Tag Archives: washington

Sunset Ethiopian Cargo Return

Shortly before we left the Pacific Northwest, I made one of my final visits to Paine Field at the end of a day. Boeing was testing a 777F that was due to go to Ethiopian Cargo and the jet was due back at the end of the day shortly before sunset. I was hoping that I might get some stunning colours at that time of day but, by the time the jet came on to approach, the sun had slipped below the low cloud on the horizon.

Even so, the remaining light did provide some nice illumination on the jet as it was on short final and touching down. I was about to pack up and head home when I heard the sound of the engines coming back our way and, sure enough, they were taxiing back for a high-speed taxi and abort. There was a fair bit of moisture on the runway surface and, as they powered up, they were spraying clouds behind them. This time they were done and headed back to the ramp. I shall miss seeing the interesting variety of operators that you get from the factory.

Look at the Wing on a Sovereign

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I think I have posted previously about the wing on the Cessna Citation Sovereign. It is not a jet I particularly like the look of but I am amazed at the wing span of this thing. This example was on short final to SEA and I decided to shoot it head on and then from underneath as it passed overhead. It does show just how long that wingspan is. I don’t know whether the wing is that advanced but it is long!

Maersk Delivery Day

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The dire situation with Boeings 777X programme means that Boeing hasn’t delivered a passenger 777 for a very long time. The only jets getting delivered from the line are freighters. The good news about freighters is that you get some different operators to the norm. Maersk is a shipping company that has taken some 777Fs and, while I missed the first one that they took, I was able to catch the next one although only just. I was there on the day it was delivered. It was heading in a northerly direction which isn’t my preference for Paine Field departures but, because it was a delivery flight, you had the advantage of it being pretty heavy with a decent fuel load to take it home. That blue paint scheme is a cool one to catch. Maybe I will see one in service at some point.

More of the Vision in Nice Light

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I did include a shot of this Vision from a nice afternoon at Boeing Field when the light was really nice. As I was including it in that post, I was looking at a number of the shots I took of it and thought it was one of the better times I had shot the Vision so it might be worth a post of its own. Hence this post. The head on view of the Vision is pretty good at a distance as the distinctive V-tail configuration is shown off well.

Add to that the nice colors that Visions are often painted in and the soft and warm light, you get some good results. I don’t know whether the Vision is a good jet to own but they do seem to have sold well and are pretty common at Boeing Field. I will miss them even though I did seem to struggle getting the right conditions for them. At least I had a good encounter before I left.

Gridiron Air and Their 777s

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Sports teams started acquiring their own jets a long time ago. An older, heavily depreciated jet could make a relatively cheap investment which meant the limited usage for specialist purposes – i.e. moving a sports team to events – was viable compared to chartering a jet from an airline. You could also customize the interior. Older jets have been replaced by 767s and 777s with some NFL teams buying their own jets. I’m not sure how the ownership transitioned but some of these 777s have ended up being operated by Gridiron Air. They used to have more specific liveries but now they seem to have transitioned to a neutral paint job. Even so, a private 777 is a nice change so I got this one when it was bringing a team in for a game in Seattle. I wish I had seen it with something a bit more interesting on it though.

Fifi Ramp Tour

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While Fifi, the B-29 Superfortress, was in Seattle, they opened her up for ramp tours. Since they didn’t get to run their normal rides, this was one of the few opportunities to get some revenue while in town. I had not done a ramp tour with her before (putting aside the time I met with the crew in DuPage for an article I was writing. It isn’t a speedy process to get through her and so a good amount of time was spent in line under the wing while we waited for our turn but that was fine.

We started out going underneath into the bomb bay where there was a guide to explain about the plane. Then we climbed up into the cockpit and spent some time looking around and hearing more of the stories of the team. Then it was back outside and time to wander around and see the aircraft up close. She is a lovingly maintained aircraft and I was glad I finally bothered to do the tour.

The New Jamming Pods Make an Appearance

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When the EA-18G Growler came into service, it made use of the same pods that had been fitted to the EA-6B Prowler. The Navy has had a long running plan to replace the different pod types over time and this is a slow process. The first of the new pods to arrive is the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band which is built by Raytheon. These have gradually been delivered to fleet squadrons and, while I had seen images of them that local photographers had taken, I hadn’t seen one.

Then, one afternoon, while sitting up at Paine Field, a Growler rolled out after landing and came all the way to the north end of the runway. I had no idea it was coming in and missed the landing completely. It taxied off and I grabbed some shots because it was a color bird. Then I realized it had the new pods fitted. The light was so nice, and I was hoping they would just gas a go but sadly they didn’t and I didn’t get to see them depart. At least I have seen the pods fitted before I left.

Robin in the Winter Catches Me Out

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I don’t know whether robins are in our area year-round but there is a feeling that they show up in spring so would have migrated somewhere else for the winter. Maybe that is true, maybe it applies to other locations. I don’t know. All I do know is that I was surprised to see one in December in Kenmore. So much so, I decided to get some images of it. How many times of the year would I completely ignore a robin?

Sunrise Skies Over Seattle

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One morning, as I left home it was still dark, but it was just getting to the time when the sun was due to creep above the horizon. As I headed south, I got treated to a wonderful red glow in the sky. Even better, there was a nice lenticular cloud sitting over the summit of Mt Rainier which was catching the morning light very nicely. There was no way that I was going to miss out on this unless the light changed so quickly that I could get somewhere to take the shot. Fortunately, that was not a problem, and the sky stayed looking great for quite some time. Mornings like this are rather special and are something to appreciate here.

Icelandair’s Newer Jets Aren’t As Fun

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The introduction of the Max 8 jets to Icelandair’s fleet has brought their new livery to Seattle. However, the 757s are both a nicer looking jet and sometimes come with better paint jobs. The 757s will be going away so it might be time to get used to the Max fleet. Then again, Icelandair has also made the switch to the A321neo for some operations so, maybe they will paint some of them in schemes a bit like the 757s carried. In the meantime, it is something like this that we need to get used to.