About This Blog:

The primary purpose of this blog is to showcase the best of my aviation photography. As such, you will find links to my main aviation gallery on Facebook containing photos from aircraft spotting, some kind of aviation event such as air shows and fly-in events, as well as aviation museums. I also critique my flights on commercial airlines and the services they provide. Occassionally, you'll find personally written, independent articles based on news and current events involving aviation. And of course, I'll put up links to official and unofficial aviation-related websites when I find them. And when time permits, I'll talk and discuss about anything involving aviation. But most importantly, this is my way to document my journey into the aviation industry!

Friday, January 29, 2021

Gallery Update: Random Shots from Salem

I went flying today and in keeping to my commitment to have my camera with me, I took a few photos while waiting for the plane I would be flying to become available.

Salem (SLE) 67

Preview:

Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee Challenger (N15741) airborne off 16 working the pattern.

Not surprisingly, I just happen to know one of the pilots who flies this plane frequently.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Gallery Update: JSX ERJ-135 Sighting in Corvallis!

Last night, I noticed on FlightRadar 24 and FlightAware that an ERJ-135 operated by JSX flew into Corvallis. And as it turned out, it was still on the ground there, so I decided to fly down to Corvallis while I was out flying around the valley to get some photos! Considering that JSX was supposed to start scheduled service out of Portland last year but didn't due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was happy to finally get the opportunity to see one JSX livery. Now, I've photographed a JSX ERJ-135 before when it was still known as JetSuiteX. The airline re-branded itself as JSX on August 8, 2019 and launched a new ad campaign that aimed to define its innovative form of air travel as a "hop-on jet service." In it's new logo and ad campaign, JSX stands for "Joyful, Simple eXperiences," and continues to dramatically improve short haul air travel by offering publicly available charter flights out of locations where they've grown popular.

I was supposed to see JSX's inaugural services out of Portland early last year as they planned on restoring a popular commuter route to Seattle-Boeing Field (a route previously served by the now-defunct SeaPort Airlines). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred roughly around that time and the resultant decline in air travel demand, those plans never became a reality.

Corvallis (CVO) 6

Preview:

Deluxe Public Charter (d/b/a JSX Air) Embraer EMB-135LR ERJ-135LR (N256JX) parked on the ramp. Arrived yesterday afternoon as JSX8208 from Burbank and is scheduled to depart later this evening using the same flight number for San Jose. My first time seeing the new JSX livery!

Rebranding from JetSuiteX to JSX includes a larger red "X" on the vertical stabilizer, the "JSX" titles on the engine cowlings, and another red "X" next to the front doors.

Airframe first delivered as N709GB on the behalf of American Airline's then-sole regional subsidiary American Eagle Airlines in January 2000; withdrawn in March 2009 and spent seven years stored at Kingman, Arizona. Acquired by JetSuiteX and re-registered to the current N-number in July 2016. It also briefly sported a special livery commemorating the 25th anniversary of the popular sitcom "Friends" in 2019 prior to the rebranding into JSX.

Since it's JetSuiteX days, JSX has grown significantly in terms of fleet size (over 20 ERJs consisting of a mix of ERJ-135s and a handful of ERJ-145s) and destinations served. While some destinations such as Portland never materialized and others have recently been terminated or suspended, the airline has since expanded to destinations outside of its niche market in California to further out reaches such as Texas. Recently, JSX has announced that they will begin service to Salt Lake City, Utah later this month from Burbank and Las Vegas bases. 

Face-to-face with "Big Stripe!" One thing that didn't change in the airline's re-branding was the big, red stripe bisecting along the top of the fuselage as well as the "Big Stripe" callsign.

While the pandemic has also adversely affected JSX's operations, the airline has been able to keep busy in continuing to provide services where it's profitable as well as their on-demand charter business. Sadly, a casualty of the pandemic was JSX's sister company, JetSuite, which ceased flight operations and entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late-April 2020. The company successfully reorganized and resumed operations in November 2020 as Superior Air Charter while retiring the JetSuite name.

Prior to the pandemic, JSX had a scheduled route between Oakland and Seattle-Boeing Field (hence the initial reason to start flights to Portland). The Oakland-Seattle route was one of JSX's longest routes. Hopefully, they'll reinstate that route and eventually add Portland some time in the future when demand picks back up and things return to normal.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Gallery Update: Some Quick Ramp Shots from Albany

While I was out flying taking advantage of the uncharacteristically beautiful day today, I decided to land in Albany to get some cheaper fuel and I got a few quick shots from the ramp. Not much to say for my first few plane-spotting shots for 2021...

Albany (S12) 21

Preview:

Cessna 501 Citation I/SP (N501JJ) parked on the transient ramp. This jet has been parked at Albany since at least 2018 (and perhaps even longer) and hasn't left since, which kind of makes for a sad sight.

Cessna 172N Skyhawk (N4803G) airborne off 34. Based nearby out of Corvallis.