Gallery Update: Chasing One Last Condor 767...

Condor Airlines' summer-seasonal service to PDX, which finally came back earlier this year after a two-year hiatus after pandemic repercussions ends this week and this will be the last time they send their Boeing 767-300s. On July 28, 2021, Condor announced an order for 16 (and since bumped it up to 18) Airbus A330-900s as part of their wide-body fleet renewal, with the first new A330neo variant slated to be delivered at the end of this year. That means, starting next year, we'll be seeing the German leisure carrier and their new Airbus A330neo replace the aging Boeing workhorses. Furthermore, Condor also announced in April of this year that they would be revamping their corporate design, including a revised logo and new livery composed of distinctive stripes in bold colors over the entire fuselage, replacing the former Thomas Cook design. Since the collapse of their former parent company three years ago, Condor has maintained the basic Thomas Cook livery with the tail section sporting the Condor logo instead of the defunct Sunny Heart.

Naturally, I wanted to catch Condor's 767 at PDX one last time, particularly one in the blue and gold livery and the Condor logo (I've already seen the grey and gold variant twice this year on earlier spotting trips!), which was what I got today. In addition to chasing down one last Condor 767-300/ER, I got to see some additional highlights, making this spotting trip worthwhile. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Portland (PDX)

Preview:

Gulfstream Aerospace G-VI G650ER (N500ES) taxiing to the FBO after arriving on 28R.

United Airlines Boeing 737-924 (N32404) taxiing for departure as UAL1851 for Houston-Intercontinental. I can't remember the last time I photographed one of United's non-ER variants of the 737-900 (if I ever did at all!); they only operate 12 of the non-ER variants, making this a rather rare sub-type in the fleet!

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-932/ER (N820DN) taxiing for departure as DAL1369 for Salt Lake City.

Cessna 525 Citation M2 (N1022G) airborne off 28R for Sacramento-McClellan.

United States Air Force Fairchild SA-227DC RC-26B Metro 23 (91-0504) airborne off 28R as PAT151 for USCGAS Cape Cod. Only my third time seeing an Air Force RC-26 and my second time seeing one in the basic civilian paint job. Per photos I've seen online, this airframe used to sport a military grey paint job.

Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 604 (N800WC) airborne off 28R for San Francisco.

Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N692NK) arriving on 28R as NKS2811 from Las Vegas.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-323 (N816NW) arriving on 28R as DAL179 from Amsterdam.

Flexjet Gulfstream Aerospace GIV-X G450 (N461FX) airborne off of 28R as LXJ461 for Tucson.

United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 (N47533) taxiing for departure as UAL2177 for Chicago O'Hare.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 (N931WN) "Lone Stare One" departing on 28R as SWA516 for Denver.

UAL2177 departing on 28R for Chicago O'Hare.

Wheels Up Partners, LLC Raytheon 400A Beechjet (N10LX) arriving on 28R as DPJ10 from Seattle-Boeing Field.

DPJ10 taxiing to the FBO.

United Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N473UA) arriving on 28R as UAL2070 from San Francisco.

Hawker Beechcraft 900XP (N920PP) airborne off of 28R for McClellan-Palomar in Carlsbad, California.

UAL2070 pulling up to the gate.

N692NK taxiing for departure for the return-trip to Las Vegas as NKS1589.

Mountain Aviation Cessna 750 Citation X (N992TX) airborne off of 28R as FTH992 for Seattle-Boeing Field.

NKS1589 airborne off 28R for Las Vegas.

Gama Aviation (d/b/a Wheels Up) Beechcraft B300 King Air 350 (N862UP) airborne off of 28R as GAJ862 for Sunriver. Finally caught one of Wheels Up's special liveries! This teal livery commemorates the company's support in ovarian cancer research.

Hawker Beechcraft 900XP (N999PR) taxiing to the ramp after arriving on 28R.

United Airlines Airbus A319-132 (N871UA) taxiing for departure as UAL325 for Denver. Note the mismatched radome cover.

UAL325 airborne off of 28R for Denver. The nosecone just makes the plane look weird!

N473UA taxiing for departure as UAL1632 for the return-trip to San Francisco.

N500ES airborne off 28R after a brief stay.

UAL1632 airborne off of 28R for San Francisco.

Jazz Air (d/b/a Air Canada Express) Bombardier DHC-402 Q400 (C-GGMU) airborne off of 28R as JZA8655 for Vancouver.

N816NW taxiing for departure for the return-trip to Amsterdam ad DAL178.

DAL178 airborne off of 28R for Amsterdam.

Allegiant Air Airbus A320-214 (N233NV) arriving on 28R as AAY8068 from Indianapolis. This flight taxied over to the military ramp on the southside, indicating that this is likely a military charter.

British Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (G-ZBJA) arriving on 28R as BAW267 from London-Heathrow. This is the same airframe that flew the inaugural to/from PDX, but this is my first time photographing British Airways arriving into PDX.

Condor Boeing 767-343/ER (D-ABUK) taxiing for departure as CFG2091 for Frankfurt. I am happy to finally catch the interim livery and logo of Condor in blue! And just in the nick of time too, because today is the second-to-last day of Condor's summer-seasonal service into PDX with the last day of the season being this coming Friday.

Having already seen the grey and gold variant of this interim livery, I knew I had to chase this particular livery in the blue and gold down! My only regret is that I never got to see the 767 sporting Condor's retro livery...

United Parcel Service - UPS Airlines Boeing 757-24A/PF (N411UP) departing on 28L as UPS2990 for Spokane.

CFG2091 departing on 28L for Frankfurt.

This year will mark the end of regularly-scheduled passenger 767 services into PDX (although, we can expect Delta to send their 767s into PDX on occasion hopefully). Definitely a bitter-sweet thought as many believe either the 757 or 767 families will be the next to quickly disappear from passenger service in the years to come. Next year, we can expect to see Condor's new Airbus A330neo and their new, revamped logo and livery!

United Parcel Service - UPS Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-11F (N276UP) arriving on 28L as UPS2974 from Louisville.

Icelandair Boeing 757-256 (TF-FIR) "Vatnajökul" arriving on 28L as ICE665 from Reykjavík–Keflavík. Always a pleasure to see this special livery!

Airframe will remain overnight at PDX before departing back to Reykjavík–Keflavík tomorrow afternoon as ICE664.

Gallery Update: Fire Boss Sighting in Salem!

I should've flown to Hood River today to attend the annual fly-in up there. Unfortunately, a small wildfire that became known as the Vitae Springs brushfire broke out just outside the southwest corner of Salem city limits yesterday, sending smoke into the air and thus, reducing visibility throughout the Willamette Valley. With reduced visibility and the fact the fires were only a few miles from where I live, I made the painful decision to scrap my planned trip up to Hood River (even though it was probably doable) and decided to hang back and stay close to home just in case the brush fire became a greater concern. In response to this brushfire that's broken out uncomfortably close to home, some aerial firefighting assets were deployed to combat it, including a pair of float-equipped Air Tractor AT-802Fs known as the Fire Boss! I've seen standard fixed-gear variants of the AT-802 before, but never the amphibious Fire Boss, so I figured this opportunity to see these unusual single-engine air tankers (SEAT) was a good consolation for missing the Hood River fly-in today. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Salem (SLE)

Preview:

"Fire Boss 231" of "Fire Boss 231 Flight of Two" entering the left-downwind for Runway 31.

"Fire Boss 232" entering the left-downwind for 31 bringing up the rear.

Coastal Air Strike Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss (N800LA) operating as "Fire Boss 231" arriving on 31 after fighting the Vitae Springs brushfire.

Coastal Air Strike Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Boss (N804RX) operating as "Fire Boss 232" arriving on 31 after working the Vitae Springs brushfire with "Fire Boss 231."

"Fire Boss 231" taxiing to the ramp. These guys flew down from The Dalles in order to take on the fires here.

"Fire Boss 232" taxiing to the ramp.

Columbia Basin Helicopters Bell UH-1H Iroquois (N80NH) arriving over 31 after working the nearby fires.

"Fire Boss 231" taxiing onto the ramp.

What makes the Fire Boss unique is the ability to scoop water from a viable water source via the Wipaire floats into an 800 gallon tank. 

"Fire Boss 232" taxiing to parking.

Face-to-face with "Fire Boss 232"

"Fire Boss 232" taxiing onto the ramp.

With a loitering time of around 3 hours, and the ability to scoop water from lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, the amphibious AT-802F Fire Boss is capable of dropping up to 14,000 gallons of water per hour before needing to refuel. Considering the location of the Vitae Springs brushfire, the Fire Boss was the perfect aerial firefighting platform to fight the fire, which they did well by scooping from the nearby Willamette River and dumping repeatedly.

"Fire Boss 231 Flight of Two" finished for the day. No doubt, these pilots were the unsung heroes of Salem this weekend!

Life Flight Network AgustaWestland AW119 MkII Koala (N716LF) arriving back from a mission. Life Network opened a new base right here in Salem earlier this year with at least two helicopters.