Tag Archives: freighter

The Second Freighter Conversion Finally Arrives

Alaska Air Cargo has been having a tricky time with its new freighters.  These are conversions of some of its older 737-800s and will provide more capacity than the current 737-300BDSF fleet.  I got the first of the jets not long after it arrived, but it then was out of service for ages.  They have finally got it in regular use now but the delivery of the second aircraft was delayed while they sorted things out.  It is now delivered and operating regularly, and I caught it climbing out of SEA one weekend.  The second shot is the same airframe back when it was in passenger service a few years ago.

Reinforcement Around the Freight Door

While Alaska Air Cargo has been struggling to add its new 737-800BCFs to the fleet, the -7000 freighters have continued to provide service to them.  I have shot these a few different times, but I got some more recent shots of one of the jets at a time when the sun angle was such that the surface of the fuselage was illuminated in such a way to show up the textures of the construction.  The conversion to freighter involves a lot of reinforcement around the aperture for the freight door.  The light really highlighted this reinforcement well.

Rainy Sunday for the National Queen

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.

Is This My Last Kalitta 727?

The 727 is a rarity already and one of the remaining operators, Kalitta, is close to ending their operations too.  I read that they only have two left and that they will both be gone later this year.  Consequently, I was rather pleased when one was due into Seattle.  Unfortunately, it was due to land at about 8pm.  I did think of getting out to try and see what the ambient light would be like but decided against it.  It then got delayed and didn’t arrive until after 10pm.

They filed to head straight back out that evening so I figured I would miss out.  However, something was not right with the jet, and they didn’t leave.  The following day, when I saw that they hadn’t gone, I was able to come by and see if they were still there.  Indeed they were.  It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of an engine running and thought I might be in luck.  Sadly, the open panels were a sign that they were just doing an engine test.  I had to leave shortly afterwards and was wondering whether they would depart while I was absent.

Luck continued to be on my side, and they were still there later in the day.  No flight plan filed, and I was wondering whether they were either not going at all or might wait until after dark.  I was pondering driving around to the other side of the field to see if I could find out anything when my friend messaged me that a flight plan had been filed for a departure shortly.  Now, I never trust the timing of a flight plan for a freighter, but this was still promising.

Needless to say, they did not go promptly.  This was not a bad thing, though.  As I waited, the conditions were steadily improving with some nice light.  At this time of year, though, that light doesn’t last too long, and I was fearing it might disappear before they left.  Fortunately, they finally fired up and taxied past me.  The light was looking great. Now to hope that they didn’t have a long wait for ATC release.

I had wondered whether they would get off the ground fast or not.  The 727 was capable enough in short fields but they don’t leap off the ground.  I chose a location that I thought might be good for rotation shots and I am glad I did.  I had just about the perfect spot.  They rotated in front of me, climbed out in lovely light and disappeared.  I wonder whether this will be my last Kalitta 727 shot or not.

Alaska Air Cargo’s Newest Freighter – Finally!

Alaska Air Cargo has a bunch of converted 737-700s that it uses to run freight around Alaska and down to Seattle.  The -700 is not a popular freighter conversion with the -800 being the basis for most NG freighters around the world.  Alaska must have decided that they too need the additional capacity and are converting a pair of their passenger jets.  The first returned from Kelowna, where the conversion was undertaken, and entered service.  I went out one weekend to catch it heading north.  I waited a long time as its departure time slipped and slipped before it eventually canceled.  It then flew to Oklahoma City for some work of some sort.  It did return but then went back to OKC so something was clearly not right.

Recently, it finally returned to Seattle.  The weather was not great but it was a weekend and I had some time so I decided to catch it coming in from Ketchikan and then heading back the same way.  With the cargo door in the front fuselage and the Air Cargo markings added, it looks pretty good.  It hasn’t been used hard yet, so the paint is in good shape.  Let’s hope its teething troubles are behind it and I might catch it in nicer conditions.  Its sister ship is in conversion currently, so we should have a pair of them before too long.

Silk Way West Can’t Avoid Me Forever

Having been operating 747 freighters, Silk Way West, an Azerbaijani cargo airline that is upgrading its fleet with 777Fs.  They took delivery of their first one a while back and there was no time when I could be anywhere close while the jet was on test or being delivered.  I was a bit annoyed to miss it, but these things are part of the process.  When a second jet came off the line, I was similarly unable to get anywhere near it while it was on test.  However, the delivery flight did coincide with some free time I had.

I headed to Everett with the hope of catching it leaving.  Delivery flights are not always reliable.  The timing of getting airborne can move and sometimes odd things happen and they don’t go at all.  This is not the norm, though, so I was hoping it would all work out and I was lucky.  The flight was direct to their home base so, while the jet had no cargo in the hold, it was going to be heavily fueled up so I was hopefully of a reasonably long takeoff run.  It rotated in a good spot for getting some shots but was still quite well off the ground when it came by me.  Still, not a bad location for some shots.  I wonder if/when I shall next see this jet!

Great Access for the Ameristar Jets

As some previous posts may have indicated, I have not had the best of luck with Ameristar DC-9s in the past.  They never seem to move when I am around.  I heard that some were coming in to Paine Field and, again, I wasn’t going to be around when they got there.  However, I was up there a little while afterwards and, after getting the shots I came for, the evening light was looking nice so I figured I would head around to see if there was a good shot of them on the ramp.

When I got there, I was disappointed to see some vehicles parked up inside the fence and in the way of any shots of the jets.  Rather than give up, I headed in to the FBO to see if they would let us outside and they were very helpful.  Turns out one of their team is a keen photographer himself and he was happy to escort us out.  The two DC-9s were sitting on the ramp in lovely light.  What more could you ask for?  There was a medical helicopter crew getting ready to depart and we had to stay well out of their way but this did not impact what we were after.  A great opportunity to get the jets in nice conditions.

A few days later, one of the jets was heading out.  It was a northerly flow and, given the ability of the original short body DC-9s to get out of shorter fields, it was going to be pretty high when it came by me.  That wasn’t going to stop me getting a shot, though.  Got to make the most of it when the opportunity presents itself.  When DC-9s were everywhere with operators like Northwest, it was easy to ignore them.  Now they have rarity value, it is a different story!

Just in Time for an Everts MD-83BCF

I was waiting for my mate to get through immigration at SEA after a flight from the UK.  He was telling me that there was a horrible line to get through, so I figured I had a little time.  I also knew that Everts Air Cargo’s MD-83 freighter was due to launch out of Boeing Field.  Originally, I had figured I would miss it but, since he was stuck in line, I might as well wait around and get the take off.  A slightly gloomy day but a Mad Dog freighter is still worth it!

A More Dynamic Angle on Lynden at Last

I have had various encounters with the C-130s of Lynden Air Cargo over the years, but they have usually been a relatively normal side on type of shot.  I saw one of the aircraft had gone into Paine Field and I was fortunate that the departure was scheduled for a weekend day when I could get up there.  I decided at the last minute to make the trip up and, as I pulled up at my preferred location, a quick check of the phone showed the aircraft was already at the hold.

I got set up as rapidly as I could and then they were rolling.  The advantage of this location is that the plane will have rotated and is climbing out towards me.  The Herc is able to get out of short strips just fine, but it isn’t climbing too rapidly so I knew I should get something different to what I have taken before.  I quite liked the front quarter shot but the others were fine too.  I was then back in the car and home in a short time.  It was almost like I hadn’t been away, but I had got the result I wanted.

The Sun Arrives for the Falcon 20

Autumnal weather can make for unpredictable conditions when photographing anything but especially planes.  I was up at Paine Field for the NASA flying but was pleased to see that a Falcon 20 was also due to make a stop.  This was an IFL Group aircraft making a short stop before heading off again.  The clouds had been rolling through, but they parted just before the Falcon showed up.  We had great light on it as it landed.

Conditions didn’t stay great and, by the time it taxied back out to depart, it was not so good.  Not terrible by any standards but certainly not the lovely light we had for the arrival.  It’s rare that I see a Falcon 20 being used for personal transport these days but the fact that they still have a good role for freight usage means we get to see them around still which is welcome.