Plane Spotting Luke AFB

Right between those two signs was always one of the better places.

Airplane Tray Table

Photo above shows a tray. On airplanes, it's commonly mis-referred to as a "tray table."

A tray is a shallow platform designed for carrying things.

A table is a form of furniture. Alternately, a table is an organized set of data elements using a model of vertical columns and horizontal rows.

So it makes no sense when the flight attendant tells everyone to put their "tray table in the full upright and locked position."

To move it to "upright" would mean that it was "sideways" when it was "horizontal."

And it never gets "locked," it gets "latched."

Don't get me started ...

Airplane Seatmate

Turns out the guy next to me said he was a guitar player.

Paper Airplane

'Can't beat that with a stick ...

Airplane Spotter

Today we pay tribute to the unsung hero of aviation, The Airplane Spotter.

Often branded as terrorists or labled as criminals, they continue their eternal mission to identify and document the movements of millions of aircraft around the world every day.

It is the fervid work of Airplane Spotters that has weaved the tapestry of aviation history as we know it, ever since the Wright Brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk.

The faceless and nameless spotter above is shown pointing out N663US (c/n 23818/715; 747-451); the very first Boeing 747-400 to enter service back in February 1989.

Today and forever, the Airplane Spotter will serve as a beacon of light against the tyranny brought about by tens of thousands of incompetent and maladroit rent-a-cops who are all chronically infected by severe and deeply entrenched personality disorders.

To all of the Airplane Spotters around the world, we offer a simple "Thank You."

P-40E Warhawk 80th Fighter Group Burma Banshees - Skull Squadron CRASH DAMAGE

As their probe continues, NTSB investgators painstakingly reassemble the airframe in a secluded hangar.

The aircraft was not equipped with a flight data recorder, or cockpit voice recorder.

Retracts still work.

She went in at 50% throttle. The spinner shattered as designed, thus absorbing some of the force. Pushrods and tubes are bent, but the prop shaft is OK. 

Photos by LBBC.

P-40E Warhawk 80th Fighter Group Burma Banshees - Skull Squadron

Top Flite 1/7th scale R/C P-40E Warhawk

First flight - 2002

Build time - 2.8 years

Engine - 1.2 cubic inch four stroke

This is not an exact replication of a Burma Banshee aircraft, but was built as a tribute.

Last flight - July 9, 2013. According to the NTSB preliminary report, the test pilot reported a loss of flight control. It's an unrepairable hull loss.

Thanks to our Long Beach Bureau Chief for these.

Saker Aircraft S-1 Personal F-15

Max speed : Mach 1.1

High Speed Cruise : Mach 0.99

Lockheed Stratoliner Concept

The Lockheed Stratoliner is designed to be the next step in passenger flight, flying higher and further than its predecessors.

We thank Designer William Brown and Tuvie.com for allowing Airplane Life the use of these these images and their description. 

Aloha Airlines Wyland N748AL

Gone but not forgotten. 737-76N, (30050/429).

The "Airplane Life" Vest Contest !!! Coming in February !!!

STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS OF OUR OUR BIGGEST GIVEAWAY YET !!!

       

James Bond 007 "Casino Royale" airplane - Skyfleet X570 prototype

This modified 747-236B appeared in the Bond movie "Casino Royale."

We extend a special thanks to our colleague n94504/jetphotos.net for allowing Airplane Life to display these images :

After 007, the same jet was in a VW commercial :

Passenger Warning Placard

Now let's just think about this for a moment ...

Smoking Section on the Plane

From the Golden Age of Aviation ...

Or maybe this was the Marlboro Red era.

Hard to tell  ...

'Kinda doesn't look like a Stratocruiser ...

Airplane Life Magazine 1937

We found this old Life magazine. The "Transoceanic Transport" issue.

In-N-Out at LAX Spotting

So when you hang around the In-N-Out at LAX taking pictures like this ...

... someone up there thinks you look like this  ...

Today's trivia : If you went back far enough in your time machine, you'd find that that location used to be a Pier 1 Imports ... and before that it was Cost Plus ...

Recently Unclassified UAV Images

A Chief Scientist for the Munitions Directorate of the AFRL at Elgin AFB sent us these photos of a Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle, but provided no elaboration.

The photos appear to show the aircraft in a ferrite anechoic chamber.

There is no scale reference, so we are left to guess the size.

The flexible wing flight control surfaces obviously represent some challenges to the Kutta-Joukowski Theorem. As far as structural characteristics, we believe the fuselage might be of aggregate carbon fiber compositry. The surveillance and target acquisition sensor array integrated into the foreplanes are likely superplastically formed and diffusion bonded.

A real mystery is the polyimide MLI covering the vehicle, suggesting it may be capable of spaceflight.

   

Convair 880 Speed Record Anniversary

The other day was the 52nd anniversary of when a Convair 880 set a speed record on a delivery flight to Delta between San Diego and Miami ... 3 hrs, 31 min.

Just days after that, another Delta Convair 880 hit 715 MPH between Chicago and Miami.

The new Convair was designed to smoke the 707 and DC-8 and cruise at 600 MPH. That converts to 880 FPS. Hence the name; Convair 880. And now you know...

Apple iPhone Siri Airplanes

We asked Siri about airplane websites.

LAX Airport Spotting Location - #2

Here's a couple that will get you thinking ... Once more, we may or may not confirm or deny any perfectly correct answers.