DFW | December 2009 | Two Midwest E-Jets..in a row?

Things were busy at the ol' day job in December and I haven't had as much time to upload some of my DFW spotting pics from this month, hopefully in the coming weeks I'll have an assortment of shots from the last month of the year to share. This set of shots was from the 17th. I was wrapping up an afternoon at Founders' Plaza when not just one Midwest E-Jet landed, but two of them. In succession. Usually the Midwest flights land on the east side and thus too far for anyone at Founders' Plaza. So to see one land on the west side is unusual. But to get two in a row on the west side? Well that's just plain strange. Not my best shots, but it was a unique sight I had to share on my blog.

This particular Embraer is an ERJ-170 with the tail number N874RW. Built and delivered to Shuttle America in October 2006, she flew originally in Delta Connection colors. She was then used by Republic (parent company of Shuttle America) to fly regional services for Frontier Airlines in full Frontier colors with the mule deer tail graphic (how's that for irony) and after a brief stint in generic colors flying as US Airways Express, she started flying as Midwest Connect in early 2009.

So imagine my surprise to have another Midwest E-Jet landing right after the Midwest ERJ-170. And this one was not only an ERJ-190, it had just Midwest titles and not Midwest Connect titles as I assume once Republic assumed control of Midwest and the last of the 717s was sent to pasture, these are now Midwest's "heavy metal" (and boy I know some guys up in MKE who are totally pissed about that). This particular 190, tail number N165HQ, is one of the newer aircraft I've photographed at DFW, this one was built and delivered to Republic in September 2009, just three months ago.

DFW | December 2009 | Overheard

Out at Founders' Plaza on a quite blustery day to see what could be had and I heard the following exchange on my scanner:

Aircraft: Regional Approach, November eight-four-oh Foxtrot, one-zero thousand for four thousand.
Regional Approach: Okay, you sure you're eight-four-oh Foxtrot?
Aircraft: That's right, eight-four-oh Foxtrot.
Regional Approach: Well, see, according to this fancy-shmancy machine in front of me you're eight-OH-four Foxtrot.

(Long pause)

Aircraft: November eight-OH-four Foxtrot, at one-zero thousand for four thousand.
Regional Approach: That's better.........

BHM | November 2009 | On Turkey Day, sometimes the turkeys aren't what's at the dinner table...

This past week we traveled to visit my sister-in-law and her family in Jacksonville, Florida and flew Southwest (because with a family of five, no bag fees was a lifesaver and historically we've had good customer service on Southwest traveling as a family of five) DAL-BHM-JAX this past Saturday and returned home to North Texas this evening JAX-BHM-DAL. On both trips we had about two hours layover in Birmingham due to Wright Amendment provisions and what to do in BHM? Why spot, of course. The Southwest gates are right next to where the arrivals and departures pass on Runway 6/24, the terminal has free wifi and nice big windows. And it's not DFW for a change where I've practically sprouted roots at Founders' Plaza.

So yes, there'll be pictures from our layovers at BHM soon to appear in this blog. But that's not why I'm posting this evening.

Our our flight to JAX this past weekend, I shot plenty of nice shots that wont' get me into Airliners.net, but I like 'em and my friends like 'em. No issues. Today we flew back home, by flying on Thanksgiving Day we saved a considerable amount of money on the airfare (again, that whole family of five thing) and did our Thanksgiving feast last night with family there in Jax.

The terminal at Birmingham mid-afternoon was near dead. The concessions were closed and there couldn't have been more than 10 other folks at the Southwest gates when we arrived from JAX on Southwest 3658 at 255pm CST. Our next leg home to DAL wasn't departing until 535pm local time.

My wife and I got ourselves and our three daughters set up at Gate C12 where they have some nice comfortable chairs that have laptop power outlets. She did find a concessionaire outside the security checkpoint that was open, so we were able to get the kids an early dinner while waiting. Like I had done this past Saturday, I'd stroll around those five gates or so and shoot pictures of the arrivals and departures. I have Flight Tracker on my iPhone and had a rough idea when to expect the arrivals and departures. In between, I had my laptop out and was surfing some aviation websites- Secret Projects, Airlinebuzz, worked on some blog-related material.

While I was seated at Gate C12 on my laptop where I was reading some of the posts on the Flickr aviation groups I belong to, a TSA employee comes up to me and asks "Did you take those here? Those are great looking pictures. And you have wonderful looking family."

Okay, so I talk with him a little bit about it and he walks off. I thought that was the end of the story and maybe he was an aviation enthusiast as well. He remained hovering around our gate area, I figured since it was a very slow day at the airport, maybe he was watching the airplanes come and go as I was doing.

About an hour or so before our departure for Dallas Love Field (and if the TSA wishes to check on this, I was boarding card number A19 on Southwest 5408. But they'd know that. I'm getting to it.), I was coming out of the men's restroom and the same TSA employee approaches me and asks "If you don't mind me asking, are you in the aviation business?"

"No, aviation is a hobby of mine, when we travel I always try to take some pictures of the airplanes I see."
"What do you do with the pictures?"
"Well, I'm an aviation artist as one of my hobbies and I use many of the photographs I take as a reference library of sorts in my work as well as sharing them with friends who are also aviation enthusiasts."
"Okay, that's why you were on Flickr, then?"

(Oh, I see, you were watching me on my laptop.)

"That's right. That's how I share my pictures with friends and fellow enthusiasts."
"Well, I ask because I'm here to de-escalate a situation as several people thought you were being suspcious taking pictures of the aircraft."

(De-escalate? Who was complaining? There's only ten people here right now and half of them are on laptops.)

"I've been doing this for years on our family vacations. Like I was saying, all things aviation is a hobby of mine, from photography and art to the history of aviation."
"Okay, well thanks for being straight up with me. You have a beautiful family and you have a safe trip and Happy Thanksgiving."

So he walks off and go back to my chair at Gate C12 where my three daughters and wife are sitting.

At about 510pm or so, they make the annoucement that they'll begin boarding our flight to Dallas Love Field for departure at 535pm. I put away my laptop in my backpack which is one of those backpack camera bags that can also hold a laptop. We begin getting the girls packaged up so we can get ready and get in line to board.

The same TSA employee comes up to me, this time with his supervisor and a Birmingham police officer. "If you don't mind, we'll have to ask you some questions about what you were up to."

(I thought this was settled?)

They walk me over to an empty seating area at the adjacent gate where they ask me to sit down next to the TSA supervisor who then asks me for my identification and boarding pass and they proceed to ask me all sorts of questions while he writes on a form on a clipboard.

"Is this your physical address?"
"Yes sir, it is."
"And you're headed back home?"
"Yes, we passed through here on Saturday on our way to Jacksonville and our on our way back home to Texas."
"You realize that your activities were suspicious?"
"No sir, I didn't realize that. What looked suspicious?"
"Well, for starters you were shooting pictures of the aircraft here at the airport."
"Okay, that's it?"
"You were also seen on your computer looking at aviation websites."

(The previous TSA employee now chimes in again.)

"Now you told me you were doing all of this only as a hobby, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"So that is why you have all those aviation magazines in your bag as well?"
"That's right, it's all part of my hobby. Reading about aviation technology, history, current affairs, that sort of thing."
"Well you see you're sitting there shooting pictures of the airplanes, looking at airplanes on your computer and you also have aviation magazines."
"Right, like I said, that's my hobby."
"Are you military?"
"No sir, I'm a civilian."
"Well we need you to wait here while we fill these forms out on this incident."

I'm sitting there, all by myself with a TSA supervisor, employee and a Birmingham PD officer standing in front of me. Meanwhile, they've announced boarding of our flight and I motion to my wife to go ahead and board with the kids. She astutely takes my camera backpack with her as she wanted to make sure it didn't get confiscated or searched.

They finally give me back my boarding pass and drivers license and all they really say is "Okay, you can go." End of story. But if I've learned anything in dealing with law enforcement going back to my young and stupid days in college, no matter how right you think you are or how unreasonable you may think they are, stay cool, stay respectful.

The Birmingham police officer then tells me "Don't worry about it. They don't call this town Bombingham for nothing. You have a Happy Thanksgiving. We just have to be vigilant sometimes."

So I do the classy thing and shake hands with the two TSA guys and the Birmingham cop and wish them each a Happy Thanksgiving. Mind you, I was livid. LIVID. PISSED. My hands were shaking, I thought my heart was beating at 120 beats a minute. See, I'm a pretty straight-laced guy. I'm a physician in private practice, I busted my butt in school and did my best to stay out of trouble. And I'm Asian-American, which means I'm unfortunately culturally programmed to not cause trouble and conform!

So yeah, my cage was rattled. I was the last person to board Southwest 5408 and on that flight home to Dallas, it probably was a good hour before I felt chilled out and knew I had to share this story with my friends and on my blogs.

I'm not sure if I was right or if I was wrong, I've traveled with my family tons of times and have shot pictures of aircraft at plenty of terminals and this was the FIRST time this has ever happened to me. I've shot pictures at DFW, DAL, HOU, AUS, ELP, ABQ, MSY, MCO, BWI, SFO, LAX, LAS, DEN, YYZ and beyond. I've got a terabyte drive at home that's stuffed full of all my photographs from different airports.

I'd like to think that my story isn't one of those half-baked "The TSA took my baby away" stories posted in the blogosphere.

DFW | November 2009 | Founders' Plaza | 'Nuther one of them nice mornin's....

The mornings are gettin' real nice this time of year in North Texas- very cool, and often there's a light low fog in the area just after sunrise that can make some interesting "mood" shots at Founders' Plaza. These were shots I did this past week.

Usually right after 800am every so often on Thursday mornings they'll close 18L for a runway inspection so the morning departures on the west side will cross over and depart from 18R which is much closer to Founders' Plaza...and therefore *epic* with the right lighting conditions. This is N637CZ, an Embraer ERJ-175 that was built and delivered to Compass Airlines in November 2008 and has been operating under the NWA Airlink since then...and I'm sure soon to be repainted in Delta Connection colors.

Always nice to some 767-200 action at DFW...in this case N792AX, built originally for All Nippon Airways (ANA) in March 1985 and then converted by Israeli Aircraft Industries in February 2005 to freighter configuration and has since been operated by ABX Air. The "25" on the nose is for 25th anniversary of Airbone Express. Here she is rolling out from the west cargo complex for an intersection takeoff on 18R.

Gotta toss in my obligatory MD-11F at the UPS ramp in the morning sun shot. This was a bit overexposed, but discovered there is a sweet spot on my telephoto lens right around f/7.1 really gets some sharp shots. Not my best shot, but I'm keeping this one in the name for endless experimentation with settings that got me stumbling into this sweet spot on my lens.

Fine. Land on 13R. It's not like I've been trying to catch this arrival. Go to Founders' Plaza. It lands on 13R. Go to the China Air Cargo parking lot. It lands on 18R. Sigh.

Obligatory Ubiquitous-80 shot, only this time it's N497AA rolling onto 18R (18L was still closed for a runway inspection) for departure. This Mad Dog-82 was built and delivered to American in August 1989. The early morning low fog was already lifting but still left a nice haze in the rising sun.

And hot on the heels of a conga line of Mad Dogs was this American 737-800- N947AN was built and delivered to American in September 2000 sans winglets, only to get them I think last year as a retrofit.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but those 767-300 blended winglets must be the biggest yet retrofitted to a commercial aircraft. Compared to what you see on 737s and 757s, the 767 blended winglets are huge! Seems bigger than the vertical fin of the Ameriflight Metro waiting for its clearance for an intersection takeoff while the American 767-300 heads over the maintenance hangars on the west side for some TLC.

N377AN is an 767-300ER built and delivered originally to American in September 1992 and I think she just got her blended winglets retrofitted just a few months ago.

N191AF is a Swearingen Metro built way back in 1981. Not sure of her operator history, though. Still digging for that. Makes for quite a contrast to the Boeing 767. When I was a kid growing up in western Kansas, the Air Midwest Metroliners were our town's "heavy metal". That's where my spotting bug got its start. Always some great nostalgia when I see Ameriflight's Metro birds head out at DFW.

This is N540AM, an ATR-72 built and delivered back in January 1998 to American Eagle.

Strangely enough my shots don't show the ship number or the tail number clearly enough for me to tell which 777-200ER this is in the American fleet. But I do know it's American 176 Heavy that arrives each morning from New Tokyo Narita International Airport. I always hate a cloudless sky for shooting aircraft pics. Throw in a few clouds, ideally some high cirrus and it makes for a more interesting backdrop.

FTW | April 2009 | Cowtown Warbird Roundup | Sharp point of the spear...

Shot these at the Cowtown Warbird Roundup back in April. I ran the shots through a B/W Photoshop plug in that lets me manipulate different color channels to accentuate the contrast in certain areas and then added a 15% sepia tone to just slightly offset the starkness of the black and white.

DFW | November 2009 | Founders' Plaza | Heavy departures...

Some days of the week I have an hour to kill while waiting on some the Chicklets' activities to wind down and finish up after school so I'll sometimes take the opportunity to swing by Founders' Plaza (it's only 10 minutes from their school) to grab a few shots. This particular day was a nice afternoon with the winds blowing out of the north and I was going to see if I could catch the late afternoon international departures.

This is N785AN, a Boeing 777-200ER built and delivered to American in March 2000. She must have been loaded to the gills and then some as her climbout as a lot flatter than usual for a 777 and I usually don't catch the gear retraction this late as most days it occurs much earlier.

Climb, dammit, CLIMB!!! This is D-AIGF "Göttingen", an Airbus A340-300 built and delivered to Lufthansa in March 1994.

Passing abeam Founders' Plaza after takeoff from 36L....this aircraft D-AIGF, was built originally for Continental Airlines back when Continental had some orders for the A340 in the late 1980s. That transaction got canceled and then it was to become N3404G with Northwest Airlines, but then that transaction got canceled as well and she ended up getting taken on by Lufthansa.

"Lufthansa 479 Heavy, contact Departure, good day....."

Heading out as well that afternoon is N396AN, a Boeing 767-300 built and delivered to American in February 1999. I think this flight was headed to South America, but not sure.

"American 822, cleared to land Three-Six Left, caution wake turbulence KLM heavy Airbus departing parallel right before you."

Now *that* is a spirited takeoff! A330s are some of the most graceful looking jet twins out there with the wing flex.

Now passing abeam Founders' Plaza in the setting sun, PH-AOE "Parliament Square-Edinburgh" is a relative youngster amongst the heavy departures this particular afternoon at DFW, having been built and delivered to KLM in July 2006.

airLINK | Totally Jacked Up Aircraft Photos

This blog I love. Even the most experienced aviation photographer has in the deep recesses of their archives some of the worst shots they've ever pulled off. The header description for Totally Jacked Up Aircraft Photos says it best:

Come celebrate all the ham-fisted, ill-equipped, unprepared and totally inebriated photographers around the globe whom attempted to get that perfect aircraft photo but Jacked It Up. We aim to provide the finest “Best of The Rest” photos, because we don't use no stinkin' screeners. You send it, we post it. Click on photos to see them full size, and submissions are most welcome (if you dare).

Give 'em a visit, maybe even offer up a contribution of some of your less-than-competent efforts!

DFW | November 2009 | Founders' Plaza | HOLY SH*T! A DC-3!

This caught my surprise this very afternoon out at Founders' Plaza. The radio calls initially had me thinking it may have been a bizjet at DFW in association with race weekend, but then this beauty of DC-3 rolls out on the NW hold pad awaiting its turn on 18L for departure next to a United Express CRJ800, an American 737-800, and an American Eagle ERJ-145 who were also on the hold pad for 18L.....

Got a better look at the tail numbers, NC17334 makes it "Flagship Detroit" that I also photographed up close at the Alliance Air Show from 2 weeks ago (those photos coming).

What a sight to see an American DC-3 take the active at Founders' Plaza!

24 March 1937 this DC-3 was built by Douglas in Southern California and delivered to American. Looks like she flew for American for ten years, 1937 to 1947 before spending a year in Mexico and returning to the US in 1948.

"Flagship Detroit" starts her takeoff roll down 18L......

Through the 1950s she flew in various cargo roles for different operators. And then in the next 20-30 years through the hands of various private owners before ending up the Eastern Mennonite University who in turn sold the aircraft to the Flagship Detroit Foundation in 2004.

I guess "rotate" in a tail dragger has a different meaning.......

This made my day. I never, NEVER, would have expected this at my favorite planespotting location at DFW. Never.

Lift off with just a shade over 1000 feet of 18L being used. I tell you what, we NEVER see anyone rotate and lift off this soon at Founders' Plaza. Maybe Martinaire's Cessna Caravans.........

The past meets the future as Flagship Detroit climbs out with American's long haul fleet at the gates of International Terminal D.....

Thanks also to exnonrev/Mark at Airlinebuzz who pointed out that this DC-3, SN 1920, is the currently the oldest DC-3 still flying.

GKY | Spotter Alert | B-17 "Aluminum Overcast"

Just got a tip from Hogleg44/Paul on the Texas Photo Forum that the B-17G "Aluminum Overcast" will be at Arlington Muncipal Airport this weekend giving tours and flights as part of its nationwide tour.

From the EAA:

Hosted by EAA Chapter 34

B-17 location on field – by Harrison Aviation

To book a flight please call 1-800-359-6217.

Pricing
Pre-book - for EAA members $359, for non-members $399
Walk-up – for EAA members $385, for non-members $425

Self Guided Ground Tours daily from 2-5 pm. Cost $5 per adult, $15 per family.

EAA is offering historic flight experiences in its beautifully restored B-17G Flying Fortress “Aluminum Overcast.” One of only 14 Fortress's still flying, this aircraft is an icon of the Allied strategic bombing effort that helped turn the tide of battle in World War II. Unlike reading a history book, you can actually fly a mission back in time and feel the might of this magnificent machine, just as those brave young men did more than 60 years ago.

NTx airNEWS: AirTran to add D/FW-Milwaukee flights

AirTran to add D/FW-Milwaukee nonstop flights
Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009
By SCOTT NISHIMURA

snishimura@star-telegram.com

AirTran Airways, the low-fare Atlanta-based airline, said it will add nonstop flights between Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and its growing Milwaukee hub, expanding connections to the Midwest and Northeast, and heightening what one fare watcher dubbed "the battle of Milwaukee."

AirTran said it will launch two daily nonstops starting April 6, joining American Eagle and Midwest Airlines on the route. Southwest Airlines also launched service at Milwaukee this week but cannot offer nonstops to Dallas Love Field because of federal Wright Amendment restrictions.

The additions come as AirTran expands at the Milwaukee airport, drawing traffic from Wisconsin and the Chicago area.

AirTran also announced Wednesday that it’s adding SkyWest Airlines as a marketing partner. SkyWest will offer regional jet flights starting next month between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh; St. Louis; Akron/Canton, Ohio; Indianapolis; Des Moines, Iowa; and Omaha, Neb.

Fliers on AirTran can also take advantage of the airline’s nonstops between Milwaukee and northeastern cities such as Boston and Baltimore/Washington. AirTran currently offers nonstops between D/FW and Atlanta, Baltimore and Orlando, Fla. AirTran will serve the D/FW-Milwaukee route using its Boeing 717 twin-jet aircraft, successor to the workhorse McDonnell Douglas MD-80.

Christopher White, an AirTran spokesman, said the SkyWest partnership is important because AirTran isn’t scheduled to take another new aircraft delivery until 2011. "This frees our aircraft to serve other destinations, such as Dallas/Fort Worth," he said.

AirTran now serves Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and St. Louis from Milwaukee, and will switch that service to SkyWest, White said.

White said Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport is one of AirTran’s top four hubs and will make up 11 percent of the airline’s traffic next year, up from 8 to 9 percent now.

"In addition to Milwaukee itself, there’s connectivity around the Midwest," he said.

Mike Boyd, a Colorado aviation analyst, said Milwaukee "is going to be a serious connecting hub."

There’s also local business that "you draw from Milwaukee and the northern collar counties of Chicago as well."

Tom Parsons, CEO of Arlington-based Bestfares.com, said the D/FW route is a logical extension of AirTran’s Milwaukee hub.

AirTran tried to buy Midwest Airlines, he noted, and, when that failed, AirTran "just went into Milwaukee and started matching them flight for flight." Midwest is now owned by Republic Airways.

The D/FW route is also a shot at Southwest, Parsons said, because "Southwest can’t do anything about it" until all Wright Amendment restrictions on flights from Love Field expire in 2014. To fly Southwest to Milwaukee, Dallas travelers must stop or connect at cities such as Kansas City, Mo.

Beyond Milwaukee’s value as a connecting hub, Parsons said the airport has become a viable secondary airport to the Chicago market.

"For years, people from Wisconsin had to go to Chicago" to fly inexpensively, he said. "Now, because of the battle of Milwaukee, it’s sometimes $70 to $100 cheaper to fly out of Milwaukee. And I suspect the people of Chicago are finding that out."

Joe Lopano, D/FW’s executive vice president of marketing and terminal management, said in a statement that "AirTran’s new flight to Milwaukee is an outstanding new addition to the service D/FW is able to offer the North Texas traveler. AirTran has a proven track record of success, serving more than 600,000 passengers a year at D/FW."

AirTran is one of the few airlines that’s enjoying profitability, and it has been touting services such as on-board WiFi on all its planes — prices range up to $9.95 — and free onboard XM satellite radio.

SCOTT NISHIMURA, 817-390-7808

NTx airNEWS: Arlington airport lands fans on Cowboys game days

Arlington airport lands fans on Cowboys game days

12:00 AM CST on Monday, November 2, 2009

By JEFF MOSIER / The Dallas Morning News
jmosier@dallasnews.com
  ARLINGTON – Dallas Cowboys fans are filling the Arlington skies just as predictably as their cars are crowding the streets around the team's new stadium.

Arlington Municipal Airport is pushing capacity as dozens of planes filled with fans arrive before every football game and concert. The city's airport usually has a dozen landings in an average four-hour period. A week ago, 80 planes arrived for the game against the Atlanta Falcons.
"In some circumstances, it's almost double what I expected," said Robert Porter, Arlington's airport manager. "That's a good problem to have."
City officials said the boost in activity at the airport is one of the tangible – but little known – signs of the stadium's economic impact.
Porter said about one-quarter of people arriving by private plane for stadium events stay overnight. He said they usually rent a car at the airport and frequently stay in an Arlington hotel. They often shop and eat at the nearby Arlington Highlands center.
And if they are happy with the service, they'll possibly return instead of flying into a comparable airport, said Nathan Mikula, general manager of Harrison Aviation in Arlington.
Mikula said Arlington's airport has suffered from a lack of reputation. Many pilots, he said, knew little about the airport, and those who knew it existed didn't know what was there.
"A lot of those people thought we were just a small little airport," Mikula said.
Actually, Arlington ranks among North Texas' three busiest general aviation airports each year. That excludes the commercial airports: Dallas/Fort Worth International and Love Field.
In 2005, a study commissioned by the Texas Department of Transportation estimated the Arlington airport's economic impact was about $93.3 million, including 786 jobs. Porter said he thinks that number could be closer to $100 million now.
Construction of a tower and a new instrumentation landing system recently has made the airport more appealing to corporate fliers. However, the ailing economy has hurt flight schools and recreational pilots, which has pushed flight operations down about 30 percent compared with last year, Porter said.
Still, Mikula said he's already seeing repeat customers who learned about the airport by flying there for a football game or concert.
Sean Fortenbaugh said he probably will be one of them. The Lawton, Okla., business executive flew to Arlington to attend the Cowboys' August preseason game against the Tennessee Titans.
He said he'd never been to Arlington's airport and knew little about it but was impressed. Even with the large number of planes arriving, he said, rental cars and limousines were lined up and waiting.
"They met me at the plane, got my bags, put them in the car, and I was probably gone in two minutes," Fortenbaugh said.
  
Boost to business

The stakes are higher, though, than just repeat customers.
Porter said he knew of at least one tenant who moved to the airport after learning about it through stadium publicity. He said another business at the airport is considering expanding operations because of the increased traffic.
City Council member Robert Rivera said that Cowboys Stadium is a destination for business executives and owners and that Arlington's airport can be an important gateway. He said he'd like for city officials to figure out ways to identify corporate decision makers who fly into the airport, and then make a pitch for Arlington.
"It could potentially be a business incubator," he said.
To make the airport even more appealing, work will start soon on an expansion that includes a new $4.9 million terminal and $1 million parking apron for planes.
Although those were planned before the stadium was announced, Porter said the upgrades take on greater importance now that the stadium has landed some of the nation's biggest sporting events.
The work is scheduled for completion just weeks before the 2011 Super Bowl. By then, the airport will be able to accommodate an additional six to 20 planes, depending on their sizes.
Until then, airport management is looking for creative ways to handle the traffic.
"Once we start getting over 80 aircraft, we really don't have the infrastructure to park aircraft without blocking something," Porter said.
He said he could close some airplane taxi lanes and ask businesses about using their property to park planes. Some planes could also be allowed to block access to a hangar if it wasn't in use that day.

 

Pool and PS3

 

Harrison Aviation, which sells fuel, provides maintenance and has concierge services at the airport, has doubled the size of its lobby and pilot lounge. Still, they're packed on game days. Harrison has added amenities, including a pool table and Wii and PlayStation 3 video game systems, to give pilots something do while the Cowboys play.
The big increases at Arlington's airport possibly mean decreases at Dallas County airports that handled more of the private plane traffic bound for Texas Stadium. Mikula said Love Field was the airport of choice for private planes heading to Irving.
Jose Torres, a spokesman for the Dallas aviation department, said data at Love Field were inconclusive. However, he said that Dallas Executive Airport, near Interstate 20, has seen increases in traffic during games, and its numbers are down at other times.
Officials with Grand Prairie's airport weren't available for comment Friday. Although some other airports might get a slight boost, the air traffic will tend toward Arlington, where the stadium is a straight shot north on Collins Street about six miles.
"It's giving the airport a lot more exposure than it's had," Mikula said. "A lot of people flying to the Dallas-Fort Worth area thought they had to fly to Dallas or Fort Worth."

AFW | October 2009 | Fort Worth Alliance Air Show | Mo' Blues.....

The diamond formation in echelon formation pass from behind the crowd over show center for their next maneuver.

I think this one is called the Delta Break where the diamond formation each break a different direction with the slot, Blue Angel 4, remaining level. If you look closely you can see forming vortex condensation clouds over the LERXs of the aircraft that are in the break.

Say hi to the Boss (Blue Angel 1) as he blasts over the crowd.......

Here the diamond while in echelon formation starts the Tuck Under Break- each team member starting with the Boss breaks right into a 360 degree roll that brings them under the flightpath of the aircraft next in the sequence.

The entire team in the delta formation performing the Delta Roll. This maneuver is the most difficult for the outermost members of the team who are having to make the most adjustments in thrust, roll, and pitch to maintain the tight formation during the roll. 

Not the best shot of what I got that day but for some reason the way this one came out really catches my eye. This is Delta Loop Break- the whole team starts out in delta formation, passes across the show center into a loop. As they pass the top of the loop and are vertically pointed straight down, the entire team breaks simultaneously in different directions. When the Boss calls the break, the Slot (Blue Angel 4) has to execute a quick 180 degree roll before making its break. You can tell from the picture which plane is the Slot from the twist in its smoke trail.

Last of the Blues before I move onto the other aircraft:

One of my sharpest shots of the Blues, here's the Slot (Blue Angel 4) rocketing over the crowd to reposition with the diamond behind the crowd line.

Last one of the Blues in the air, this is the final Break-to-Land. Blue Angels 6 is out of the field of view to the left flying next to Blue Angel 5 (they're the two solos) and Blue Angel 4 (the Slot) has made it's break to hand. Interestingly they all landed with a tail wind- they took off from 34R at the start of the show but landing on 16L and I didn't appreciate that big of a change in the winds during the show.

DAL | April 2009 | Frontiers of Flight | Collings Foundation warbirds....

Some artistic type shots I took back in April at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at KDAL when the Collings Foundation's warbirds were in town. The weather that morning was horrendous and I didn't get the shots I wanted to get originally but found the ambient lighting and mood was ideal for a style of shot I wasn't planning on when I left the house for Love Field:

The B-17 and P-51 are part of the Collings Foundation's collection of warbirds.

AFW | October 2009 | Fort Worth Alliance Air Show

Diamond 360 pass, here they are only 18 inches apart while in diamond formation. It was tough to get a good shot with the bright sky and sun in the background without losing the details of the F/A-18 Hornets in the shade.

I think this maneuver is called the Echelon Parade. Again, bright sky and sun behind them...arrrrghhhhh......

 This time Blue Angel 5 joins the diamond for the Line Abreast Loop. This is the group as they pull out of the loop. This is supposed to be one of the more difficult maneuvers to do as they all have to maintain precise formation together while in a loop but in a strict line abreast position.

2009 Blue Angels Frequencies

I used these on my scanner yesterday at the Fort Worth Alliance Air Show, so I know they work:

237.8000 - Solos
250.9750 - Diamond
275.3500 - Diamond
255.2000 - Circle / arrivals
284.2500 - Show Box
305.5000 - Fat Albert (pri)
302.1000 - Fat Albert (sec)
143.0000 - Tower Obs. (AM)
142.6125 - Maint A (NFM)
139.8125 - Maint B (NFM)
141.5625 - Maint C (NFM)
346.5000 - Pre show checkout / Ground start

AFW | October 2009 | Fort Worth Alliance Air Show

Just a small preview, I shot about a gig worth of pics at Alliance today and have some serious sorting to do:

Downside, the sun in the afternoon by the time the Blues have the airspace is in your face. Damns if that doesn't make you try every damn shutter and aperture setting on your camera. This was the first time I shot full manual all day and I promised myself this AM I'd do it instead of shutter or aperture priority. And it was good, some shots I wished had come out better but now at least I have a better idea of some of the tweaks I have to make to adjust for certain lighting conditions.

We got to AFW about 1230pm and holy shit, this is the biggest turnout I've seen yet at this show. Damn near walked a mile to get from the family truckster to the show vantage point.

The static was good, some stuff I hadn't seen yet and some perennial favorites. Only a few aircraft were roped off, nearly all of them you could go up to and fondle, caress and grope. And oh did I. Some of the stuff there that I can recall:

T-39 Sabreliner (USN)
2 MV-22 Ospreys (I'd seen the USAF SOCOM ones up close, this was the first time go inside a USMC machine)
T-45 Goshawk (USN)
T-44 Pegasus (USN)
T-38 Talon (USAF)
T-1A Jayhawk (USAF)
E-3C Block 30/35 Sentry (very cool to a Block 30/35 for the first time)
B-52H (Barksdale bird)
KC-135R (Altus bird)
C-130H (Texas ANG)
KC-130 (USMC)
F/A-18E/F ("Pukin Dogs")
RC-12D Guardrail (my first time get to fondle one up close)
A-10 Warthogs
2 F-16s from the 144th FW California ANG, one of them was the new boss bird with the black tail. Very cool.
1 F-16 from the AFRC at Carswell
1 F-16 with the Royal Netherlands AF (very cool to have that on static)
Lots of helos- Bell Helicopter's customer flight instruction center is at AFW, so they had all of their stuff out for display. There were SH-60 Seahawk as well as the UH-60 Blackhawk and the CH-47 Chinook as well. They even had the engine and transmission covers open on the Blackhawk.
American Eagle ERJ-145
American 777-200ER
American DC-3 Flagship Detroit (parked next to the 777, what a contrast)
There was a privately owned T-38 in 1970s USAF Thunderbird colors, that was cool to see!
3 CAP birds to tickle Chuck's fancy (2 172s and the Gippsland)
Diamond DA20
Cessna 421
ATP had one of the Seminoles there
Ted Smith Aerostar
C-7A Caribou
P-3 Orion

The flying demos that I saw included the A-10, F/A-18E Super Hornet, F-16, F4F Wildcat, T-28 Trojan, OV-1 Mohawk (super cool to see that one flying as a warbird), A-1 Skyraider, C-17 (The way they hauled this fat bitch around was impressive). Sean D Tucker flew, that was neat to see him throw that biplane all over the sky. There were some other demos to, I think it was a Bonanza doing aerobatics. And that damn jet truck, Shockwave. Ugh.

I had my Pro-43 programmed to the Blues frequencies and it was damn sweet to hear all that stuff. It quite literally does sound like singing as the Boss (Blue Angel 1) cues the team "Uuuuup....weeeee......goooooo, more powerrrrrr...........and smoke........"

When one is to geek out, one should geek out 100%. Scanner with the Blues, telephoto lens, check. It was funny hearing Alliance Tower say stuff like "Negative Charlie Bravo Niner-Two, the Blue Angels have the airspace and you'll either have to hold outside the airspace or divert."

Then you'd hear "Blue Angels, Alliance Tower, the airspace is yours" followed by "Alliance Tower, the Blue Angels have the airspace!"

Stay tuned, more pics to appear in this blog as I get through them. As well as more shots from September and October from DFW and DAL!

Google Earth + Aeronautical Charts + 3D Airspace = Uber Coolness

Link: Overlay Sectional Aeronautical Charts in Google-Earth

This is awesome. The nice part is that this also includes terminal area charts and flyways. And though the presentation is a bit rough, they also used Google SketchUp to do 3D representations of Class B airspace which really helps visualize that whole upside down wedding cake layout:

This is Las Vegas' Class B airspace looking northwest. The green areas are the restricted airspace areas of the Nellis ranges that are from the surface to "unlimited", hence their height compared to the LAS Class B airspace.

Not all of the restricted airspace is present, but the major ones are from a quick review. It only covers the US so far.

DFW | October 2009 | Overheard

I was out at Founders' Plaza this afternoon just as the clouds started clearing out and the much-missed sun made its appearance. The winds were blowing from the north so landings were using the 35s and 36s at DFW and I heard the following exchange on the West Tower frequency:

DFW West Tower: American 1844, cleared to land, Runway three-six left, caution wake turbulence heavy Boeing 757 just departed on the parallel and a heavy Boeing 757 arrived just before you. Caution bird activity reported one-thousand five-hundred one mile from final.

American 1844: Well you're just full of good news for us, aren't you? Cleared to land three-six left, 1844.

DFW | September 2009 | Founders' Plaza | Mo' sunset spotting...

Obligatory shot of a UPS MD-11F parked adjacent to Founders' Plaza- this is N290UP, built and delivered in passenger configuration in March 1992 to Swissair as HB-IWL. She continued to fly for the downsized Swissair which became Swiss International Air Lines. In 2004 she then went to VARIG Brasil as PP-VTI. In 2007 she was sold to UPS who had the aircraft converted to freighter configuration by SASCO in Singapore in October 2007.

A bank of clouds rolled in front of the setting sun and took me a bit to figure out the best settings on the camera to compensate. N724SK is a CRJ-700 built and delivered in January 2005 to SkyWest Airlines who operates this regional jet in United Express colors.

This is one of many American 737-800s that come in during the evening hours at DFW. N919AN was built and delivered to American in August 1999.

Here's an increasingly rare sight at DFW, an American Eagle ERJ-135, there are only about 29 or so left in service with Eagle. I'm sure if oil prices climb back up, we'll see more of these -135s go into desert storage in Kingman where there are already quite a few. This is N713AE, built and delivered to American Eagle in April 2000.

N363AA is a Boeing 767-300 built and delivered to American back in September 1988.

Hooray, the setting sun is back out, the clouds have moved out of the way...yet *another* arriving 737-800, this is N950AN, built and delivered to American in November 2000.

More American 738 goodness, this is N912AN, an -800 built and delivered to American back in May 1999. That's quite the flock of Eagle ERJs parked at Terminal B!

N645RW is a Republic Airways ERJ-170 built and delivered to Chautauqua in February 2005, now operated by Shuttle America- both companies used in United Express colors and both companies are subsidiaries of Republic Airways.

Nose-tight shot of N622AA, a Boeing 757-200 built and delivered to American in May 1990.