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.
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