January 2010 - Posts
Boeing Seattle (BFI):
- 25JAN10 - Travel Service OK-TVL (cn 37076/3147), a 737-8FN.
- 25JAN10 - Ryanair EI-EKF (cn 35025/3152), a 737-8AS.
- 26JAN10 - Xiamen B-5487 (cn 35058/3150), a 737-85C.
- 26JAN10 - China Southern B-5445 (cn 35388/3154), a 737-81B.
- 27JAN10 - Air China B-5496 (cn 36750/3155), a 737-89L.
- 27JAN10 - Air Berlin D-ABKI (cn 37748/3157), a 737-86J.
- 28JAN10 - Ryanair EI-EKG (cn 35021/3161), a 737-8AS.
- 28JAN10 - Ryanair EI-EKH (cn 38493/3162), a 737-8AS.
- 29JAN10 - Xiamen B-5498 (cn 37574/3160), a 737-85C.
Boeing Everett (PAE):
- 24JAN10 - UPS N337UP (cn 37858/986), a 767-34AER.
- 25JAN10 - Cathay Pacific B-KPO (cn 36160/843), a 777-367ER (pictured above).
- 27JAN10 - Emirates A6-ECY (cn 35595/840), a 777-3Q8ER.
- 28JAN10 - Qatar Airways A7-BBF (cn 36018/842), a 777-DZLR.
I'm expecting the upcoming week to be a busy one. Be on the lookout for some special newsworthy posts forthcoming :)
There's one thing that will make me stop whatever I'm doing and run out to get - No, not that ;) This is something airplane related. It's seeing a 737 land at Renton Municipal Airport.
Every 737NG is assembled inside the 4-81/82 building adjacent to Renton Municipal Airport (RNT) in Renton, Washington. It takes about six to ten days for a 737NG to go from being rolled out of the factory to when it's ready to depart from Renton's 1615 meter (5300' ft) runway on it's first flight. After departing Renton, it will end it's two hour B1 test flight upon arriving at Boeing Field where initial flight testing and preparation for delivery is conducted from. It's very rare for a 737 to return to Renton, but once in a blue moon it happens.
Today, Continental's next 737-824, N77520 (cn 31658/3158), returned to RNT flying as 'Boeing 572' from MWH after a flight originating at BFI.
BOE572 (Block YJ572) arrived on runway 34 (formerly runway 33), landing over the city, which is even more rare as Boeing prefers to land from north over Lake Washington for safety reasons. The plane was on a GPS approach for runway 16, but prevailing winds greater than 10 knots made them opt for a right downwind to runway 34. It followed the VASI approach lights in, so it touched down on the runway at about 1219 m (4000' ft) and came to a complete stop in less than 610 m (2000' ft) and then back-taxiied down the runway to the Boeing Renton flightline.
YJ572 returned to Renton with no interior installed in it's cabin due to seat supplier problems that has been plaguing new Continental, Copa, and ANA 737's. My thinking to why YJ572 returned to Renton are, A.) To get seats installed at Renton, and/or B.) Have the plane stored at RNT to make room on the BFI flightline for other 737's while awaiting seats to arrive.
After a two week stay at Paine Field to have it's fuel tanks cleaned, ZA002 flew back to Boeing Field (BFI) after a four hour flight that went all the way down to the Northern California coast and back. It was accompanied by the Boeing Company T-38A chase plane for part of the flight before touching down on BFI's runway One-Three-Right at 1530 local time.
ZA001, the first 787, is still getting flight test equipment installed inside the Boeing flight test hangar at BFI. The fourth 787, which is due to be the third 787 flying, is rumored to fly in early February and join the flight test program shortly thereafter.
Boeing Seattle (BFI):
- 19JAN10 - American N821NN (cn 30912/3137), a 737-823.
- 19JAN10 - Copa Airlines HP-1537CMP (cn 36550/3114), a 737-8V3 w/o winglets.
- 19JAN10 - Ryanair EI-EKC (cn 38495/3143), a 737-8AS.
- 20JAN10 - Xiamen B-5489 (cn 37149/3142), a 737-85C.
- 20JAN10 - China Southern B-5446 (cn 35389/3114), a 737-81B w/o winglets.
- 20JAN10 - Air China B-5495 (cn 36749/3145), a 737-89L.
- 21JAN10 - Lion Air PK-LGR (cn 35734/3153), a 737-9GPER.
- 21JAN10 - Ryanair EI-EKE (cn 35023/3148), a 737-8AS.
- 22JAN10 - American N822NN (cn 31085/3149), a 737-823.
- 22JAN10 - Ryanair EI-EKD (cn 35024/3146), a 737-8AS.
Boeing Everett (PAE):
- 20JAN10 - Philippine Airlines RP-C7776 (cn 37712/841), a 777-36NER.
Take note the photo of the Philippine airlines 777 above is a file photo and not of this weeks delivered PAL 777.
Boeing's Plant 2, located adjacent to Boeing
Field in Seattle, Washington, is one of the most historical buildings on the
west coast of the United States of America. Earlier this month it was announced
that Boeing would demolish the building. In this post I would like to share
the mark it left in the history books.
First built in 1935 along the banks of the
Duwamish River, Boeing's Plant 2 was built to produce the Model 299 bomber.
This quad engine airplane would eventually be tweaked and modified to the
specifications of the United States Army Air Force and would be branded the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Shortly after the plant was built, Boeing assigned
the Model 307 passenger plane to be built inside Plant 2 along side the B-17
line. With a European conflict overseas at the time, Boeing won a contract in
late 1938 to build the Douglas
DB-7 bomber under license for the Russian and English armed forces. The
factory expanded from 60,000 square feet to 1,766,000 square feet in 1939 to
make room for production of the DB-7 bomber as well as Boeing's various
military and commercial aircraft. All that changed after the attack on
Pearl Harbour in December 1941. The United States had been building up it's
military might slowly in the late 1930's, but was still sorely unprepared for a
major conflict, let alone two on separate fronts. Plant 2 started exclusively
producing the B-17 bomber in 1942 and by 1943 they were rolling out 16 bombers
a day from the factory.
During the Untied States' involvement in
WWII, military officials were worried about a possible Japanese attack on the
west coast that would target major factories in Southern California, but
specifically on Boeing's Plant 2. It was decided they would camouflage
the factory with fabric and other materials so it would seem as if it were
an average American neighborhood from above and not a bustling weapons factory.
Today many historians doubt that the camouflage would have tricked the Imperial
Japanese Navy bombers, but at the time it was a simple solution for a problem that was
of great worry. (There was only one attack on the
continental United States during WWII, which was a failed attempt to start a
forest fire along the Oregon coast).
From 1939 to 1945, nearly 7,000 B-17 bombers
of various makes were rolled out of Boeing's Plant 2. Historians credit Plant 2
as one
of the places that won the war due to the massive amount of aircraft
produced there, which primarily flew in the European theater. While there
were many other B-17's built under license in Long Beach, Burbank, and Wichita,
Plant 2 saw more B-17 bombers roll out of its doors than any other US bomber
production line during World War II.
After the United States and the Allies won
World War II, the B-17 was old news and the United States Army air force wanted
an improved version of their B-29 bomber, which was being built at Boeing's
Renton site. Boeing placed the improved and highly modified airplane, the B-50
Superfortress, to be built at Plant 2. Only 371 planes were made before jet
engine technology caught on and made the piston-powered bomber obsolete. In
1947, Boeing rolled out their first jet powered aircraft, the B-47 Stratojet
from Plant 2. After B-47 production ceased at Plant 2, Boeing started
production on their next bomber, the B-52 Stratofotress, which rolled out of
Plant 2
under the cover of darkness in 1954. The last plane produced in Plant 2 was
the Boeing 737, which rolled out
in 1967. Only the first four 737's were made in Plant 2 before production
moved a few blocks down the street to a purpose built factory.
Today, part of Plant 2 is used by the Museum
of Flight as a restoration facility for their B-17, B-29, and Super
Constellation projects. Boeing gave the museum until May 2010 to pack up and
find another place to restore those planes. The other remaining space is used
for storage. Boeing's reasoning to tear down the historic building is due to
the costs associated with maintaining the structure that has been leaking toxic
materials into the Duwamish River since it's inception. Parts of the roof have
already collapsed and wood throughout the building has been rotting
away for years.
It's a tragedy and a shame that the Boeing
Company didn't properly maintain this historic building over the years. It'll
be a sad day when Plant 2 is finally torn down, but it's my hope that this building will be remembered for years to come.
Boeing Seattle (BFI):
- 13JAN10 - Norwegian Air Shuttle LN-NOU (cn 29674/3140), a 737-8FZ.
- 14JAN10 - Ryanair EI-EKA (cn 35022/3139), a 737-8AS.
- 14JAN10 - Ryanair EI-EKB (cn 38494/3141), a 737-8AS.
- 15JAN10 - Copa Airlines HP-1536CMP (cn 35127/2963), a 737-8V3.
Boeing Everett (PAE):
The Copa Airlines 737 that was delivered this week was in storage at Boeing Field since July 2009. It was rumored that problems with the seat suppliers were the root cause of the delayed delivery.
After seeing this odd looking plane in the southeast corner of the Renton Municipal airport every now and then for nearly two years, I finally did some research on it. I contacted one of the engineers and this morning I had the pleasure of seeing the Ellison-Mahon Aircraft's Gweduck up close in their hangar. While walking around the plane, I noticed the FAA aircraft identification plate on the tail that read "Experimental Amateur Built Aircraft." Although I'm well aware of the FAA's definition of "amateur," it was still hard for me to comprehend that they could use such a word to categorize this professionally built plane. According to an article in the January 2010 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine, the people behind the project have spent nearly 20 years designing and building the airplane. Unlike the Grumman Widgeon that it resembles, this is made of composites, which don't corrode in salt water environments like metal does. It also sports two 300hp Lycoming IO-540 engines, which at an economical cruise speed of 120 knots only use an impressive 19.5 GPH (74 LPH) of avgas. The Gweduck can seat six (including pilot) and has a maximum payload of nearly 2000 lbs (907 kg). All of these figures are impressive to this general aviation geek.
The Gweduck is currently in a hiatus period while they continue to fine tune the design. Their plan is start flying again in around six weeks time.
To learn more about the Gweduck, you can visit their website at www.gweduck.com/ or read the January 2010 EAA article. Both links include intriguing information and various pictures.
It was a little slow this week as Boeing went back to work after two weeks off over the holidays. Delivery numbers will be back to normal next week.
Boeing Seattle (BFI):
- 7JAN10 - ANA JA60AN (cn 33897/3126), a 737-881.
Boeing Everett (PAE):
- 6JAN10 - ANA JA784A (cn 37950/833), a 777-381ER
NEWS:
Word on the street is that 787 Line No. 2 (pictured above) will fly for it's second time early next week. It hasn't flown since it's first flight, which was on 22 December 2009, as it's been in the Boeing flight test hangar at BFI getting flight test equipment installed.
The first flight of the Boeing 747-8F now looks like it's been pushed back a week from the second week of January to the third week. The plane has yet to perform taxi tests.
At Boeing Renton, the birthplace of all 737NG's, only one out of seven planes are painted before their first flight. The rest take their first flight unpainted in green temporary protective coating (TPC) with the rudder and winglets in full airline colours. The rudders and winglets are painted prior to installation so they can be properly balanced. In comparison, competitor Airbus paints all their A320 series planes at their Hamburg factory prior to having their engines installed. So why doesn't Boeing paint all their planes before they fly? Well the reason is because Boeing has only one paint facility at Renton and they don't have the space to expand any further there. So instead, planes not painted at Renton are pained in one of Boeing Seattle's two paint hangars. It takes on average three to four days, depending on the design, to paint a 737NG.
So with that background story out of the way, the fun now begins. Below are four tails (or should I say painted rudders) that passed through Boeing Field in 2009. See if you can identify all four. These are certainly not the hardest ones I could throw at you, but they could be a slight challenge for a moderate airplane geek.
1.) 2.)
3.) 4.)
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
Answers:
- 1.) Shandong Airlines
- 2.) Turkmenistan Airlines
- 3.) Cyprus Turkish Airlines - KTHY
- 4.) Ryanair
Now if you happened to cry foul on the Ryanair tail, you have good reason to do so. In years past, the rudder unmistakingly resembled the Ryanair harp logo. However, earlier this year starting with EI-EGA (cn 38490/3096), I noticed a change in the rudder design. If you follow this link, you can see a comparison of the old rudder to the new one.
This week was so quiet at the local airports that I almost forgot to make this post! I was able to have a relaxing time off from spotting over the Boeing winter break, but it's back to the old grind come Monday morning.
Boeing Seattle (BFI):
- 29DEC09 - Copa Airlines HP-1538CMP (cn 36554/3130), a 737-8V3.
Boeing Everett (PAE):
- 28DEC09 - Cathay Pacific B-KPN (cn 36165/839), a 777-367ER.
- 30DEC09 - AeroLogic D-AALD (cn 36004/838), a 777-FZN.