Gallery Update: A Dark Morning at PDX

I am pretty much kicking myself now... I had to drive up to PDX this morning so my sister could catch her flight back to Utah. After dropping her off, of course I would take some time to go planespotting at my usual place. Unfortunately, it was still dark outside so I wasn't able to photograph half of what I saw, which was frustrating because there was some really good air traffic activities. Here's the photo gallery link:

Portland (PDX) 10

What's even more frustrating about this spotting trip was that it was cloudy weather (typical Oregon...). Even worse, the weather really screwed up my lighting. And here's where I'm kicking myself: After coming home, I read the manual on what settings my camera has and lo and behold, there WAS a setting I could have switched to in order to compensate for the weather lighting conditions. Wish I knew about that earlier... Anyways, my photos turned out okay after tinkering with them in Picasa. Here's a preview of some things that were my highlights:

Last time I photographed the Canadians, they were still branded as Air Canada Jazz. Now this De Havilland Dash 8 DHC-8-301 (C-GTAG) is in the Air Canada Express (Jazz Air) livery.

Though a common sight and livery here at PDX, this Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-490 (N788AS), being a 400-series is one of the older 737s in the fleet (It entered service with Alaska in 1997). These older versions of the "baby Boeing" aren't going to be around much longer...

Not really a whole lot of CRJs in Alaska Airlines colors... This Canadair CL-600-2C10 CRJ-700 (N217AG) is operated by SkyWest Airlines and is mainly utilized on some of Alaska's West Coast routes where it is not feasible to operate with Horizon's Bombardier Q400s or Alaska's Boeing 737s. SkyWest purchased N217AG from Horizon Air (ex-N609QX) when they retired their CRJs and went to an all-Q400 fleet. This aircraft pictured here is seen initiating a go-around for some unknown reason.

I finally photographed a McDonnell Douglas MD-11! Operated as an MD-11F (freighter) by FedEx Express. Unfortunately, this is one of the photos of mine that got affected by the poor lighting so I can't identify it through the aircraft tail-number. It's such a shame on what's become of the once mighty tri-jet. In an era where twin-jets can do a lot more efficiently, the tri-jets are becoming obsolete. 

Here's another new sight for me: UPS Airlines Boeing 767-34AF/ER flaring over the runway. Again, I'm having a hard time identifying the tail number from the multiple photos I've taken of this aircraft. UPS recently started fitting all their 767 freighters with winglets.

Gallery Update: Tillamook Air Museum

I don't know why I haven't went until now... I've been living in Oregon for about six years and I never went to to the Tillamook Air Museum in the northwest part of Oregon until today when I jumped at the opportunity being off work for the Thanksgiving holiday and all... The museum is inside a giant World War II-era airship hangar and yes, they used to house blimps inside them; up to nine to be exact! You might have seen them in pictures but you have to see these airship hangars in person because THEY'RE HUGE! I'm glad I took this opportunity to go and visit because the museum announced in April of this year that it was planning to move a portion of it's collection (the Erickson Collection, which is most of the airworthy World War II-era planes) to Madras, Oregon sometime before the end of its lease on the blimp hangar, which is until January 2016. Reasons being that the large wooden hangar is need of costly repairs and Madras, which is in a drier climate is actually better for the preservation of the aircraft the museum owns and displays. That in turn has caused the historic blimp hangar to have an uncertain future. Here's the link to the photo gallery:

Tillamook Air Museum

The one unfortunate part about this visit is that not all the museum's aircraft were present, including their P-51 Mustang, a Focke-Wulf Fw-190, P-38 Lightning, and SBD Dauntless. Here's a photo preview:

Like I said, HUGE! Also pictured is the only surviving Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy, which is pretty much the centerpiece of the museum. This historically significant airship hangar, officially known as Hangar B is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As mentioned the deteriorating hangar is in need of repairs and faces an insecure future.

Here's the Mini Guppy. It was conceived from parts off of a Boeing 377/C-97 Stratofreighters such as the cockpit, wings, and tail-section while the main body (the cargo area) was installed by Aero Spacelines, Inc.

Interior view of the Mini Guppy cargo section.

A unique aircraft is the "flying W", the Bellanca Aircruiser. This airframe is one of only two left in existence; it is also the only airworthy example in the world.

The only airworthy example of the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon), nicknamed "Oscar" by the allies in World War II can be found at the Tillamook Air Museum. This airframe was recovered from the Kuril Islands north of Japan.

Gallery Update: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum Revisit

Five years ago, I got into aviation photography and planespotting and started my aviation photo collection with a visit to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Last weekend, I figured it was about time for a revisit and I'm glad I went! Since my first visit to the museum five years ago, a lot of new aircraft have been added to the exhibit and this time, I had a better camera to take pictures with! And I am generally pleased with my photo results.

Follow this link to see my album from the museum:

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum (Revisit)

I sure wished the weather was better for the sake of lighting, but that's Oregon for you... Like I mentioned earlier new things have been added to the exhibit since I first went five years ago. Back then, the space exhibit was open but was really bare and not much to offer. And of course some things have been rearranged to make room for the latest additions. Additions to the museum complex continues... Here are some of the highlights from my recent visit:

The hardest thing to do is getting the entire airframe of the Hughes H-4 Hercules (a.k.a. the Spruce Goose) in the shot. This time around, I was more successful in doing so, minus some of the wingspan.

This is actually a reproduction replica Focke-Wulf Fw-190 (known as 'Red 13') built by Legend Flyers, based in Everett, Washington.

Also built as a reproduction replica by Legend Flyers (from the Me-262 Project) is 'Yellow 5', a Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe (Swallow). The museum now has the largest aircraft (Hughes H-4) designed during World War II, as well as the fastest aircraft designed during World War II (Messerschmitt Me-262).

At first, I thought this was an F-111 Aardvark when I saw the variable-sweep wing until I noticed the 'Red 339' on the fuselage and it only had one engine, when I realized it was actually a Mikoyan-Gurevich  MiG-23 'Flogger'. Apparently, this is one of the latest additions to the museum.

Something I don't want to EVER see in my rear view mirror is the Northrop Grumman RQ-8A Fire Scout.

This is a mock-up of the Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk which the museum received from the manufacturer. This mock-up was originally used  by Northrop Grumman to show off the design of the Global Hawk to the United States Air Force. Ironically, it ended up on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio before they ended up receiving an actual RQ-4 from the Air Force and returned the mock-up to Northrop Grumman, who in turn donated it to Evergreen.

A unique design in general aviation has to be the Beechcraft 2000A Starship (N74TD/cn NC-27). Such a shame that it wasn't a commercial success due to a lousy economy in the late 1980s. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful aircraft and was for 1980s-standards, ahead of its time.

McDonnell Douglas VC-9C (DC-9-32) once used for executive transport by the United States Air Force. This is 73-1683, one of three used by the USAF from 1976 until recent retirement. Occasionally used by the Vice Presidents with 'Air Force Two' callsign.

Another aircraft that wasn't here five years ago is this PBY Catalina nicknamed 'Killer Cat'. This airframe is actually a Canadaian-built Canso A, acquired by the museum in August 2011.

Unrelated to my visit to the museum is the recent news of Evergreen International Airlines announcement of shutting down at the end of this month. Evergreen operates a fleet of Boeing 747s for their cargo operations.There's not a lot of places in the world where you get to see two Boeing 747s at one museum complex, unless you're at Evergreen!

N482EV, a Boeing 747-212B(SF) sits engine-less in front of the museum, having once served Evergreen International Airlines.

N481EV, a Boeing 747-132(SF) stands as part of the main attraction of the Evergreen Wings & Wave Waterpark.