Category Archives: civil

Sukhoi SSJ100

Russian airliner development has not been a terribly successful area for the last couple of decades. While Tupolev produced a huge number of 134 and 154 jets, by the time the 80s and 90s came around, things had got far less productive. The Ilyushin 86 and 96 were not successes and the TU204 has struggled throughout its time in production despite various efforts at upgrading it. Sukhoi made an effort to break this cycle by partnering with Alenia to create the Sukhoi Superjet.

This 90-100 seat jet makes use of western systems and powerplants co-developed with SNECMA of France to try and come up with a modern technology airliner. The Alenia tie in is intended to provide a support network that will appeal to western airlines while having a production cost base the delivers a plane at a price that is hard to beat. The result has not been stellar. Western customers have been hard to come by. Interjet in Mexico is the only current operator and it is happy by all accounts. VLM has discussed taking the planes but apparently the delivery schedules are proving problematic. Far east campaigns were more promising but the crash of an aircraft on a demonstration flight in Indonesia killing a lot of customers and officials has tainted the reputation. Even in Russia things have been tricky with customers returning aircraft due to poor performance.

Having a problem with deliveries is an ongoing issue and the number of aircraft that have come out of the plant is well below the projections Sukhoi originally gave. I have only seen one example so far. This one made a brief appearance at the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford a few years back when I was there. Interjet flies theirs to the US but not anywhere near me at the moment. Hopefully that will change soon because I would like to see more of this jet.

I Guess Humid Days Are Useful

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If you want to get some nice vapor from an aircraft, start with a good, humid day. The hours after a storm are perfect since there is plenty of moisture in the air and the ground is wet meaning it will keep feeding the moisture for a while. Now you just need a big jet to climb out at high power settings. Enter an ANA 777-300ER stage left.

The engines were filling with inlet vapor as the beast hauled itself into the sky and the tip vortices were also doing their bit to pull the water from the air. The fact is was late afternoon so the sun was in a good position too meant that the combination was pretty ideal. We got a few like this for a while but eventually the humidity levels dropped and things returned to normal. Still, it was good for a while and there were other benefits to come.

Air to Air With Airliners (Well, Sort Of)

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My regular trips across the country often result in seeing aircraft out of the window as they cross our path or head in the opposite direction. I have seen plenty of jets in relatively close proximity but, with the speed differential being high, they are usually gone without a chance to grab a camera. Keeping it to hand for the entire flight is a little inconvenient. However, I have been working on an alternative plan.

Southwest provides in flight wifi and I get it for free as a result of the amount of flying I do with them. I log on to the wifi and open up Flightradar24 on my iPad. I can see where we are and I can see where other planes are too. The number of ADS-B equipped planes has gone up substantially in the last couple of years so accurate tracks are now common. Flightradar is usually pretty close to real time. I have learned, though, that the speed of the net connection on the plane is a big lethargic and the locations on the app while airborne have a bit of lag compared to the real situation.

By compensating for this, I have been able to predict a few encounters with other jets. Of course, they are never as close when you plan for it as when you are caught out but they were still pretty close. Shooting through an airliner window is not ideal but I managed to get a few shots all the same. Does this count as my first airliner a2a sortie?

When a Storm is Your Friend

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Usually when you head out to shoot planes you are hoping for some nice weather. Being out on a sunny day with planes to shoot is not a bad plan. If it is looking like crummy weather, you will have a good reason for thinking things will not go so well. However, there are times when it can work out. (I should point out that crap weather is more likely to be a bust than a success but it can work out sometimes.)

The perfect combination is the storm that passes through quickly but is isolated. As it moves through the weather may be harsh but, once it has passed by, you have the hope that the sun will come out again while there are still evil black clouds in the background. So was the case at O’Hare not long ago. The storm was really strong and the downpour was biblical in proportions. As it migrated north, the sun popped out and we got a combination of light and background that you can’t turn down. Some of the earliest arrivals got the best combination. The clouds soon moved off enough that the effect was reduced and then was gone. However, for a short span, we could get some great shots.

Is There a Plane in There?

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Sometimes you find yourself right in the middle of a storm of epic proportions. I was at O’Hare getting a few shots of the aircraft operating on the southerly runways. I later found out this spot is one that the local businesses do not like you using so I won’t be heading back here again. At the time, I had no idea that was the case and no one come out while I was there although the storm might have been a factor!

A 747 freighter was lining up to depart and I was ready to get some shots just as the rain arrived. It absolutely hammered down. I got very wet very quickly and, since I was now already wet, I figured I would try and get a shot anyway. This is the result. Somewhere in that murk was a 747 – I think!

XL A330

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I may sometimes see an airline I have not seen before but occasionally I will see one I have never even heard of before. XL is a French airline that is running in to SFO with A330s. I saw it was coming online but was not aware of them before that point. The heat haze was a bit of a problem but I got a shot of something new for me and that made it cool. Hopefully I will get some shots that I am a bit happier with in due course but this is good for a starter.

Lufthansa A340

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My quest for a Virgin Atlantic A340 had an unintended side benefit. It turns out that Lufthansa also run an A340-600 in to SFO around the same time of day as Virgin Atlantic. While the Virgin jet was on final, the Lufthansa jet was coming over the top before turning in for approach. Why not hang around for a few more minutes and get another 340? Lufthansa are not getting rid of them so quickly but they won’t be around forever so I might as well make the most of the opportunity.

Farewell to the 58

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CHI Aviation recently said goodbye to one of their fleets. They posted online a couple of videos of three Sikorsky S-58Ts carrying out a flyby of their Howell MI headquarters before departing. Their fleet covers many types and a lot of airframes and I guess the 58s no longer fulfill a role for them. Consequently, they have gone.

I visited Howell a few years back as part of another project I was working on. While I was there, I got a few pictures of the 58s that they had in the hangar at the time. Here are a few of those shots.

Midway Traffic

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I have put together a number of posts about fun things I saw at Midway on a recent visit. There were others but they didn’t warrant their own posts. Instead, here is a collection of the rest.

In’n’Out at LAX

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If you are going to shoot at LAX, one spot that is worth a visit, even for a short while is the In’n’Out Burger. Just north of the runways, the approach comes across the street just beside a small park and you can sit and watch the planes on their last moments of the approach. I ended up there when I had a few minutes to spare before meeting a colleague. The sun was heading down and the marine layer was already blocking out the best of the light so it wasn’t the perfect time to take shots. However, who cares? I had some time and I wanted to see what was coming in.

You get a lot of similar shots in this location. Trying to find something different is a little limited but you can still have a go. The standard approach shot is the obvious one. You can go tight and get details on the planes. You can go wide and get something that shows the area and how close the planes are. Sadly, this one never really shares the feeling you get there since it makes the planes seem a lot further away than they feel in person.

You can also get the shot through the landing lights as they get close to touchdown. There is a lot of crap in the way for this but you can still play with it. No-one seems bothered if you are taking shots here since it is so popular. Years ago, I had a cop stop and talk to me but he was only interested in comparing notes on lenses. You can wander across the street and further down to get head on shots if you like too. I have done this in the past. On this occasion, it was a quick visit so no time to go exploring.