Tag Archives: washington

Tanker Traffic

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A few tankers were flying test missions at Boeing Field last year when I spent a little time down there.  The sun was out but heat haze was not too bad, so it was a good time to shoot.  The dark paint of the KC-46 Pegasus is not ideal for shooting on a bright day (or a dark one for that matter) but you aren’t passing it up.  What was more fun was having them taxi close by and getting a good look at the jets.  They might still have a bunch of issues to resolve but there are now plenty in service, so they aren’t a rarity.  Hopefully they will get the issues fixed soon enough.

Rushing Water Under Tokul Trestle

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Tokul Creek Gorge is the waterway that runs under the trestle at Tokul.  With the heavy rains that had been falling in advance of my visit, the creek was flowing heavily.  The trestle is a long way above the water so it was not easy to get a good look at it but I did try and get some shots.  I also had a go at getting some video.

Pawnee Tow Plane

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I went up to Arlington one Sunday to see if Eviation was up to anything.  Their hangars were closed up but I did see a Piper Pawnee in an open hangar as I nosed around and I hoped it would be in action.  It is used by the local gliding club and, sure enough, it was going to get some use.  Ahead of any towing activities, the pilot took it up to get some circuits in.  I took a few shots of it as it hit the pattern.  The Pawnee is a really strange looking plane.  Very functional but not too elegant.

JinAir In Primer

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The nice thing about having the factory for airliners nearby is seeing aircraft in the colors of an airline that you would not normally see.  It is a little disappointing when they are not actually painted.  I like the primer look (I know the protective film isn’t really primer, but I don’t have a better term for it) but it would have been nicer to have the livery.  Only some marking on the composite parts that are already painted let you know what airline it is destined for.

Boeing’s Own BBJ

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Boeing developed the BBJ in partnership with GE if memory serves and I think they took the earliest examples to be built.  A modified 737 airframe, the BBJ is a big jet for a bizjet – unless you are seriously wealthy and have a converted widebody.  Their house colors are actually quite nice and, since Boeing Field is a big base for them, seeing their jet in is not a surprise.  It does look good, though.

More Alice Taxi Trials

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The testing of the Eviation Alice continues.  My first post on this was when they tried to do some high speed taxi trials but didn’t manage to get the plane going.  However, they have been making more progress since.  I managed to get up there when they were planning some more taxi trials.  I was hoping for some more fast work which they delivered.  Not fast enough to get the nose wheel off yet but progress all the same.

A few photographers were out to see what occurred.  The test team did not seem too happy about the level of interest.  I think they would prefer to get early testing work done without the world watching.  They did have their own multimedia team, of course.  Various cameras were doing the official recording and some drone work was done as they carried out the trials.  A NOTAM for the UAV was in place for several days.  I went with stills and video and put some stuff together for GAR and here is some of what I got.  Let’s hope to get more as they progress.

Formation Arrivals

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Not really a formation I’m afraid.  I was shooting this PC-12 as it came in to BFI in nice light and a light aircraft was on the approach for the parallel runway.  I almost got both of them in frame but not quite.  However, I liked the shot so here it is.

Robbed Dreamliner

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Dreamliner deliveries have been stalled for about a year now with a brief interlude of deliveries early last year.  They are stored all over the place including this American Airlines jet up at Paine Field.  I think it had a radome when it was built but, clearly someone needed one and the easiest one to hand was on this airframe. Now it sits awaiting a replacement and – hopefully – acceptance and delivery!

 

Who Will Get This 737?

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Plenty of 737 Max jets are changing their colors at the moment.  The cancellation clauses of the purchase contracts have allowed a bunch of airlines to cancel their orders without penalty as a result of the extended delays in delivery – something that may have been welcome during the pandemic!  Boeing has seen an uptick in demand for airframes recently and has been mostly successful in reselling these finished airframes.

This one showed up recently at Boeing Field.  It is all white so may have been identified as problematic before it ever got painted in airline colors.  The people I was chatting too had no idea where it was due to go and whether it could even be a BBJ.  No doubt it will soon find a home if it hasn’t already.