back inside. I wasn’t going to hang around to see if they moved them all back that evening but I did go across to the museum side to see them parked in this odd location before leaving. At this time the Air Force had halted deliveries due to loose items in the received airframes so I guess the chance of more airframes stacking up was back on the cards.

Low Sun on the Light Aircraft

Leave a Reply

While waiting for the UPS 747, there was a bit of light aircraft traffic in to Paine Field. With nice low sun, I wasn’t going to ignore them. They all looked nice enough but I was particularly impressed with a Cirrus that came in sporting a custom paint finish. It looked particularly nice.

UPS Delivered from the Paintshop

Leave a Reply

A sunny and cold winter day provides nice light and an afternoon arrival of a jet at Paine Field from the paint facility in Portland was enough to tempt me out. UPS is the primary recipient of 747-8F jets these days and it was another of their getting close to delivery. It was approaching from the south so I was at the windsock with a few other locals. They flew a touch and go before making a full stop landing so I was able to try two different positions to get the landing. Conditions were really nice for getting a shot of a shiny new plane.

COPA Max Touch and Go

Leave a Reply

The 737 flight tests involve a departure from Renton and arrival at Boeing Field from which all further flying takes place. However, on some flights, approaches are made to Paine Field. One COPA 737 Max made such an approach while I was there. I was at the departure end of the field and, while sometimes they will land and back taxi before taking off again, this time it was a go around. Consequently, they were quite high by the time they passed me. Still worthy of a few shots, though.

Green Jet Airways 737

Leave a Reply

If you drive passed Boeing Field at the moment, there are a few 737s parked across the street in the employee parking lot. One is a development Max 7 but the others a new jets awaiting delivery. They are marked up for Jet Airways. Apparently, the airline has cash issues and that might be the reason that delivery has not been taken on these jets.

I may well have seen one of them during its test flying activities. This jet was still unpainted when it made a stop at Everett. You often get jets passing through Everett en route back to BFI but this one was actually making a stop. I assume they completed the test flying and painting of the airframe in the hope that the financing would come to fruition. Apparently, that has not yet happened. Either Jet will come up with the money or these aircraft will be reconfigured for an alternate customer.

Random Dreamlifter Action

Leave a Reply

I have been gathering various shots of Boeing Dreamlifters over recent months and so figured I would just combine a bunch of them into a single post. No overriding theme here and some conditions were way nice than others. It is just a selection of shots of one of the more unusual looking aircraft around. Hopefully, one day, I shall get to shoot the Airbus Belugas too.