Tag Archives: washington

Stored Dreamliners in the Early Days

Leave a Reply

Having seen the increasing number of 777s and 787s parked up at Everett (777X won’t be certificated for another year or two and the 787s have stopped delivery since October due to fuselage issues and are only now starting to be accepted again), it reminded me of the number of 787s that were stored in the early days due to the extended test program given how many issues there were with the jet.  (Does this all sound rather familiar?)

I didn’t live in the Pacific Northwest in those days but came up to Seattle for an ISAP symposium.  The field trip included time with the Heritage Flight Museum n Paine Field.  We were checking out the collection and also getting to see a few of the aircraft in action.  A few of the attendees had also paid to get flights in the planes as well.  We got to hang out on the ramp as well as on the berm which I understand was a popular spot in days gone by but is now out of bounds.

There were plenty of 787s parked around the field in those days.  To be honest, I can’t recall whether deliveries were underway and the numbers had thinned a bit but the earliest airframes were the most trouble and they might have been the ones still sitting around awaiting a long list of rectification issues and the potential that the original customer wouldn’t even take them.  These are some of the jets that I got shots of that day.

Cascade Falls

Leave a Reply

Back to our trip to Orcas Island and our hike around Cascades Lake included a diversion to Cascade Falls.  (See a naming theme here?). I had seen something about these falls online which had led me to think that they weren’t terribly large.  I was, therefore, rather surprised to find out that this was a decent drop.  We came in from the top of the falls so were looking down on them from above.  The trail continues along the river and so we got to take a look at them from lower down as we continued on.  They was a side trail that would take you right down to the water but we had a fair bit of walking to do before it got too dark so I avoided the diversion this time.

At Last a Longitude

Leave a Reply

The Citation Longitude is the largest member of Cessna’s corporate jet family.  It was certificated a while back but I had never seen one.  I saw that they came in and out of Boeing Field periodically as part of NetJets’ operation but I had never been there when one was on the move.  Finally I broke that duck.  NetJets was the operator again and the sun was out for its arrival so I was happy to get a shot of what is not a particularly interesting looking plane but not a bad one either.

Heron Hang Out

Leave a Reply

The end of the boardwalk at Nisqually brought me to a view over a piece of land that seemed to be the favored spot for the herons.  I had never seen so many in such close proximity.  They were hanging out on the grass rather than by the water so maybe this is a safe spot to rest after a busy session of fishing before heading back to the water to start feeding again.  Periodically, one of them would head back to the mud flats to look for some food but the rest were just hanging around doing nothing much in particular but slowly wandering around their buddies.

P-8 Departs Over My Head

Leave a Reply

I was actually out looking for a work project which (I promise this is legit) was right next to Boeing Field.  While I was waiting for my project – which ended up being scrubbed due to a serviceability issue – a P-8 took off from Boeing Field.  I was basically aligned with the end of the runway so I could see it climbing out and it came right over my location.  It turned out to be a good thing since I wouldn’t normally get this angle on a shot so I am glad to have something different.  This view really emphasizes the different wing planform of the P-8 compared to the base 737.  No winglets and the raked tips really changes the appearance of the jet from below.

Meydenbauer Park

Leave a Reply

I was on a bike ride through Medina and Bellevue when I came upon Meydenbauer Park.  Nancy had mentioned that we should check it out some time but I hadn’t realized it was on my route.  I stopped off as I came by and, while enjoying the view, realized this was the spot she had been talking about some time before.  I figured we should both go there and so we headed out one weekend.

The park is spread up the side of the hill and then has a beach with a walkway out over the water.  It was a popular spot the day we went.  Lots of families out with kids playing on the park equipment.  There was still no problem keeping spaced from the other visitors.  You are surrounded by some pretty high-end properties – I wonder how much they like having a busy park nearby.  It is a pretty spot to hang out with lots of little spots to have to yourself despite the number of other visitors.  We shall be back.

DOJ Duo

Leave a Reply

The Department of Justice has a fleet of planes for doing whatever they need to do with them.  I think they move detainees around but presumably their staff also can travel on them for business purposes.  Anyway, I might not know what the details are but I do know they are inconspcuous looking planes (unless you count a plane white airframe as looking more out of place than one with some color on it).  Two came in to Boeing Field while I was there a while back.  One was a 757 and the other was an ATR.  I was in place for the 757 as it was on final approach although the sun did annoyingly go behind a cloud as it came by.  It did depart alter but I was actually driving when that happened so no shots.  The ATR caught me out completely.  I had just pulled up after being away for a bit and was still sitting in the car switching the engine off as a white turboprop sailed by.  No chance to even get out of the vehicle let alone grab a shot.  That was actually the one I would have preferred but it was not to be.

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Leave a Reply

I have seen many photographs of incredible waves breaking against the shore at Cape Disappointment at the far southwest corner of the state of Washington.  While the storms that can lead to such waves are most likely in the winter months, I decided I wanted to do a recce trip to the Cape to get a feel for the area and see whether I wanted to go back when the weather is more rough.  It is a three and a half hour drive to get there from home so an early start was in order.

The area has much to offer so there will be other posts to come about this visit but today I shall focus on the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse itself.  It sits on a headland on the outlet from the Columbia River and it is this headland that is the backdrop for the most dramatic photos.  There is another lighthouse nearby but more of that on another day.  Looking from the beach up to the lighthouse on a calm day, it is hard to image how violent the waves can really get.

The lighthouse was off limits while I was there – presumably as a result of the pandemic.  However, you could go to the visitors center which was a lot closer to it so you could have a different perspective on the light itself.  While it was early in the day when I first got there, I hung around until mid afternoon before leaving for the drive home and the light had come around a bit by then.  Sunset would be very nice but that was not the plan for this visit.  I hope to go back, though.

777X Over the Top

Leave a Reply

Having shot the 777X test aircraft a bunch of times, I was looking for something a little different.  I figured I could head out to the north end of Boeing Field and be under the jet as it was on short final.  I shot something similar at LAX a number of years ago and liked the results so decided to have a go.  This was not as simple as I had hoped for.  First, the plane is out of sight for most of the approach with buildings and power lines in the way.

Second, I didn’t have lots of big jets to pay with.  It was my first opportunity so I didn’t have time to get the hang of it.  As it was, I didn’t do as good a job as I would have liked.  I was shooting with a wide lens and tracking the airframe to fill the frame was trickier than expected.  In the early shots, it was too far to one side of the frame and I ended up with the nose closer to the middle than ideal with the result that many shots lack a back end of the airframe.  I will try it again with these issues in mind and I shall skip the long lens shots first.  Making a quick switch meant I was not as well prepared as I could have been.  I did grab a shot through the fence of the jet heading for touchdown with Mt Rainier in the background too.