One of Those Days

 I looked at Marine Traffic last night and I saw that I had a chance to catch a few ships today.   What I didn't count on was that I was still not quite 100% and that the weather outside was miserable.  I was thinking about heading down to Detroit to catch those ships and I looked outside and saw the thick fog.  I figured it would be worse on the river and there would be no point, so I ended up staying home.  It didn't help that there was rain mixed in.  Either way, I ended up watching the Lions and that didn't really help.

Anyway, I try to get myself to do at least one picture and again I chose one of my diecast models.  This particular one is the F-35B version of the Lightning II.  It was the one that was meant to replace the Harrier and can theoretically take off vertically.  It can also hover like the Harrier, but it also sucks fuel like the Harrier when it does that.  While it looks like it uses two engines, It really uses one.  The nozzle can turn down and there is an opening in the bottom that provides the vertical thrust.  I think the vents can be adjusted so that the thrust can be angled for short take off or when you need slow speeds.

After some issues getting it launched, it seems like they are working out the bugs and it is finally seeing service.

The Oakglen Passes By

 We decided to wait for the next ship but it started to snow before that.  But I soldiered on and got some pictures of it.

The Oakglen was also heading up to Thunder Bay.

Based on her configuration, I would say that she was definitely going up there to pick up grain.

I'm also guessing that this probably isn't her last load of the year.

I would guess after she loads in Thunder Bay, she will take the grain to Montreal or Quebec City where it will be unloaded so that it can be loaded to send overseas.

I was happy to see her as I think this is getting close to the end for her.

She definitely looks it.

But you never know.

One more picture before heading back home.

The Miedwie on a Rainy Day

 My dad came down and we decided to do some ship watching.  First we went to Port Huron where I hoped that we would catch the Lee A. Tregurtha.  Unfortunately, she just passed when we arrived there.  I didn't want my day to be a bust, so I looked at Marine Traffic and I saw that there was a pair of ships heading up.  So we headed down to Marine City where we could catch them.

It wasn't the best of days to go boatwatching.  When we got to Marine City, it started to rain and that put a nice haze on the river.

I suppose that I should count my blessings because it has been pretty nice so far.  This is the first really nasty day that we've had in a while.

The ship is the Miedwie which is owned by Polish Steamship.

I'm not sure where it was heading from.  I presume from somewhere on the other side of the Welland Canal.

She was heading up to Thunder Bay.

I assume that she will be picking up a load of grain there.

I will also assume that she will probably be heading to Europe from there as the end of the shipping season is rapidly approaching.

I think because of the Seaway strike, they pushed the end of the shipping season back a week.  Normally it would end at Midnight on December 31st but I think this year it will end on January 8th, 2024.

At any rate, it was pretty nice to see this ship.

A Gulfstream III at Willow Run

 After I go through taking pictures of the P-8, I saw this plane sitting near by.  I thought it looked pretty cool, so I grabbed a picture.

This is a Gulfstream III, I'm not sure who it belongs to.

I wish I could have gotten pictures at Willow Run earlier.  There were a ton of business jets there.  They were for people who were attending the Michigan-Ohio State game (which Michigan won btw).  While I was taking pictures of this and the other plane, it sounded like O'Hare.  In the roughly 5 minutes that I was taking these pictures, there were at least 5 planes that took off.  I'm not sure how many were waiting, but there were quite a few.  It was pretty cool.

A Special Treat

 Like I said in my last post, I wanted to get a picture of the plane they used to do the flyover.  I didn't see it on the way over to Metro.  As I was at Metro, I was thinking that it was in a different spot than I expected, so I looked at the other side of the airport and found it.

The picture it not from my favorite angle for plane pictures but this was the only angle that I could get.

The P-8A Poseidon is the newest patrol aircraft for the US Navy.  It was developed from the 737 airframe and was meant to replace the P-3 Orion.  Studies to replace the P-3 were began in the 1980s.  Lockheed was contracted to produce the P-7 which was an improved version of the P-3 but that contract was cancelled in 1990 with the collapse of the Soviet Union.  In 2000, the Navy decided to do a second competition to replace the versatile P-3.  Lockheed submitted an even more improved version of the Orion.  British Aerospace submitted an improved version of the Nimrod but withdrew as they couldn't find a US production partner.  Boeing submitted this design.  In 2004, Boeing was awarded the contract.

In 2009, the P-8 first flew and it was introduced to the fleet in 2014.  Boeing also has contracts from the Indian, Australian and British Navies for this plane.  As of this year, 174 have been built.

This particular aircraft belongs to VP-62, which is a Naval Air Reserve squadron that operates out of Jacksonville, Florida.  It is the first Naval Air Reserve squadron to operate this plane and it was introduced to this squadron in April of this year.

Planespotting after THE Game

 After the Michigan-Ohio State game, I decided to head over to Willow Run.  I had heard that the plane that did a fly by at Michigan Stadium was there.  I didn't see it, so I decided to see what was flying into Metro.  There was a pretty good group just before sunset, so I headed over there.

First up is an Airbus A321.

This particular one belongs to Spirit Airlines.

It was coming in from Fort Lauderdale.  Normally, I don't post more than one picture of anything but a 757 or 787 or 747, but I like these pictures.

An AeroMexico E190 coming in from Monterrey, Mexico.

This is an A320 belonging to Delta Airlines coming in from LaGuardia.

A Delta 737 coming in from Las Vegas.

This Spirit Airlines A320 was coming in from Fort Myers.

This is a Gulfstream IV.

I don't know where it was coming from because the owner had it blocked.

This Delta Airlines 717 was coming in from Madison, Wisconsin.

A Delta Airlines CRJ-900 coming in from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

And this CRJ-900 was arriving from Elmira, New York.

The plane that I wanted to catching.

It was a 757-300.

It was coming in from the World of the Mouse.

Otherwise known as Orlando.

The sky looked pretty cool.

I loved the clouds.

But it was getting darker.

There was still some pink in the sky though.

A CRJ-700 belonging to American Airlines coming in from Reagan International Airport in Washington DC.

A United 737 coming in from O'Hare Airport in Chicago.

This E175 was coming in from Newark.

I couldn't decide which beacon shot I liked better, so I put both in.

And we finish with an A321 from Atlanta.

The American Century Upbound at Port Huron

 There was one more ship coming up.  I was going to catch it a little earlier in the river but I missed her, so I decided to head back to the Blue Water Bridge.  Besides, that's a better spot anyway.

The American Century was heading up from Monroe.  I think she did a split load of coal for there and St. Clair.

But in between there and here, she made a stop at Mistersky Fuel Docks for some fuel.

She was on her way up to Superior.

She should be there sometime on Saturday.

She makes the turn for the channel.

It was starting to cloud up.

The bow shot.

I kind of wish I had brought my drone.

I kind of like this shot.

But I like this one more.

Framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

She continues on her way.

One more of the Blue Water Bridge.

This shot shows off just how big she is.

A shot of her pilothouse.

Another.

One more.

She continues on her way to Lake Huron.

For some reason, this reminds me of a Star Destroyer.