Gallery Update: A Quick Stop in Creswell

After yesterday's frustrating scrubbed flight in the Skylane, I flew myself down to Creswell for another quick cross-country outing. After landing there so many times, I decided to prolong my stop and check out the airfield. As usual with these spur-of-the-moments, I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Creswell (77S) 1

Preview:

Piper PA-28-151 Cherokee Warrior (N56777) airborne off 33 working the traffic pattern.

Cessna 175 Skylark (N9341B) airborne off 33 for nearby Eugene.

This is my first time seeing the base model Cessna 175 with the square tail!

Cessna 172RG Cutlass II (N6270R) parked on the ramp. My first time seeing a Cutlass! While it was marketed as a version of the popular Cessna 172, the 172RG Cutlass is actually certified on the Cessna 175 Skylark type certificate.

Cessna 152 (N9494G) parked on the ramp.

Cessna 182 (N5815B) parked on the ramp. This early 182 is used by Eugene Skydivers.

Gallery Update: Consolation Spotting at Salem

I had to scrap my flight lesson with my instructor in the Skylane today because of a man-made mechanical issue (people treat planes like lawnmowers sometimes!) that needed to be looked at. So being at the airport, I grabbed my camera and did some spotting. There wasn't much to see, but I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Salem (SLE) 

Preview:

Cessna 182M Skylane (N70574) arriving on 34. I was supposed to get up in the air in this bird after this arrival, but a damaged door mechanism grounded the plane.

Cessna 525 CitationJet (N616PR) taxiing for departure to Pasco/Tri-Cities.

Cessna 180E Skywagon (N2672Y) arriving on 34.

N616PR departing on 34 for Pasco.

Gallery Update: Unique Sights from Salem

Well, I had plans to fly down south to get a few spotting opportunities in, but an inversion layer that covered much of the southern Willamette Valley forced me to stay local as far as flying was concerned. After getting back from flying, I stuck around and got a few ramp shots in, including two aircraft that caught my eye.

Salem (SLE)

Preview:

Piper PA-22-135 Tri-Pacer (N3501A) parked on the ramp. Arrived over a week ago from Bremerton, Washington.

Valley Flyers Cessna 182M Skylane (N70574) parked on the ramp. I should be getting my high-performance endorsement in this plane pretty soon!

Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 (N660RB) parked on the ramp. Arrived earlier this afternoon from San Jose as JPL660.

Cessna 680A Citation Latitude (N865CA) parked on the ramp.

North American T-28C Trojan (N128JC) parked on the ramp. Arrived earlier this afternoon from Brookings on the Oregon coast. I saw this warbird a few times last summer!

Gallery Update: Freight Runners/Air Charter Express Saab 2000 Sighting in Corvallis!

After another high-performance training flight today, I flew myself down to Corvallis to catch a Saab 2000 doing a sports charter. In fact, I arrived into Corvallis just in time to see it depart!

The operator of this Saab 2000 I was after is Freight Runners Express flying under the Air Charter Express (ACE) banner. Freight Runners is an airline based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that operates scheduled as well as on-demand cargo and passenger services utilizing a fleet of Beechcraft 99s and 1900Cs, Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias, and as of recently the Saab 2000; the passenger services are operated exclusively under Air Charter Express (ACE) brand, using Embraer EMB-120s and Saab 2000s configured for 30 passengers. The airline began operations in 1985 flying cargo throughout the state of Wisconsin. The Air Charter Express brand and passenger charter services were launched in 1992.

The Freighter Runners/Air Charter Express fleet currently consists of 23 turboprop aircraft, split between six EMB-120Fs, three Beechcraft 1900Cs, and ten Beechcraft 99s for freighter operations, plus three EMB-120ERs and three Saab 2000s configured to seat 30 passengers for their charter operations. The Saab 2000s are the newest additions to the Freight Runners/Air Charter Express fleet, with the first one having been added in October 2021.

Corvallis (CVO)

Preview:

Freight Runners Express (d/b/a Air Charter Express - ACE) Saab 2000 (N680PA) departing on 17 as FRG9680 for a quick hop to Eugene. Arrived earlier this afternoon as FRG190 from Tuscon on a college sports charter. My first time seeing this particular operator!

Previously flew for PenAir until they went shut down in 2020 due to repercussions related to the pandemic. Prior to to PenAir, this airframe flew exclusively as an executive transport, first delivered in September 1995 as N5123L to General Motors Corporation. It was re-registered as N5123 in January 1997 while still flying for GM. Taken up by Hendrick Motorsports as N511RH in April 2004 before being acquired by PenAir in January 2016; it was one of two Saab 2000s that PenAir acquired, making it either the second or third one to join their fleet.

Following the shutdown of the Ravn Air Group, which included PenAir in April 2020 due the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had the aviation industry, Freight Runners Express acquired this airframe in November 2021 after being stored for well-over a year. This airframe is Freight Runners' second Saab 2000 added to their fleet. They currently operate three Saab 2000s and two more to be added in the coming months. N680PA is the only Saab 2000 that has spent its entire life in the U.S. The other four airframes are former Eastern Airways frames coming from the U.K.

Considering the rarity of these turboprop airliners, it's always good to see a new Saab 2000 operator!

Gallery Update: Some Surprising Catches at PDX!

After a tiring and eventful weekend hosting some of my Idaho relatives who were visiting since Friday, I had to drive them back up to PDX today so they could catch their flight home. And of course, I made another spotting trip out of it and it turned out to be a worthwhile one!

In addition to catching another one of Allegiant Air's new Airbus A320 (I know, it still sounds weird!), I got to see a unique Boeing 737-700 (one that I probably wouldn't want to fly on, unless I was piloting it!), a Gulfstream III, and finally, one of Delta Air Lines' newest narrow-body airliners, the Airbus A220.

Portland (PDX) 69

Preview:

Life Flight Network Pilatus PC-12/47E (N661LF) taxiing for departure to Richland, Washington.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-8H4 (N8612K) arriving on 10L as SWA388 from Oakland.

Alaska Airlines Airbus A321-253N (N928VA) departing on 10L as ASA782 to Orlando. This frame was the first A321neo to be delivered directly to Alaska Airlines in the standard company colors.

N661LF airborne off 10L for Richland.

Gulfstream Aerospace G-1159A Gulfstream III (N388MM) taxiing for departure for a test flight. My first time photographing a Gulfstream III! I've actually seen this plane parked by the FBO buildings here at PDX on numerous occasions, but never had the opportunity to properly photograph it until now. Note the hush-kits installed on the engine exhaust nozzles.

The Gulfstream III is an improved variant of the Gulfstream II, which was first built by Grumman and then in succession by Grumman American and finally by Gulfstream.

This airframe is equipped with the HUBBARD QS3 Hush-kits, an aerodynamic device used to help reduce the noise produced by aircraft jet engines, typically installed on older turbojet and low-bypass turbofan engines, as they are much louder than current high-bypass turbofan engines. 

United States Marshals Service/Department of Justice Boeing 737-7AX (N738A) arriving on 10L as DOJ232 from Las Vegas. This was quite a surprise to see, not to mention one of those rare occurrences of seeing a 737-700 without blended winglets!

These DOJ flights flying under the "Justice" call-sign are operated by the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS), an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with the transportation of persons in legal custody among prisons, detention centers, courthouses, and other locations. It is the largest prison transportation network in the world.

Cessna 208 Caravan (N707WF) arriving on 10L from Friday Harbor.

N388MM departing on 10L for a 40-minute test flight.

Even with the hush-kits installed, this jet was still loud! The hush-kits enable this Gulfstream III to be Stage 3 noise compliant, allowing it continue flying in the U.S. under current regulations..

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-243 (N393HA) departing on 10L as HAL25 for Honolulu. 

It's certainly nice to see Hawaiian's A330s back in PDX!

Jazz Air (d/b/a Air Canada Express) Bombardier DHC-8-402 Q400 (C-GGFJ) arriving on 10L as JZA8652 from Vancouver.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-790 (N611AS) departing on 10L as ASA1322 for San Jose. Note the "eyebrow" windows above the main cockpit windows, a feature no longer seen on newer 737s.

Alaska's 737-700 fleet has become a rather rare sight for PDX.

Allegiant Air Airbus A320-214 (N247NV) arriving on 10L as AAY37 from Idaho Falls. This would be the plane that takes my relatives home.

AAY37 taxiing to the gate. This airframe was the second A320 that Allegiant received directly from Airbus after ordering directly from the manufacturer.

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Delta Connection) Embraer ERJ-170-200LR E-175LR (N613CZ) departing on 10L as SKW3542 for Los Angeles. Another ex-Compass Airlines E-175!

Boutique Air Pilatus PC-12/47 (N475SS) arriving on 10L as BTQ353 from Pendleton.

N388MM arriving back on 10L after a 40-minute flight.

United Airlines Airbus A319-132 (N876UA) arriving on 10L as UAL605 from San Francisco.

N707WF taxiing for departure back to Friday Harbor.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-900/ER (N878DN) departing on 10L as DAL2710 for Salt Lake City.

UAL605 about to turn towards the gate.

United Airlines Airbus A319-131 (N829UA) departing on 10L as UAL1491 for San Francisco.

N247NV departing on 10L as AAY38 for the return-trip to Idaho Falls (with my relatives on board!).

I never expected to catch two A320s in Allegiant's fleet that were directly from Airbus on these two back-to-back spotting trips to PDX!

It's still weird to think that this airframe and the airframe I saw on Friday are "new!"

And it's still weird to see Allegiant at Portland connecting to Idaho Falls as well as a few other destinations one would think Alaska Airlines ought to serve!

Allegiant definitely adds  a bit of domestic variety at PDX. As previously mentioned, Allegiant recently ordered the 737 MAX from Boeing, so we'll see a big shake-up of their fleet in a few years.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-932/ER (N889DN) arriving on 10L as DAL752 from Minneapolis/St. Paul.

C-GGFJ departing on 10L as JZA8653 for the return trip to Vancouver.

It would seem that Air Canada has reduced their daily offerings to PDX to just flights to Vancouver. Summer-seasonal routes to Toronto are slated to resume this summer (hopefully!).

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990/ER (N491AS) in the OneWorld livery departing on 10L as ASA28 for Newark. My second time photographing an Alaska airframe in the OneWorld livery! This was the third 737 in Alaska's fleet to receive the alliance livery.

Beechcraft C90GTI King Air (N720WB) arriving on 10L from Boeing Field.

Cessna 560XL Citation Excel (N567MC) arriving on 10L.

N738A taxiing for departure as DOJ232 back to Las Vegas.

JPATS is commonly known by it's nickname, "Con Air," which of course inspired the 1997 film of the same name.

Flight schedules of JPATS flights are kept secret from the public, and for good reason too!

The JPATS fleet have operations facilities in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Las Vegas, Nevada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, so they're commonly seen flying to and from those places.

N738A was first taken up as a VIP transport for a Saudi-based company in 2000. It was taken up by JPATS in 2018.

N876UA taxiing for departure as UAL1095 for Denver.

United Airlines Boeing 737-924/ER (N67846) arriving on 10L as UAL2226 from Chicago O'Hare.

DOJ232 departing on 10L for the return-trip to Las Vegas.

The 737-700 is a fairly new platform for JPATs, as they've been known to operate the older 737-400s as well as a Saab 2000, which I've seen a few years ago.

This is one aircraft I certainly wouldn't want to fly on unless I was piloting it!

Always neat to see out-of-the ordinary things on these spotting trips!

Gulfstream Aerospace G-VI G650 (N235BH) taxiing for departure.

UAL1095 departing on 10L for Denver.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 (N8804L) taxiing for departure as SWA4077 for Chicago Midway.

N235BH departing on 10L.

SWA4077 departing on 10L for Chicago Midway.

Alaska Airlines Airbus A320-214 (N364VA) departing on 10L as ASA273 for San Francisco.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A220-100 (N107DU) arriving on 10L as DAL2725 from Seattle-Tacoma. My first time seeing an A220!

After waiting a few years, Delta Air Lines has finally brought their A220s into PDX for a few regularly-scheduled flights primarily on the west coast. Flights are focusing between Delta's hubs in Seattle and Los Angeles, with Portland seeing at least one daily flight each to both of those hubs. 

If Airbus hadn't bought the CSeries program, then we'd be referring to this aircraft type as the Bombardier BD-500-1A10 CSeries CS100.

Launched in early 2008 by Bombardier as the CSeries, the type was intended to compete with Embraer's larger variants of the E-Jet E2 family and partially break up the Boeing/Airbus duopoly by offering up a new mainline narrow-body option in the 100-110 seat market. This was the expected response by Bombardier as they've focused on building the CRJ family of regional jets up until they launched the CSeries.

The CS100 first flew on September 13, 2013 and entered service with Swiss Global Airlines on July 11, 2016. The CS100 received it's type certification on December 18, 2015. But Bombardier needed to score an order from a major U.S. carrier in order to break into the lucrative American market.

DAL2725 taxiing to the gate.

Delta Air Lines was the U.S. launch customer of the CSeries, placing an order for 75 airframes on April 28, 2016. This did not sit well with Boeing, as the aerospace giant filed a petition on April 27, 2017, charging Bombardier with dumping for selling the planes well-below their production costs and stating that this would hurt U.S. aerospace manufacturing, namely Boeing's 737 MAX 7. As a result, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) and Department of Commerce (DoC) initially placed a 300% tariff on each CSeries jet imported into the U.S., consisting of 220% from observed subsidies Bombardier received from the Quebec government during development of the jet and another 80% anti-dumping duty.

Thankfully and rightly so, the ITC eventually came to a unanimous conclusion in early 2018 that the U.S. aerospace manufacturing and Boeing in particular was not directly threatened by CSeries, so the tariffs were overturned.

The reaction to Boeing's petition across the industry was largely negative and met with criticism, as it was seen as a back-handed compliment one aircraft manufacturer could pay to another. Many saw aerospace giant Boeing as the bully in trying to kill the CSeries sales to U.S. customers in favor of their own products. Boeing certainly was seen as the hypocrite after making such moves against Bombardier, as the former did not produce an aircraft for the market the CSeries was meant for, not since discontinuing the Boeing 717-200. Furthermore, Boeing itself also received multibillion-dollar tax breaks from the state of Washington. 

Boeing's petition not only drew ire from the aviation industry both from within and beyond the U.S., but from foreign governments including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Allegedly, Boeing's moves to squash the Bombardier CSeries may have hurt the former's chances of winning Canadian military contracts. Needless to say, the Canadian government was fiercely protective of their own aerospace industry.

In the midst of this dispute, Airbus eventually swooped in and announced a partnership with Bombardier CSeries program on October 16, 2017. Airbus would acquire a 50.01% majority stake, with Bombardier maintaining 31%, and the remaining 19% held by the Quebec government. This partnership would also allow the CSeries to eventually be built at Airbus' U.S. manufacturing sight in Mobile, Alabama and give the CS100 and CS300 access to Airbus's vast resources in terms of sales and marketing. The CSeries was formally re-branded as the Airbus A220 in July 2018, with the CS100 becoming the A220-100 and the CS300 becoming the A220-300.

Two competitors, two manufacturers. And this plane, the plane met with positive reviews by airlines and their customers who flew them was the plane Boeing tried to kill??? Sadly for Bombardier, their partnership with Airbus marked the beginning of the former's formal exit from the commercial aviation industry as they would eventually sell off their other airliner manufacturing programs. Bombardier sold their stake in the CSeries program to Airbus in February 2020.

DAL2725 pulling up to the gate. Other U.S. operators of the A220 family include JetBlue Airways and new start-up Breeze Airways.