Thursday Night Dreamin'

As I've said before, Thursday night is my planewatching night.  That is one of two nights that there are two 787s that come to Detroit Metro.  It didn't look like I was going to go planewatching because Thursday started kind of miserable but it ended up pretty beautiful.

 So I headed over to the airport.  It looked like both planes were going to be one after the other.  First up was an A321 arriving from Fort Lauderdale.

 It was followed by a 717 from LaGuardia.

 At least the DC-9 legacy will carry on with these planes.

 One more angle of that plane.

 And then there was a Gulfstream IV.

 Another angle of the Gulfstream.

 If you've followed me for any length of time, you know that the 757 is my favorite.  This one was arriving from Minneapolis.

 An A330 coming in from Amsterdam.

 And then the first plane that I was waiting for.

 The Royal Jordanian 787 coming in from Montreal after her flight there from Amman, Jordan.

 Ever since I first laid eyes on this livery, I've liked it.  It definitely looks regal.

 A beacon shot.

 It's also nice to see different colors in a see of white planes.

 I liked this shot too.

 It was closely followed by the Air France 787.

 This one was arriving from Paris.

 It is also slightly bigger than the Royal Jordanian 787.

 I like this angle.

 I headed over to the other side of the airport to catch a couple other planes.  This was not one of them.  It was an American 737 coming from Dallas.

 And American Eagle Embrear arriving from somewhere.

 A Delta A319 coming in from Mexico City.

 It was followed by a United A319 from San Francisco.

 Another angle of that plane.

 This 737 was on it's way to Willow Run.

 I like it when I see the wingtip lights of the DC-9 family.  I think these are the only planes that have lights like that.

 This particular 717 was arriving from Grand Rapids.

 One of the other planes that I was waiting for.

 The Fed Ex 757 flying in from Indianapolis.

 My favorite angle of that plane.

 A 757 arriving from Orlando.

 This plane was a surprise because it usually arrives earlier.

 It is the A350 from Beijing.

 I like the looks of this plane but I still like the 787 better.

 One more shot of it.

 And the other plane I was looking for.

 The Fed Ex MD-11 arriving from Memphis.

 This one is Flight 505.

 And it's pretty cool to see.

My planewatching didn't end at the airport.  As I arrived home, I caught this DC-9 taking off from Willow Run.

A Big Surprise

Just before lunch last Monday (5/20/19), I heard a strange aircraft noise over my office building.  I didn't know what it was, so I took a look on my FlightRadar app and I got a really nice surprise.  It turned out to be a T-38 Talon.

After work, I decided to head over to Willow Run because that is where she was headed.  I saw that she was still parked there, so of course I had to get a couple pictures of it.  This is not an aircraft that I normally see in person.

I was not happy with the angle that I had, so I decided to look for a better angle.  I saw an executive terminal and I figured that I would go in and ask.  The worse they could say was, "No".  So I went in and they let me take pictures as long as I stayed in the terminal.  I was fine with that.

In the mid 1950's, the Air Force put forth a requirement for a new training aircraft to replace the T-33s they were using at the time.  Northrup put forth their light fighter design.  It was pitted against the F-100 Super Sabre.  The Super Sabre was not considered as an ideal candidate because of some issues it had at the time.  Northrup was awarded the contract and it became the T-38 Talon.

The new aircraft first flew in 1959 and became operational in 1961.  It serves the US Air Force as the only supersonic trainer in the world.  Other countries use high subsonic aircraft.  At one time, this aircraft was used for the Thunderbirds.

NASA operates a fleet of 32 of these aircraft and they are used as astronaut trainers and chase planes.  Eventually these aircraft will be retired.

And We End the Day with the Cuyahoga

As I was getting ready to leave, I saw that the Cuyahoga was heading upbound.  I decided to head down to St Clair because it was starting to rain and I wanted to cut down my waiting time.

 I think she was heading up from Detroit but again I'm not sure.

 I think she was heading to one of the stone docks up north.  I want to say she was headed to the one past DeTour.

 At any rate, it was nice to catch her because I'm not sure how much longer she is going to be sailing.

 It seems like Lower Lakes likes to use the heck out of their boats.

 I just hope it's a while before she heads to the breakers.

 And she passes by.

The stern shot I could get at St. Clair.

Next Up....the Saginaw

My day of classic lakers continued.

 Next up was the Saginaw belonging to Lower Lakes.

 I think she was coming down from Calcite with a load of limestone but again, I'm not sure.

 I also think that she was heading down to Detroit.

 She makes the turn towards the River's channel.

 Framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 Another shot with the Bridge.

 And she continues on.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

 And she continues down the river.

And a shot of her stern.