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.