Tag Archives: trainer

Two T-38s In Close Succession

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.

T-38 Up Close

After a very lean start, I have done a lot better in recent times with getting shots of the Boeing chase T-38s at Boeing Field.  I have shot them airborne and in good light so nothing to be unhappy about.  However, the one thing that I haven’t had in the past is a good close up shot of them while on the ground.  They have either been landing when on a northerly flow or coming from the other direction and so they haven’t taxied close to me.

Finally managed to break that one not long ago.  Some tankers were heading out – one appeared to be a production test flight for an Air Force example while the other was one of the Boeing development airframes.  The T-38 followed it out – presumably their flights were connected but I don’t know for sure.  It taxied right passed me so I got a good look at it on the ground for a change.  It took off, of course, so a little extra chance to get some shots with a cluttered background!

One of Boeing’s T-38s Again

Stopping by Boeing Field en route to somewhere else and finding that a Boeing T-38 chase jet is about to arrive is a lucky coincidence.  Turned out even better as I saw a car parked in my normal spot and realized it was my friend David.  A chance to chat and catch up while the T-38 made its approach was a lot of fun.  Good to see both him and the T-38!

Aspen Sounds Familiar

There was a call sign of an inbound flight at Boeing Field that caught my attention.  It was Aspen.  This is a call sign that the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB has used since the days of the SR-71.  I have seen their T-38s show up at Boeing Field before so thought there was a good chance it could be another one.  Sure enough, when they called up on approach, I could see a T-38 inbound.  However, it was coming in at the same time as something else and it was actually aligned with the short runway.

They put the power on when crossing the airfield boundary and pulled up into the downwind for a second approach.  The first approach had made the jet look pretty small in the viewfinder – I hadn’t realized that they were further away than the main runway – so I went with the 500mm when they came back.  This made for a tighter shot than expected.  However, I managed to get a few shots of the jet as it turned final – a long way away – and then as it was on short final.  A nice treat.

RIAT 2010 Arrivals

I put together a selection of shots from the RIAT show of 2006 in this post.  It was another four years before I was back for my next visit.  This time I made a visit to the Park and View East rather than the west.  This was the end at which everything was landing, and it also provided a good view of some of the arrivals as they taxied to the ramp.

The weather started out okay, but it got steadily worse resulting ion a torrential downpour.  Some movements were in such low light that it was almost like shooting at night.  The stormy weather passed and then the flying could resume.  Given the variety of things that were showing up, I will focus this post on the arrival traffic, and we can add some of the displays in a different post.

Plenty of helicopters as well as the fast jets.  I had not shot at this location before and I was not prepared for how crowded it could be and the way you needed to be at the front.  That limited some of my shots unfortunately.  Also, there was a lot of heat haze in the air so some of the nicer angles on the approach produced shots that are not sharp enough.  Still, a fun day out.  Drying out took a while that night though!

Finally the Boeing T-38s Are In the Sun

I mentioned the arrival of some USAF T-38s in this post.  They weren’t alone, though.  Boeing had both of their T-38 chase jets out on missions and they had to come back at some point.  The day had lovely weather so I was going to wait around and get on with some work to see when they showed up.  The jets have similar paint schemes but are slightly different in detail.  I had shot one of them in nice conditions once so was keen to do better.  I got both of them as they returned so finally felt like I had some success.

I wonder how long they will last.  Since Boeing has won the contest to replace the T-38 in USAF service, I wonder whether the early T-7 jets they built will find their way to Boeing Field at some point to support flight test activities.  They will probably not be a match for production jets so would be of less use for in service test activities.  We shall see.  The T-33s are still around so the T-38s may have years ahead of them.

A Day of T-38s

This is part one of a two-parter.  I was at Boeing Field sitting taking calls and doing emails and keeping an eye out for anything interesting.  That included the Boeing chase T-38s but they are going to have their own post.  They weren’t the only T-38s though.  Three jets from Beale AFB also showed up.  I missed the first and got the second as it landed.  The third followed a while later.  Strangely for Boeing Field (which sits under the SeaTac approach path) it did an overhead join and then broke into the pattern before landing.

The three jets were on the ground for a while and didn’t leave to late in the day.  I heard them call up that they were taxiing and decided to try and get down to the other end of the field for the departure.  As I drove down, I could hear them on the radio getting ready to go.  I knew it was going to be close but sadly, it wasn’t close enough.  As I pulled in to the parking area, they took off in formation.  They kept it low and the light was gorgeous.  It looked great but no photos to prove it.  The third jet had taxied out but must have had an issue because it returned to the ramp.  Oh well…

The Light Almost Catches the T-33

I caught one of the Boeing T-33 chase aircraft that had been out supporting the 777X flight trials.  The weather had been crappy which is par for the course when I am seeing the Boeing chase planes.  However, it did start to improve.  A hint of sun came out as it came down the approach but the light was better a bit far out.  I could see it in the distance but it was more shady as it got close.  Still, not too bad.  I heard a rumor that they might be retiring them before too long.  I hope that isn’t the case but we shall see.

The Arrows’ Display Itself

I have posted a few times about the Red Arrows at RIAT covering their prep for display and post display.  I haven’t actually shared any good shots from the display itself.  Here are a few that I got over the course of the show.  Some were taken close to show center and others were taken from the end of the display line to give a different perspective on the same maneuvers.  They put on a great show and it is funny that, when you see them regularly, you get blasé but, when you haven’t seen them for a while, you come to appreciate the display a lot more.

A Pair of Beale’s Jets Show Up at BFI

Boeing Field gets the occasional military visitors and you never know what might show up.  I glanced up and saw a pair of T-38s downwind for arrival.  They came in with about a minute of spacing between them.  The tail codes showed them to be Beale jets.  They headed to the FBO at Modern and were soon being refueled.  The canopies stayed up so they may have been heading out again a while later but I had to move on so I didn’t get to see them depart.