Slow Day at DFW

Say what you will, but Boeing 747s are still my most favorite plane and I hate to see airlines retiring them by fleet numbers. Thank goodness for air cargo carriers.

China Air Cargo

One of the regular cargo carriers at DFW

Beautiful Plane

A Flipped Airport Today

EVA Air Cargo's 747-400 headed to Anchorage for re-fueling.

Takeing off on 36L at DFW International. This would be 18R normally

Eating Up a lot of Runway--Loaded with fuel. It's a long way to Asia!

It's always a big disappointment to visit Founder's Plaza at DFW International when the airport is flipped and the planes are landing on Runways 35 and 36 rather than their other ends, 17 and 18. When ATC has the planes landing on 3- 35s and 2- 36s, they are at the far south end of the airport. The only hope one has at a good view with a reasonable lens is limited to 747's--the most graceful bird that  flies. Watching one land is a ballet in slow motion.

 In times past, I have watched  them hit the 10 mile marker and take forever and a day it seems to reach the threshold of the runway they are assigned for landing. Of course once they hit that one point where they are equal with you in line of site, there 180 knots makes the landing end in seconds. It's that old Physics thing that comes into play. However, the take off can  generate excitement for a photographer as that huge aluminum tube with wings and wheels rotates on the runway and takes to the air coming at you as its engines whine and the big bird climbs out to its departure control  altitude in the TRACOM before being handed off to Ft. Worth Center. The problem with a flipped airport is that the big Heavys during the day are limited in departures to mostly the cargo carriers and limited passenger departures during the day.

Today, there was just one opportunity to get a good photo shot of a departing 747. There were only two arrivals and of course, they came in on the one of the 3-35s which are on the east side of the terminals nearly two miles aways from the 2- 36 runways. The 2-crosswind runways had no traffic today.

Thank goodness, the weather was excellent. Over night, the winds are forecast to switch to the south and the airports in the Metroplex will be back to the normal flight rules again. Here are a few shots from the afternoon.