Gallery Update: ATR-72 Sighting in McMinnville!

I got another prime plane-spotting opportunity while I was out and about flying today during my little stopover in McMinnville on some personal business! About a year and a half ago, I stopped in McMinnville because I had and jumped at the opportunity to photograph an ATR-42 turboprop in the 'Ohana by Hawaiian livery when it was en route further inland from the islands during its ferry flight stopover. As it turns out, McMinnville is an ideal stopover point for ferry flights between the Hawaiian islands and points within the mainland because it's where ferry tanks needed for the long transoceanic hops can be installed or uninstalled.

And today, I got to photograph yet another ATR turboprop in the 'Ohana by Hawaiian livery. But this time, it was the longer ATR-72, one of three used for Hawaiian Airline's dedicated inter-island freighter routes! Of course I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to photograph this rare sight here on the mainland, not to mention this being my first time seeing and photographing an ATR-72!

McMinnville (MMV) 3

Preview:

Piper PA-24-140 Cherokee Cruiser (N1636H), the plane I flew in on!

Diamond DA-40 Diamond Star (N97111) parked on the ramp. Seeing one of these gives me nostalgia from my days in Utah!

Cessna 172C Skyhawk (N2007Y) parked on the ramp.

Trimble Aviation Piper PA-23-250 Aztec (N147EC) parked on the ramp. This plane was part of the reason why I flew up to McMinnville, so I could inquire about possibly doing my multi-engine training in this twin!

Empire Airlines (d/b/a 'Ohana by Hawaiian) ATR-72-201(F) (N811HC) parked on the ramp. Arrived yesterday from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where Empire Airlines is headquartered; clearly being ferried back to Hawaii to run Hawaiian Airlines' inter-island cargo routes and stopped in McMinnville for crew rest and installation of ferry tanks. My first time seeing an ATR-72!

Face-to-face with the ATR-72. Note the open cargo door.

A look into the cargo door while it's open. This airframe was previously a passenger configured ATR-72-201 with an extensive history flying for various European airlines before getting converted as a freighter. Between it's time in Europe and Hawaii, it even flew for a South African carrier under the DHL banner.

SOCATA TMB 900 (N900TW) parked on the ramp. 

One more side-view of the ATR-72. Developed as a stretched version of shorter ATR-42, the ATR-72 first flew in 1988 can seat anywhere from 72 to 78 passengers (compared to 40 to 52 passengers in the ATR-42). Both the 42 and 72 have seen continuous production since they were first developed.