This is the only Hamilton H-47 [first flown in 1928] in the world left flying (reg NC-879H). It was caught taking off from Paine Field with a Dreamlifter and 787 Dreamliner in the background.
You can file this story into the “better late than never,” category. Paine Field Aviation Day happened way back in May 2013 and I have been meaning to share my photos, but kept on forgetting.This year was bigger, better, and filled with some surprises that were worthy of still sharing.
Admission to the yearly event is only $10 and gives visitors access to the Historic Flight Foundation, the Flying Heritage Collection, lots of airplanes on the ground, and as many other awesome activities and fly-bys as one can handle.
Although there were many scheduled flights that were entertaining, as more of an airline guy, I found the standard Boeing movements just as great. Continue reading below to see some of the photos of the day, including a Boeing 747-8I, Antonov AN-124, a few Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and more.
The first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (ZB001) on the flight line at Paine Field (KPAE). Photo by Bernie Leighton.
Yesterday, I was airborne over Paine Field again to capture Boeing’s gorgeous new 787. The 787-9. This aircraft will not only carry more passengers than its shorter sibling, but also offers a higher take-off weight. This will allow customers who use this frame to open routes that were never possible with current aircraft.
Although this is the first Boeing 787-9 to come out of the factory, it will not be the first to be delivered to launch customer Air New Zealand. This frame (ZB001), along with the next two that will come out of the factory, will be dedicated test aircraft. They will, however, be refurbished and make their way to Air New Zealand as ZK’s NZC and D by the end of next year.
With the first engine-run occurring earlier this morning, Boeing is hoping that the first flight will occur, “later this summer.” Afterwards, Boeing will conduct a number of different flight tests to earn airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
One nice aspect of Airbus being a “young” aircraft manufacture is that there are representatives of each aircraft family still flying in and out of airports today, like Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). SpeedbirdHD does a great job in catching a representative from each category of Airbus aircraft from the A300 to the A380.
This time-lapse from our friends at Jet Midwest offers a rare glimpse into the plane repainting process from start-to-finish. The clip begins with a Sun Country Boeing 737-800 (N804SY) landing at Kansas City International Airport. After a fast and furious time-lapse of less than five minutes, we witness what could easily be mistaken for a brand-new plane heading back to its home base in Minneapolis, MN (MSP).
At first, you see that the paint is noticeably weathered but still beautiful in its own right. In fact, I contend that the 12 year-old paint job, as-is, was arguably more attractive than a brand-new paint job with most of the larger airlines who sport “Eurowhite” liveries (can you tell that I do not like bland liveries?)
The paint scheme that Sun Country planes sport is what many AvGeeks would refer to as a “jelly bean” livery; i.e. at the very minimum, a brightly-colored plane. There is however some dissent in the community that argues a true “jelly bean” requires that each plane be slightly different, for example the historic liveries of Braniff seen below.
The first Boeing 787-9 moves to the flight-line at Paine Field. Image: Boeing
Previously, we have seen photos of the first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (ZB001) taken while dark out, but now we get to see the aircraft in the light of day.
Yesterday, the first 787-9 Dreamliner rolled out of the factory and was towed to the flight line, where Boeing will prepare the aircraft for its first flight later this summer. After the test flights are completed, the first 787-9 is expected to be delivered to Air New Zealand by mid-2014.
![This is the only Hamilton H-47 [first flown in 1928] in the world left flying. It was caught taking off from Paine Field with a Dreamlifter and 787 Dreamliner in the background.](https://www.airlinereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/PaineField1.jpg)
