Tag Archives: utility

The Support Kodiak Comes In

I posted some shots of the K-Max that came to Snohomish to support the firefighting operations on the Bolt Creek fire.  They flew in from another location and needed some material to support their planned stay.  They made a call to their base and arranged for some parts to come up on a support aircraft.  This turned out to be a Daher Kodiak 100.  I was actually getting ready to leave when the Kodiak showed up making a tight pattern to land.  I was out of position so just watched it but, they were a bit high and fast on the approach so made a go-around.  This gave me time to get somewhere better for the second approach.

Catching An Italian Floatplane Going To And From Oshkosh

While driving around the back of Renton, I saw this nice floatplane.  It is a SIAI Marchetti 1019 – a utility aircraft with a turboprop powerplant.  Based on the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, it had a decent military career and now plenty of them have found their way into civilian hands.  A short while later, I saw pictures of this airframe at Oshkosh for the annual EAA gathering.  Our paths were to cross again, though, when it showed up at Boeing Field, making an approach to the short runway.  A bit further away than ideal but definitely cool to catch it again.

CL-215s

AU0E3129.jpgCanadair were a company that put together some odd projects. Before they became part of the Bombardier family, they produced a business jet and a water bomber. The Challenger (which came from an earlier Bill Lear project) has gone on to spawn a large number of production aircraft of various types. The CL-215 is a different story.

AU0E3032.jpgWater bombers are a very useful tool in fighting fires. Within that sphere, the CL-215 has been a great success. That is not a huge world, though, so production has been modest. Even so, the original piston powered aircraft has gone through a turboprop conversion program and the current production model, the CL-415 has turboprop engines as well as airframe and systems enhancements. Production is at a low rate but they do still come out of the factory.

AU0E3034.jpgI was quite pleased to come across a couple of the planes that are still fitted with the original radial engines. The already chunky lines of the plane go quite well with the bluff profile of the piston engine – something the turboprop lacks a little. These planes weren’t flying. They were awaiting their next project. With the fire season approaching, I imagine it won’t have been too long after I saw them before they were back in action.

Dornier DO-228

IMG_2702.jpgA recent arrival at San Carlos is a Dornier 228 that is apparently configured for aerial survey work. The guys mentioned that it had been active prior to my visit but it was not doing much the day I was there. However, it was parked close to the fence. It wasn’t easy to get a shot of it but a bit of reaching above the fence line meant I could at least get something. It is a cool looking plane so I hope I get a chance to see it in action at some point.