Saturday, February 2, 2013

Uncommon visitor


Just before I left work a few days ago, this Beech Staggerwing dropped in for a visit. Built in 1941, it flies for Mid Continent Instrument, a firm that builds aircraft instruments.



There are two places for general aviation aircraft to park at LAX, and he chose the one that's not terribly convenient to access; otherwise I'd have gone over after work for more photos. Instead, I offer you links to photos taken by other (real) photographers elsewhere on the web:



FlightAware Photo
Photo Courtesy of FlightAware.com




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15 comments:

  1. amulbunny's random thoughtsFebruary 2, 2013 at 12:13 PM

    My brother learned how to fly in one of these based at TOA. He said it was a great thrill to fly it.

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    1. CaptainVectorFebruary 20, 2013 at 10:31 AM

      I've gotten to sit in a Staggerwing, but have yet to ride in one. They're beautiful aircraft, but like most beautiful objects, they're kinda spendy.

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  2. Stephan ScharnbergFebruary 2, 2013 at 3:28 PM

    What a beautiful airplane--great to see a Staggerwing still flying. You sure have a great view of the runways and traffic!

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    1. CaptainVectorFebruary 20, 2013 at 10:32 AM

      As well we should -- although you'd be surprised at how much we can't see!

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  3. getjetsFebruary 3, 2013 at 10:42 AM

    OH Lord Captain Vector....You might want to put an arrow pointing to the precious 'staggerwing'...almost...missed it...at first glance......!!!
    and LOL......your web link on the delta jet is hilarious!!!!!!!

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    1. CaptainVectorFebruary 20, 2013 at 10:33 AM

      I almost missed it too - and I knew it was there!

      And yes, I was particularly proud of that bit of handiwork!

      Delete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2013 at 3:13 PM

    What a beautiful bird.
    In the middle picture, on the upper left there is a strange truck with a trailer with
    what appears to be a pressurised tank. What is it? And what does the red-and-white
    checkered flag mean?
    Last picture: nice comparison between the Challenger and the Global Express.
    First picture: Why was the Runway cordoned off?

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    1. CaptainVectorFebruary 20, 2013 at 10:38 AM

      The flag marks the truck as one of the construction vehicles. They are usually marked that way to make them more visible to pilots, although they normally shouldn't be where a pilot has to look out for them. The tank most likely is either water, used for dust control, or herbicide for weed control. Looking closely, I can see that it's got some sort of machinery on the front of the trailer - most likely an engine that powers a pump for the hose on the side of the tank.

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 16, 2013 at 7:00 PM

    Did an earlier attempt to answer on this page disappear? I'll try again.

    What a beautiful bird. There is a kitplane inspired by it, the Lionheart, built in composites, and lacking the struts and braces. One aircraft suffered the loss of the upper wing!

    My attention was drawn to the background of the second picture. What is the truck trailering in the upper left? And what does the red-and-white blocked flag mean?

    In the first picture, RWY 25R seems to be blocked?
    --Filip



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    1. CaptainVectorFebruary 20, 2013 at 10:44 AM

      No, your comment just suffered some jet lag . . .

      I remember the Lionheart, but haven't seen one in quite sometime. I recall thinking that it was going to be a very expensive and laborious project to build one.

      Runway 25 Right is blocked, as it was closed for construction at the time this occurred. That's why the El Al B777 is where you see it on Taxiway Golf - that was the taxi route we had to use to get departures to Runway 25 Left, as everything east of that point - particularly Taxiway Foxtrot - was closed.

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  6. CaptainVectorFebruary 20, 2013 at 10:43 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. AnonymousMarch 11, 2013 at 6:18 PM

    Hello Captain Vector,

    Thank you for taking a picture of me landing at LAX. I had to taxi to Landmark
    Aviation to visit a customer at Standard Aero. I hope I was not too much of a problem. It's been a long time since I've landed at LAX, back when I used to work at MGM Grand Air. Thanks again for all of your great work, it was a lot of fun coming in!

    -Pilot for N79091

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    1. CaptainVectorMarch 12, 2013 at 9:05 AM

      No problem at all; it's not often we get to see something really special like this - A couple of our newer folks had never seen a Staggerwing before - thanks for stopping by!

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  8. dirtcurtJune 11, 2018 at 12:09 AM

    That aircraft crashed May 25th 2018. The Staggerwing crashed in New Mexico.

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    1. CaptainVectorSeptember 9, 2018 at 2:00 PM

      I had not heard -- thanks for the comment. Sadly, the accident was fatal. Fortunately, the pilot was the only one on the plane and there were no injuries on the ground. I believe that it's still under investigation, but a quick web search did not reveal any obvious issues or causes. Here are a couple of the best things I found during that search:

      http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2018/05/beech-17-fatal-accident-may-25-2018.html

      https://www.dailynews.com/2018/06/05/pilot-whose-plane-went-down-had-roots-at-van-nuys-airport-and-lived-a-life-devoted-to-flight/


      RIP

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