Gallery Update: A PDX Smorgasbord

This morning, we had to take my sister to the airport. Typical of my opportunities, I spent about an hour on the top level of the short-term parking garage at Portland International Airport to do some planespotting and needless to say, this has to be my best day at PDX yet. Aside from the typical foggy/cloudy weather Oregon seems to be know for, I'd say today was probably my best spotting day mainly because I saw quite a variety of aircraft movement today. It ranges from Air National Guard F-15s and F-16s to general aviation to almost every commercial airline currently serving PDX. Firsts for me include photographing a US Airways livery FINALLY, an Airbus A321, another Horizon Air special livery, and a Boeing 767 operated by Delta. I suppose I got a little lucky this time because most of the photography took place on the side facing Runway 10R/28L; there appeared to be some runway work being done on the parallel 10L/28R. In fact, there was construction going on all over the airport grounds! Here's the link to my latest gallery from PDX:

Portland (PDX) 8

Here's the preview. I'll show a lot of the new things this time:

Arizona Air National Guard Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker (Aerial refueling tanker adaptation of the Boeing 707) of the 161st Air Refueling Wing based out of Sky Harbor Air National Guard Base.

Arizona Air National Guard General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon of the 162nd Fighter Wing based out of Tucson Air National Guard Base. Seen here departing PDX for a training exercise.

A local F-15C Eagle of the Oregon Air National Guard 142nd Fighter Wing (The 'Redhawks') departing PDX most likely for a joint-training exercise with the Arizona National Guard F-16s that were also present.

Really glad I got to see some balls-to-the-walls action by seeing some fighter jets take to the skies with their loudness because they've been absent from this years air shows throughout the country due to federal budget cuts known as the the sequester. When fighter jets are lacking, go to a joint civil-military airport (if possible!)!

Here's a double-US Airways sighting:

US Airways Airbus A320-232 (N652AW) beginning it's take-off roll (most likely to Phoenix, AZ as it is a common aircraft type to be flying between PHX and other cities in the western United States).
This aircraft's registration number indicates that it is a former America West Airlines aircraft prior to the merger. As a result of that merger, US Airways has been headquartered in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

US Airways Airbus A321-211 (N161UW) taxiing for departure (most likely for a seasonal flight to the East Coast).
US Airways is only one of two US carriers to operate the A321 (as well as the largest operator worldwide of this aircraft type) so it's a rare sight regardless; quite pleased to have been able spot the longest variant of the A320 family. I'm also glad I got to photograph some US Airways colors because they're not going to be around much longer now that they're merging with American Airlines.

And now a few other neat things to catch at PDX that might be otherwise hard to spot based on timing:

Frontier Airlines Airbus A319-111 (N931FR) taxiing for departure to Denver.

Special Livery: Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air De Havilland Canada DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 Q400 (N400QX) in the University of Idaho 'Vandals' special paint scheme.

American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-83 (N9628W) taxiing for departure (most likely to Dallas-Fort Worth). This aircraft is an ex-TWA bird prior to acquisition by AA. This too will soon become a sight to be no more now that the retirement process for the 'Mad Dogs' have begun in addition to the introduction of the new American Airlines livery.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-332/ER (194DN) arriving at PDX from Tokyo-Narita.
Delta is currently the only carrier serving PDX with international destinations outside of North America with 767s on the PDX-NRT (Japan) route and the A330 on the PDX-AMS (Netherlands) route.

Though they're utilized on routes to PDX, 767s are far few in between here.

I wonder what SeaPort Airlines has been up to??? Their exact fleet numbers are uncertain, their aircraft keeps getting rotated around, and they keep changing their business model...
Seen here is a SeaPort Airlines Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (N1026V) landing in PDX most likely from a commuter flight originating elsewhere in Oregon.

I've pretty much saw every air carrier serving PDX today (Except for Hawaiian Airlines which I have yet to photograph), with the exception of a few airlines which I've seen on previous occasions.

Gallery Update: The Show Must Go On!

I've only been home for less than a week and I managed to make it out to the Oregon International Air Show this past Sunday and it was indeed a great day. Though we anticipated seeing the Navy Blue Angels this year, it never happened to due to the government sequester having an effect on our nation's military forces. But the organizers kept their chins high and the show went on, whether we had loud military jets or not! And it was still a great show! The Patriots Jet Team pleased the crowd nonetheless! I've never seen such a unique air show line-up of aircraft ranging from the Sukhoi Su-29 to the MiG-17 to the Beechcraft Model 18 to the Super Salto jet glider to the L-39C Albatross. I took over 300 photos from this air show event alone separated into three categories. Here are the links:

Oregon Air Show 2013 - Performers

Oregon Air Show 2013 - Static Display

Oregon Air Show 2013 - Flight Ramp

I'll do the preview a little differently this time by showing you a photo of some of the performers from the air show:

MiG-17 in afterburner! Gotta LOVE the smell of afterburner in the morning!

Sukhoi Su-29 flown by local Oregonian Renny Price of Hammerhead Aerobatics.

A very unique aircraft is the jet-powered Super Salto sail plane flown by Bob Carlton in 'Jet Powered Aerobatics' of Vertigo Airshows.
Just look that tiny jet engine! It's about the size of two oatmeal cans!!!

A classic Air Force trainer would be the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star flown by Gregory "Wired" Colyer of 'Ace Maker Airshows'. This T-33 is nicknamed "Ace Maker" for obvious reasons!

A truly vintage aircraft being 70 years old! A Beechcraft Model 18 nicknamed 'Magic by Moonlight' flown by Matt Younkin of 'Younkin Airshows'. This Beech 18 does aerobatics, which is rare to see from this aircraft type.

Air National Guard Extra EA 300L MXS aerobatics led by Lt Col. John Klatt just after the opening ceremony.

"No pilot can resist a ring of smoke!"
Mike Wiskus of 'Lucas Oil Air Shows' flies his Pitts S-1-11B SS through a smoke ring after some pyrotechnics set one off.

Extra 300 under the command of female pilot Jacquie Warda of 'Jackquie B Airshows'.

Like Red Bull? Then you'll like this one!
Zivko Edge 540 of the Red Bull Air Force.

And of course, the main headliner! Six L-39C Albatross of the Patriots Jet Team fly by with some sweet pyrotechnics provided by ATG and Homeland Fireworks to conclude another great air show!

Great air show regardless but let's hope we can get some military performers back next year.

Gallery Update: Spotting on the Go (SLC-PDX)

Well as you may have noticed from my flight critique published yesterday, I took some pictures. Three new photo albums have been made as I travelled home from the Rockies back to the Pacific Northwest yesterday. The first is a little spotting done at SLC after I boarded my plane taking me home. The second is aerial photos (like winglets and landmarks) while utilizing commercial air travel. The third is a new album I'll be constantly updating with miscellaneous photos I take as I travel around commercially in the states. Here are the links:

Salt Lake City (SLC) 2

Commercial Air Travel

Stateside 1

And here's the preview:

SkyWest Airlines d/b/a Delta Connection Canadair CL-600-2C10 CRJ-700 (N603SK) taxiing for departure from SLC.
I've been at this for a while now but I have never photographed a regional jet in Delta Connection colors until now!

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-3H4 (N383SW) just after push-back from the gate at PDX.
One reason for starting this stateside album was because I spotted this special paint scheme and figured, "Eh, what the heck!"

Flight Critique: Southwest Airlines Flight 923 (SLC-PDX)

1.) Aircraft: Boeing 737-700

2.) Flight Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

3.) Smooth flight all the way and great weather once at cruising altitude!

4.) Complimentary drinks and snacks served, as usual!

5.) Slightly cramped due to full passenger loads but you can't win them all. But SWA still never ceases to satisfy in customer service and colorful corporate culture. Thanks Southwest for always kicking ***!

Winglet Wednesday:

Over the Great Salt Lake after departing SLC

Gotta appreciate sunny days in-flight!

Classic landmarks of the Pacific Northwest as we descended into PDX

Gallery Update: St. Anthony Departures

Just a small update really but still somewhat notable enough for it to be featured on a separate blog post. Today, my uncle and I woke up early and drove some of his guests who were staying with him for the 4th of July holiday to the St. Anthony Airport so they could fly home to Arizona. Didn't really see a whole lot but at least I never get tired of being around airplanes.

St. Anthony (U12) 3

I also filmed two planes departing U12 just off the runway so my video gallery has been updated as well.

Videos (Updated)

Preview:

Note the following aircraft pictured are the two I filmed taking off in the video gallery.

Piper PA-24-260 Comanche (N8544P) sitting on the tarmac prior to departure.

Ayres S2R-G10 Thrush (N440AT) taxiing after landing from a really short flight.

Gallery Update: Always Expect The Unexpected

Well Happy 4th of July to you all! I'm spending the holiday weekend at my relatives' home in Ashton, Idaho and so far the last several days has been really fun. Today was the Ashton 4th of July Parade. So you're probably thinking, "What does that have to do with aviation?"

(Okay, you weren't thinking that but I was!)

Well, I've learned to expect the unexpected. And in this case, that means having a camera with me wherever I go. You won't believe how decent your pictures turn out no matter what kind of digital camera you use (and my Nikon L20 Coolpix is serving me well for the time being but I would sure like to get one of those bigger, professional-looking cameras made by Canon!). And much to my pleasant surprise, the Legacy Flight Museum brought four of their planes all the way from Rexburg and did some fly-overs during the parade. And since Ashton does not have it's own airport, the photos of the planes I took today are on my Off-Airport album:

Off-Airport 2 (Updated)

Actually, since my trip to Utah this past April, my Off-Airport album got updated several times since then. Better late than never I suppose! Here's a preview from today's events:

It's always a pleasure to see these P-51s grace the skies with the sound of their Merlin Engines!

The museum's SNJ-3 Texan and the Stearman did a couple of fly-overs as well.

Happy Independence Day!