Gallery Update: ATR-42 Sighting in McMinnville!

So is McMinnville like my go-to place to see rare and uncommon turboprop airliners here in the Pacific Northwest? Well, based on all the times I've done some spotting there every time I flew in has anything to say about it, then the answer is yes! For the third time, I flew myself up to McMinnville and chased down an 'Ohana by Hawaiian ATR turboprop that flew in the day before on a ferry flight from the islands to the mainland. This would be second time photographing one of Hawaiian's ATR-42s. In addition to the ATR-42, there were some firefighting helicopters flying around McMinnville as they got ready for the upcoming (and inevitable) wildfire season.

After flying back to Salem, I got a few quick shots from the ramp area as I got to see a pair of Piper Aztecs, which haven't been a common sight around here lately!

McMinnville (MMV) 5

Salem (SLE) 78

Preview:

Helicopter Transport Service Sikorsky CH-54B Tarhe (N718HT) working the pattern on 35. This frame is actually a former military version of the S-64B Skycrane formerly in U.S. Army service!

Cessna 140 (N1877V) arriving on 22 from Pacific City.

Empire Airlines (d/b/a 'Ohana by Hawaiian) ATR-42-500 (N804HC) parked on the ramp. Operated by Southern Cross Aviation for the ferry flight and arrived last night from Honolulu as SXA653. Scheduled to continue on with the same flight number tomorrow morning to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, where Empire Airlines has their main headquarters. Only my second time seeing an ATR-42 in passenger configuration! And this time, I caught the crew in the process of removing the ferry tanks.

Airframe first delivered to Czech Airlines (CSA) in May 2004 and withdrawn from use in October 2012. Acquired by Hawaiian Airline's 'Ohana operations in November 2012. This airframe was the second ATR to delivered to Hawaiian.

Aviat A-1B Husky (N422CC) parked on the ramp. I saw this float-equipped Husky in Salem just a little over a week ago and this is where it ended up!

Needless to say, this caught my eye rather quickly!

Aérospatiale AS-332L1 Super Puma (N830AC) arriving back after working with a scoop basket. Getting ready for fire season no doubt! Neat to see a European helicopter built by the likes of Aérospatiale, later Eurocopter, and now Airbus Helicopters!

Sadly, due to the ongoing repercussions from the pandemic along with the state of Hawaii's more-stricter (and perhaps a little over the top) restrictions in response, 'Ohana by Hawaiian operations have been suspended as of mid-January of this year, including cargo flights. This hurts a lot of residents in Lanai and Molokai, who used the service often.

Hopefully, as travel demand recovers and we finally but the pandemic behind us, Hawaiian will resume their turboprop flights. In the meantime, it seems prudent for the airline to send their planes in for maintenance while they're not doing much on the islands.

Piper PA-23-250 Aztec (N40454) taxiing for departure to Olympia. Arrived earlier this afternoon from Provo, Utah.

Piper PA-23-250 Aztec (N250PA) taxiing for departure to Olympia. Arrived earlier this afternoon from Provo, Utah.

Gallery Update: A "WTF" Spotting Moment in Salem!

So I went flying again today, and long-story-short, I've been having a bad day. After a long and rough work week, I was looking forward to finishing my commercial checkride, which was supposed to take place tomorrow. However, it's been postponed because my designated pilot examiner (DPE) got sick today. Even after going flying today to kind of get myself out of a slump, it was a bad day of flying as well because things didn't go as well as I hoped.

After getting back, I was refueling my plane when I had a "WTF moment" with regards to one of my more bizarre spotting opportunities, which came in the form of a Cessna Citation wearing one of the craziest, eye-catchingly ugliest liveries I've ever seen on a private jet! I think it be best to let the pictures do the talking...

Salem (SLE) 77

Preview:

Cessna 525 Citation CJ1+ (N680KH) taxiing in after arriving from Portland.

Seriously, when I saw this paintjob, I was thinking "WTF!" This livery reminds me of cotton candy. The color combination however, makes me want to gouge out my eyes! Seeing the Fiore logo on the tail indicates a brand of some sorts, but a quick Internet search yielded several different "Fiore" logos and companies for different things! However, a random search on Instagram revealed that this Fiore brand is for a California-based cannabis company; they even call this CJ1 the "Cookie Monster!" Like I said: "WTF?!"

Cessna 414 (N1668T) taxiing for departure to Eugene. Someone's clearly an Oregon Ducks fan!

N1668T departing on 34 for Eugene. Definitely one of the nicest Cessna 414s I've seen!

Gallery Update: Phenom 300 Sighting in Salem

After getting back from a local flight around the valley, I had an opportunity to photograph a departing Embraer Phenom 300 in a rather eye-catching livery. With return to normalcy still a bit stagnant even a year into this era of COVID, I'm just trying to fill my time with worthwhile spotting opportunities as time permits in addition to flight training.

Salem (SLE) 76

Preview:

Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300 (N6MG) taxiing for departure to Eugene.

N6MG departing on 34 for the quick hop down to Eugene.

Gallery Update: Wheels Up Cessna Citation Excel Sighting in Salem

Nothing too eventful today, but I figured getting a few quick decent ramp shot of a Cessna Citation Excel in the Wheels Up livery was worthwhile, since it was just sitting there.

Salem (SLE) 75

Preview:

Gama Aviation (d/b/a Wheels Up) Cessna 560XL Citation Excel (N509UP) parked on the ramp. Arrived earlier this afternoon as GAJ509 from Thermal, California.

Gallery Update: 737 MAX Sightings at PDX!

I haven't done a spotting trip up to PDX since December and I figured today would be a good day to rectify that!

The one bit of good news that occurred at the tail-end of a dismal year that is known as 2020 was the recertification and un-grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX family in certain parts of the world (including the U.S.!) following two high-profile crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia and the subsequent worldwide grounding of the type. The MAX has been grounded for over a year and half and the FAA cleared the type to fly on November 18, 2020, with European and Canadian regulators following suit in January 2021; the 20-month grounding was the longest ever for a U.S.-built airliner and suffered excessive scrutiny from the media, politics, and all throughout social media.

Since recertification, Boeing has begun delivering the MAX backlog they've had in storage. Current MAX owners such as Southwest, United, and American Airlines have all since resumed operations of their respective 737 MAX fleets. Alaska Airlines also recently received their first Boeing 737 MAX 9 as part of their transition back to an all-Boeing fleet, hence the reason for today's spotting trip!

Portland (PDX) 60

Preview:

United Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N465UA) airborne off 28R as UAL490 for Houston-Intercontinental.

UPS Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-11F (N251UP) parked on the ramp. Arrived early this morning from Louisville as UPS974 and is scheduled to return to its "Worldport" in Louisville around midnight tonight as UPS991.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990/ER (N468AS) arriving on 28L as ASA780 from Seattle/Tacoma.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 (N918AK) arriving on 28L as ASA1391 from Los Angeles. My first time seeing a MAX in the Alaska livery and my first time seeing the MAX 9 variant!

This frame is the third MAX built for Alaska Airlines.

United Airlines Boeing 737-924/ER (N37427) arriving on 28R as UAL464 from Denver.

Guardian Flight Learjet 45 (N145XL) taxiing to the FBO after arriving on 28R from Anchorage as LN145XL.

Dassault Falcon 50 (N420CL) arriving on 28R.

SkyWest Airlines (d/b/a Delta Connection) Embraer ERJ-170LL E-175SC (N264SY) airborne off 28R as SKW3841 for Seattle/Tacoma. This is the third "special configuration" E-175 delivered to SkyWest to operate on the behalf of Delta.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 (N8735L) taxiing out for departure as SWA6706 for Phoenix-Sky Harbor.

SWA6706 departing on 28R for Phoenix-Sky Harbor.

While Southwest did not waste time in working to get their MAXs back into service, the airline was the last U.S. air carrier to return the type to revenue service. In fact, Southwest only just resumed revenue service of their 737 MAXs just nine days prior!

This frame was delivered and then almost immediately grounded at the the start of the grounding crisis the MAX family suffered.

Needless to say, this frame went straight from the manufacturer to long-term storage in Victorville, California.

This airframe was also used for some "readiness flights" for the MAX fleet's return-to-service earlier this year. It was so gratifying to catch two 737 MAXs on a single spotting trip!

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 (N487WN) airborne off 28R as SWA3064 for Las Vegas.

United Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N470UA) taxiing for departure as UAL2240 for Denver.

Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-271N (N902NK) taxiing for departure as NKS671 for Las Vegas.

KD Aviation Dassault Falcon 2000 (N513KD) taxiing to the FBO after arriving on 28R from Dallas-Love.

NKS671 airborne off 28R for Las Vegas.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-832 (N381DN) in the SkyTeam livery taxiing out for departure as DAL1418 for Salt Lake City.

DAL1418 airborne off 28R for Salt Lake City.

Volaris Airbus A320-271N (N541VL) taxiing for departure as VOI957 for Guadalajara.

N918AK taxiing for departure as ASA1413 for Los Angeles.

ASA1413 departing on 28L for Los Angeles.

Alaska Airlines formally took delivery of their very-first MAX in January of this year and began revenue service of the type at the beginning of this month. As the airline takes on more 737 MAX 9s in the coming months and years, we can expect this to become a common sight here at PDX and throughout the carrier's route network.

Alaska Airlines' mainline division is striving to return to an all-Boeing fleet, and the 737 MAX is slated replace the Airbus A320-200 fleet they inherited from their merger with Virgin America.

In addition to the excitement of adding the MAX to their fleet, Alaska Airlines will officially join the OneWorld alliance at the end of this month!

Gallery Update: More Exciting Sightings at Salem

After getting back from a solo flight, I went flying again with a friend/co-worker as his safety pilot, flying in a type I've never flown before! Before going flying with him though, there were a few interesting sightings here in Salem that I just had to chase down, including an Army Chinook helicopter! After getting back from flying as a safety pilot, I had to get photos of the AG-5B that we flew in!

Salem (SLE) 74

Preview:

United States Army Boeing MH-47G Chinook (03-03734) parked on the ramp. Likely assigned to the famous "Night Stalkers" of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) (160th SOAR(A)).

Only my second time seeing the MH-47G.

Cessna 525B CitationJet CJ3 (C-FNFS) parked on the ramp. Quite unusual to see a Canadian-registered biz jet here in Salem!

03-03734 taxiing out for departure, most likely for Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where the 4th Battalion of the 160th SOAR(A) are based at.

Lancair 320 (N70337) arriving on 34.

Cessna 175 Skylark (N7100M) airborne off 34. This is the unique tailwheel conversion that was done by Kyle Bushman and Ragwood Refactory down in Creswell, Oregon.

03-03734 getting airborne making an intersection departure from 34.

N70337 taxiing to the hangars.

American General AG-5B Tiger (N1196J). This is the plane my friend took me flying in and I got to log time from the right seat as his safety pilot! I was excited to add a new type to my logbook!

Some sunset shots after we landed and stopped at the fuel pumps.

Face-to-face with the only "Tiger" I'm willing to confront!

American General Aircraft Corporation (AGAC) picked up where Grumman left off with the AA-5 series of aircraft (which was then manufactured by the likes of American Aviation, Grumman American, Gulfstream American, and Tiger Aircraft). Re-designated the AG-5B, itself full of design improvements from the earlier AA-5 models.

I was duly impressed with how well-maintained this Tiger was! Special thanks to my buddy Mason for the invite to got flying with him!