Tag Archives: photo

Skywest’s Own CRJs

Skywest provides feeder services for a number of airlines around the country. They do also operate under their own name for some routes though so you do occasionally come across their aircraft in their own colors rather than those of their customer airline. I have shot a number of the aircraft over the years and here are some of them. The interesting thing is that they rarely seem to be in the same colors. I don’t know whether this is because they have changed their colors a number of times or because they are leftovers from schemes they wore in other uses or from previous operators. Whatever the reason, there has been some variety.

I’m not sure what the long term prognosis is for the CRJs with Skywest. These jets are rapidly disappearing from service with various operators as larger jets with more seats are more affordable to operate. Skywest may have plans for them or may operate them on services that can justify the cost or maybe they will all disappear quickly and we will barely notice that they have gone.

Welcome Back from Hawaii

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Hawaiian Airlines are a regular feature of the Northern California aviation scene. Whether it is SFO or OAK, their jets are a regular feature. I was awaiting a movement coming in to Oakland when a Hawaiian A330 came over the top. Initially I wondered where it was going but it turns out that it was making a wide turn back in to Oakland. A short while later it showed up again on the approach. Annoyingly, it had passed the moon as it went over the top but I was too slow to catch it.

Evening Over the North of the Bay

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These shots come from a little while back. When you are doing an air to air session, there is a fair bit of spare time. Unless you head out and back in formation, you have the transit time to yourself sitting in e back of the camera ship. You can stare out of the open door and see what is drifting by. We were heading back to Sonoma and so I got a great view towards the north end of the bay. The light was dropping down as evening came in so the hills and the marshes looked really pretty.

A Quick Walk Around the Museum

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After Hobbo had finished his talk and was setting up for autographs, I took a quick wander around the main floor of the museum. Some exhibits were gone to make space for the presentation but there were still plenty of cars on show. Things have been rearranged since my previous visit which I wrote about here. I knew that time was tight for me and I would need to go but I did get a few shots of some of the cars before calling time and heading home.

Anyone Order Some Engines?

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Modern engines last a long time on the wing of an airliner but they do need to be changed. Older engines tend to need to be changed more often. Allegiant fly a bunch of MD-80s as part of their fleet and they use the older Pratt and Whitney JT-8D engines. I guess one of the planes was due for a change because, while I was at McCarran, this truck showed up on the ramp with a couple of engines on the trailer. I can’t say whether these were fresh engines about to be fitted or the ones that had come off due for overhaul but, judging by the direction he was heading, I am going to say that these were being delivered.

Early Morning Over the East Bay

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When flying to the east coast, the combination of flight time and time zone changes means that an early start is a good idea. My flight took off from Oakland just after the sun came up so the view across the east bay was one full of warm morning light and long shadows with the occasional scattered cloud or fog bank. It looked really cool. I was only shooting with my phone (although sometimes this is actually better since the small lens can fit between the distortion of the average airliner window) but you could still get a good idea of interesting variation in light that the hills get that early in the morning. The lakes scattered throughout the hills also would reflect dramatically at that time of day so it all looked rather appealing. There is something slightly ironic about seeing everything look so nice when you are leaving!

Ferraris

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The David Hobbs talk wasn’t the only thing going on at Blackhawk when I was there. Prior to the presentation, there had been a gathering of Ferraris and Alfa Romeos in the parking lot. I didn’t realize that this had been planned so I turned up for the opening hour of the museum and was surprised by the cars outside. I did spend a few minutes wandering around and checking out some of the Ferraris. As an 80s kid, I couldn’t help being attracted to the Testarossa. What a beast of a car. The others were cool too. Many of them look better but something about those side fins is cool. This one had mirrors on both sides. I always loved the large single mirror fit but I guess you don’t see many of those.

Just Not Quite the Right Spot

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As I was heading to the tower for my visit, I decided to check out a spot that I had read about for photography. The Airtrain Terminal 2 station has open ends that provide a view of the runways and taxiways. You can get a view of the operations which is quite good. However, you are looking out at each end. The middle of the view is obscured by the terminal buildings – at least for now until demolition takes them away to be replaced with something new. (Supposedly, the new building will include a viewing terrace!)

Unfortunately, some of the most interesting moments take place in the obscured area. Rotations for takeoff and touchdowns for landing can be just out of sight. This is unfortunate. Consequently, this is not a spot I shall try much but it does provide a slightly different view of things at SFO which is at least worth a try. Reverse operations were in effect so I might want to see how it is when things are operating the other way.

One More JetStar

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Considering how few JetStars there are around, they seem to make a disproportionate appearance on the blog. This one is another active example. My friend, Paul, was telling me how he had seen an example at McCarran on a previous visit. Just as he pointed to where it had been, a short distance away was the same jet. It was away from the fence which was helpful so I figured I should get a shot and add it to the archive. Not a great place to get good shots but better than nothing. Cheers mate!

The Sierras Finally Have a Lot of Snow

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Since moving to California, we have been in a drought. There has not been a huge amount of rain and, more importantly, the snowfalls over the Sierras have been very limited. Sometimes I have flown over the mountains and they have been pretty bare. Since the snow pack is a primary source of water for the reservoirs, this is a big deal. This winter has been different. We have received a lot of rain along the coastal areas and the mountains have been getting a decent amount of snow. I flew across a while back and, as we looked down on the mountains, they were totally covered. Normally the snow is clear but the other features show up well too like the forests. This time, everything looked white. It was one uniform texture across everything. I imagine that, not only had a lot of snow fallen but it had fallen recently and hadn’t yet shaken off the trees. It looked amazing out of the window of the plane!