Tag Archives: jet

Recce Jets and Pretty Colors

Leave a Reply

Japanese jets have a reputation for interesting colors and, while the fighter units were pretty dull gray, the recce jets were far more interesting.  Most of the flying jets I saw were in the blue camo scheme and they look very nice.  One the first wave I saw, there was also a jet in green and brown camo.  Sadly it only flew once and I messed up a bunch of my shots.  The other scheme on the ramp was a green and grey scheme that looked a lot like the old German colors.  Sadly, it stayed on the ramp the entire time I was there.

Royalty Lands in a 737

Leave a Reply

I nearly missed this one.  A JAL 737 was taxiing in at Haneda and the guy next to me seemed very interested in it.  He was shooting it when it was still a long way off and I didn’t know why.  As it got closer, I could see two Japanese flags flying from the cockpit windows.  I figured it must be something so grabbed a few shots.  As soon as it was gone, he packed up and left.  Talking to someone the following day, he told me that JAL currently has the royal transportation contract and that includes some flights on the narrow body fleet.  I guess someone royal was on this flight.

Completing the ANA Star Wars Set

Leave a Reply

ANA painted three jets in special schemes in association with Star Wars.  They have an R2-D2 scheme on a 787-9 and a BB-8 scheme on a 777-300ER and I have shot both of them in the US.  They have appeared on the blog here and here.  The third jet was a C-3PO scheme that was on a jet that was used in the Asia regional flights so I did not anticipate seeing it.  However, it showed up at Haneda while I was there.  Consequently, I got to shoot it at last.  Sadly, it departed off the other runway so I only got a distant backlit shot.

There was another 767 that also showed up with some Star Wars markings on it.  It wasn’t a complex scheme like the first three but it was a Star Wars scheme.  I guess I must have got all of them by now unless anyone knows of another one that is out there?

Phantastic Phun

1 Reply

I was able to have a day out while in Japan after the work was done and the meetings were complete.  I have seen plenty of pictures from Hyakuri and I was keen to get there.  Mark had kindly brought me up to date with the latest arrangements for visiting, a rental car was booked and I was all set.  Starting out from the center of Tokyo on a Monday morning was surprisingly straightforward and I was soon cruising through the countryside heading to Ibaraki Prefecture.

The weather was a bit overcast.  After days of heat and sun, this was a bit of a surprise but it actually worked a bit in my favor.  I didn’t have a ladder so switching sides in the afternoon was not going to be too simple.  With the clouds, there was far less need to move.  However, that was an issue for later.  I drove up and, as I got close, I had a Phantom pass over me as it was on final approach.  A promising sign.

I got to the towers and got myself settled in.  There was plenty of action on the ramp of the recce unit.  Soon a couple of jets spooled up and taxied.  The came right by me.  I was shooting away but there seemed to be a bit of a focus issue.  Repressing the AF button brought things back into focus so I kept shooting.  Only after they took off did I realize that I had somehow switched to One Shot focus mode.  Crap.  No doubt most of the take off shots would be out of focus – they were.  However, problem fixed and then things were performing as intended.

What followed was a day of Phantom fun.  Recce and fighter jets went up in regular waves.  They taxied right by and then took off in front of us.  What a great way to spend a day.  The recce jets would do a straight in approach and landing.  Some of the fighter guys were more happy to bash the pattern for a while when returning which added to the fun.

As the afternoon wore on, there was a hint of sun showing through the clouds.  Backlight was becoming a bit of an issue but at this point I was staying put until I called it a day.  I had the drive back to the city to deal with, rush hour was beckoning and I needed to get the rental car back.  I made the most of what was on offer before packing up for the day.  The whole trip was so worthwhile.  Plenty have been so it was nothing original but it was pure fun.  There were also other types flying and they will get their own posts.

Details of a Pegasus

Leave a Reply

The KC-46 Pegasus test program drags on.  The delivery of jets to the USAF is still not happening and the number of jets built increases but they are stacking up at Paine Field and Boeing Field.  Meanwhile the test jets are working through test points and endeavoring to prove that the problems identified in previous tests are now resolved.  I have seen a few jets now and shot them in varying conditions from sun to downpours.

I was at Boeing Field one evening waiting to pick up someone at SeaTac later in the evening when one of the test jets taxied out from the Boeing ramp at the north of the field and came right by me prior to departing on another mission.  The jet was configured with the boom and the underwing pods so the planned final configuration.  As it came by, I decided to get some shots of the airframe to get a better idea of what the various parts look like.

The airframe is the familiar 767 although there are some changes structurally.  The cockpit is updated too but you can’t see that from the outside.  However, you can see the various sensors mounted around the airframe which, I assume, are radar detectors.  Above the cockpit is the receiver receptacle for the refueling boom to allow the jet to receive as well as dispense fuel.  You can’t see much from the ground other than the markings to guide the boomer (and the markings that identify which jet it is).

The underwing refueling pods are a source of some of the troubles the program is having.  Apparently, the supplier in the UK underestimated what was required to achieve he civil certification that is part of the contract requirements.  The pods may not be cleared when the initial jets finally enter service.  Modern pods have a more streamlined look.  Earlier pods have a blunt back end that the hose and drought come out of.  The modern pods and more streamlined and the rogue comes out of a ramp in the bottom of the pod.

The back end has the boom.  Given how many boom tankers Boeing has produced, modern booms seem to cause them a lot of trouble.  This one is still one of the major defects with the jet.  Hopefully it will be resolved soon.  The boomer does not have a window like the earlier jets but instead uses stereo video cameras to give the boomer the view of what is going on.  I assume some of the apertures around the rear fuselage are for the cameras to support this functionality.  We shall see how long it is before we see this being used for real by the USAF as opposed to the test team.

RAT Noise

Leave a Reply

UPS is buying a bunch of 747 freighters at the moment.  I have shot a few of them including examples here and here.  The route back to Paine Field takes them across our area when the pattern being flown is a northerly.  I grabbed the camera to see this primer example heading over.  As the plane flew by, there was a lot more noise than would be normal for a jet on the approach and it had a vibrational element which made me think the RAT might be deployed.  Sure enough, when I checked the shots, the RAT could be seen under the wing route.  This is a normal flight test requirement so nothing to be concerned about but this was the first time I had heard a jet at speed with the RAT out and I was surprised how loud it was.

Take Your Pick When Refueling

Leave a Reply

The F-105 Thunderchief (or Thud) is a beast of a plane. Sadly I never got to seem them in action.  One is parked outside at Cavanaugh in Addison TX.  Its camo is a bit bleached by the Texas sun (it was just over 100 degrees the day I arrived and that was towards the end of the afternoon).  The thing that caught my eye, though, was the refueling receptacle or, more specifically, receptacles.  USAF aircraft have the flying boom refueling system.  This was not always the case and jets like the F-100 had flight refueling probes for the hose and drogue method.

I assume that the Air Force was in a transition mode when the F-105 was being designed so they had both.  On the upper side of the nose there is a ramp for boom refueling to take place.  Below that on the port side is a retractable refueling probe for hose and drogue use.  I didn’t realize that any jets had been built for both (aside from the UK and French E-3s which are a bit larger and more able to accommodate the extra kit.  I wonder which one was more regularly used since the techniques for each type differ.

Cascades or Buckets?

Leave a Reply

Watching a bunch of arrivals at Vancouver, I got a lot of shots of aircraft reversing thrust.  Current jets fall into one of two categories.  Cascade reversers or bucket reversers.  The bucket reversers aren’t quite as obvious as those fitted to the old 737-200s where they clamped across the whole exhaust but the effect is much the same.  Bucket reversers look like they are doing the job to me.  They hang out and you can imagine the flow being turned around as they power up.  Cascade reversers are far more subtly as the nacelle translates aft and the flow is redirected out of the based of fins that is now exposed.  I imagine they are similarly effective but I have no data to back that up.  If someone knows more, please let me know as I am genuinely interested to find out.

Air Canada Max8

Leave a Reply

Production of the 737s is rapidly transitioning from the NGs to the Max at this point.  Still plenty of NGs being built but the Max is no longer a novelty and soon they will be the vast majority of what is coming out of Renton.  I have seen a few Air Canada Max 8s and another one was heading out on a test flight while I stopped for lunch at BFI.  I like the new Air Canada colors.  As with any livery change, there are plenty that don’t appreciate it but I like the combination of retro and new and the fact it isn’t like everything else is good.  The bandit eyes are a bit more of an acquired taste but they are fine I guess.