I have struggled to get shots of the Boeing chase aircraft in decent light. Whether it is the T-33s or the T-38s, my encounters have generally been on overcast days. Finally my luck changed and one of the T-38s came in to Paine Field for a couple of approaches on a sunny day. It was the middle of the day so the light angles weren’t great but it was certainly a step up. A couple of passes and then they headed to Boeing Field.
Boeing has many internal issues with its planes currently but, when it comes to the 777X program, GE is the one that is causing the problems. The lack of engines for the test program means the jets are on the ground. Meanwhile, the production line continues to turn out the airframes at the rate original scheduled. Consequently, there are stored jets around Paine Field. The first two jets were turned out in house colors and have appeared on the blog. Meanwhile, a couple of white jets have appeared and they are stored on the flight line.
The latest two jets I have seen are not even painted. They are in the protective film the airframe is built in which looks a bit like primer. Stored on the airfield, they will get engines at some point and then go to the paint shop. In the interim, they have ballast attached to the engine mounts. The first time I saw one, I thought it was another KC-46 being stored until the fin caught my eye and I realized it was a 777X.
In a visit we made to Seattle in the mid 2000s, we took a boat tour around Elliott Bay. One of the more impressive ships in the harbor was one that is designed to lift heavy loads and carry them long distances. It will sink to allow the load to be floated on to the hull and then it will lift back up and leave the load on the deck. You can see the markings for sinking the hull on the superstructure.
The most impressive view of the ship was from the front as we passed ahead of it. The beam was something special to see. It had a very muscular look to it. These are the sort of ships that have been used to moved smaller ships when they have suffered damage. The Royal Navy had a destroyer that hit a reef in the South Pacific once that was moved this way. Quite an impressive capability.
Northrop Grumman brought the Firebird to Fairford for RIAT. RIAT is a big public show but it has developed a significant trade element to it and Firebird was clearly aimed at that audience. It is a Scaled Composites design (with Northrop Grumman having bought Scaled a while back) and, while it has a cockpit, apparently it has the option to be flown unmanned. I don’t know whether this is well tested or not. Nor do I know the state of production examples. I believe the one at RIAT was the prototype.
It was parked in the static park for a portion of the time I was there. I did see it getting towed across to the north side at one point, presumably so it could be parked in a hangar rather than left out. Supposedly, there is a US Government order for some of these and I imagine they will be fitted with some interesting systems. Whether I shall ever see one is a different story.
I was heading east for a work trip that needed an early start. We got airborne from SeaTac before the sun came up and turned to the east after departure. We were heading towards what I thought should be Mt Rainier. However, I couldn’t see the mountain. I could see a cloud that was above the majority of the cloud bank which I assumed was the mountain but I couldn’t be sure.
As we came around the south side I was able to see that the cloud was indeed once that was forming over the windward side of Mt Rainier. The east side of the mountain was uncovered and, even though the sun had not yet come up, the early light was enough to give a view of the mountain. I was using the M6 which is not so great in low light but, even so, I was able to get some shots of the mountain as the plane headed on its way.
Boeing has marked up a 787-9 is a special color scheme to reflect their internal charity organization. It is a jet that was supposed to go to Hainan Airlines but the financial issues with the airline means that they have not taken delivery of a number of jets. This is not a paint scheme but is a giant vinyl wrap. It looks very impressive. The jet has been used for flyovers at events Boeing has sponsored and it is also going to Dubai for the air show (which will be in the past by the time this post goes live).
If you are used to a modern shape of an anchor, particularly one for a large ship, the old style of anchors in the days of the early 1800s will be rather strange looking. They look like a giant version of the sort of anchor you would see on a small boat. This example sits on the seafront in Southsea and comes from a ship that fought in the battle of Trafalgar. It seems in pretty good shape. I wonder whether that is a feature of the materials used or the result of lots of bits of it being replaced over the years.
SeaTac is not the easiest place to get shots of the arrivals in the afternoon if the flow is from the north. The inner runway is okay but the outer is not so easy without bugging the more experienced locals. I was heading to the airport for a meeting but, with easy traffic, I got there a little early and decided to do a quick trip around the airport. I came across a gravel parking area that gives a view of short final. The planes appear quickly and are soon below the sight lines for the runway but there is a window in which you can shoot. On this day the weather was crummy with rain constantly coming down – sometimes very heavily. This was just a recce but I did get an A220 and some other types in the few minutes I was there before heading to my meeting.
The hydroplane races at Oak Harbor had a variety of classes of contenders. Many of the boats appeared on course from a marina across the harbor but the most exotic of the boats were operated from alongside the spectator area. A pit area was set up on the shore. Here the crews were busy preparing the boats to race – occasionally carrying out engine runs. There was no slip so the way boats were put in the water involved a crane lifting them up and depositing them alongside a jetty close by. The initial lifts seemed to be a bit slow and inaccurate but a little practice and they were soon moving them across and back after the races with ease.
With a sharp LERX, the F-16 regularly pulls a nice vortex on each side as it maneuvers hard. Getting a shot of that is not a surprise. However, I have recently been slowly making my way through shots from RIAT (months after the event) and I was working through some shots of the Belgian F-16 display. I came across a shot of the jet pulling and rolling, taken from astern of the aircraft. I noticed a second, smaller vortex trailing from the tail plane. It appears that, with differential tail for the roll, there is a vortex coming from the tail plane – possibly at the route. This pleases the old aero guy within!