Gallery Review: New Year's Montage 2013

Greetings to you all!

I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year! It's that time of year again; time to continue a personal blogging tradition I started doing last year by presenting to you another montage of some of my best photos taken during the year 2013. This year wasn't the greatest in terms of what aircraft I was able to photograph due to me spending half of the year studying at school, plus a few factors outside my control (like the sequester, to name something!), but I kept my passion burning as best as I could. Enjoy the following photos!

Commercial Aircraft Spotting:

Alaska Airlines (Horizon Air) De Havilland Canada DHC-8-401Q Dash 8 Q400 (N407QX) in Oregon Ducks livery departing Portland International Airport (PDX).
Portland, Oregon.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 (N592AS) push-back from gate for departure from PDX.
Portland, Oregon.

So nice to see some of the old United tulip colors on the regional jets.
SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a United Express) Canadair CL-600-2C10 CRJ-702/ER (N796SK) taxiing for departure from Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO).
Reno, Nevada.

American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-82 (N499AA) taxiing up to the gate after arrival at RNO. Catch these 'Mad Dogs' while you still can! And catch AA's livery like this one while you still can!
Reno, Nevada.

Bombardier BD-700-1A10 Global Express (N304CC) parked on the general aviation ramp at PDX.
Portland, Oregon.

Museum Shots:

FACE OFF! With the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum's Messerschmitt Me-262 reproduction replica.
McMinnville, Oregon.

ANOTHER FACE OFF!! With the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum's Focke-Wulf FW-190 reproduction replica.
McMinnville, Oregon.

ONE MORE FACE OFF!!! With the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum's newly acquired Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 'Flogger'.
McMinnville, Oregon.

A rather captivating evening shot of the main part of the museum with the Hughes H-4 Hercules 'Spruce Goose' visible inside and an F-14 Tomcat and a MiG-29 also visible. Note the road leading up to the building is painted like an airport runway!
McMinnville, Oregon.

Tillamook Air Museum's PZL-Mielec Lim-6 (N2503N) sporting a unique arctic camouflage.
Tillamook, Oregon.

One of only four left in existence, this Martin AM-1 Mauler (N7163M) can also be found at the Tillamook Air Museum.
Tillamook, Oregon.

This Nakajima Ki-43-IIIa Hayabusa 'Oscar' (N43JE) at the Tillamook Air Museum is a Texas Airplane Factory replica and is the only airworthy example of the type in the world.
Tillamook, Oregon.

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt (NX47DA) on display at the Tillamook Air Museum.
Tillamook, Oregon.

Air Shows/Events:

P-51D Mustang (N551BJ) nicknamed 'Mormon Mustang' of the Legacy Flight Museum.
Rexburg, Idaho.

P-51D Mustang (N51RH) nicknamed 'Ole Yeller' taxiing at Rexburg-Madison County Airport (RXE).
Rexburg, Idaho.

Hawker Hunter F51 (N611JR) on static display at the Oregon International Air Show.
Hillsboro, Oregon.

The Classic Aviation Museum's PZL-Mielec Lim-5 (N1426D) in afterburner during the Oregon International Air Show.
Hillsboro, Oregon.

With red, white, and blue smoke, the Patriots Jet Team does their thing as the main headliner in their six L-39C Albatross at the Oregon International Air Show.
Hillsboro, Oregon.

A brand new tri-jet is a rarity these days! A Dassault Falcon 900LX (N265LX) in a demo flight during the Reno Air Races.
Reno, Nevada.

Patriots Jet Team also performed in Reno this year as well so I got to see them twice! Smoke on and they're showing off their LED wingtip lights installed by Fry's Electronics.
Reno, Nevada.

Okay, it's not an airplane but the Coin Force Smoke 'n Thunder jet dragster is always an air show favorite; especially when there's some fire involved!
Reno, Nevada.

The British always had some cool names for their planes... The Commemorative Air Force's Supermarine 379 Spitfire FR14 parked in the pits during the Reno Air Races.
Reno, Nevada.

I was so thrilled to see this Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero (N712Z) of the Commemorative Air Force fly this year at the Reno Air Races.
Reno, Nevada.

It's always nice to catch aircraft from different parts of the world and a Brazilian Embraer is no exception! This years Jet Class Pace Plane at the Reno Air Races was this Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 (N900HT).
Reno, Nevada.

Racers for the 2013 Unlimited Warbird Class lined up for the final Gold Heat race waiting for the Pace Plane. In the foreground are the Patriot Jet Team's L-39s parked on the ramp.
Reno, Nevada.

Happy New Years everyone! The year 2013 is over, and in the world of aviation, we have seen quite a lot of things (both good and bad) play out this year:

• The 787 Dreamliner getting grounded for three months due to battery problems.
• U.S. Government sequester grounding much of the military from performing at air shows; many air shows throughout the country were cancelled.
• Drama concerning the merger of American Airlines and US Airways which eventually did go through.
• 2013 saw over 20 major incidents and accidents worldwide.
• Allowing the use of electronic devices on flights even during take-off/landing.

As for me, I did what I could keeping my passion for aviation alive. May the year 2014 be full great things to come, including more awesome photos! AND hopefully a better air show season this year, with military jets and demos!

Regards from your fellow aviation enthusiast,

Michael with a "K"

Amazing Aircraft: The DC-10, the End of an Era

This day marks the end of an era in commercial aviation with the final day of scheduled passenger service for the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, operated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The DC-10, an amazing aircraft for it's time has the distinct feature of being a tri-jet, with two engines mounted under the wing and the other being mounted on top of the rear fuselage under the vertical stabilizer. Introduced in the early 1970s, the DC-10 fulfilled an industry need for an innovate aircraft smaller than jumbo jets like the Boeing 747 with capabilities to operate long-distance routes to and from airports with shorter runways. Depending on the configuration, the aircraft is capable of carrying up to 380 passengers with a range of medium- to long-haul operations.

Despite it's role and unique design, the aircraft type was involved in several accidents that gave it an unfavorable reputation. Major incidents include American Airlines Flight 96 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981, where the aircraft cargo door design had mechanical issues. Then there was American Airlines Flight 191, where one of the wing-mounted engines detached after taking off from Chicago, damaging the leading edge of the wing and causing the ill-fated DC-10 to roll and crash, killing 271 people on board plus two on the ground. The main culprit of this major accident was improper maintenance procedures carried out by the airline during the engine removal process. And the most famous DC-10 accident would have to be United Airlines Flight 232, when it made a crash landing in Sioux City, Iowa caused when the aircraft lost its hydraulic systems vital for flight control after an uncontained engine failure in the rear engine. The engine failure that started the chain events was caused by a manufacturing defect in the engine fan blades. The Sioux City crash, made famous due to television coverage, killed 111 passengers while 185 survived.

Wired Magazine even called the DC-10 "the fifth worst stupid engineering mistake in history." But what would those at Wired know? Pilots who have flown the DC-10 describe it as reliable, fun to fly, roomy, and quiet, even comparing it to like flying an old Cadillac Fleetwood. Despite improving safety records, as design flaws were properly addressed and resolved, it would be one of the final nails in the coffin for the DC-10 as public confidence in the aircraft was never restored. The DC-10 had it's share of accidents; but let's keep in mind that popular and iconic commercial airliners like the Boeing 737 and Boeing 747 has a fatal accident-rate close to the DC-10.

The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 would be later succeeded by the MD-11, similar in design but larger both in the wings and fuselage, and with the addition of winglets.

An MD-11F operated by FedEx Express. FedEx currently operates the world's largest cargo air fleet and also the world's largest operator of the MD-11.

McDonnell Douglas would eventually merge with Boeing with the latter being the surviving company. After the merge, Boeing continued production of the MD-11 and also conducted an upgrade program for old DC-10s by equipping several aircraft with glass cockpits, leading to the re-designation as MD-10s; this upgrade eliminated the need for a three-person crew and allowed a common type rating with MD-11. This allowed airlines like FedEx Express, which operates both MD-10s and MD-11s to have a common pilot pool for both aircraft.

A FedEx Express-operated MD-10, a DC-10 that received the glass cockpit upgrade from Boeing. FedEx is also the world's largest operator of the DC-10/MD-10 type.

There is also a military variant of the DC-10 introduced in the 1980s used for aerial refueling, designated as the KC-10 Extender.

A United States Air Force KC-10 Extender on static display at an air show.

As an aviation enthusiast and aircraft spotter, it is a sad day to see DC-10 retired from scheduled passenger service. But at least we will still be seeing them operational in cargo and military services in the years to come. However, we all probably know that in some time, the retirement of cargo and military DC-10 variants are somewhere around the corner.

The deciding factors that have sealed the DC-10's fate is operational costs and fuel consumption. Newer, two-engine aircraft consume less fuel, making the tri-jets and even four-engine airliners (like the Boeing 747 and Airbus A340) expensive to operate. The original DC-10s also required a three-man crew (Captain, First Officer, and Flight Engineer), which is a rarity in the commercial aviation industry today and also another costly factor for the airlines that operate them.

Let us say "good-bye" and salute to an old commercial aviation workhorse. May it's legacy of troubled beginnings, public doubts, and major improvements be one for the history books.