The Wandering Disciple

Tampa, Florida: The day started like any other, a quick check of my phone upon waking. But this wasn't just any notification; it was a JetTip alert, signaling the imminent arrival of an Antonov at Tampa International Airport. This wasn't just any plane; Antonovs are a rare sight, massive cargo planes known for their unique design and sheer size. Coincidentally, we had already planned a trip to Tampa that evening for a concert. The opportunity was too good to pass up; we quickly adjusted our schedule to accommodate this unexpected aviation spectacle.  Arriving at the airport, we made our way to the top of the parking garage, a vantage point that promised an unparalleled view. And there it was, even from a distance, the Antonov's imposing silhouette was unmistakable. It dwarfed the surrounding aircraft as it gracefully maneuvered onto the west runway. The sheer scale of the plane was awe-inspiring; its massive fuselage, the sprawling wings, and the intricate network of landi...

Sarasota, Florida: When I was first introduced to planespotting, I began spotting from my local airport. I spend several years spotting from the perimeter of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. Life has since taken me further south and I do not get back here much, but today I managed to get airside at SRQ for a little spotting during a trip up to Sarasota.  During my time here, Runway 32 was active and we spotted from the pull-off on the north side of the airport. Here is a look at the aircraft we saw during our visit.  N96TE - Cessna Citation Excel   N278NV - Airbus A320 (Allegiant Air)   N284NV - Airbus A320 (Allegiant Air)   N291NV - Airbus A320 (Allegiant Air)   N297WN - Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)   N314DU - Airbus A220 (Delta Air Lines)   N351FX - Embraer Phenom 300 (Flexjet)   N536EU - Beechcraft Bonanza   N779VF - Beechcraft King Air 90   N780QS - Bombardier Challenger 350 (Netjets)   N853AC - Cessna ...

Fort Myers, Florida: This week marked a spotting milestone of sorts for me.  Since entering into service, the Airbus A220 has been making its way into the market and there are four potential airlines for me to photograph the A220 from an airport within close range of my home.  I have already photographed the A220's of Breeze, Delta and JetBlue.  This week I was able to get number four when Air Canada brought in their A220 on the Montreal flight.  In addition to the Air Canada A220, here is a look of everything I saw this week around RSW: 94-7319 – Lockheed C-130H Hercules (US Air Force)  168437 – Boeing P-8 Poseidon (US Navy)   C-FEWJ – Boeing 737 Max 8 (WestJet)   C-FJQL – Airbus A321 (Air Canada Rouge)   C-GMZY – Airbus A220 (Air Canada)   N48RF – De Havilland Twin Otter   N60AJ – Learjet 60  N117DU – Airbus A220 (Delta Air Lines)   N200WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)   N258SN – Boeing 747-400 (Western Global A...

Fort Myers, Florida: It may have been a short holiday week at work but there was no shortage of activity in and out of the Southwest Florida International Airport. Western Global flew home another 747, National Airlines flew in a 757 for a charter and the highlight of the week was the duel 767 diversions thanks to Miami being fogged in on Wednesday morning. Here is a look at what I saw this week at RSW:  C-FUMF – Boeing 737-800 (WestJet)   C-GHPD – Airbus A321 (Air Canada Rouge)   CP-2881 – Boeing 767-33A – (Bolviana de Aviacion)   N122DU – Airbus A220 (Delta Air Lines)   N151UW – Airbus A321 (American Airlines) N157AA - Airbus A321 (American Airlines)   N203BZ – Airbus A220 (Breeze Airways)   N268WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)   N313SB – Boeing 737 Max 8 (American Airlines)   N319CM – Boeing 767-338 (Amerijet International)   N334SM – Boeing 737 Max 8 (American Airlines)   N356KD – Boeing 747-400 (Western Global Airli...

Fort Myers, Florida:  This week provided a bit of first time spotted aircraft for me.  From a two month old Max 8 from United to a a few Canadian visitors.  Also the north ramp began to fill up as Western Global comes home to Southwest Florida with an MD-11 and a 747 arriving this week.  Here is a look at what I saw during the week. C-CHQI – Airbus A321 (Air Canada Rouge)   C-GWUX – Boeing 737-800 (WestJet)   N107DU – Airbus A220 (Delta Air Lines)   N141DU – Airbus A220 (Delta Air Lines)   N151AN – Airbus A321 (American Airlines)   N187US – Airbus A321 (American Airlines)   N314RH – Boeing 737 Max 8 (American Airlines)   N432UA – Airbus A320-232 (United Airlines)   N442WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)   N452SN – Boeing 747-400 (Western Global Airlines)   N454GB – Dassault Falcon 2000EX   N475LS – Learjet 75   N544US – Boeing 757-200 (Delta Air Lines)   N550NW – Boeing 757-200 (Delta Air Lines) ...

Fort Myers, Florida: This week on my trip over to Page Field, I saw a pair of nice looking business jets on the ramp at Base Ops.  I was pretty busy during the visit and didn't spend much time along the flight line, but I did grab a pic of these two before leaving. N702SA – Bombardier CRJ-200 (ViaJet)  N2121 – Gulfstream IV Click on the the aircraft name above to view photos of the plane. Be sure to follow Suncoast Spotter on Facebook and Instagram to see these and more aviation photos.

Miami, Florida:   During a recent visit to South Florida, we got by Miami International Airport for a little planespotting before heading home.  We spotted from the El Dorado store located along the threshold of Runway 9 at the southern end of the airport.  Spotting at Runway 9 always provides a bunch of heavy aircraft and this stop featured a few.  During our visit, the skies quickly turned dark and an afternoon shower/storm hung around the field for a bit, but that didn’t keep us from trying to squeeze in as much spotting as the weather allowed. Here is a look at what we saw during the trip.   If you click on the aircraft name, the link will take you to the photo of the aircraft. 20-1949 – C-37Gulfstream V (US Air Force) A7-BEJ – Boeing 777-300 (Qatar Airways) C6-BFY – Boeing 737-700 (Bahamasair) CC-BBD – Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (LATAM Airlines) CS-TUJ – Airbus A330 (TAP Air Portugal) EC-LZX – Airbus A330 (Iberia) EI-EJH – Airbus A330 (ITA Airways) HI1066...

Fort Myers, Florida:   It was good week at Southwest Florida International Airport.  This week marked the return of the Boeing Max to RSW and an increase in flight traffic with lots of hidden gems scattered throughout.  Then Friday saw a bunch of military action to close out the week.  Here is a look at what I saw this week at RSW: 60-0320 - KC-135 Stratotanker (US Air Force) 168440 - P-8 Poseidon (US Navy) 168859 - P-8 Poseidon (US Navy) 169330 - P-8 Poseidon (US Navy) C-GJWN - Airbus A321 (Air Canada) N137GW - Eurocopter EC-130 N138CH - Bombardier Challenger N159MJ - Raytheon Hawker 850 N172US - Airbus A321 (American Airlines) N268AK - Boeing 737-900 (Alaska Airlines) N364NW - Airbus A320 (Delta Air Lines) N425UP - Boeing 757-200 (UPS) N461UP - Boeing 757-200 (UPS) N568TT - Beechcraft Super King Air 200 N569DF Bell 505 Jet Ranger X N588SG - Learjet 45 N590JB - Airbus A320 (JetBlue Airways) N622UX - Embraer 175 (SkyWest Airlines/United Express) N719XJ - Cessna Citat...

Fort Myers, Florida: I spent a little time at Page Field today on inspections and caught a little bit of flight action during my break. A flurry of activity kept the runway busy as members of the EAA took flight on a trip to nearby Arcadia. Sandwiched between the EAA activity, the Coast Guard came do visit. A HC-144 from Miami made a few touch and go’s before heading back to Miami.  Here is a look at what I saw this week at FMY:  2304 – HC-144 Ocean Sentry US Coast Guard  N49BW – Van’s RV-9  N82RB – Van’s RV-4  N87CK – Van’s RV-7  N234AS – Van’s RV-7  N313E – Stoddard-Hamilton SH-4 GlaStar  N730B – Cessna Skylane  N8072H – Piper Turbo Arrow  N8670Q – Cessna Stationair  N17223 – Cessna Skyhawk  Click on the photo above to view these and the entire Page Field photo gallery .

Fort Myers, Florida: Planespotting at Southwest Florida International Airport had a few hidden gems this week. From a visit from Panama’s version of Air Force One to a military surveillance plane and a bunch of special commercial flights scattered in between. It was an exciting week.  Here is a look at what was seen at RSW this week:  09-00646 – MC-12S-2 EMARRS-M (US Army)  C-FGKN – Airbus A321 (Air Canada)  HP-1A – Embraer Legacy 600 (Republic of Panama)  N51EM – Cessna Citation III  N124US – Airbus A320 (American Airlines)  N184US – Airbus A321 (American Airlines)  N248AK – Boeing 737-900 (Alaska Airlines/Boeing 100 Years Strong)  N321US – Airbus A320 (Delta Air Lines)  N332DN – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N356NW – Airbus A320 (Delta Air Lines)  N373DX – Airbus A321 (Delta Air Lines)  N401YX – Embraer 175 (Republic Airways)  N403AS – Boeing 737-900 (Alaska Airlines)  N416YX – Embraer 175 (Republic Airways/...

Fort Myers, Florida: I spent a little time at Page Field this week on inspections and caught a few plane movements during lunch. Some real strong cross winds made for a quiet day in the air but I did see a trio of aircraft braving the challenging conditions.  Here is a look at what I saw at FMY:  N520CT – Cirrus SR-22  N3129S - Piper Malibu Meridian  N6178W – Cessna Centurion  Click on the photo above to view these and the entire Page Field photo gallery .

Fort Myers, Florida: This week RSW turned into a mini military base thanks to a flurry of military movement. The Navy sent a few P-8’s through the airport this week and there were transient KC-135’s from Michigan and Ohio that spent a few days staged on the north ramp. A few large charter planes stopped by including a 737 from Saudi Arabi and the homecoming of the Crystal Air 777. Rounding out the cool planes of the week was Delta’s breast cancer research 767.  Here is a look at the aircraft that I saw at RSW this week:  60-0346 – KC-135 Stratotanker (Michigan Air National Guard)  62-3511 – KC-135 Stratotanker (Ohio Air National Guard)  168433 – P-8-Poseidon (US Navy)  168435 – P-8 Poseidon (US Navy)  169543 – P-8 Poseidon (US Navy)  169555 – P-8 Poseidon (US Navy)  N87HD – Dassault Falcon 2000  N116DA – Cessna Citation Excel  N225WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N228WN Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N261WN –...

Fort Myers, Florida: This week I spent a little bit of time at Page Field and caught a few cool gems during my time there. One interesting spot was a US Army TH-67 that was transitioning into civilian service. And then there was the Cirrus Vision Jet, my new favorite private jet.  Here is a look at what I saw at Page Field this week:  C-GEPR – Eurocopter EC-120  N48HS – Cirrus Vision  N294CW – Cessna Citation   N326EW – Dassault Falcon 2000  N600CS – Embraer Phenom 100  N946CG – Beechcraft Super King Air 300  N5522S – Cessna Skyhawk  N67301 – TH-67 Creek (US Army)  Click on the photo to view these and the rest of the Page Field photo gallery .

Fort Myers, Florida: It was a pretty quiet week for me and planespotting this week. With a short week because of the holiday and a busy work schedule, I didn’t have much time to spot. Minus a visit from the Coast Guard, a P-8 from Jacksonville and a missed approach by a Texan, the flights I saw were pretty routine.  Here is a look at what I caught this week:  2309 – HC-144 Ocean Sentry (US Coast Guard)  166087 – T-6 Texan II  169560 – P-8 Poseidon (US Navy)   N50LD – Learjet 60  N343FR – Airbus A320 (Frontier Airlines)  N415FX – Embraer Legacy 450  N452WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N612NK – Airbus A320 (Spirit Airlines)  N712FR – Airbus A321 (Frontier Airlines)  N826MH – Boeing 767-400 (Delta Air Lines)  N838MH – Boeing 767-400 (Delta Air Lines)  N902WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines)  N925UY – Airbus A321 (American Airlines)  N953WN – Boeing 737-700 (Southwest Airlines/Silver One) ...