A Windy Day for the 27s

I was actually going to take yesterday off and just relax.  The winds were climbing up around 50 miles per hour and it was starting to get cold.  For grins, I decided to check Flight Radar and I saw that the planes were landing at Metro on the 27s.  I remember the last time I caught planes landing on the 27s and it gave me different angles.

Runway numbers are pretty simple.  They basically tell the direction you will be heading if head towards the end of the runway.  For instance, Runway 27 means that you will be heading 270 degrees which is due west.

Normally, they use the 21s and 22s at Detroit Metro but I think they use the 27s when the winds are pretty strong.

Like last time, I figured my best chance for pictures would be on the parking deck.  So that's where I went.

 First up was an A320 arriving from Minneapolis.

 Another angle of that plane.  Notice the US flag in the background.

 A 737 taking off for Seattle on the north runway.  Typically planes were landing on the south runway and taking off form the north runway.

 I've been spotting in earnest for a couple of years now.  In that time, I've seen roughly three aborted landings.  Yesterday, I saw at least that many.  This CRJ-900 was arriving from Cleveland but the pilot decided it was too rough to land at that point, so he went around.  Basically, a plane will fly in an oval pattern around the airport and enter the pattern again.  I'm not sure how many times a plane can go around before they can divert.  Anyway, I think this guy made it on his second attempt.

 You know it's pretty windy when you see an A330 tilting it's wings.  This particular one was arriving from Paris.

 Just getting a beam shot.

 A 767 arriving from Frankfurt.

 Another angle.

 I think this guy was about to abort but he then set it on the ground.

 He was arriving from Houston.

 A 757 from Orlando deciding the first attempt at landing was too hairy.  So he went around.

 A Super King Air from Montreal.

 An A340 belonging to Lufthansa touching down.  I hope that they switch back to the 747 soon.

 Another angle of that plane.

 This AeroMexico 737 powering up and making another attempt at landing.

 Gear up and it banks off to it's left.

 An Embrear 170 getting deiced for its trip to Lexington, KY.

 The 757 that went around landing this time.

 She was arriving from Orlando.

 One more shot.

 A 757 arriving from LAX.

 I bet these passengers are in for a bit of shock when they get out.

 An A321 arriving from Fort Myers.

 AeroMexico deciding to go around again.

 A 717 arriving from Dallas.

 Another angle of that plane.

 I decided that I really liked this angle.

 A 757 arriving from Fort Lauderdale.

 Notice the flag is straight out now.

 Another angle of that plane.

 It passes a 737 that is going to Atlanta.

 An A320 arriving from Atlanta.

 A 717 getting ready to head to Newark.

 An A319 touching down.

 A 757 getting ready to head to Fort Myers.

 Third time was a charm for our AeroMexico friend.  They were arriving from Mexico City.

 Again, I like this angle.

 A 757 arriving from Tampa.

 Touchdown.

 One more shot of that plane.

My planespotting didn't end at Metro Airport.  This Hawker 900 was arriving in Ypsilanti from Pontiac.

Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan Basketball - In Pictures

I was waffling about whether I wanted to go to the game yesterday.  I'm glad I went.  It wasn't a particularly exciting game, but it went into overtime.  As always, if you want more pictures of the game itself, go to Hustle Belt.

 A plane flying overhead before the game.  I think this is a Cessna but I'm not sure what type.

 The Eastern Michigan cheerleaders.

 It was super hero day.  This is Batman.   I thought the costume was pretty cool looking.

 Black Panther.

 My favorite shot from the game.  James Thompson IV going for a nice basket.

 Wonder Woman.

The EMU Dance team.

Eastern Michigan ended up winning 77-76 but it took them an overtime to do it.  They had plenty of chances to seal the game in regulation but they couldn't buy a free throw.  This is something I don't really understand either.

Catching the Lizard

I decided to go plane spotting on Friday night.  It was a fairly nice night and the sun was out.  There were also a couple of planes I was interested in catching.

 This wasn't one of them, but I like 737s well enough.  This particular one was arriving from Tampa.

 It was followed by an MD-90 from Atlanta.

 This Wow Airlines A321 was arriving from Keflavik.  I kind of wish I could see one of the Icelandair Planes.

 But it's nice to see some color in a sea of white.

 It was was followed by a Delta A321 from Fort Myers.

 A Gulfstream V.  Not sure where it was from.

 Another angle of that.

 An Embrear Phenom.

 And of course, my favorite plane, the 757.

 This particular one was coming from Orlando.

 Another angle.

 A Spirit A321 arriving from Cancun.

 An Embrear 135 from LaGuardia.

 An E175 from Philadelphia.

 Followed by an E175 from Newark.  Interestingly enough, both of these planes are flown by Republic Airlines.  But both wear the colors of the airline they fly regional for.

 The other plane I was interested in catching, the Frontier Airlines plane.  This particular one was arriving from Orlando.

 And it is known as Sunny the Collared Lizard.

An Sun Country 737 from Gulfport, MS.