Ryanair is the launch customer for the Max 200 version of the 737-8 Max. The Max 200 name is going away I believe since it is a high density version of the -8. With the grounding of the Max fleet continuing, a number of the Ryanair jets are now parked awaiting deliveries to recommence. I was walking through the park at Renton on a sunny weekend morning and the Ryanair jets were lined up across the airport from me. Knowing Michael O’Leary’s enthusiasm for direct communication, I would love to know how his conversations with Boeing over compensation are going.
Renton may be home to the 737 and to plenty of other aircraft but it also has a floatplane dock at the north end. A Husky was dragged over to the ramp during my Sunday morning stroll and dropped into the water. The pilot powered up and proceeded to water taxi around for quite a while, presumably while the engine was coming up to temperature. Finally he was ready to go and given acknowledgement from the tower that he could go if he wanted. A surge of power, up on to the step and then airborne and climbing away. No two ways about it, flying floatplanes is definitely cool.
I stopped off at Renton one Sunday morning to see what was on the flight line. (This was prior to the groundings after the Ethiopian Max 8 crash.)There was a first flight showing up on the flight plan so I kept an eye out for any sign of activity as I walked along the park trail.Sure enough, the sound of an engine start reached me when I was down near the bridge between the factory and the flight line.This is a bit far away from where I would want to be to photograph the take off but this is a first flight.There is plenty to check before they go flying unlike a regular flight, so time was on my side.
I made my way back along the river in plenty of time for the jet to move.Prior to flight they accelerate and brake to a stop.They did this along the runway the opposite direction to that in which they planned to take off so they actually taxied up past me, turned and accelerated before turning again to make the actual take off.This gave me plenty of views of the unpainted jet.They climbed away and then redeployed the gear, possibly to cool off the brakes a bit.They then turned off on their departure heading.Moses Lake will have been part of the test plan but the flight will have ended at Boeing Field.
My Renton visit also allowed me to have a look around the production aircraft out on the flight line or in the factory areas.The shortage of engines has been a concern which I wrote about last year and which was supposed to be fixed by the year end.Judging by how many of these planes are still carrying ballast rather than engines, I guess things are still a bit behind schedule. Then again, with what has happened since, maybe the cost of accepting some engines is not something Boeing wants…
We were heading towards SeaTac to drop
a friend off at the airport. We were
coming in through Renton on a back road and had some time to spare so I made a
quick diversion to a local cemetery.
This is the final resting place of Jimi Hendrix. I had been meaning to check this out for a
while and this was the first good opportunity.
It is a nicely laid out shrine to Jimi. Some graphics of him are engraved in the stone of the structure and there is a guitar sculpture at its center. A bunch of different picks are inserted in the sculpture by visiting fans. Flowers are growing around the base of the shrine. I imagine that there are plenty of visitors throughout the year although we were the only ones on this Friday afternoon.
I was walking along the trail that goes through the park next to the airport at Renton taking a look at the stored jets. There is a bridge across the river that is used by Boeing to move jets from the production areas to the flightline and, as I got close to the bridge, I could see the tractor hooking up to a China Southern 737-800 that had yet to be painted. They looked like they might bring it across the bridge. I figured I might linger and see what was up.
Sure enough, they started to pull the jet out and towards the bridge. I stayed out of the way but the wings of a 737 hang over the trail when they are moving it. This was not a problem so they were happy for me to stand there as the jet was moved out. I figured a little iPhone video was in order.
They pulled the jet onto a taxiway and left it there so I figured it might be heading out on a test flight. With the light now slightly to the other side, I chose to go back to the car and move to the overlook on the west side of the field. The jet was starting up but they clearly had a few things to run through so I had time.
They taxied to the south threshold which initially disappointed me. The wind had flight operations in the other direction which would have meant a takeoff towards us and into the light. Going the other way meant they would be airborne a long way away and heading over the lake. What I hadn’t figured on was, just like at Everett, they would do a run with an abort first prior to flying. They carried this out and were then at the north end of the field.
A turnaround at the far end of the field and they were soon lined up. A floatplane was flying about in the background as they got ready to take off. Then it was power on and rolling. There was a lot of crap in the foreground and this was a bit of an obstruction at the point of rotation but I was able to get some good shots as they got airborne and climbed out past us. The green primer/protective film was glinting in the sun. The flight will have ended at Boeing Field where I hope everything was trouble free.
Parked up on the ramp at Renton was what appeared to me to be a de Havilland Canada Beaver on floats. However, it looked different to every other Beaver I have seen. This one seemed to have a fun that was cut right down. Initially I figured it needed a repair but then I realized that there was a large dorsal extension to the fin. This would compensate to some extent to the missing top but whether it is a good configuration, I can’t say. It didn’t look good to me but it looked airworthy so maybe it flies fine? Has anyone seen more about this and can share with me some of the history?
Engine supply is a bit of a problem for the big two airliner manufacturers at the moment. Rolls powered 787s are going through a drawn out program of rework and A320neos are sitting around awaiting both Pratt and CFM engines. Boeing is also short of CFM Leaps and the result is a lot of parked 737 Max jets at Renton and Boeing Field. Apparently, they are flying jets to Boeing Field and then trucking the engines back to Renton. As I flew over Boeing Field earlier in the week, the flightline did look full!
I wanted to see all of these parked jets so took a trip to Renton one weekend to see how things were. There were certainly plenty of jets around and quite a few had ballast weights attached to the pylons. Supposedly the backlog will not be sorted out until the fourth quarter (although some think that is a bit optimistic)!
I don’t go to airports to photograph boats. That would seem to be a bit of a poor choice but, in Renton’s case, you are right by the water and there are some boats. Still, that wasn’t the goal until I saw this sad sight. I am not sure of the story behind this but obviously something didn’t go right. Did it sink here for some reason or had it developed a problem and made it back to the dock before it was overcome? I don’t know. All I do know is that it looks like an expensive fix is required.
Boeing has completed flight testing of the first version of the 737 Max family, the Max 8. The Max 9 is currently in flight test and I posted shots of one of those aircraft here. While some additional flight testing will be carried out on the Max 8, the test fleet is now done. In due course, these aircraft will be refurbished and sold on to customers. In the meantime, new production jets are being built for delivery – except when it comes to Southwest.
As a result of a crewing issue, Southwest is delaying taking its jets until they have removed the 737-300 fleet from service. Consequently, Boeing is building them but not delivering them. There are a number parked up in the parking lot at Boeing Field and some are still sitting at Renton. Engines aren’t fitted since this is one way to keep the cost down pending delivery. They will be fitted and flown nearer the delivery date.
The flight line of these dormant Max 8s sits alongside the municipal part of the airport. I created a panorama of the jets which you can zoom and pan around below.
Ryanair is the launch customer for the Max 200 version of the 737-8 Max. The Max 200 name is going away I believe since it is a high density version of the -8. With the grounding of the Max fleet continuing, a number of the Ryanair jets are now parked awaiting deliveries to recommence. I was walking through the park at Renton on a sunny weekend morning and the Ryanair jets were lined up across the airport from me. Knowing Michael O’Leary’s enthusiasm for direct communication, I would love to know how his conversations with Boeing over compensation are going.
