Tag Archives: jet

Max 8 Departs Just Before Grounding

Leave a Reply

Paul and I were in Vegas for Red Flag but the early morning is also a good time to shoot at McCarran International.  The morning light is ideal for the north/south runways and, with the wind playing ball, you can get the iconic McCarran shots of jets taking off with the weird and wonderful hotel buildings behind them.  Where else will you get a pyramid and the Empire State Building in the background.  Southwest has a big presence at McCarran and we saw a string of their jets head out including one Max8.  We watched it climb out little realizing that the grounding order would be coming within hours or even minutes.  Whether the jet continued to its destination or turned around, we don’t know but that was its last commercial flight for a while.

Low and Sporty Lightning II Departure

Leave a Reply

Speedway departures can be a mixed bag at Nellis.  Flex departures with a pull over the Speedway are the best but it does depend on how high planes have got.  Some climb out quite steeply and are way too high for a good shot by the time that they reach you.  On my most recent Nellis trip, though, we were treated to a few departures by the locals that broke the mold. They got airborne and kept it nice and low as they accelerated towards us before breaking in to the flex departure routing.

The evening light combined with the great angles made for some good shots.  It didn’t hurt that I had a lower shutter speed than usual so got some nice blur of the mountains behind the planes courtesy of them being nice and low.  The Strike Eagles also gave it a go which was nice.

Dornier 328Jet

Leave a Reply

The FBO ramps at McCarran had a selection of Dornier 328Jets.  I noticed one at first and only later realized that there were more.  What did please me was seeing a bus pull up by one of them with the door open.  I figured we would have a flight before too long.  Indeed it did, in due course, power up, taxi down to the departure end and take off.  It was a bit far away but I’ll take a 328Jet when the opportunity arises.

Sunset Burner Departures

Leave a Reply

Fighters departing Nellis are well out of burner by the time they get anywhere near you outside the base.  However, if you are shooting in low light, the burners can show up quite well even though you are a long way off.  The plane is a small part of the overall shot but the intensity of the burner plume can make it far more conspicuous in the shot than would otherwise be the case.

Back How it Was Delivered

Leave a Reply

The BOAC retro jet that BA has painted up was a nice treat to get.  There are two other retro jets in other colors but, based on their interior configuration, they should not normally be used on the Seattle route.  Therefore, I wasn’t expecting a chance to get them any time soon.  Then, I saw that the Landor scheme aircraft was coming to SeaTac.  It must have been a substitution.  Now I was interested.  However, it pushed off the gate at Heathrow and then went back on with some engine start issue.  Was it going to scrub?

Apparently not.  The issue was resolved and they pushed again.  While the passengers were, no doubt, unimpressed by this, I was delighted.  It now meant the arrival was at nearly 7pm.  No problem to get to SeaTac after work and the light might be really nice.  The weather was better than forecast although the chance of Mt Rainier making a second appearance was low.  Again, plenty were out for the arrival.  She showed up on the approach and the light played ball.  This jet would have been delivered to BA with these colors so it was a case of reverting to how she had appeared many years before.

Please Come Back Before Sunset

Leave a Reply

Some late day departures after the Flag returns included F-15Es, F-35As, L159s and A-4s.  You don’t know how long anyone is scheduled to be out but you find yourself hoping that they will all make it back before the sun sets so you can get some arrival shots in the nicest light available.  Once they are gone, it is a case of watching the time and crossing your fingers.  As it was, we got lucky.  They came back in a steady stream with all of them showing up as the sun was at its best.  Arriving over Cheyenne is not ideal from a sun angle perspective at this time of year but we still got some nice angles.  Some turned tighter while others went wider so we got to try all sorts of angles out to see which picked up what light was remaining.

Kalitta Charter 727

Leave a Reply

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.

Sands 747SPs

Leave a Reply

It’s always interesting to see what is at the Sands ramp at McCarran.  The flight of luxury jets for bringing in the high rollers to play at the casino is a mix of types.  Some “normal” Gulfstream, an A340-500 and the Boeing 747SP.  I was delighted to see that two SPs were parked up on the ramp the morning I was there.  Seeing them move was a bit much to ask but getting them in some lovely light immediately after sunrise was a good alternative.

Dutch KDC-10

Leave a Reply

There were two tankers I was hoping to shoot at Red Flag.  One was the Colombian 767.  It didn’t fly on the first day but on the second it started to taxi before returning to the ramp and shutting down.  Never mind.  The other was the Dutch KDC-10.  I hadn’t shot one before and they are not likely to be in service for too much longer so this might have been my last chance.  Therefore, I hoped it would fly and it didn’t let me down.

The winds were strong on the first day and it departed towards us off 21L.  As soon as it was airborne, the nose cocked into the strong crosswind and it turned towards us.  A right turn overhead and it was on its way to the ranges.  When it returned, they went for a very impressive curving approach.  It looked great.  However, it wasn’t great from a flying perspective and a go around followed.  The second approach was more conventional and more successful.

On the second day they flew again.  This time the arrivals were from over the Speedway so a more traditional view of them coming in.  I was hoping for a go around and a tight circuit to land but that was a tad optimistic.  Maybe after the previous day they were more content to get the beast back on the ground.

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.