Official Aviation Thread...

[BlackbirdM3]

So this happened....




I got two of my Reno pics published in a New Zealand based magazine. I guess that makes me an internationally published photographer now.

Will

[mrsleeve]

Well done, and congrats..... All that time and practice is paying off.... thats awesome Will !!!!!

[BlackbirdM3]

Well done, and congrats..... All that time and practice is paying off.... thats awesome Will !!!!!

Thanks. I have to say, my static shots this year were awesome, but my ones of the actual racing, were less than impressive. There are a few good ones, but it was my static sunset, sunrise and night shots that kicked ass.

Will

[LateFan]

Maybe you guys can help identify a plane I see regularly. It looks like a small to medium commuter (or freight?) plane, twin turboprop, high wings, pretty skinny shape, and I'm pretty sure a pair of rounded canards sticking straight out at the rear of the fuselage.

It appears pretty fast - it comes ripping in here to the Missoula MT MSO airport from the east most weekday mornings. Maybe he's just low, but it rips overhead at what seems like way faster than the Alaska/Horizon small commuters.

The closest similar shape I've seen with amateur google fu is a Dash 8, except for those rounded canards. I see the newest 400 version has some blade-like canards or stabilizers angled down at the rear - but those look more like a bilge keel on a tugboat hull.

[318kid]

Maybe you guys can help identify a plane I see regularly. It looks like a small to medium commuter (or freight?) plane, twin turboprop, high wings, pretty skinny shape, and I'm pretty sure a pair of rounded canards sticking straight out at the rear of the fuselage.

A quick look at flight aware shows that MSO gets some Beech 99 and Saab 340 freighters. My guess would be one of those. Other freighters running around out west are Merlin Metroliners, and Embraer EMB-120's. I doubt an ATR 42 comes in there or a Shorts 360 but it's possible. For Passenger Turboprops, there are only a couple of Part 121 (schedueled airline) operaters. Horizon operates the Dash8-400 into MSO.

[mrsleeve]

^

Out of all those the ATR is the only high wing IIRC anyway

Late: is this it ATR 42 in Fedex livery,

[318kid]

Yeah I looked back and I bet it's a Beech 1900 actually. One comes in at 9:15 AM most weekdays. There is also an ATR that comes in on occasion from GTF as well so it could be either of those.

Saab 340 is more mid wing but idk how close LateFan is seeing these planes from.

[LateFan]

hmmm....could be an ATR I guess....has about the right proportions, but I don't see the canards.

Some of the Beech 1900 pics show a chubby guppy looking plane - this one is fairly skinny. Could I be mistaking the high wing because I'm looking straight up at it...?? Mayyybe.

Where are you finding those planes coming in? I looked for incoming flights and don't see any 9:15, mostly the regional commuters / twinjets / 737 / Airbus twin.

Thanks!

[LateFan]

Oh, 318kid I think you win the cookie.

Alpine Air runs a freight plane Beech 1900 in here between 9 and 10, that's when I hear it and look up. There are the canards at the tail. The wings fooled me because I'm looking straight up, or he's banking away from me to line up with the runway. I see a ton of Dash 8's from Alaska, which are similar, but seem to be slower and lumber along.

It's a good looking plane, sleek and fast. Most everybody has their wheels down already as they bank around the valley and over us, but this guy dives straight in over the mountain going fast.

Funny there are daily freight runs, when you can't fly passenger from MSO to Billings. The two biggest commercial cities in MT. You can pay $400 to $800 and fly Alaska to Seattle and then back over MSO to Billings, in 5 hours, which is what it takes to drive. Big Sky Airlines went under in 2010 or so.

There's a corporate subscription charter service to Billings with Neptune Aviation (the fire bomber guys) for business types who need to be there and back the same day.

[LateFan]

Oh I just learned something new....

The 1900 is an evolution of the King Air. That explains the looks and proportions.



This military version hauled Lyndon Johnson back and forth to his TX ranch, so it was Air Force One...


I like old Beechcrafts

[mrsleeve]

Late: Up here we have brown trucks mobbing the small cargo planes about 3 times a day nearly every day getting everyone's amazon shit.... I know I have stuff that has been delivered to my house at 8pm that was on 1 of those 3pm planes ....

[318kid]

Hey Late,

I was just using flight aware. It's a website that allows you to track planes, and see departures and arrivals at airports. It's pretty useful, and the full website is better than their mobile version. He likely can get away with that doing a visual approach in an old plane. Anytime I came in with my airline we always at least started an approach or followed the approach path to avoid our airplane snitching on us to the company or anything like that. The 1900 can get away with it because they likely don't have the same equipment we do for things like that.

[LateFan]

Oh yeah, I poked around flight aware. It’s cool, you can even see small planes and private Learjets coming and going.

So if I’m at 3200’, and the mountain is 5000’, how high above that would he have to be?

[flyboyx]

In mountainous terrain, you are required to clear obstacles within 5 miles each side of your course by 2000 feet. However, if you are taking off or landing, those rules don't apply.

[LateFan]

Haha, he went around us and came in from the west! I was ready to go out in the yard and get a good look.