Tag Archives: jet

Spanish Fake Canopies

When the Canadian Hornets first came into service, they introduced the fake canopy on the underside of the front fuselage. This was a painted outline of the canopy. The idea was that, on the heat of a dogfight, the opposing pilot might be confused about the orientation of the jet and think it was coming towards him rather than away as a result of seeing this canopy.

The US Hornets never had this on the fleet jets but it appears that the Spanish Air Force has adopted it for theirs (although not all of the jets are so painted). I heard a rumor that the Canadians have some rights on this and other users have to pay for it but I have no idea whether there is any truth to this or not. However, their jets certainly do have the canopies painted on the fuselage.

Aeromexico 787

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A little trip back to an earlier photo trip for this one. Aeromexico have lots of flights to the US but their LAX flight is obviously busy enough to justify a bigger jet. That is the 787. I got to see their 787 during my visit including some great views from the helicopter that we shot from over the airport. Above is a good angle to shoot the 787 from. The wing planform is pretty distinctive and so looking down you can see that most clearly.

Some Janet Airline Activity

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Any time at McCarran is likely to include some Janets. The use of the 737s to transport staff to the various locations in Nevada at which spooky things happen is well established and you can see the schedule online if you want. They have moved on from 737-200s to 737-600s but the service is much the same. They may be 737s but the spooky nature of the operations makes them more interesting than the average airline.

Another Go at 777-300ER Rotations

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Getting repetitive here. My never ending quest to capture and demonstrate the unusual gear articulation of the Boeing 777-300ER gets another outing. Similar animation of some stills as before. This time the light was good and the distortion was limited so here we go again. I won’t bother with the technique aspects this time. Instead, here is the animation with the rotation about the rear axle pretty easy to see.

Old Spirit Colors and the Brief Livery

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Changing the colors of an airline is usually something that happens infrequently. It always gets a lot of comment when it happens but brand continuity is often a big deal. This is where Spirit is different. They flew for a long time in their gray scheme that had a digital block pattern going on. They changed to have something that was far brighter with a white fuselage and a blue fin with some color accents. When I saw a yellow jet at Oakland, I thought it must be some special livery. It turns out that it wasn’t and that this was their new “new” scheme. I’m not sure what the problem was with the previous one but obviously it didn’t last. I wonder whether they even had time to repaint the fleet?

Qantas Team Australia

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Qantas comes into SFO most days. They bring a 747-400ER in and, while most of the, are on the standard colors, I happened to see one that has special colors. I assume it is related to some sporting association but I don’t know what team it is. However, they have Team Australia markings on the side along with some graphics of a boxing kangaroo. It arrived early so the light was harsh but it was cool to see. Interestingly, when it was further out on the approach, the sun was reflecting off the graphics so they were impossible to see.

At Last a Lineage

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Embraer is a company that has made a phenomenal transformation in the last decade or so. From being a small, state owned company that met local needs, it became a power in the regional aircraft sector. Once they had become established there, they took a step into the corporate aircraft sector. They started out by making corporate versions of their regional jets but now they are designing specific jets with the Phenom and Legacy types being hugely successful.

One of the regional jet conversions was the Lineage. Based on the E195 jet, the Lineage provides a large fuselage but doesn’t provide the extreme range of other large cabin jets. However, many customers do not go that far and don’t need the extreme range. (This doesn’t stop a lot of Gulfstream and Global customers of course!). It has been reasonably successful but not a big seller and I had not seen one until recently. I was at Las Vegas when this example took off. Good to finally see one.

Weapons School F-35s

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The local Nellis traffic gets a bit restricted by the exercise traffic when Red Flag is underway. Get a mission in during the morning or wait for the gap between the afternoon and the evening evolutions to get airborne. For those of us outside, they provide some additional aircraft to shoot. They may also give some variety in types (although given how few types there are these days, not a lot). Before the F-35 becomes ubiquitous in service and replaces the multiple F-16 units that currently participate, it is something a bit different.

The Weapons School has a bunch of F-35A jets now. The first ones to arrive at Nellis were OT jets for operational test and evaluation. Now the Weapons School is using them to develop tactics and employment. The lines of the jets are a bit different from the Marine Corp F-35Bs that I shot at a previous exercise. Without the lift fan, the back of the airframe is smoother while the canopy is blended into the spine in a different way that enhances visibility and fits with the different profile. The jets were pretty active while I was there so I managed to get a few shots. I had seen them during previous visits but, when on base we had been barred from shooting them and, while off base, I had always managed to be in the wrong place to get them. While I am currently pleased to have got some shots, I will soon be used to seeing them around all over the place.

Late Gear Down for FedEx

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Oakland is a big hub for FedEx and they have a lot of aircraft movements through the airport on a normal day. While its use in passenger service is pretty much done, the MD-11 is still a regular on the freight circuit and FedEx is by far the largest operator. When walking along the shore in Hayward, I saw a couple of MD-11s come in. Normally, the jets are configured for landing by the time they come over you in Hayward. However, one MD-11 seemed to be coming in with a little more urgency. As it approached me, it had flaps deployed but no gear. Then, as it came over, the gear started to travel. There is a reasonable distance to go to the airport so I am not suggesting that the approach was not stabilized at the right time but it was a little late.

100th Anniversary Boeing by Alaska

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Alaska Airlines makes a big deal about being an “All Boeing” airline (which I assume does not count the Horizon Q400s and the Skywest Embraers). With Boeing celebrating their 100^th anniversary, Alaska put some special markings on one of their jets. I was wondering where this jet was operating so I could shoot it but I lost track of it for a while. Then, imagine my surprise when it happened to be at SFO when I was there for something else. It lined up for departure early in the day when the light was best. Thanks Alaska!