Tag Archives: airliner

More Tucson Exploration

While the majority of my time at Tucson International was spent chasing F-16s, there is a lot more going on at the airfield. This part of the world is popular for aircraft storage as a result of the dry conditions that don’t encourage corrosion. The reason that Davis Monthan AFB has the boneyard is because of this and Marana is just up the road and also stores lots of aircraft.

Tucson seems to have a few things stored but there seems to be more of a focus on reworking aircraft that have left an operator or breaking down planes for parts. Over on the southwest side of the field seem to be a bunch of planes so I drove over to take a look and see what I could find.

There are quite a few aircraft in various states over there. A bunch of ex-Southwest 737s seemed to be going through the process of rework. Whether they are going back to the fleet or heading off to pastures new I don’t know. I also came across the fuselage of an MD-80 which appears to have been part of a U2 tour prior to its demise. I particularly liked an L-1011 TriStar that was on one ramp. I assumed it was disused but it does appear to be in better shape than something that hasn’t flown for a long time. Who knows. They are a rare beast these days so let’s hope it is still flying occasionally.

Trying the New Spot in Better Light

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I recently posted about a trip to O’Hare in some crummy weather when I didn’t end up with many good results. One of the better aspects of that visit was that I found a nice location directly under the approach to 14R. This provides some good head on shot opportunities. Head on shots are kind of fun I find. They are a different perspective to normal and mix things up a bit. You can’t do it all of the time or it is dull but it does make for some more dynamic shots that the standard side on pass.

I waited to see when the right combination of wind and weather would occur so that I could get the morning light just off the nose when this runway was in use again. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait particularly long. Things lined up quite nicely so I popped out to have a look. My desire to stay in bed meant that I was about five minutes too late to catch the ANA arrival from Japan but others were on the way so it was a nuisance but not a huge loss. However, en route I did take a look at the south side of the field for other possible shooting locations.

I had shot a few years back at a spot that provided a great view of aircraft departing off 22L, many of which turn quite early after departure giving some topside views. This spot ended up having a warehouse facility built on it which was a nuisance. however, further development in the area has provided some spots to park so I checked out one of these and it seems a reasonable option. Then I headed to the approach.

In good light it seems to work really well. I experimented with wide angle shots as they pass overhead as well as long lens shots that crop tightly in on the aircraft as it gets closer. Both seem to have some merit. I didn’t stay too long as there was a gap in the larger arrivals so I headed back to my other new spot to try a few departure shots. Then it was back to the approach for the last of the big jets and then home. Not a bad morning really and with the day only just started, plenty of time to do other things.

Trying and Failing with Bad Weather

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Every once in a while you have what you think will be a good idea and it turns out you were wrong. This is the story of one such event. A weekend morning was looming and I felt like getting out and shooting. The flights from Asia are morning arrivals at O’Hare and so are not often something I shoot. A few of them appear and that is it. Back to the RJs and 737s so I often don’t bother. Also, the normal arrival pattern is not great for morning light.

This time they were coming in from the west so heading in to the light. However, the weather forecast was a bit crummy. The traditional thought is not to go since dull skies and mainly white planes are not a great combination. However, two things made me think otherwise. One was the possibility of the sun breaking through and illuminating the aircraft against a dark sky background. That can look good. The other was the possibility of a lot of vapor in the air making for some neat vortex effects and vapor clouds over the wings.

Consequently, I decided to give it a go. I headed out having scoped out a potential location to shoot from that would give me a view of the arriving aircraft. I have not shot over that side much before so a good location is not something I had. There is a lot of industrial space over there so buildings can obscure the view and the ever present power lines are another consideration. As it turned out, the spot I chose turned out to be quite reasonable.

That is where the rest of the plan starts to go wrong. The sun did make a brief appearance. The opening shot is probably the only one that really achieved what I was hoping for. After that, the cloud cover thickened up and then the skies were pretty unhelpful. My second hope for the moisture to give some good effects proved to be a little too optimistic. There certainly were plenty of trailing vortices and occasional puffs of cloud above the wings but the gray background did not help make them stand out.

I decided that I was probably done for the day and started to drive south on my way home. I then happened upon a few cars parked up at a spot directly under the approach to 14R. I thought this might be worth a look and it certainly made for some good angles. I grabbed a few shots before heading home but this was a spot I decided was worth a further visit. More to come on that…

Remember Northwest?

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I have been going back through a lot of the archive recently with the goal of culling a lot of the crap images that have no hope of ever seeing the light of day again and are, therefore, just filling up drive space. As I do this, it reminds me of a few things I haven’t seen for a while and some I won’t see again. Northwest Airlines is one of these!

From time to time I have done a lot of shooting of airliners. I won’t profess to them being my favorite thing to shoot – fast jets and helicopters are probably my favorites – but when it comes down to it, I love all things that fly and airliners do just that. Besides, they are sometimes easier to come by! One of the features of shooting airliners is that most of what you see does not cause you any surprise. There may be something that is rare or unusual wherever you are and that can be quite exciting but usually what you see is pretty much what you would expect to see.

It is only at a later stage, when whatever you saw is no longer around, that you can get interested in something that was previously pretty unexpected. Such is the case with Northwest. Before the merger with Delta, Northwest had a large fleet that covered the country. I didn’t fly with them much but I would frequently see their aircraft. I would take pictures of them but probably not get too excited. I even spent one day at Detroit where they were most of what I saw.

Now, Northwest is no more and its fleet has been repainted in Delta’s colors. To find a picture of a Northwest jet as I go through the archives suddenly takes on a level of interest that it hadn’t at the the time it was taken. Maybe it will have the same effect for you so here are a few samples of something no longer to be seen.

Some Special Schemes

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One of the things I did quite well with while around LAX was getting jets with special color schemes. Plenty of airlines are painting aircraft in something other than the normal house colors. This can be a livery that is part of their alliance, like OneWorld or Skyteam, or it can be something special of their own. It might also be a tie up with another organization.

Whatever the reason, it certainly makes things more interesting to get something that is a little different to break up the monotony of the regular fleets. Here are a selection of some of the different colors that were on display while I was out west. The Alaska scheme is not too apparent since the shot is head on but you can see it if you look. Others are more obvious. Hope they are worth a look.

Easterlies – Good for Me, Bad for Them!

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One of the surprising benefits of the bad weather system that passed through Los Angeles while I was there was that it made for some different operations at LAX. LAX has four runways in two pairs, one north of the terminal complex and one south. The prevailing wind is from the ocean so everything tends to operate with arrivals and departures in a westerly direction.

The airport is pretty much designed to operate this was – more so since the construction of the extension to the international terminal has resulted in the cross taxiway between the north and south areas being closed off. Moving aircraft from the north to the south and vice versa seems to be a bit of a hassle and, for some reason, if the traffic is operating in the opposite direction, it seems to be just that bit harder.

When the weather turned bad, operations started out in the morning with some westerly movements and some easterlies. Some of these were simultaneous with arrivals heading towards departures coming out from the other side of the field – not unsafe but certainly a little disconcerting I imagine. As the wind strengthened, the incoming flights were redirected and the airfield went to a full easterly operation.

While this may have made the ground handling a little more tricky, it was certainly good from my point of view. Relocating to Imperial Hill, I now had a lot of arrivals coming in on the runway closest to me and touching down pretty much directly in front of me. (If it weren’t for the number of power cables around this area blocking the touchdown zones, this would have been perfect.)

This also meant a lot of departing traffic came our way as well so it was a chance to see things in a slightly different way to that which is normally the case at LAX. This combined with a few pleasant surprises. One was the arrival of a Qantas A380 on our runway. From what I understand, they normally operate from the north side only so this was quite a bonus and there is a shot of it in the post here.

Also, we had a DHL DC-8 show up. Not only did it land in front of us but it turned around pretty quickly and soon taxied past us and lined up to depart. Not a bad piece of luck. The light was a little erratic – it was bad weather that caused all of this – but it was still an interesting opportunity.

What Else Does LAX Offer?

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Aside from chasing a few A380s, LAX has the advantage of a mix of aircraft from all over the place. It also has a good selection of spots from which to take pictures. While I was there (at various times over a few days) I managed to get a few different shots. It is a lot easier to do this today than it was in the past.

Websites that list flight movements combined with a smart phone allow you to be a lot more aware of what is coming and what is due out. No longer do you wonder whether you can move on only to see something amazing arrive just as you drive down the street. The data isn’t always accurate but it does make things a lot easier.

At this time of year, one of the favored spots by the In’n’Out burger joint is not ideal for the sun. However, walking a short distance down the street can overcome this. It also gives you a vantage point from almost directly underneath the aircraft (or right under them if you prefer) from which you can get something a little different. I tried a bunch of these out while I was there.

Nothing much else to say about the location so here are some of the shots to enjoy.

Bye Bye JAL 747s

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When I was a small kid, I had a book called Pictorial History of Aircraft. This was the 1970s and so the Boeing 747 was still a relatively new kid on the block. It certainly wasn’t the times of the 400 series being knocked out at the rate of one a week. The pictures in this book showed Japan Air Lines (JAL) as an operator of both passenger and freighter versions of the jet.

As time passed by, JAL grew its fleet substantially and was for a long time the largest operator of 747s in the world. Therefore, it is hard to come to terms with the fact that the poor financial state of JAL combined with the introduction of more efficient big twins has meant the 747 has gone from JAL’s passenger operations. It is odd to know I won’t see one again (except perhaps at a storage yard). Every once in a while the airline industry has a big change – the end of Pan Am is one that springs to mind. For me, this is one of those moments.

Anyway, they are gone but I have a few shots of them to remember them by. I wonder what will be next to go?!

Out of Practice

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A weekend day crops up with some good light, a relatively clear schedule and a feeling that it has been a while since I was shooting some aircraft. If it flies, I am interesting in taking its picture. If pressed, military and rotary are the favorites for me but I am not a snob and I am more than happy to take pictures of airliners if the opportunity presents itself.

O’Hare is not far away and Midway is even closer. Both are busy fields but they are not a source of much diversity when it comes to traffic. Midway is Southwest heaven but not a lot else (although there are a fair few business jets every once in a while). O’Hare is fine if you want a lot of United Express and American Eagle regional jets. However, there is a period in the middle of the afternoon when a lot of the European traffic comes in and that is what tempted me to venture up that way.

It was also an opportunity to make use of some technology. I have had times in the past when I finally gave up after a steady stream on the same old stuff, only to head down the road as something very interesting shows up. Now, with Flightaware on my phone and LiveATC’s app streaming, it is a lot easier to be aware of what is due in and when. Makes for a more relaxing time!

The afternoon arrivals also coincide with the sun coming round to the right location so all looked good, as long as the weather was prepared to hold. No tension being built here – the weather stayed great!

I showed up ahead of the main arrival times although I was just a little too late to catch and AeroUnion A300. It left while I was there but the perimeter fence means nothing useful to show of that. However, we did have a great selection of stuff to get my first big afternoon of shooting in. There is also the normal stream of the local stuff and I didn’t ignore that completely but usually only to try something I wouldn’t go for on a one off arrival.

We had KLM, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Turkish Airlines and Royal Jordanian amongst others. The Turkish jet had a large Manchester United logo on the side but I didn’t hold that against them. Royal Jordanian really do have a very attractive livery. Only Iberia let us down by arriving on the center runway rather than the southern where we were. Ho hum!

All in all a great day out and a nice way to spend some time in the sun – outdoors after the generally dull winter we have had so far. As if to round that point out, that evening it snowed a bit again! What is going on?