X Marks the Spot

 So Thursday night is my normal night to go visit the Aluminum Aviary.  It is generally the night that I can catch the Air France 787.  It used to be the night when the Royal Jordanian 787 would visit but with the aviation slow down due to COVID, the Royal Jordanian flight to Detroit has been stopped for the time being.  Air France has started up again, so there's that.  Sometimes I can also catch the Fed Ex and UPS flights, so it makes for an interesting evening of planewatching.

They are in the process of replacing the 3L/21R runway.  In order to show landing planes that the runway is not in service, they have this big flashing X.  I'm sure there is also a notice that tells pilots that the runway is closed but this provided a good visual reminder of that fact.  The runway construction is making my watching from the deck a little more difficult but it's not too bad.

It was a nice evening and when I got to the airport, I noticed that the flights were coming in from the other direction of what I thought they were.  As a result, I could see the UPS 757 landing as I was approaching the parking deck.  It was followed by this 737.

The flight was coming in from Cancun.  It was a little cooler than it's been lately, so I imagine those folks got a little shock.

A CRJ-900 coming in from Montreal.

I thought the clouds looked pretty cool last night, so I used this picture of the Spirit A320neo that was coming in.

I like having the windsock in the picture, so I include this.  This particular plane was arriving from Myrtle Beach.

It was followed by another Spirit Airlines A320neo.

I really liked the clouds in this picture, so I included it.

Had a hint of tire smoke as it touched down.  It was arriving from Atlanta.

A Beechcraft Super King Air, but like most business aircraft, I had no idea where it was arriving from.

And the plane I was looking for.

Since I really like this plane, I will have multiple pictures of it.

This plane was coming in from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, France.  It is also known as Roissy Airport (because it is actually in Roissy-en-France, kind of like how Detroit Metro is actually in Romulus).   The airport was built to replace Orly Airport as an international airport and it's construction was completed in 1974.  It is the busiest airport in France and second busiest in Europe (after Heathrow).

Charles De Gaulle was of course the leader of the Free French Army in World War II and served as the leader of France after the war.  He was an outspoke opponent of NATO and pulled out in 1966.  He was instrumental in developing France's own nuclear arsenal.  He was also a proponent of the European Economic Community which would later become of the European Union.

The 787 about to touch down.

I like this one a little better because of the beacons.

And a little smoke after touching down.