The Wandering Disciple

  The Medal of Honor is the highest military honor bestowed upon heroes who displayed "Conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty". Awarded by the President in the name of Congress, over 3,500 heroes have been recognized since the inception of the honor in 1863.  To honor these heroes, American Airlines released Flagship Valor. Dedicated to recognize the Courage, Sacrifice, Integrity, Commitment, Patriotism and Citizenship of these heroes, Flagship Valor was unveiled by American Airlines in March 2022 to be a flying memorial to Medal of Honor recipients.  Taken: December 12, 2022 at Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, FL)

An American Airlines Boeing 737 cuts through some low clouds on approach to the airport. As is passes through the clouds, it leaves behind some vapor trails in the sky.  The aerodynamics and heat of the aircraft combined moisture and cold air of the clouds result in artwork in the sky. They range from the wingtip vortices seen here on this approach to the contrails often seen streaking across a clear blue sky.  Taken: November 23, 2022 at Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers, FL)

An American Airlines heritage aircraft smiles for the camera as it sits overnight at Southwest Florida International Airport. This aircraft is painted in the PSA heritage livery to pay tribute to Pacific Southwest Airlines, an airline based in California that operated from 1949 to 1988 before merging with USAir which would later become today's American Airlines. PSA was known as "The World's Friendliest Airline" and featured a fleet of Grinningbirds, smiling aircraft depicted in the heritage livery. American Airlines pays tribute to the roots of its airline though its heritage livery collection, a flying tribute to the airlines that make up today's American Airlines. (Photo: December 15, 2020)

A flock of American birds can be seen filling up the ramp of Concourse D at Southwest Florida International Airport.  American Airlines is the third busiest airline at RSW and connects passengers with destinations from Texas to New York.  American is responsible for almost 15% of commercial traffic at RSW.  American Airlines operates out of Concourse D, sharing the concourse with JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. (Photo: September 14, 2020)

  A throwback to a era long gone, the Piedmont Pacemaker touches down at Southwest Florida International Airport.  Part of American Airline's heritage livery collection, this aircraft pays tribute to Piedmont Airlines.  Founded in 1948, Piedmont served the flying public until 1989 when it was merged in to USAir. Today it is memorialized as part of the heritage livery collection, a flying history of the airlines that collectively became American Airlines over the years.  (Photo: August 10, 2020)

As this American Airlines flight takes to the skies, its paint scheme flashes us back to the 1980's when AirCal flew the California skies. AirCal started in 1967 and operated until it merged with American Airlines in 1987. American Airlines keeps the history alive through the heritage livery, a collection of aircraft that still sport the colors of the brand prior to merger with American Airlines. These include airlines like TWA, PSA, Piedmont, America West, US Air and more. (Photo: April 19, 2020)

Sarasota, Florida: After taking a position with the fire department at neighboring Southwest Florida International Airport, I have not been back to my home airport Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in quite some time. This weekend I found myself in Sarasota and made a stop by SRQ. Runway 14 was active and I went to my usual spot near the approach end of 14 and spent about an hour photographing movements. Here is a look at what I saw today: N107PF – Cessna Skylane  N166SA – Beechcraft Super King Air 300   N167TV – Gulfstream IV  N188RW – Piper Malibu Mirage  N324DX – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N374NW – Airbus A320 (Delta Air Lines)  N384SH – Cessna Citation Excel  N395ZA – L-39 Albatros   N407YX – Embraer 175 (Republic Airways/American Eagle)  N424FX – Embraer Legacy 450  N424TP – Piper Saratoga  N643RW – Embraer 170 (Republic Airways/United Express)  N663AW – Airbus A320 (American Air...

One of these tails are not like the other. It is in fact a throwback to an era gone by in American Airlines. In an effort to memorize their history, American Airlines honors its heritage through retro liveries like this one from the old American livery which their fleet utilized until 2013. (Photo: November 12, 2019)

Orlando, Florida: On a recent trip to the East Coast, we made a brief stop by Orlando International Airport to see the arrival of a few international heavy flights. It was raining and stormy so we were not going to stay long, but there was an A350 and a 747 both inbound so I braved the elements for a few minutes. We found a spot along the approach to Runway 17L at a corporate park and watched the arrival of a few aircraft. In the shot time at the field, I photographed: N202FR – Airbus A320 (Frontier Airlines)  PR-XTE – Airbus A350 (LATAM)  G-VROM – Boeing 747-400 (Virgin Atlantic)  N643JB – Airbus A320 (JetBlue Airways)  N560UW – Airbus A321 (American Airlines)  As you can see, Airbus was the big winner today. You can see these aircraft and all my photos from MCO at my Orlando International Airport photo gallery .

The Airbus see his shadow means more smooth flights ahead. An American Airlines Airbus departs from Tampa International Airport casting a larger than life plane shaped shadow as it departs on a sunny afternoon. (Photo: May 27, 2019)

An American Airlines MD-83 sits on the tarmac at Tampa International Airport.  This workhorse of the American Airlines fleet is on the verge of extinction as both the aircraft and the paint scheme are in the process of being replaced in the fleet.  The MD-83 was produced by McDonnell Douglas from 1983 through 1999.  There were 108 of these in the American fleet with only 27 remaining in service.  (Photo: May 11, 2019)

Sarasota, Florida:   Caught a few hours of arrival traffic today at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.  The winds favored Runway 14 in use so I chose a spot at the approach side of Runway 14 near Erickson Marine.  This location at the dead-end of Somerset provide a great view of arrival traffic as well as some up close taxi views for the departing aircraft.  Here is a look at what I saw today: Piper Cherokee - N9614C   Bombardier Challenger 300 - N874WD   Airbus A319 - N310NV Cirrus Vision Jet - N348MW    Boeing 737-900 - N27477   Cessna Citation Excel - N632XL   Embraer Phenom 300 - N427QS   Airbus A320 - N547JB   McDonnell Douglas MD-88 - N947DL   Airbus A319 - N810AW   Embraer 175 - N429YX   Robinson R-44 - N60FM   Airbus A319 - N820UA McDonnell Douglas MD-88 - N983DL  

Tampa, Florida:    Took a morning trip to the zoo and traffic worked in my favor for once so I was able to squeeze in a little plane watching action at Tampa International Airport before the zoo opened.  For a busy airport, Tampa is very easy to watch at as the parking garage sits between both runway.  Today Runway 1 was in action so I parked on the south side of the 8th floor of the parking garage and watched a few planes come in.  Since its the holiday season, I got to watch a little cargo action today.  Here is a look at what I saw today: Boeing 737-800 - N17245 Boeing 767-300 - N331AZ Dassault Falcon 2000 - N25KZ Saab 340 - N435XJ Airbus A321 - N167US Boeing 737-700 - N448WN Boeing 737-800 - N940NN Airbus A321 - N708FR Saab 340 - N341AG Boeing 737-700 - N283WN Boeing 737-700 - N941WN Boeing 767-300 - N149FE Frontier Airlines - N317FR

Fort Myers, Florida: On a trip to Fort Myers, I managed to squeeze in some planespotting time at Southwest Florida International Airport. Here at RSW, there is an official observation area located along the north side of the airfield off of Air Cargo Lane. From here you have a view of the runway area, which is a single runway making it easy for spotting. Today Runway 6 was active, making for landing traffic in front of the observation area. Here is a look at what aircraft arrived or departed during my time at the airport: Boeing 717-200 - N893AT Airbus A320 - N329FR Embraer Legacy 6000 - N600LP Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-200 - N155MW Beechcraft Beechjet - N61GB Airbus A319 - N808AW Airbus A320 - N422UA Boeing 757-200 - N690DL Airbus A320 - JetBlue N643JB Airbus A320 - N402UA Embraer 190 - N296JB Boeing 757-200 - N696DL Airbus A319 - N831AW Boeing 737-800 - N970NN Boeing 767-300 - C-GHPE ...