Tag Archives: King County International Airport

Puppy Spot SAAB

The Puppy Spot SAAB 340 is a regular visitor to the Pacific Northwest but I had never shot it. As I was leaving SEA after the arrival facility trial, I saw that the SAAB was due in to Boeing Field in less than half an hour. It is not far between the two places but arrival time was going to put the sun right on the nose. No good options to shoot it – assuming the sun stayed out. I headed for Ruby Chow Park and was there in time to get it arriving. Light wasn’t great but I did finally check it off the list. Not sure what the story with the name is but I think they transport puppies across the country. Must be a lot of cash in the puppy business if air freighting them around the country is cost effective.

A Turbo DC-3 From Oshkosh

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My cloudy Sunday afternoon included a bonus visitor. I saw that a turbo DC-3 was heading this way. Initial estimates had it coming in quite late but they were making good progress and would be in while I was there. The turboprop conversion means a better cruise speed on a long cross country and, since this flight was direct from Oshkosh, it was a pretty long trip.

I have shot plenty of DC-3s over the years but I don’t think too many of them have been turbine conversions. This was a nice surprise. It didn’t hurt that the weather was steadily improving during the afternoon and a hint of sun was showing up by the time it arrived. That hint wasn’t quite as strong as I would have liked but it was okay. I also got to see it on the ramp when it parked up near the Museum of Flight. I think Basler has a base at Oshkosh and, since they do the conversions of DC-3s to turbine power (along with a small fuselage stretch I think), I guess this must be one of theirs.

Two T-38s In Close Succession

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I stopped at Boeing Field to make a couple of calls and I was pleasantly surprised to see that a Boeing T-38 chase jet was not far out. I was able to get the camera out in good time for it to arrive and, even better, while there was plenty of cloud around, the sun popped out to allow me to get a reasonable shot. I then went back to dealing with my calls. I had noticed a USAF T-38 further east in the state but had assumed it was not coming my way. However, I was wrong. A short while later, it called up on approach. The sun was less cooperative which was a shame for a gloom black painted jet but it was still good to shoot. From expecting nothing to getting two T-38s in short order was a nice surprise.

Is A Phenom As Cool As The Millennium Falcon?

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While I am happy to shoot a Phenom 100 if it happens to be passing, I am not usually going to go out of my way for one. However, if I have a cloudy Sunday afternoon with nothing much going on and one is coming to Boeing Field with Millennium Falcon paint on it, why not? This jet was making a tour around the west and was coming to BFI from Bellingham. I got it arriving and the side I shot had the Falcon painted on it. Apparently the other side has an X-Wing. The underside looked like it might be interesting and I did get a departure shot but it wasn’t as special as I had hoped.