Gallery Update: Something Different for New Year's Eve...

Happy New Year to you all!

I originally had plans with a group of people for New Year's celebrations (non-aviation-related), but those plans fell through after over half the group flaked out for one reason or another; I had no desire to attend an event I knew I was going to be disappointed with if I wasn't going to be around people I knew and liked. With New Year's Eve now basically open, I had to determine my next move and after two disappointing years, I really wanted to do something meaningful to ring in 2023.

I then remembered that I received an invitation earlier in the month for a 1940s-themed hangar dance being put together by Hangar-B Productions and taking place at Aerometal International's hangar at the Aurora State Airport (I haven't set foot around here since terminating my flight school membership after losing access to my multi-engine platform!). I originally had no intention of going, but considering the circumstances I found myself in and the fact this was technically an aviation event with vintage aircraft displays, I decided to go! Plus, I've never been to a hangar dance before and I wanted to see what it was like.

While I was alone for pretty much the entire time (it would've been more fun if I had a group or at least a date to bring along!), I felt I was in good company and I appreciated the opportunity to take in the sight of vintage airplanes and admire their presence. I greatly appreciate and acknowledge the invitation I received from the two people closely associated with tonight's event.

Hangar-B Productions NYE Dance Displays

Preview:

Douglas DC-3A (N18121) on display. Saw this beauty fly in and out of Salem earlier in the month, but it was still great to see the highest-time DC-3 in the world that is still airworthy again tonight!

Boeing B75N1 N2S-3 Kaydet (N25LF) on display.

Douglas DC-3A (N8336C) "The Spirit of Benovia" on display. I've been waiting for an opportunity to catch this particular DC-3 for a couple of years now! Currently owned by the founders of Benovia Winery out of California, this DC-3 was originally delivered as a C-53 Skytrooper to the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942. This DC-3 is full of history as it served in South Asia during World War II as well as Mainland China and Hong Kong in the post-war and Cold War era. She proudly wears her post-war Civil Air Transport markings and reusing its former CAT registration.

North American SNJ-4 Texan (N2269N) on display.

Happy New Year! This will be the final gallery update for the year 2022. Stand by for the annual end-of-year photo montage following this post.

Gallery Update: A DC-3 Sighting in Salem!

It's been a while since I've made a double-posting on the same day! A nice day like today led to a surprise visitor to Salem this afternoon: a Douglas DC-3! While I've seen this DC-3 before, it's appearance has since changed, so it was worth photographing again. In addition to the DC-3, I also got to see a De Havilland Canada Beaver as well! What is this? Radial engine heaven??? I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Salem (SLE)

Preview:

Douglas DC-3A (N18121) taxiing for departure to nearby Aurora. The last time I saw this beauty in action was back in 2015 during the Warbirds Over the West fly-in here in Salem. Back then, she was also sporting her veteran Eastern Air Lines "The Great Silver Fleet" livery, which was removed a few months after that event.

Aerometal International LLC out of Aurora, Oregon is the caretaker of this venerable warbird (along with a handful of additional warbirds including other DC-3s!) and specializes in maintaining the airworthiness of aging aircraft. They also provide DC-3-specific flight training services with the DC-3s under their care.

N18121 departing on 34 for Aurora.

Fun fact: This DC-3 holds the distinction of being the highest-time DC-3 in the world that is still airworthy, with flight hours being somewhere north of 91,000 hours put on this airframe! This airframe has been flying since 1937. It's also ironic that yesterday happened to be the 87th anniversary of the DC-3's maiden flight!

What a privilege to this piece of history in action!

De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N19ZM) taxiing for departure to McMinnville.

I've seen this Beaver at aviation events earlier this year, but I don't think I got an opportunity to photograph until today...

N19ZM airborne off of 34 for McMinnville.

I believe this is my first time seeing a De Havilland Beaver fly!

Gallery Update: A Freezing Morning at PDX

After my dropping my aunt and uncle off at PDX for their month-long stay in Utah at the start of this month, my uncle came back at the beginning of this week to take care of some business he needed to be back in Oregon for (he tends to break up his month-long stay in Utah with a week back in Oregon regardless). This morning, I had to take him back to Portland so he could catch his flight back to Utah. It was a clear, yet freezing morning and my usual spotting location was closed due to ice being a slipping hazard. There wasn't anything notable to chase down in terms of spotting, so I only stuck around long enough until my uncle's outbound flight departed before leaving myself.

Portland (PDX)

Preview:

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-243 (N392HA) airborne off of 10R as HAL25 for Honolulu.

The lucky passengers on this flight are definitely going someplace warm!

American Airlines Airbus A321-231 (N900UW) airborne off of 10R as AAL2577 for Dallas/Fort Worth.

Ameriflight Beechcraft C99 Airliner (N81820) airborne off of 10R as AMF1926 for Newport.

Ameriflight Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia (N201YW) departing on 10R as AMF1906 for Redmond.

Haven't photographed a Brasilia in a while...

Empire Airlines (d/b/a FedEx Feeder) Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster (N863FE) airborne off of 10R as CFS8692 for Redmond.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990/ER (N278AK) airborne off of 10R as ASA1210 for Puerto Vallarta. People escaping the frigid cold for a warmer vacation destination!

Allegiant Air Airbus A320-216 (N209NV) arriving on 10R as AAY1591 from Provo. The plane that would take my uncle back to Utah in.

Empire Airlines (d/b/a FedEx Feeder) Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster (N940FE) airborne off of 10R as CFS8686 for North Bend.

Empire Airlines (d/b/a FedEx Feeder) Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster (N788FE) airborne off of 10R as CFS8669 for Newport.

Empire Airlines (d/b/a FedEx Feeder) Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster (N859FE) airborne off of 10R as CFS8678 for Medford.

Ameriflight Beechcraft C99 Airliner (N193SU) airborne off of 10R as AMF5133 for La Grande.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990/ER (N236AK) airborne off of 10R as ASA1209 for San José del Cabo. Yet another Alaska flight going someplace warmer! As it turns out, Alaska Airlines serves more Mexican destinations out PDX than any other carrier at the moment and takes advantage of the market during the winter season.

Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N611NK) arriving on 10R as NKS2228 from Las Vegas.

Atlas Air (d/b/a Amazon Air) Boeing 767-36N/ER/BDSF (N1013A) airborne off of 10R as GTI3850 for Baltimore.

Ameriflight Beechcraft 1900C-1 (N1568G) airborne off of 10R as AMF1994 for Klamath Falls.

N209NV airborne off of 10R as AAY1600 for the return-trip to Provo. My uncle's on board this aircraft! Formerly JA02VA with Vanilla Air, a defunct ultra low-cost subsidiary of All Nippon Airways - ANA that was started in June 2013 by the parent company after Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia withdrew its investment of AirAsia Japan.

In 2018, ANA announced that Vanilla Air would be merged with another one of their ULCC subsidiaries, Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air officially ceased operations in late-2019. With Peach Aviation picking up newer A320neo aircraft, the older A320ceos were re-allocated elsewhere. This airframe briefly flew for All Nippon Airways before it left Japan for delivery to Allegiant at the end of 2021.

Gallery Update: A Foggy Afternoon at PDX

My youngest sister was flying in from Salt Lake City (along with her pet cat!) and would be spending Christmas with me and my folks starting today, so I drove up to Portland after getting off work to pick her up along with her "precious cargo."

For this spotting trip opportunity, I was able to capture the only holiday peak season that was notably operating in and out of PDX, a Boeing 767-200 freighter operated by Air Transport International in the company's new livery, something that I've been hoping to see for a while now. I also got to see a pair of local F-15 Eagles as well as a militarized Beechcraft King Air operated by the Army.

Portland (PDX)

Preview:

United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 (N37532) taxiing to the gate after arriving on 10R as UAL2483 from Chicago O'Hare.

United States Army Beechcraft B200C C-12V-1 Huron (95-00095) arriving on 10L from Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) Los Alamitos, California, home of the 52nd Aviation Regiment, 6th Battalion (6-52nd AVN), Bravo Company, which this aircraft is assigned to. Neat to see a King Air operated by the Army!

Airframe was first delivered as a C-12R, which would eventually receive upgrades to the cockpit Flight Management System (FMS) to C-12V standards.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 (N8739L) taxiing for departure as SWA2609 for Oakland.

SWA2609 departing on 10L for Oakland.

Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-402 Q400 (N430QX) departing on 10L as QXE2278 for Seattle/Tacoma.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A220-100 (N103DU) departing on 10L as DAL1600 for Seattle/Tacoma.

Gulfstream G280 (N280WC) taxiing for departure to Boise.

Air Transport International - ATI Boeing 767-223/BDSF (N255CM) clearing the active after arriving on 10R as ATN2490 from Los Angeles/Ontario. My first time seeing the new ATI livery!

I last saw this airframe about this time four years ago, and it was doing exactly what it's doing today by providing UPS with extra capacity.

This airframe is also the first in ATI's fleet to sport the company's new livery, which was unveiled in early-2021.

Horizon Air (d/b/a Alaska Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-402 Q400 (N421QX) in the retro livery taxiing for departure as QXE2104 for Reno/Tahoe.

American Airlines Boeing 737-823 (N929NN) airborne off of 10R as AAL1848 for Chicago O'Hare. This airframe definitely could use a new paint job if all that speed tape above the overwing exits are any indication.

FedEx Express Boeing 767-300F (N280FE) airborne off of 10R as FDX3401 for Indianapolis.

Oregon Air National Guard McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle (84-0031) of the 142nd Wing, 123rd Fighter Squadron taxiing out for departure for a sortie. Glad to catch lead bird, as denoted by the painted "Redhawks" logo!

Oregon Air National Guard McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle (85-0100) of the 142nd Wing, 123rd Fighter Squadron taxiing out for departure for a sortie.

United Parcel Service - UPS Airlines Boeing 757-24A/PF (N447UP) taxiing to the cargo ramp after arriving on 10R as UPS2487 from Newark.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-932/ER (N903DN) arriving on 10R as DAL1369 from Salt Lake City. On board is my sister and her cat!

DAL1369 taxiing to the gate.

84-0031 airborne off of 10R in afterburner!

85-0100 airborne off of 10R in afterburner!

95-00095 taxiing back out for departure JFTB Los Alamitos.

Airframe was first delivered to the Air Force as 95-0095 before getting transferred to the Army.

Clearly, this round-trip is a cross-country training flight.

The Army uses the C-12 Huron for non-combat and administrative support roles (in other words, light unarmed aircraft which cannot operate from forward positions). The Huron was introduced to Army service in the late 80s and early 90s.

95-00095 departing on 10L for JFTB Los Alamitos.

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a American Eagle) Embraer ERJ-170-200LR E-175LR (N513SY) departing on 10L as SKW3284 for Los Angeles.

United Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N488UA) taxiing to the gate after arriving on 10R as UAL1942 from San Francisco.