Tag Archives: washington

Long EZ Action

3 Replies

There is a Rutan Long EZ that lives at Arlington and flies pretty regularly.  The Long EZ is a fun plane just because it is so different from the average.  The tandem cockpit is not unique – there are plenty of RVs that give you that – but combine it with the rear wing and the fore plane plus the wing tip fins and you have a far more interesting configuration.  Consequently, I want to find some times to get good shots of it.

The one at Arlington has flown a few times while I was there, and I have got these shots.  However, I haven’t really got something of it that I really like yet.  Let’s hope for a combination of good weather and timing and maybe I shall get something I am more pleased with.  In the meantime, I shall continue to get what I can.

Edmonds Ferries In The Sun

Leave a Reply

A change of plans caused by reduced ferry services at Mukilteo meant we found ourselves at Edmonds having a stroll along the shore.  It was a lovely sunny Saturday if a little cool and breezy.  The ferries to Kingston from Edmonds were running a full service and you know I can’t resist getting the odd ferry photo.

Vashon Rangers

Leave a Reply

I had never heard of a Vashon Ranger before I looked up the registration of one I saw flying up here in the Pacific Northwest.  On this day, a couple of them were out flying and, while it isn’t the most sleek shape or the highest performer, it is a different little beast and therefore worthy of attention.  I will have to do some research about the company behind them and how many there are but I imagine I shall see more of them around.

Aviation Brick Creations

Leave a Reply

Does this blog post count as an aviation post or a non-aviation post?  It is about Lego so let’s say it is non-aviation.  However, some of you may beg to differ.  At the Lego Awesome exhibition, there were a few different aviation subjects that were on display.  They had gone for scale in what they built and had selected subjects that had scale too.  How much more scale could you go for than an Antonov AN-225 Mriya.  They had a model that was half of the 225.  One side was the complete airframe and the thing was cut in half to show the interior of the jet.  It was a huge build and very neat.  Using a technique like a fueling team under the wing to provide support was very clever.

A Mil Mi-26 was the other large scale subject that I liked.  The 26 is a beast of a helicopter and quite unlike anything else.  They had done a great job of modeling it in UN colors dropping loads in flight.  Suspended from the ceiling it looked really cool.

Development Epic E1000

Leave a Reply

The Epic E1000 is a development of a kit built turboprop aircraft called the Epic LT.  It has been around for a while and the development from kit built to certificated production aircraft has been very drawn out.  While many similar projects falter, this one seems to have hung in there.  I think there are a only one or two of the production E1000 aircraft at the moment and one came to BFI.  I caught it rolling out after landing and then taxiing to the Modern ramp.  It is a curious looking airframe.

It later departed but it was hard to get a good shot.  It got airborne early and there was quite a crosswind so they nosed in to that and towards my position.  I effectively got head on and underside shots only so barely identifiable.  Still, it was good to see it.  I have seen some of the earlier airframes in California and at Oshkosh but not for a while!

Not Only a G-III But A Cool One

1 Reply

If I see a GIV these days, it barely gets any attention from me.  Sure, I’ll take a shot, but I am not getting excited.  Go back a generation, though, to the G-III and suddenly I am definitely paying attention.  One came to BFI recently and, while I was at the wrong end for an arrival airborne shot, I did see in the distance on final (no heat haze thankfully) and then as it rolled out and headed to the ramp at Modern.  It was also in a nice dark paint job and it looked pretty cool.

It didn’t hang around too long.  I watched it taxi across the field and up to the departure end.  Then it was time for the long lens.  The old Spey engines don’t have as much grunt as the later Tays so I anticipated a longer takeoff run and was not disappointed.  I then watched it climb out with the Speys belching smoke.  The engines are hushkitted but are still noisy beasts.  As it climbed away, I got a clear view through the hush kits including the lobes of the exhaust diffusers.  What a fun thing to see.

Kestrel Patrolling The Taxiway

Leave a Reply

One sunny day, I was hanging out at Arlington watching the flying activity.  However, planes weren’t the only thing flying.  I looked across at a taxiway light and saw something on top of it.  A look through the long lens and a kestrel came into focus, if only briefly.  Before I knew it the bird had launched into flight and headed away, not to return while I was there.  I was rather pleased to have got something close to a reasonable shot of it in that short moment.

Gliding At Arlington

Leave a Reply

Arlington has a gliding club and they were active on a Sunday visit.  They had two gliders in action while I was there.  Both are Let gliders, one a Super Blanik and the other a Solo.  The tug was their Pawnee and it was busy getting them up.  Neither glider was spending long airborne.  They towed up to the north and were released and seemed to be straight back in to downwind and then landing.  Sometimes, they beat the Pawnee back in.

They were a long way from me on the other side of the field but, with cool winter conditions, the heat haze was only an issue close to the ground and, as they climbed away, you had a pretty clear shot against the mountains.

Floatplane 185

Leave a Reply

This Cessna 185 looked in great condition and any plane on floats is going to get my attention anyway.  The buzz saw sound of a 185 as it takes off will definitely get your attention but it is not so intrusive when it returns.  Having some nice winter light on it was a good thing and floats just make any place look better.

Korean Air BBJ Is Back

Leave a Reply

Korean Air’s fleet of bizjets come through Seattle quite frequently.  Their BBJs are not uncommon.  They use the airfield as the departure point for the trans-Pacific route to Korea.  Unfortunately, they often arrive in the middle of the night and head straight back out again.  I timed it well when they were making a daytime stop.  I got the arrival and the departure this time.

Conditions were not great but, last time I shot one of their BBJs, the high sun made the livery glare a bit.  Flat lighting avoided that this time.  The departure was a good one for me.  The route across the Pacific is a long one so the plane was pretty heavy.  This meant it rotated a long way down the runway and closer to me and was still only just climbing when it was level with me.  I went with a long lens which meant things got large quickly.  It did give me some shots I was pretty happy with, though.