Plane spotting in Cali

I had a couple days off in Ontario, California so I spent a few hours today getting some pics of planes heading in to the airport that's only like a mile away from where I am. Nothing spectacular, no military aircraft, mostly regional or mid-range aircraft with a few heavy cargo flights. It was pretty cool to see the Alaska E170 though.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Nice shots, what kind of camera/lens do you use?

a reply to: Bfirez

Nikon D3200 with a 55-200mm lens with hood.

a reply to: Zaphod58

When I get done with school and get a better gig that's one of the first things I plan on getting, haven't had a decent camera since smart phones took over.

Hey Zaph!

Next time you're in Ontario I have a pic you might like. You should give me a call sometime!

a reply to: BASSPLYR

Our plan was to head to Palm today, but we ended up staying here.

a reply to: Bfirez

I really like this one. It's a good camera, and it's inexpensive. The lens hurt a little bit, but even that wasn't too bad.

I was just in Ontario. Spectacular Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle coming around the mountains to bank into the airport, a very nice, small facility with no security lines. A Vet with us called his daughter to come pick him up, and she never showed. He called back and she was at LAX. Oops.

My father-in-law lived just south of Sea-Tac on the flight path. We got him one of those books that show the tail feathers of each company. No need for a telephoto where he lived. They flew right over. Thanks for the pics.

a reply to: Zaphod58

The War Plane Museum in Palm Springs is interesting!

originally posted by: NewzNose
a reply to: Zaphod58

The War Plane Museum in Palm Springs is interesting!

So is the Patton Museum a couple of miles east of Palm Springs on I-10 at the Chiriaco summit exit.

a reply to: Drunkenparrot

Both of which require that thing known as a car, which is one of the reasons we put off Palmdale today.

a reply to: Zaphod58

ENTERPRISE, AVIS, HERTZ...?

Would be worth it.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Drunkenparrot

Both of which require that thing known as a car, which is one of the reasons we put off Palmdale today.

Zaph you can see the pretty planes any other time. If transportation is a hassle, I say you two chill for the day, take her to a nice dinner somewhere instead.

a reply to: Zaphod58

It's good to see the mundane people-haulers getting some love here.

There's something so stalwart and admirable to me about those old Southwest 737 Classics. The idea that these things have valiantly survived 20+ years of the nonstop regional grind carries a certain sense of mechanical romance. It's a little bit like riding the Amtrak Regionals on the Northeast Corridor, getting hauled along century-old infrastructure at 120mph in 40 year old coaches pulled by 30 year old electric locomotives that have been running more or less continuously for their decades of service.

When I fly SW, those old 737's are a sentimental favorite of mine, because they always bear the scars of their decades of grueling service. Stuff like winglet kits and replacement flap actuator fairings, and even meticulous patchwork around the doors, where years of jetways docking and undocking have worn down the original aluminum skin. It's just cool to see the living mechanical history.

As for comfort though, you really can't beat the E-175s and E-195s. For domestic routes, when they have ample seat spacing, they're really in a class of their own.

a reply to: Barnalby

There's a Delta 747-400 coming in this afternoon. If in awake I'll try to go get a shot of it going by.

Have you got an airband radio with you and Flightradar 24 on your phone,or is this all by eye?

a reply to: Imagewerx

Check the inbound list on flightaware.com and then by eye.

Have you used Flightradar 24 on a mobile phone,it's done by magic you know!

a reply to: Zaphod58

Oooh, that's a rare one. A week or two ago, I caught one of the UAL 747's on a routing from BNA to IAD on flightradar, that was a weird one, I figured it was a ferry flight or something.

I've been trying to take photos of the A350 now that Qatar is flying them out of Logan, too bad I spent all my cash on my car instead of a camera. That, and they always seem to leave at 11PM.

Of course, right as I leave Boston, they expand the International terminal so Emirates can fly their A380s in.

a reply to: Imagewerx

The Flightradar app is dangerous. My girlfriend thought it was bad enough when I discovered back in 2012 that you could use the Wolfram app to figure out what was making a given contrail overhead. Flightradar almost puts TOO much power in your hands, haha.