The Wandering Disciple

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...

Tampa, Florida: On the way home from the zoo, I took a look at Flightradar24 and saw that the More to Love livery from Alaska Air was due into Tampa International within the hour so we decided to make a stop on the way home. During the hour waiting for it, I managed to shoot 27 aircraft with 21 of them being new to me. Included in today’s aircraft photographed are: HB-JHQ – Airbus A330 (Edelweiss Air)  N18NY – Gulfstream V  N197PQ – Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-900 (Endeavor Air) #  N211WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N231JB – Embraer 190 (JetBlue Airways)  N247WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N344AG – Saab 340 (Silver Airways)  N455WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N493AS – Boeing 737-900 (Alaska Airlines/More to Love)  N520JB – Airbus A320 (JetBlue Airways) #  N550FX – Bombardier Challenger 300 (FlexJet)  N554NW – Boeing 757-200 (Delta Air Lines)  N648NK – Airbus A320 (Spirit Airlin...

If you are around an airport, you get used to seeing the familiar colors of the aircraft. But most airlines have a few specially painted aircraft like this SkyTeam livery from Delta Air Lines. If you enjoy watching planes like I do, seeing one of these special livery aircraft at the airport is like opening a pack of baseball cards and finding a special insert card. (Photo: August 31, 2019)

Delta coming and Delta going, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is busy with company traffic during rush hour. Delta is the fourth busiest air carrier at FLL, transporting almost 3.4 million passengers a year. (Photo: June 22, 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  

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 ...

Orlando, Florida: On a recent trip to Disney, I was able to get away to Orlando International Airport for some plane watching before heading to the parks. The winds favored Ruway 18 as the active runway.  This is one of my favorite traffic patterns since it allows for viewing from the pier on the lake at Airport Lakes Park.  Here you can watch planes and wildlife at the same time while enjoying the shade by the lake.  It was a slow morning by Orlando standards but here is a list of what I saw today: Boeing 757-200 - N676DL Airbus A321 - N197UW Boeing 737-800 - N8312C Boeing 737-700 - N570WN Boeing 737-700 - N428WN Boeing 737-900 - N39415

While on the way back from ZooTampa, we stopped for dinner at McAllister's Deli over by Tampa International Airport.  While there, I decided to look at the incoming flights for TPA.  I was surprised to see Edelweiss on the arrival list so after dinner I headed over to try and catch it. The winds favored Runway 1 so rather than heading to the parking garage, I went to Cypress Point Park at the base of Runway 1L. We were not here long but here is look at what we caught in about 15 minutes of spotting. Airbus A319 - N819AW Boeing 737-800 - N863NN Airbus A330 - HB-JHR Boeing 757-200 - N660DL Embraer 190 - N279JB

The airfield at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport is busy during the lunch time rush.  The airport helps passengers in the Sarasota region connect with cities throughout the United States and Canada.  (Photo: September 6, 2012)

A Delta Air Lines flight departs from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airport located south of downtown Atlanta has been the busiest airport in the world since 1998.  It services over 100 million passengers a year, almost 260,000 a day.  Much of the traffic comes from Delta Air Lines, a major airline that calls Atlanta home.  (Photo: June 5, 2016)

A Delta flight taxis into the terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport during the busy holiday travel season.  The airport services an average of 2,500 flights per day connecting passengers to 150 domestic and 75 international destinations.  (Photo: December 21, 2014)

Delta Flight 963 prepares for flight at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The McDonnell-Douglas MD-88 would deliver us home on the final leg of our 2004 Mid-Atlantic vacation. The MD-88 is Delta's primary jet for the Sarasota-Bradenton to Atlanta run. (Photo: May 1, 2004)

Atlanta, Georgia: With over 4,000 flights a day to six of the seven continents in the world, Delta Air Lines is the second largest airline in the world. Their fleet of 716 aircraft deliver passengers to 247 destinations worldwide. Delta got its start in 1924 as Huff Daland Duster, a crop dusting service in Macon, Georgia. In 1925, they became the largest privately owned airline fleet and relocated their headquarters to Monroe, Louisiana. The in the late 1920’s Huff Daland expanded operations into the passenger market and was renamed Delta Air Service. Delta Air Service continued to grow through the 1930’s, expanding both passenger and mail delivery services. The 1940’s saw major changes for Delta. They relocated their headquarters to their current location in Atlanta. They began to offer cargo service and they welcomed their one millionth passenger onboard. They also helped U.S. war efforts by training pilots and assisting in maintenance of aircraft for the allied forces...