Not One, But Two

The day started out like any other day expecting to go plane spotting at my local airport, Paine Field in Everett, WA. I heard rumor there may be a double delivery and I was hoping to perhaps catch a glimpse of the takeoff. Upon arrival at my favorite spot, the stratodeck at the Future of Flight (FoF), behold there they were. A Boeing 747-8 (B-LJG) and a 777-300ER (B-KPY) both ready for delivery to Cathay Pacific. I was in Airplane Heaven! B-LJG was towed over towards KPY and the two were left nose to nose ready for presentation to their new owner as shown.

I took several pictures for my personal pleasure I then decided to return inside to get some hot coffee to fend off the February chill.

Heading downstairs from the Stratodeck I could see preparations were underway for the presentation inside the FoF gallery. This was obviously a formal event and everything was laid out elegantly, but you would expect no less of course.

After a little while the presentation began. Boeing decided to make this a very personal experience for Cathay Pacific and brought in a beautiful Chinese dragon which danced its way throughout the gallery much to the delight of the customer prior to their departure for Hong Kong. The dragon meandered its way through the guests tables until it reached the huge black curtains which then opened up to reveal the two giants waiting outside the window. The atmosphere was electric with great excitement. A video of the dance can be seen here on KPAE's website courtesy of Matt Cawby.

The dragon then proceeded outside to the airplanes and wove its way around both of them coming to rest as it gazed upwards in amazement at these mammoth feats of engineering. Everyone assembled outside to watch and then the delivery took place in the official ribbon cutting ceremony as shown. Engines were powered up resulting in cheers and applause. The sound of jet engines and the feel of the vibration never gets old. The planes were repositioned after the guests returned indoors to prepare for their departure and, of course, passport control. During this time many flocked to take photographs and it was great to see so many Boeing workers looking onwards taking great pride in their hard work and obvious results. LJG was returned to the flight line for a later departure schedule and everyone boarded the 777 (KPY). The plane was towed on to the taxi lane and then the engines powered up one at a time.

The GENX engines sounded great as they shone even in overcast lighting. These GE engines are a breakthrough in design as they have composite fan blades with titanium leading edges, as well as composite fan cases. This makes the engines so much lighter and more fuel efficient essential to competing in today's airline market. The Boeing 777 made its way to the runway. As the plane headed away from us the noise became so quiet I had to look to see if the plane was still moving. I guess those scallops in the nacelle sure do make a difference. The plane turned and readied for departure. The engines ran up giving that awesome unmistakable sound, which I cannot get enough of, just enough to get me trembling with excitement. The pilot released the brakes and the plane took off into the sky headed for Hong Kong. However, there was a little bank towards the control tower and back up as if to wave goodbye and thank you before heading into the clouds. What an awesome day. Plane spotting doesn't get any better than this........or does it? I guess I'll keep my options open. A video of the actual departure is shown below courtesy of SkylinePhotography.

Thank you for allowing me to share this experience with you and I look forward to flying with you all again.