With January 2021 here, it’s time for the fifth annual review of my aviation activities. While I mainly do this to have a place that I can go back to remember some of the flights I took and aircraft I saw, I also hope you enjoy reading through it and through some of the articles …
2020 in Review: Looking Back at My Highlights of Last Year Read More »
On June 14, 2020, ANA operated its last commercial Boeing 737-500 flight. That left only the Next-Generation “-700s” and “-800s.” in its fleet. Considering that JAL and other Japanese airlines nowadays only operate the Next-Generation 737s as well, the era of 737 Classics in Japan came to an end. While I didn’t have a chance …
Flying on a “Super Dolphin” and a Brief History of ANA’s 737s Read More »
While airlines like ANA and JAL represent Japan around the world, there are also much smaller Japanese airlines that, among other things, focus on connecting the country’s main islands with its smaller outlying islands. With Nagasaki Prefecture being home to 51 of the more than 300 inhabited ones, it is no surprise that an airline …
Oriental Air Bridge: A Vital Link to Nagasaki’s Outlying Islands Read More »
Flying Cathay Pacific’s first class on its fifth freedom flight between Vancouver and New York is arguably the most luxurious way to get between the two costs of North America right now. Unfortunately, earlier this year, the airline announced that it would be discontinuing the flight next spring. Looking at its reservation system reveals that …
Fifth Freedom, First Class: Onboard Cathay’s Flight from Vancouver to New York Read More »
Significant amount of Boeing 787 components are being made in and around Aichi Prefecture in Japan. Because of that, in 2015, Boeing donated the first Boeing 787 test plane (ZA001) to the city of Nagoya. After sitting on the apron of Centrair airport for a couple of years, it found its new home in Flight …
Flight of Dreams: The Home of ZA001, the First Boeing 787 Test Plane Read More »
MRJ Museum near Nagoya Komaki airport combines several exhibits related to the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (now known as the SpaceJet) and a tour of its final assembly facility. Together with Boeing’s tour in Everett and Airbus’ tour in Toulouse, it’s one of the three publicly accessible airliner factory tours in the world. Access, Opening Hours …
MRJ Museum: A Peek into the Production of Mitsubishi SpaceJet Read More »
While over the years, my aviation hobby has evolved a fair bit, there is one thing that remained unchanged. And that is my love of plane spotting. I visited an airport for the sole purpose of watching aircraft back in April 2006, and since then have been to quite a few airports around the world …
Plane Spotting: What Is It and How to Get Started? Read More »
NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center operates a number of aircraft out of Building 703 at Palmdale airport. Among those, two airliners from yesteryear – a Boeing 747SP and a Douglas DC-8 – that found a new life as research aircraft can be found. Last year, I had a chance to fly on the larger one …
Flying on the NASA DC-8: Observing an Airborne Science Lab in Action Read More »
While NASA is best known for the work it does in connection with space travel and exploration, every day the agency’s engineers, researchers, and other staff work hard to make advances in the field of aeronautics as well. One of NASA’s divisions responsible for that is the Armstrong Flight Research Center – known until 2014 as …
Inside Armstrong Building 703: The Home of NASA’s State-of-the-Art Research Aircraft Read More »
