I'm back in Oregon for a week and a half taking a break from school/flight training and making a much-needed visit to home with my family. Since the last time I spotted at Portland, a few new things have popped up and I wanted to make sure I had the opportunities to photograph them! Not only that, but I also got a few surprises on this spotting trip as well, making it all worth while! Highlights from this spotting trip includes things I planned to catch, as well as a few surprises. The things I planned and managed to catch included my first two Airbus A321neo models (operated by Hawaiian Airlines), and my first Alaska Airlines Airbus A320 (from the merger with the now defunct Virgin America). I was also planning on catching a Southwest Boeing 737 MAX 8 as well, but I missed it unfortunately. I was surprised (and pleased) to catch an ABX Air 767-200 freighter, my first American Airlines Airbus A321 sporting sharklets (this was also my first time seeing several A321s in a single spotting trip!), and my very first Antonov An-124 Ruslan operated by Volga-Dnepr Airlines! All in all, this was a great spotting trip!
Portland (PDX) 31
Preview:
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| Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Embraer ERJ-170-200LR E-175LR (N624QX) departing on 28L for Sacramento as QXE2565. |
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| Empire Airlines (d/b/a FedEx Feeder) Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster (N956FE) airborne after departing on 28L as CFS8651 for Klamath Falls. |
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| Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N647NK) taxiing for departure as NKS543 to Las Vegas. |
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| Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-232 (N676DL) taxiing for departure as DAL2090 for Minneapolis/St. Paul. |
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| Empire Airlines (d/b/a FedEx Feeder) Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster (N897FE) airborne after departing on 28L as CFS662 for Eugene. |
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| Alaska Airlines Airbus A320-214 (N625VA) taxiing for departure to San Francisco as ASA1800. This was the first A320 delivered to Virgin America and the first airframe to get painted in the Alaska livery as part of the merger. This sight will take some getting used to... |
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| Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-401 Dash 8 Q400 (N403QX) in the Montana State University Bobcats livery departing on 28L as QXE2311 for Boise. |
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| ASA1800 on takeoff roll on 28L for San Francisco. |
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| ABX Air (d/b/a DHL Aviation) Boeing 767-281SF (N783AX) arriving on 28L as ABX1817 from Seattle-Tacoma. My first time photographing a Boeing 767-200 as they've become a rather rare sight these days! |
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| JetBlue Airways Airbus A320-232 (N641JB) "Blue Come Back Now Ya Hear?" taxiing for departure to Long Beach as JBU1121. |
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| Raytheon Hawker 800XP (N544PS) airborne after departing on 28R for San Francisco. |
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| Jazz Air (d/b/a Air Canada Express) Bombardier DHC-8-402 Dash 8 Q400 (C-GJZX) taxiing for departure as JZA8116 for Vancouver. |
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| JBU1121 taxiing back due to problems that developed. |
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| JZA8116 airborne after departing on 28R for Vancouver. |
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| Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-402 Dash 8 Q400 (N437QX) in the Boise State University Broncos livery arriving on 28L as QXE2041 from Seattle-Tacoma. |
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| Cessna 560XL Citation Excel (N166RD) taxiing to the ramp after arriving on 28R. |
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| SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Embraer ERJ-170-200LR E-175LR (N194SY) arriving on 28L as SKW3387 from Omaha. |
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| American Airlines Airbus A321-231 (N150NN) taxiing for departure as AAL2376 for Dallas-Fort Worth. My first time seeing an American A321 sporting sharklets! |
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| Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 (N562AS) smoking the mains on arrival on 28L as ASA375 from San Francisco. |
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| AAL2376 on takeoff roll on 28L for Dallas-Fort Worth. |
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| Air Canada Embraer ERJ-190-100IGW E-190AR (C-FHKI) taxiing for departure as ACA546 for Toronto Pearson. |
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| ACA546 rotating on 28R on departure to Toronto Pearson. Catch Air Canada's E-190s while you still can, because they will be replaced by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and the Bombardier CS300! |
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| United Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N443UA) rotating on 28R for departure to Washington Dulles as UAL250. |
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| Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-401 Dash 8 Q400 (N414QX) arriving on 28L as QXE2480 from Medford. |
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| SkyWest Airlines Bombardier CL-600-2B19 CRJ-100ER (N594SW) arriving on 28L as SKW3443 from Salt Lake City. Clearly operating on the behalf of Alaska Airlines. SkyWest-branded CRJ flights on the behalf of Alaska Airlines are slated to end by July 1, 2018 as both SkyWest and Horizon pick up more E-175s. |
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| Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-401 Dash 8 Q400 (N439QX) arriving on 28L as QXE2807 from Spokane. |
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| Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321-271N (N202HA) taxiing for departure as HAL39 to Kahului. My first time catching a member of the A320neo family! Also my first time seeing the new logo and updated livery of the airline! With the start of deliveries of the A321neo in late-2017, Hawaiian has reinstated the route between Portland and Kahului as of January 19, 2018 after a six year hiatus. |
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| Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 (N529AS) smoking the mains upon arrival on 28L as ASA557 from Los Angeles. |
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| HAL39 on takeoff roll for departure to Kahului. The new engines on the A321neo is quite different (and much quieter!)! |
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| JBU1121 finally getting underway on 28L after nearly a two hour delay. |
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| Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Embraer ERJ-170-200LR E-175LR (N630QX) departing on 28L for Burbank as QXE2611. |
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| Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321-271N (N204HA) taxiing for departure as HAL25 for Honolulu. My second A321neo photographed! Hawaiian also replaced their larger A330s with the A321neo on this particular route. As of right now, Hawaiian Airlines currently has two A321neos in their fleet and using them solely to serve between Portland and Hawaii due to a slow delivery process because of engine issues discovered on the part of Pratt & Whitney. Consequently, Hawaiian was forced to delay the start of several thin routes they had intended to serve from the west coast with their A321neos. |
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| American Airlines Airbus A321-211 (N193UW) taxiing for departure to Phoenix Sky Harbor as AAL1941. Formerly with US Airways. I have never seen so many A321s in a single spotting trip! |
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| HAL25 departing on 28L for Honolulu. |
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| Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 (N8557Q) departing on 28L as SWA1482 for St. Louis. |
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| AAL1941 departing on 28L for Phoenix Sky Harbor. |
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| Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Embraer ERJ-170-200LR E-175LR (N631QX) departing on 28L as QXE2794 for Albuquerque. |
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| American Airlines Boeing 737-823 (N814NN) being towed to the remote stands after being taken out of service. Arrived the night prior as AAL2329 from Dallas-Fort Worth and scheduled to depart back to Dallas-Fort Worth as AAL2643 first thing tomorrow morning. |
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| Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-232 (N650DL) departing on 28L for Seattle-Boeing Field as DAL8893. |
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| Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-402 Dash 8 Q400 (N445QX) arriving on 28L from Seattle-Tacoma as QXE2059. |
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| Virgin America (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Airbus A320-214 (N361VA) "Jersey Girl" taxiing for departure as ASA1603 for Los Angeles. Alaska plans to retire the Virgin America brand completely by 2019, so catch these colors while you still can! |
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| ASA1603 departing on 28L for Los Angeles. |
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| Volga-Dnepr Airlines Antonov An-124M Ruslan (RA-82081) arriving on 28R as VDA5365 from Everett. I am beyond excited and pleased to have finally photographed one of these heavy airlifters! Now THAT is one big-ass cargo jet! |
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| Based in Ulyanovsk, Russia, Volga-Dnepr Airlines specializes in providing air charter services by operating a unique fleet certified for global operations. It is a world leader in the global market for the movement of oversize, unique and heavy air cargo. The airliner serves charters for governmental and commercial organizations, including businesses in the oil and gas, energy, aerospace, agriculture and telecommunications industries as well as the humanitarian and emergency services sectors. |
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| VDA5365 slowly taxiing to the ramp. For 30 years, the An-124 held the distinction of being the world's heaviest gross weight production cargo airplane and second heaviest operating cargo aircraft, behind the one-off Antonov An-225 (a greatly enlarged design based on the An-124) until it was dethroned by the Boeing 747-8F. As a Cold War design originating from the Soviet Union, the An-124 was given the NATO reporting name "Condor" and remains the largest military transport aircraft in the world, with approximately 20 airframes currently in service with the Russian Air Force. The manufacturer, Antonov is based in Kiev, Ukraine. |
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| VDA5365 holding position and waiting to back-taxi onto 28R for landing traffic. |
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| The one downside to a big-ass cargo jet is that taxiway space is limited and may not be able handle a plane as large as the Ruslan. VDA5365 re-entering the runway to back-taxi on a section of 28R to reach the Atlantic Aviation ramp, where it will load up some over-sized cargo to take to the Middle East. Note all those wheels! |
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| Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-351 (N584NW) clearing off of 28R after arriving from Atlanta as DAL2565. |
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| VDA5365 clearing the runway and taxiing to the ramp. A major bucket-list item has finally been checked off for me on this spotting trip! |
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