Sunday, January 31, 2016

Need a hint?


I thought last week's was pretty obvious, but this week's is not so much. Here's your hint: pay no attention to the construction. Reveal coming tomorrow!

Friday, January 29, 2016

What's special about this picture?


Just in time for the weekend: Another installment of everyone's favorite blog game. This shot was taken late last week, but I just rediscovered it when I downloaded it from the camera yesterday. So, besides the reflections in the window, what's special about this picture? Look carefully! Reveal in a couple of days.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

New Arrivals


The Boeing Dreamliner is becoming more and more common at LAX. Both American and United have them here now, and at least a half-dozen international carriers bring them in as well. Here are two of the most recent additions, who coincidentally both park at Terminal Two.

Avianca flies to/from Bogota, Colombia, a flight that takes around six hours. This route has previously been flown with a B757, B767, or most recently, an A330-200. In each of these, the flight time was closer to seven hours. Avianca is the world's second-oldest airline (after KLM), and has equipped its B787s to carry 250 passengers. In comparison, the A332s that Avianca use carry 252.


Our very latest arrival just started service this week at LAX. Hainan Airlines is the largest privately-owned air transport company in China, and is China's fourth-largest airline. They have just introduced service between Los Angeles and Shangsha, China. The flight takes thirteen to fourteen hours, in Dreamliners set up for a passenger capacity of 213.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

What's wrong with this picure revealed



Whoops! Somebody lost their luggage - right in the middle of the taxiway. Actually, I believe that this particular cargo container is empty, and got blown off a transport. If you look at the far left edge of this photo, you'll see the windsock is extended straight out. Most airport windsocks require fifteen knots (28 km/h) of wind to fully straighten out like this. Additionally, observe the direction the windsock is pointing and the location on the airport. The sock is showing almost a direct crosswind, and this location is at the southern end of the taxiways that pass along the backside (west side) of the TBIT - the one place in this part of the airport where a north-south wind is unobstructed by buildings. The other possibility of course is that jet blast from a passing aircraft did the deed, also completely conceivable in that location. Many planes come across at taxiway Tango, which is the taxiway that the two catering trucks are crossing in this photo. The wind did blow the container partway across the taxiway, as when it was first reported the container was on the taxiway centerline. Either way, it look the better part of ten minutes for someone to come claim their lost container, during which time taxiway Bravo was blocked -- to the disappointment of the Skywest E175 seen in the first shot, who had an open gate waiting for it.




Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Blog revival: What's wrong with this picture?



Welcome to 2016!  It's been a couple of months since I last managed to post, so thanks to all for your patience. While I'm making no promises, I am attempting to revive this old blog, if only on an occasional basis. Let's start off the new year with everyone's favorite feature, What's wrong with this picture? I managed to snag this shot the day after Christmas. We're looking over the southern section of the newly-revamped international terminal at the west end of the south complex. Lots of things we could talk about here, but what's wrong with this picture? I'll give you a couple of days to think about it; look for the reveal over the weekend. Happy New Year!