Tag Archives: KBFI

Bizjet Departures from Airside

I was kindly given some airside access when some F-15s were operating from Boeing Field for flyovers in the city. While the fast jets were our primary interest, they took off and landed in amongst some of the more familiar movements at the airport. Business jets are a constant part of Boeing Field ops and being so close to the runway made it easy to get some interesting shots of the bizjets. Fortunately, the amount of the runway that they needed coincided well with where we were for the F-15s. Here are some of the shots.

Flyby Planes for the 100th Anniversary

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The 100^th anniversary of the round the world flight by the Douglas World Cruiser was celebrated in an event at Magnussen Park in Seattle – the location from which they had departed a century before. I didn’t go to the park for the celebrations themselves but instead decided to be at Boeing Field from where the participating planes were due to launch. This included the B-29, Fifi, which had been sitting on the ground since its arrival the previous week as discussed in a post I wrote earlier.

The selection of planes taking part in the flyby was a little odd. High point for me was a Bellanca replica that lives across the state but came in for the event. It was to be one of the last planes taking part. A WACO was also included but then it came down to a selection of more modern light aircraft including some types that had no obvious connection to the event.

Initially, everything was parked up on the ramp at the Museum of Flight. You were able to wander around between the planes and have a good look at them. I arrived a little late to the event and only just in time. I wandered through the planes for a while and then they started clearing everyone out to be ready for the start up and taxi out. At that point, I needed to change locations anyway since I wanted to photograph them from a different place.

They all launched out in sequence for their times over the event before returning – except for two that went straight home afterwards. Not stellar conditions for the event but it was something different and the more unusual types were worth a look.

Kenmore Rush Hour During the Show

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One more in my selection of posts from Seafair and, specifically, the gap in the show when movements were allowed for a while. Boeing Field is a busy base for Kenmore Air. They operate scheduled services to various locations along with some pleasure flights. These tend to be undertaken with their Cessna Caravans and Grand Caravans although the occasional PC-12 will be included.

The Cessnas are more than capable of operating from the short runway at Boeing Field and so, when things opened up, they fired up some of the planes to get out while they could. I imagine the schedule had to be amended during the show but at least they could continue to provide service. One would be lined up on the runway ready to go with another pulling up at the hold just behind it. They got out with some precision before the field closed to non-air show operations a little while later.

Isle of Man Registered Global

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I seem to be having a burst of photos from back when Seafair was on in Seattle. In a previous post I mentioned that there was a gap in the show schedule when Boeing Field opened up for movements. One such movement was a Bombardier Global 5000 that taxied out and took off. It came down the Bravo taxiway so very close to us. It took off using a decent amount of the runway so rotated in a good spot for photos. It was registered in the Isle of Man so I’ve no idea where it is from since that location has done a good job of encouraging people to register their planes there.

Why Land When a Flyby Would Be Better?

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The view from the tower at Boeing Field is excellent (which makes sense, of course) but, when planes are landing from the south, they will have touched down long before they get close and so are not going to give the best photo opportunities. A small price to pay for having such a good spot to hang out so no complaints from me. However, I was rather pleased with the USAF F-35A demo when it completed its show.

It came in on a curving descent towards the runway but, as it got lower, up came the power and the gear was cleaned up. Keeping it low, the pilot gave us an impressive show as they blasted along the length of Boeing Field’s runway before pulling up aggressively into the downwind. The second time, they did actually land. I would have been fine with a few more of those passes but I guess I shouldn’t be greedy.

My First Lakota and it Looks Brand New

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The US Army has been taking delivery of a lot of the UH-72 Lakotas in recent years. Despite the number that they have acquired, I had only a single shot for some reason. Then I happened upon one as it visited Boeing Field. It was one of the newer versions – the UH-72B is fitted with the Fenestron anti torque system that dates back to the days of Aerospatiale along with a five bladed rotor. I don’t know how long it had been since this airframe was delivered but the paint was gleaming when I saw it and looked like it could have been fresh from the factory. Either that or they just really look after them!

Reusing an Old E170

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An Embraer E170 might not sound like the sort of plane that would be worth a special trip. Would that trip be more likely on a rainy Saturday afternoon? You might think not but this one seems to have found a second life after an airline career by joining a bizjet charter company. Best Jets International has a fleet of corporate jets but it includes two E170s fitted out in a low-density configuration. One came to Seattle on a charter and, since I wasn’t doing anything else on that rainy day, I figured I would go see if it was marked up in any special way.

The answer to that question was, kind of but not really. A fin that had some markings but otherwise a rather anonymous looking jet. It arrived from Oregon in some gloomy conditions which just make it so easy to get a nice shot. They headed to the FBO where a coach was already there with whoever the passengers were for the onward trip to St Paul MN. While everything was loaded, they fueled up and then it was taxi time for departure. I was hoping they would have to cross the runway to taxiway bravo but apparently the 170 is not too large for the alpha taxiway.

There was a Citation Sovereign ahead of them for departure, but they were soon lined up and rolling. The damp day meant there was a lot of spray as they accelerated and, since they were going a fair distance, the takeoff run was not short so I could get a reasonable shot of rotation. Then they climbed away and were gone. I wonder if we shall see this operator back here again soon. I probably won’t rush back out but it might be nice to get the jet in better conditions.

First of the Weekend Flyovers – The F-35C

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The Navy brought three F-35Cs to Boeing Field to provide a flyover for one of the UW Huskies’ games. It would have been great to catch them landing but that wasn’t possible, but the game was on a Saturday that I was free, so I headed out to catch them. The conditions were really nice with that sort of fall lighting that can be so welcome. Two jets were going to do the flyover so the spare could wait on the ramp.

They got airborne long in advance of the game itself. Whether this was to allow a little sightseeing or to buy time if there was a need to jump to the spare, I don’t know. I did decide to get some video as they taxied out since it showed off the wings being unfolded. The video is below and is actually a combination of two different departures.

I haven’t seen much of the Charlie models of the F-35 so was happy to have these jets operating locally. The motor in the F-35 is a big one and the take off is not subtle – they do seem to come out of burner pretty early, though. I guess that much power gets you going fast enough pretty quickly. I picked my mid field location for the take offs to get a reasonable angle on the jets as they rotated and climbed out. Then it was time to relocate.

The return of the jets after the flyover had been completed gave the opportunity to get some touchdown shots which I had missed from the day they arrived in Seattle. More good light so all was well. They stayed overnight and then headed back home the following day. A different flyover was happening that day which will be a different post but, in the meantime, there are some bonus shots of the three jets heading back to base.

Departures Off the Parallel

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Having made the FOD Walk at Boeing Field before, I missed it the next year but did it again this year. I saw a few of the local aircraft operating from the short runway while the long runway was closed for us. Since I was on the south end this year, I wasn’t as close to the runway as last time, but I still got a good view of the passing planes as they climbed out.

Nothing to Say Other Than It’s an Avanti

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No shock to any regular reader that I found a way to photograph another Avanti. Just some good fortune about when it showed up at Boeing Field and that the light was playing ball when it had been rainy for a good portion of the time. I was able to be there to catch it and would have loved to have been there for departure too, but you take what you can get.