Tag Archives: retro

T-38s Including Some Color

Mesa Gateway Airport is a popular spot for cross country flights by various military aircraft. T-38 training jets are particularly common apparently so, while it was my first time visiting the airport, catching some arriving Talons was not a surprise. What was unusual was that one of them was in a retro paint scheme in a green camouflage design. It was looking very well finished as it taxied in and parked. The various student trainees parked their jets and walked into the FBO. Many of them appeared to be overseas students training in the US.

Retro Saudia Jet Compared to the Original

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While the 787-10 was never built at Everett, there have been a few that have come here for completion before delivery to their airlines. One such jet was for Saudia or Saudi Arabians Airlines. It was painted in a scheme that was a close resemblance to their livery from the 80s and 90s. I had thought that it was a retro effort on their part, but I have since heard that this might actually be the livery for the fleet going forwards.

Whether that is the case or not, I did take me back to a shot I got in 1988. I was working for the CAA in the UK on noise measuring duties and got to spend a week inside the fence at Heathrow taking readings of departing aircraft. One of these was a 747-300 of Saudia. I had my camera with me that week and was able to get photos between taking readings. I thought it might be interesting to compare the old Saudia livery with the newer version.

Horizon Special E175

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The end of the Q400 operations at Horizon meant the departure of their special paint scheme with a retro livery. However, it wasn’t long before a new Embraer E175-E1 was delivered in the same scheme. I ended up coming across it a few times quite quickly after it was introduced and have seen it a bunch of times since. I think it looks pretty good in the old colors and we’ll have it looking like that for quite some time. I did catch it in some murkier conditions as it departed Paine Field one evening but it turned out to suit the livery quite well and I was pleased with the way that the shots turned out.

Q400s Into the Horizon Sunset

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The Alaska Airlines fleet is undergoing a transformation. Part of that was the removal of the Q400 from Horizon’s fleet with the Embraers becoming their only platform. Suddenly getting shots of the aircraft seemed a lot more interesting. I did manage to get the retro livery special one more time as it took off one evening. As it headed into the sunset, it seemed far too on the nose for their retirement. A few weeks later, they were gone.

Horizon Retro Before They Go

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Alaska Air is going through a re-fleeting process in the near future. They are consolidating types in service with some aircraft disappearing. The Airbus fleet is on the way out which is no great surprise to anyone. The Horizon fleet is also getting some changes with a focus on the Embraers and the Q400 turboprops also going away. The Q400s have been ubiquitous in the Pacific Northwest for so long that I didn’t always pay them much attention. Now I need to think about them a bit more.

One of the fleet has been painted in a retro paint scheme for Horizon’s days gone by. Despite it being a plane that should appear at Seattle multiple times a day, I had never seen it before. Therefore, I was very pleasantly surprised to see it at Portland when we were down there. Our photo location was directly above the ramp that the Horizon planes were operating from and the south runway, which was their runway of choice, was convenient too so I was able to get a bunch of shots of it in action. How long before this plane and all of its sisters are gone from the area.

United Retro Jet

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I once got to shoot the United retro colors on the A320 while I was at SFO up the tower but I had not got a decent shot of it actually flying. When it showed up on approach to SFO, I was pretty pleased. Sadly, the cloud cover was not cooperating terribly well. Only when it had got past me did it pop into better conditions. It was okay when further out on final but neither of these were too helpful. One day!

Back How it Was Delivered

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The BOAC retro jet that BA has painted up was a nice treat to get. There are two other retro jets in other colors but, based on their interior configuration, they should not normally be used on the Seattle route. Therefore, I wasn’t expecting a chance to get them any time soon. Then, I saw that the Landor scheme aircraft was coming to SeaTac. It must have been a substitution. Now I was interested. However, it pushed off the gate at Heathrow and then went back on with some engine start issue. Was it going to scrub?

Apparently not. The issue was resolved and they pushed again. While the passengers were, no doubt, unimpressed by this, I was delighted. It now meant the arrival was at nearly 7pm. No problem to get to SeaTac after work and the light might be really nice. The weather was better than forecast although the chance of Mt Rainier making a second appearance was low. Again, plenty were out for the arrival. She showed up on the approach and the light played ball. This jet would have been delivered to BA with these colors so it was a case of reverting to how she had appeared many years before.

Winthrop

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Drop over the North Cascades Highway and you come into Winthrop. This is the first significant town you come to after going through the passes and it is definitely picturesque. I had no idea what the town was so coming in to the center and seeing all of these western style buildings was quite a surprise. Time to park and go for a walk.

The old style of the town jars with the cars parked everywhere. However, while the cars would be better if they weren’t there, the town still has an old school feel to it. I wonder what their planning consent rules are in order to stop the place being transformed. Even the gas station fit in. It was old and the pumps were pretty old too – not as old as the town of course but still dated.

We wandered around the town and checked out the different shops, restaurants and bars. There was a brewpub that was really tempting to me but, since we were aiming to be back home by the end of the day, that was not going to be a good idea!