Year-end turn around

As it often does, it starts out peacefully enough. The evening before:

Red sky at night, sailor's delight . . .

By sunrise, things look a little different:

Red sky in morning, sailor's warning

Then a lot different:

The wind shifts . . .

Next thing you know, the airplanes are going the other way!

 

Here's a clue to the strength of the wind. In this shot, the aircraft is not yet under power; look at the rudder:

And now, with the engines running:

Obligatory departure shot:

 My favorite shots of the day:

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

To all of you around the world, my best wishes for a safe and happy holiday, regardless of what you call it. As you can see, my editors are already hard at work on next year's posts:

On the road photo quiz

Your faithful scribe is on a quest to rediscover his sanity.  Along the way he took this shot; not at LAX.  Any guesses what this is?

Our latest arrival: Lufthansa's B747-8

We've had B747-8s at LAX for a year now it seems; Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, Korean, and Nippon Cargo all have been parking them on the freight ramps. But today LAX received its first passenger B747-8, in Lufthansa colors. 

Lufthansa, who operates thirty B747-400s, has ordered twenty of the new B747-8s. Their B744s seat 344 passengers, while the new B748s accommodate 362 passengers.

The new B748s are longer and have a greater wingspan than their B744 predecessors, and not surprisingly, also have a greater takeoff weight. While the old and new aircraft have similar speeds and fuel capacities, the new model has a 300-mile greater range.

Having ordered twenty, Lufthansa is currently the biggest customer for the B747-8I; the next largest order is from Cargolux, who has ordered thirteen of the B747-8F freighter model.

Besides LAX, Lufthansa plans to operate the B747-8I from Frankfurt to Washington Dulles and Chicago O'Hare -- thus making LAX the only place on the west coast to see the B747-8I. Besides the factory, that is!

References:  Lufthansa fleet
                     Wikipedia: Boeing B747-400
                     Wikipedia: Boeing B747-8
                     Boeing: 747 family
                     Seattle pi: Lufthansa Brings the B747-8I to LAX
                     USA Today: Lufthansa to introduce new 747-8 to Los Angeles and Chicago


Special note: Happy Birthday Pop!

Shot of the day: Breaking out

Shot of the day: Sunset departure