One of These Things is Not Like the Others

 I am starting to see more helicopters fly by Belle Isle as I take pictures of ships.

I think this is a Robinson R44 and it operates from Detroit City Airport.

I'm not sure who owns it.

This is another Robinson R44 and it comes out of Grosse Ile.

I see this helicopter fairly often.

And I know it runs tours.

The first helicopter I saw.  It was up again.

I'm not sure who this helicopter belongs to.

As I was taking a picture of one of the ships, I saw this guy fly over.  It was an A330 and I think it was arriving from Amsterdam.

Sun and Walk and Keeping My Distance

It was a nice night.  The executive order on my state does not preclude going out and getting some exercise.  That is as long as we keep our distance.  It was a very nice night (maybe a little chilly), so I decided to take myself and my camera for a walk.

 I saw this plane flying over my place as I was walking out.  I didn't have time to check FlightRadar but based on pattern, it would have been an A220 coming in from Dallas.  Flight traffic has taken a huge hit.  Well, I know it's an A220, just not sure of origin.

 I know this guy is a robin.  I'm glad that I have a lens with the reach to get these guys but I still had to do some blowing up.

 Same robin looking in a different direction.

 I think this is a sparrow.

 Same robin.

 This is a male house finch.

 I will have to say he is a pretty nice bird.

 Not quite as regal as a cardinal but still pretty nice.

 Just another view.

 This is a 757 and I think it would have been heading off to Seattle.  If what I'm reading is true, it is probably at about 20% of capacity.  I can't imagine flying in those conditions, but at least the plane isn't crowded.

And this is a Chessie looking at her crazy human.

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.