After a series of technical and weather delays, Boeing’s 777X finally took off for its inaugural flight at 10:09 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020
Things in the world of Boeing haven’t been going so great lately and the company needed a win. A few weeks ago, on a cloudy Saturday, there was finally something for the airplane manufacturer to cheer about: The Boeing 777-9 took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on its inaugural test flight. Once airborne, one of the two pilots reported, ’œAll flight controls are good. Very solid.’ A crowd of two hundred or so stood in awe as the big bird took off, then erupted in applause, high-fives, and hugs. For many, the excitement might have been as much about the new aircraft as it was for the company itself.
Boeing’s 777X taxies out on Friday, Jan. 24, for what would be five hours on the taxiway before the attempt was scrubbed due to poor weather
’œThis major milestone for the #777X airplane program begins the next critical phase of testing as we work towards certification and then delivery to customers in 2021,’ Boeing tweeted after takeoff. And thus began what is hopefully a more positive direction for the Chicago-based company.
C-GROV, the first A220-300 operated by Air Canada – Photo: John Jamieson
On January 15th, North America’s fifth-largest airline became the newest operator of the Airbus A220. At Air Canada’s headquarters in Montreal, Fin 101 (C-GROV) was unveiled to employees, honored guests, and members of the media. Over the course of the event, we were able to go onboard the aircraft and take in the A220’s unique features. We also managed to interview Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s VP Network Planning.
With the focus of the event firmly on the aircraft (as opposed to a new destination), we’ve focused our analysis on the physical benefits. That said, we’ll have a thorough examination of the aircraft’s operational benefits, and our interview, in a future post. For now, follow along as we cover Fin 101 from nose to tail and explore every inch of Canada’s newest clean-sheet aircraft.
The sun sets over Abbotsford International Airport – Photo: Matthew Chasmar
It’s been Canada’s National Airshow. It’s hosted such legendary aircraft as the An-124 and SR-71 Blackbird. For years, it’s been the Canadian West Coast’s airshow. It’s the Abbotsford International Airshow, now in its 47th year, and it’s as impressive as ever. I’d been to Abbotsford many times before, and this year I tried something a bit different ’“ I went to the Twilight Show. For those who don’t know, this is a Friday night show held before the full two-day airshow. This idea wasn’t my first instinct; after all, less airshow = less fun, right? But the Twilight show still managed to impress and is an excellent alternative to a full day at the airshow.
Now an Executive Officer with the Red Arrows, Squadron Leader Steve Morris has been flying with the RAF since 2002 – Photo: John Jamieson
This past September, I was fortunate enough to attend the Red Arrows’ media event in Vancouver, BC. During the event, I was given the opportunity to meet and interview Steve Morris, a senior pilot with the aerobatic team. In addition to learning about Steve’s day-to-day role with the Royal Air Force (RAF), he also talked about his career plans after aerobatics.
NOTE: In the interview, we discuss some of the team’s maneuvers and aerobatics. To provide some context, I’ll be including a few of my photos from the flypast. With a little help from the media guide, I’ve been able to identify some elements from their performance. I’ll do my best to explain the maneuvers as best that I can.
The main-terminal side of the forthcoming pedestrian bridge from SEA’s south satellite terminal will feature epic views of Mount Rainier, at least when it’s not raining. This photo is from Nov. 21, 2019.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA aka Sea-Tac) is going through some large-scale renovations that will make it a much more competitive transit hub beginning later this year – if construction plans stay on track.
The main focus of the renovation is Sea-Tac’s international arrivals facility, which is woefully undersized for the airport’s growing passenger traffic. The new elements include a 450,000-square-foot grand hall for baggage claims and customs processing, a picturesque aerial walkway connecting the south satellite terminal to the grand hall (which is being installed Jan. 23-25), and a corridor connecting arriving international passengers on Concourse A.
We recently walked through the construction site with Port of Seattle staff to see what’s coming. Bottom line: Sea-Tac is going to be able to better handle the mid-day crush that often happens when flights from Asia arrive en masse.
The under-construction great hall where international passengers will retrieve their bags before heading to customs and immigration
’œThe grand hall is sized for 2,600 passengers per peak hour, and we know that the peak is mid-day,’ says Janet Sheerer, IAF project manager, landside, at the Port of Seattle. ’œThere were very few overall design parameters for this project, and that was the biggest one.’
BONUS: Snow operations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), the architect of the renovation project, and Clark Construction Group, the contractor, ran models to make sure the new facility could handle peak passenger traffic. ’œThey ran robust models based on the type of aircraft, when the flight is arriving…to figure out where things need to be located and how many bag claim devices are needed,’ says Sheerer. ’œThe output from those models is what drove the design.
