Smokin' the tires

So anyway, I did this the other day:


While I'm not pleased at the prospect of replacing a $200 tire, it could have been worse:

It's commonly said that any landing that you can walk away from is a good one.
If the aircraft is usable again then it's a great landing. This one wasn't.

However, while contemplating the Baron's flat-spotted tire, it occurred to me that this could be the starting point for another photo spread. Nearly all of the photos I shoot are stills, and while there's nothing wrong with that, airplanes are not meant to be still creatures. They move, and that's the fascination with them. Some of that gets lost in still photography. There are some moments, though, where the action is strongly implied, even in a snapshot. The moment of touchdown is probably one of the best examples, as it's very transitory: blink, and you've missed it.

A microsecond too early:

An instant too late:

Just right:

An Allegiant MD-80 with Blue Man Group promotional markings

Southwest B737-700

United B757-200

China Cargo (callsign: Cargo King) MD-11; we're now seeing them here in B777-200's

Asiana B747-400. This is his second touchdown - he's just bounced, and will end up rolling all the way to the end of the runway

Air France B777-300 in their refreshed scheme. Air France operates -200s and -300s at LAX; we used to see B744s and A343s.

An early morning arrival: Avianca B767-200

Volaris A319 in LAX commemorative livery: LAX was Volaris' first US destination.

Skywest, flying as Delta Connection, CRJ9

KLM B747-400

Another early morning arrival: El Al B777-200

Qantas A380

Oh, and speaking of Barons . . . This is what a Baron looks like at LAX:

This has absolutely nothing to do with airplanes

I saw the title for this article in my browser's Latest Headlines tab, and thought it was interesting enough to share:

Ants protect trees from elephants

Stay tuned; the fourth segment of the B737 Spotter's Guide is still in the works, as well as a smoker's special.

Let me also put in another plug for the Long Beach Shakespeare Company, which is opening their fall season this weekend with the Long Beach premiere of Martin Sherman's Bent, the play which first brought the Nazi persecution of gays into public awareness.

In Canada and here in the US, we're heading into the Labor Day weekend, traditionally considered the end of summer and the summer travel season. I hope everyone has a safe Labor Day weekend; as it's Monday in my world, I'll be doing my part!

Adios Mexicana

Mexicana Airlines announced Friday that they would cease flight operations by midday Saturday because the company didn't have the money to continue further. At LAX, flights appeared to operate normally through the afternoon yesterday (Friday), but the usual evening arrivals did not appear. We have one US-registered Mexicana Airbus parked on the south ramp, awaiting developments.


Mexicana filed for bankruptcy on August 2nd, and a group of investors bought most of the company three weeks later. Significant reductions in work force and wages were sought from pilots and flight attendants, but unions were reluctant, citing previous concessions made in 2006.

Mexicana had been the busiest of the foreign airlines at LAX, serving a dozen cities in Mexico nonstop from Los Angeles. Some of those destinations were served (from here) solely by Mexicana. About a half-dozen other airlines offer service from LAX to various destinations in Mexico; I'm betting that their planes will be full tomorrow.

Here's a couple of Mexicana shots from happier times:

A Mexicana A319 in the new paint scheme, seen here with a Horizon Dash-8

The previous Mexicana livery on an A320, sandwiched between an arriving Lufthansa B744 and a Midwest E170

Mexicana

Economic Times article

LA Times Bankruptcy article

LA Times Shutdown article 1

LA Times Shutdown article 2

Seen 5!

I think I've shown you an Antonov 124 before, but here it is again; with an American B757 in the first picture

In an earlier segment, I mentioned that American Eagle had relocated on the field. This is their new terminal, adjacent to Taxiway Charlie and the Delta and United maintenance ramps. That's a United (Skywest) E-120 Brasilia at Terminal 8 in the foreground

Also mentioned in that previous segment was the Coast Guard station at LAX; here is another of their Dolphin helicopters

Jet Blue has the largest fleet of A320's; this is their 100th

One upside to the fires we have every year about this time is the beautiful sunsets

I can't seem to get away from B737 pictures

It's very rare to see a tail dragger at LAX; this Cessna 180 is only the second or third I've seen (the DC-3 in the first An-124 shot was the first, and I think I've a shot of a Stearman that was here a year or two ago)

Bounce! More than that, actually - this was the first of two, immediately followed by a go-around

I've been hoping to get another opportunity to shoot this StarCraft promo Korean B747, but so far had no luck. This was taken the one and only time I've seen it, about ten at night.

Special promo schemes from south of the border:

This Lufthansa B747-400 may celebrate 50 years of collaboration between Boeing and Lufthansa, but for every Lufthansa B744 we see at LAX, we get two of these:

This one is for one of the guys at work: An Air Force C-17 made a pass over a Santa Monica earlier this summer for a graduation ceremony or Memorial Day (I forget the occasion). It was a bit of a goat rope, as the C-17 approached from the west, against the flow of traffic off of Santa Monica and LAX airports, during a busy departure push. As you can see, visibility wasn't all that great, either. I lucked out getting this shot, as the fly-by was visible through the haze and low clouds for about three seconds.

This Virgin America A320 has two names: on this side it's Air Drake; on the other side it's chic mobile

A B767 arriving on Runway 24 Right, as seen through the approach lights