Tag Archives: KBFI

T-38 Up Close

After a very lean start, I have done a lot better in recent times with getting shots of the Boeing chase T-38s at Boeing Field. I have shot them airborne and in good light so nothing to be unhappy about. However, the one thing that I haven’t had in the past is a good close up shot of them while on the ground. They have either been landing when on a northerly flow or coming from the other direction and so they haven’t taxied close to me.

Finally managed to break that one not long ago. Some tankers were heading out – one appeared to be a production test flight for an Air Force example while the other was one of the Boeing development airframes. The T-38 followed it out – presumably their flights were connected but I don’t know for sure. It taxied right passed me so I got a good look at it on the ground for a change. It took off, of course, so a little extra chance to get some shots with a cluttered background!

Strolling Down a 10,000’ Runway

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King County International Airport held a public event in the guise of a FOD walk. You could sign up for free for the opportunity to take a stroll along their main 10,000’ runway one Saturday morning. Since I wasn’t planning on anything else, this seemed like a good chance to be somewhere that I normally wouldn’t get to be. I showed up just before 8am on the Saturday to see how it was. Weather was overcast but it was not raining which was a relief.

We had a briefing from the airport team and the fire chief prior to heading out. They made it clear that they do take care of the runway so we were hopefully not expecting to find much but we would see. They last did a runway walk ten years ago and that was for staff so this was a new thing to try with anyone from the community taking part. We could take cameras with us but they limited what we could have. Also, photographing the Boeing military ramp was not allowed.

They split the group into two with two buses taking us out. The buses went to opposite thresholds with the intent that we walk to the middle where we would meet up and take some photos. Fortunately, I was in the bus going to the north end which is the one I wanted. Driving past the Boeing civil ramp with its 737s, KC-46s and 777Xs was pretty interesting. They set up the illuminated X at the threshold prior to us starting (which was a relief). We then spread out across the runway and walked down. The smaller runway remained in use while we were walking but there had been a bit of a mad dash of planes getting out before we started.

The runway was clean as you’d expect. For those that were walking along the edge and in to the grass a bit, there was more to find including some quite large items. I guess the session did have a practical benefit. We made it to the mid point of the runway where everyone gathered in front of the fire trucks and we had some group photos. Then it was back on the bus and a close out with some prize drawings. It’s not often you get to stand in the middle of a runway that serves everything up to wide body jets so I am glad I took the time to go out. I hope that they do it again.

Citation X With Winglets

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This post is for Pete. He is a big fan of the Citation X so I might have posted it anyway but it is a special one. Most Citation Xs were built without winglets but a few were retrofitted and I think Cessna even built a few with them from the factory towards the end of the production run. I think they are a pretty nice looking winglet design so, Pete, this one is for you.

Sheriff’s Retired Military Trainer

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What I thought was a JetRanger came in to BFI one evening. The color scheme looked a little odd and the markings had a bit of a military feel about it. Once I got home, I looked up the registration to see who the operator was. It turns out it was a JetRanger – sort of. It was actually a retired TH-67 Creek which King County Sheriff’s department had bought. They obviously haven’t repainted it. I wonder whether they will.

Finally WH003 Thanks to Nancy

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Of the four 777X test aircraft, one had eluded me. I had shot the third jet on the ground but never in motion. Supposedly it is the performance test aircraft so the suggestion was that it was being preserved until a lot of configuration work had been done to make sure the engines were in peak shape prior to measuring fuel consumption. Recently I heard that it had been making a bunch of flights. The good news was that these flights – lots of straight line flying out over the Pacific – were quite long and they usually landed in the early evening. A trip after work was on the cards.

The problem with this timing is that is clashes with dinner. Fortunately, I have a wife that is tolerant of my interest (although I think it would be wrong to say she understands my obsession!). Nancy was willing to delay dinner until it came back (and I could then get home). With test flying, there are no guarantees about timing so I would watch the jet head back up the coast only to turn around and go for another run south.

Fortunately, it finally turned back towards Seattle and it was pretty certain it was coming back. The benefit of this waiting is that the light is getting better and better. The downside of shooting the 777X is the size means the long lens is too much for the touchdown area. The wide lens doesn’t do well for the rest of the approach though. Two cameras was the answer. I thought I had one set up right but it turns out I had messed up something with the result that the shots were rather overexposed. Fortunately, RAW came to the rescue and I was able to get the shots back to what I wanted. Now I have them all in flight.

Falcon 20 and It’s Younger Sibling

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Just before 777X WH003 returned to Boeing Field, I got a nice bonus. Royal Air Freight has a small fleet of Falcon 20s that it uses for moving freight around the country and one was coming in to collect and maybe drop of some material. I do like the Falcon 20. It is definitely an older looking design at this point but it still looks pretty good. Shortly before it lined up on approach, a Falcon 7X taxied for departure from the north end of the runway and right by me.

It then sat at the hold point while the Falcon 20 made its approach. Having one of the newer Dassault jets sitting and waiting while one of the older Dassault creations flew in was a nice symmetry. Once the 20 had vacated the runway, the 7X made its departure. I assume it was going a long way since, despite using the full length, it took a while to get airborne. The 20 taxied to the ramp opposite me where they proceeded to load it up.

Lineage Catches Us Out

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My encounters with Lineages have been few and far between. From memory, one at McCarran is the only one that I immediately can recall. There may have been another but it would have been parked somewhere probably. Seeing one taxi out at Boeing Field was, therefore, a pleasant surprise. Since it would only be taking off past me, it wasn’t going to be a great shot but still better than nothing. Then they thwarted me. Instead of crossing over to taxi to the full length, they took the intersection departure. 7,500’ is obviously plenty but still very annoying.

Sheriff Huey Encounters

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My day off work to go plane hunting continued to provide interesting things for me. I had noticed a UH-1 Huey on FlightRadar24 while looking for something else. It was off to the east and had been circling various locations. I assumed it was a firefighting mission and thought no more about it. Actually it was the King County Sheriff’s airframe and, while I was at Boeing Field, it made an approach and landed at Modern Aviation’s ramp. It was a bit distant but I got some shots of it and thought no more.

A while later, I was at Renton awaiting the arrival of the A-26 when I heard the distinctive sound of the Huey again. This time it was close over the top of me and just to the sunny side so rather backlit. I figured I would shoot it again anyway at which point it commenced a tight descending turn to land on the field. It came right around me so I got shots all the way – particularly as it got to the right side for the light. To be honest, it was a little close to me for a good angle but this day was throwing me tons of opportunities and I was not going to complain.

Caribbean Airlines – Didn’t Know You Existed!

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Being close to the 737 production line means you see all sorts of airline markings on jets. That includes seeing an airline you didn’t know anything about. Caribbean Airlines had an upcoming delivery of a 737 Max 8 and it was out on test the day I took off. Not the most dramatic livery but still not too bad. The predecessors, Air Jamaica and BWIA were more colorful, though. It taxied passed me as it headed out so I got shots of it taking off. Later in the day it returned just as I was thinking it would be time to head home. It arrived and then I left. Quite a good end to the day.

Cessna 182 on Floats

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This 182 showed up at Boeing Field during my day off. I was a bit far away from it but wasn’t going to pass up the chance to shoot something new and floats make a Cessna a bit more interesting than it might otherwise be. It didn’t hurt that a Q400 from SEA was climbing out in the background and showed up in a few of the frames.