Hanging Out in the 27s

I wasn't planning on going to airport last night.  The Air France 787 flight was cancelled again and I didn't see any reason to go.  That was until I checked FlightRadar and saw that the planes were lining up to land on the 27s.  The 27s are the runways that run due west and then are only used when there are strong winds from the west.  And I think wind speeds were reaching the upper 30's yesterday.  I figured it would give me a chance to get some different angles on the planes.

 I figured my best bet would be from the McNamara parking deck.  I also figured that the planes would be coming almost straight at me.  It looked like they were using 27R mostly for takeoffs.  This Delta Airlines A319 was getting on its way to Charlotte.

 It was followed by an MD-88 on its way to Atlanta.

 It's not often when I can get the planes taking off.  This is a 767 on its way to Munich.

 I think they were using 27L exclusively for landings.  This Spirit Airlines A320 was arriving from Seattle.

 It was followed by an A320 arriving from San Diego.

 I had to pick and choose between the runways because 27R was pretty busy too.  This Delta A320 was getting on its way to Beantown.

 This A319 arrived from Monterrey.

 Next up was this American Airlines MD-83 arriving from Dallas.

 A 757 heading to Seattle.

 But what really made my night was when I found out that there were some diversions coming in from Toronto.

 British Airways used to serve Detroit Metro until the early 2000's.  I don't think they generated enough traffic between London and Detroit to justify continuing here.  I wish I had my radio with me because I could have heard their callsign of "Speedbird".

 This was 777 that originally came from London.  With A380 service starting to Chicago, maybe we'll get to see one of those on a diversion.

 This A319 just arrived from Mexico City.

 An A319 heading out to St. Louis.

 A Spirit Airlines plane arriving from Seattle.

 An A330 arriving from Amsterdam.

 This 757-300 was on its way to Orlando.

 The MD-11 arriving from Memphis.

 Another shot of that plane.

 An Embrear but I'm not sure of its origin.

 An MD-88 from Windsor Locks, CT.

 An A321 arriving from San Diego.

 The 757 arriving from Orlando.

 Another shot of that plane.

 The Jet Blue A320 arriving from Boston.

 A 737.

 Another diversion.  An Air Canada A320 but I'm not sure where it was flying from.

 A 717 arriving from Kansas City.

 This MD-88 arriving from Denver.

 It is joining the party.

 I ended the night with a 757.

This one arrived from Santa Ana.

With all the planes coming in from all different directions, I had a blast planespotting last night.

May the Fourth Be With You - Part 2

I couldn't pass up on a Darth Vader picture though.

I still think he is one of the baddest villains out there. 

May the Fourth Be With You

I guess what has become somewhat of a tradition with me, I try to do a Star Wars photograph for what is unofficially the Star Wars holiday.

With the new trilogy, there is a new set of heroes and villains.  With the last movie, Rey has taken the mantle of the Jedi and Kylo Ren has taken the mantle of the Sith (or some derivative thereof).  I can wait for the ending to this series.

Flying Swiftly...Or Something

So I went to the airport tonight.  I was hoping to catch my 787 pair again but I found out that the Air France flight was cancelled.  I think they are still under strike or something.  I also found it was cancelled tomorrow to.  Oh well, I got the Royal Jordanian 787 and that's pretty good to me.

 First up is a 737 belonging to Swift Air.  This particular bird was arriving from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.  Swift Air is a charter/business jet airline.

 An A319 belonging to United Airlines flying in from San Francisco.  I need to go planewatching there at some point.  I've seen pictures and it looks like there is pretty nice spot that is publicly accessible.

 It always makes my night when I see a Mad Dog.  This particular one is an MD-88 arriving from Windsor Locks.  I still think they need to put the funny mustache on the nose.

 It's always nice to see other colored aircraft in a see of white.  This particular Spirit Airlines A320 was arriving from Atlanta.

 Under normal circumstances, I would love the CRJ, but I see too many of them.  This CRJ900 was arriving from White Plains, NY.

 It was followed by a CRJ-900 from Portland, ME.

 An MD-83 arriving from Dallas.

 Another Spirit A320 from LaGuardia.

 It wasn't too long before the 787 appeared.

 As always, this was coming from Amman, Jordan with a stop in Montreal.

 I love this plane.

 They call this one the Trash Panda because of the lining around its cockpit window.  While that name is less than flattering, I think this is a nice looking plane.

 Another Mad Dog.  This one an MD-90 coming in from Atlanta.

 Next up was a Southwest 737 flying in from Atlanta.

 Another plane that I like to catch is the MD-11 from Memphis, TN.

 A CRJ from Erie.

 The A330 arriving from Amsterdam.

 A CRJ from Columbus, OH.

 And of course, my favorite is the 757.

 This one was arriving from Orlando.

 A CRJ-700 from Indianapolis.

 This 737 was coming from Phoenix.

 A CRJ from Milwaukee.  It seems like this flight is normally an MD type plane.  I hope this isn't foretelling the future.

 Another CRJ.  This one was arriving from Midway.

And I ended the night with a 757 from Fort Myers.

Wednesday Wolverines

As I was heading home tonight, I saw that I would be passing Depot Town at the time the eastbound Wolverine would be passing.   I decided to stop at my spot near the depot to get pictures.

 It wasn't too long before the eastbound Wolverine appeared and I was able to take pictures of it.

 I didn't notice the engineer making peace signs though.  This is train number 352.

 I thought it was pretty cool.  Anyway, this train would continue on to Dearborn, Detroit, Royal Oak, Troy and Pontiac. 

 As I was heading to trivia, I saw that I had a chance to catch the westbound Wolverine.  This is train number 355.

 No peace signs this time, but a chance to catch the train by the depot.

One more shot before moving on.  The train would continue on to Ann Arbor, Jackson, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and eventually Chicago.

Tuesday Spotting

I was gonna go to Kensington tonight but stuff got in the way, so I ended up heading to the airport instead.  As it was, I was pushing the limits of my lighting.  The sun was starting to set and I only had a few minutes.

 I was looking for planes coming in from the west, so I went to my spot on Wick Road.  Of course, my first plane was landing on the other runway.  This MD-88 was arriving from Windsor Locks, CT.

 It was followed by an MD-88 arriving from Milwaukee.

 On the other runway was a 717 arriving from Pittsburgh.

 Even a CRJ looks nice in the setting light.  this one was coming from South Bend.

 A Southwest Airlines plane coming in from Midway Airport in Chicago.

 A CRJ-900 from Louisville.

 And this CRJ-700 from Midway.  It's amazing how many planes arrive from Chicago.

 The first 757 that I was waiting for.

 This particular one was coming from San Francisco.

 An Embrear 175 from Lexington, KY.

 A CRJ-700 from Madison, Wisconsin.

 It was followed by an American Airlines CRJ-700 from O'Hare.

 And I finished with another 757.

This one was arriving from LAX.