This big flock of geese flew right by Boeing Field one afternoon. There were tons of them, and their route brought them right across the approach path before skirting to one side of the airfield. I didn’t hear them talking to air traffic and I don’t believe they had a clearance. Maybe they will get a visit from the FAA at some point!
The Falcon 50 only has a single thrust reverser, and it is fitted to the centerline engine. The nacelles on each side are not fitted with reversers. I was quite a way down the runway from this Falcon when it landed, and I could hear the reverser kick in. I was not expecting it to stay in reverse for very long, but they kept it in all the way through the roll out and even as they exited to the taxiway. Is that normal procedure?
I have seen some pictures recently of Growlers bouncing at Coupeville with the latest jamming pods on the underwing pylons. I was hoping that the jets I saw from the Rooks might be carrying the new pods. Instead, they were using the older pods. At first, I was disappointed by this but then I realized that this was the wrong way to look at things. The new pods will be around for a long time and the chances are I will see them a lot in the future. Making sure I have some shots of the older pods on jets as the bounce is something to make the most of before they are gone. We only miss stuff when it is going away so time to think ahead.
I managed to get some shots of one of the Gulfstream G700 test aircraft earlier in the test program. Certification (at time of writing – not sure when this post goes live) is still not complete but they have built a lot of jets. One of the test fleet (I think, based on the registration and the Experimental markings) filed to fly in and out of Boeing Field. It was coming up from Monterey in California and then turning around quickly to go to Portland. It was a quiet Saturday so I headed out. I had also seen some shots of this jet and it looked like it had a nice livery compared to the average bizjet.
The conditions were not great with a lack of light and some washed out skies, but I still managed to get some okay shots of it landing. I then headed down the field to be ready for the departure. Normally, I see a scheduled time and figure it will be a bit later. Not this time. By the time I got there, someone was already doing the walk around checks. It was not long before they fired up and taxied. Unfortunately, I had chosen a location quite a way down the runway. The performance of these jets is good, and Portland is a short hop, so the jet was light. They rotated very early compared to where I was. I still got okay shots but a little less dramatic than I was hoping for. Certification can’t be too far off so we might start seeing a lot more of these jets soon.
When we visited Seattle not long after moving back to the US, I got a shot of a kingfisher as it sat on a cable at the locks in Ballard. I guess this must be a good spot for kingfishers because, when we went down to see the boats, I found another kingfisher hanging out near where we parked. The sound that they make is pretty distinctive and I heard it before I saw it. It was sitting on a branch for quite a while before it dived down, grabbed something out of the water and landed on one of the wooden guides along the water to enjoy its snack. I will have to spend more time down there and see if I can get some better shots of these speedy little critters.
I was having a really lucky day. I had caught a few really cool photo subjects and the lighting had been really good. I was about to pack up and go when my friend reminded me of something I had forgotten. An Avanti was scheduled in at the end of the afternoon and I had figured I would have been gone so had let it slip to the back of my mind. Since a couple of other movements had got delayed, I was there later than expected and now the Avanti was on the approach.
The light was looking amazing, but it was still some distance out. The Avanti is pretty fast, but I was watching the hillside beyond the field start to lose the sun and I knew that it wasn’t going to last long enough for my Avanti. Sure enough, as it came into sight, the light was gone. We had a gloomy look to things as it buzzed past. Not as it could have been just three minutes earlier, but its an Avanti and it rounded out an excellent day nicely.
The gates on the locks in Ballard are getting old and they are due for replacement. I had seen that they had drained the locks to start this process and went down to have a look. However, they had finished the first phase of work and reopened the locks to traffic, so they were full again. I was pretty disappointed but was told that there were more phases to come so I headed back at the beginning of the second phase. They weren’t fully drained but most of the water was gone. You could see the portals where the water flows when the locks are in use.
There are gates outside the normal gates which can be used to close off the water when the main gates need work done. These were closed off. The main gates are not the initial focus. The intermediate gate is the first one to be replaced and it was already gone when I was there. There will be more chances to check this out so I shall go back at some point.
The 727 is a rarity already and one of the remaining operators, Kalitta, is close to ending their operations too. I read that they only have two left and that they will both be gone later this year. Consequently, I was rather pleased when one was due into Seattle. Unfortunately, it was due to land at about 8pm. I did think of getting out to try and see what the ambient light would be like but decided against it. It then got delayed and didn’t arrive until after 10pm.
They filed to head straight back out that evening so I figured I would miss out. However, something was not right with the jet, and they didn’t leave. The following day, when I saw that they hadn’t gone, I was able to come by and see if they were still there. Indeed they were. It wasn’t long before I heard the sound of an engine running and thought I might be in luck. Sadly, the open panels were a sign that they were just doing an engine test. I had to leave shortly afterwards and was wondering whether they would depart while I was absent.
Luck continued to be on my side, and they were still there later in the day. No flight plan filed, and I was wondering whether they were either not going at all or might wait until after dark. I was pondering driving around to the other side of the field to see if I could find out anything when my friend messaged me that a flight plan had been filed for a departure shortly. Now, I never trust the timing of a flight plan for a freighter, but this was still promising.
Needless to say, they did not go promptly. This was not a bad thing, though. As I waited, the conditions were steadily improving with some nice light. At this time of year, though, that light doesn’t last too long, and I was fearing it might disappear before they left. Fortunately, they finally fired up and taxied past me. The light was looking great. Now to hope that they didn’t have a long wait for ATC release.
I had wondered whether they would get off the ground fast or not. The 727 was capable enough in short fields but they don’t leap off the ground. I chose a location that I thought might be good for rotation shots and I am glad I did. I had just about the perfect spot. They rotated in front of me, climbed out in lovely light and disappeared. I wonder whether this will be my last Kalitta 727 shot or not.
A trip to Coupeville is always going to be a bit hit or miss. Will the weather play ball, will the jets show up, how much will they bounce, how many of them will there be, will they be RAG jets or operational squadrons? All sorts of options. I was really happy that the weather suited a pattern direction that was better for photography, but it was mainly cloudy so not quite as good-looking light. It was the Rooks of VAQ137 that were bouncing so that was cool, and they brought their CAG jet. Getting this in its nice colors was cool. The jet was operating clean which was slightly disappointing but, fortunately, the other jets that came in were carrying pods.
I was not intending to get photos of owls when we passed through Skagit, but I ended up getting some of the closest shots yet. There were some owls on the ground pretty close to the road. I am not sure whether they were guarding food or just contemplating their next moves. However, one of them took off and flew around very close to where I was and, for a brief moment, it flew straight towards me. I grabbed a few shots and then it was gone and shortly afterwards, so were we. A lucky break for sure.
