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distortions.net

I'm Ryan M. Tech geek. Avgeek. California Native plant gardener. All photos on this blog, unless stated otherwise, are mine. Cameras: Fujifilm X-T5 and X100V. Views are my own.

Aviation

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    May 3, 2025: United 737 Max 8 (N37348) landing at SFO from Kona, Hawaii

    #B38M #SFO #Aviation #AvGeek #PlaneSpotting #Fujifilm

    A Boeing 737 is on approach to SFO, with its gear down, under very overcast skies. Its red beacon lights are visible. Some moisture vortices can be seen streaming off its flaps and under its elevators.

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    Qatar A350-1000 (A7-ANQ) landing at SFO from Doha and a United 787-9 (N17963) starting its takeoff roll to Papeete.

    #A7ANQ #N17963 #B789 #A35K #SFO #Aviation #AvGeek #PlaneSpotting #Fujifilm

    A Qatar A350-1000 lands on SFO's 28R as a United 7879 starts its take-off roll on 28L. The bay is just visible in front of the airport's runway landfill. The A350-1000 has its characteristic expanded uncarriage with six total wheels, while the 787-9 looks sad, feeling left out with only four wheels per main landing gear.

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    United B777-222 (N223UA) SYD-SFO, on approach to SFO, May 3, 2025 #B772 #N223UA #PlaneSpotting #AvGeek #AviationOn a 100% foggy day, a blue engined United 777, facing left, takes up most of the frame with its tail just out of the photo. Its landing gear are out and there's a light visible from the nose gear.

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    Goodyear Blimp reg. N3A just passed by. They’re headed to a college football game at Eugene, OR from Livermore, CA. If you’re in Redding, I think it’s heading your way… #GoodyearBlimp #N3A #Aviation #AvGeek

    FlightRadar24 screen shot showing the Good Year blimp about to pass Orland, CA at 2400 ft and 44 knots A heavily cropped photo of the Goodyear Blimp passing far in the distance. Its cylinder shape can be made out but otherwise there’s no detail. The foreground is a residential area with lawns, power lines and trees.

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    I was watching fire tanker aircraft land at San Bernardino (KSBD) on runway 24, which has no standard approach probably due to big mountains being in the way. So I flew the BAe-146 (Neptune tanker livery) and made the approach in the sim. I landed a bit off center but otherwise stable. #XPlane12 #BAe146 #FlightSim #Aviation

    Aerial view of a landscape with scattered houses and roads, seen from a flying BAe-146 with four jet engines and down landing gear prominently sticking out from the sides below the high wings. It’s a classic red Neptune fire tanker livery. The San Bernardino Airport is visible behind and to the left of the aircraft.A BAe-146 with four engines has its speed brakes and lift brakes deployed after landing on a runway, with mountains visible in the background. A weird aircraft with Virgin livery is parked in the background.An actual approach flight path of a BAe-146 tanker (N470NA) at KSBD. It’s a very short final to avoid the mountains to the east.

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    If you’re an AvGeek, here’s some freshly available self-care thanks to Cockpit Casual (YouTube) #AvGeek #Aviation #CockpitCasual

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    Day 3 of the Micro.blog June Photo Challenge: Shadow

    L-188 Electra, operated by AirSpray, at Chico, CA (KCIC)

    #MBJune #Aviation #AvGeek

    A medium four propeller fire tanker airplane with a red nose is parked on an airfield under a partly cloudy sky, with the sun shining brightly.
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    Day 2: Curve

    Lufthansa 747-800 (D-ABYH) at SFO, departing for Frankfurt

    #MBJune #B748 #DABYH #Aviation #AvGeek #PlaneSpotting #Fujifilm #SOoC A 747-8 on a taxiway, holding short of the runway, near water, viewed from behind, with four engines visible under its wings against a clear blue sky.

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    October 2023 at Chico Municipal Airport: BAE 146-200s, Reg. C-GRNT and N908AS. Owned by AirSpray. I assume these are to be converted to wildfire tankers

    #PlaneSpotting #CGRNT #N908AS #B462 #KCIC #AvGeek #Aviation #Fujifilm #SOoC

    Two BAE-146 airplanes parked on an airport tarmac. The plane on the left is white with black and orange accents, while the plane on the right is white with partially scraped off blue accents. Three orange-red CalFire aircraft with numbers painted on their tails are partially visible.

    A parked four engine BAE-146 on an airport tarmac with engine covers on. The aircraft with poorly scraped off blue accents has a high-wing design and a distinctive T-tail. Its door is taped off with red tape. The background has a blurred hazy flat landscape with trees.

    Two parked BAE-146 on a tarmac, noses facing the photographer obliquely, with protective orange covers over their engines.

    A profile view of a parked BAE-146 on an airport tarmac with four engines, distinctive red engine covers, and a T-tail design. The fuselage is white with black and gold accents. A second BAE-146 is behind the first one and is barely visible.

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    Iberia A330-2 & ITA A330-9

    An Iberia A330 twin engine aircraft is landing over a runway with a blue ITA A330-9 plane positioned in the foreground, lined up and ready for takeoff. The background is a hazy sky. The foreground has calm San Francisco bay waters.

    #WidebodyWednesday #PlaneSpotting #Aviation #AvGeek #SFO #ECMLB #A332 #EIHPA #A339

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    Preparing for takeoff May 1, 2025: Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 flying SFO-FRA and United Boeing 777-2 flying SFO-AMS

    A Lufthansa Boeing 747 and a United Airlines aircraft taxiing obliquely, tails together, across a fetch of San Francisco Bay water. The Lufthansa tail is blue with an orange circle and a stylized flying stick. The United tail has a dark blue to light blue gradient with a globe of meridians and parallels in its lower right corner.

    #TailTuesday #PlaneSpotting #AvGeek #Aviation #D-ABYH #N788UA #B748 #B772 #Fujifilm #SOoC

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    Family photo of Mount St. Helens (foreground) and Mount Rainier (background). Probably on a flight from KSMF to KSEA, somewhere just north of Portland  #MountStHelens #Aviation #AvGeek

    A photo from an airline passenger seat where Mount St. Helens is in the foreground, mostly in shadow, with some ridges poking out by surrounding stratus clouds. Mount Rainier is in the background but only partially covered by clouds. There's some snow on Mount Rainier and the saddle between Point Success and Mt. Rainier peak is easy to see.

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    Hawaiian A330-243 (N391HA) HNL-SFO on May 3rd, 2025, south of arrival runways #N391HA #A332 #AvGeek #CloudyPlaneSpotting #PlaneSpotting #AviationPhotography #Aviation #Fujifilm

    On a day with low clouds, a Hawaiian A330-243 (N391HA) HNL-SFO makes its approach with eagle-clawed landing gear out, landing lights visible through the nose struts, and with a vapor trail streaming off the wing.

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    TIL the Houston Rockets have a game at the Golden State Warriors tomorrow in SF. This is the team’s 32-year old 767-300 landing at SFO today #B763 #KSFO #SFO #AvGeek #Aviation #PlaneSpotting #Fujifilm #SOoC A white 767-300 with landing gear extended approaches a runway. The tail features a simple logo with the Houston Rockets initials, and a portion of another airplane's wing and engine is visible. That A330-900 aircraft has swooped up winglets. The background is a hazy sky with two thin white streamers on polls blowing toward the right.

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    CalFire has a pretty neat Fire Fighting Aircraft Recognition Guide including radio frequencies and a map with registration numbers — link is on the bottom of the page under “General Aviation” #Aviation #AvGeek #Wildfire

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    FlightRadar24 on BlueSky: “When in doubt, go-around! The go-around is safety tool used everyday by pilots all over the world. Here’s what’s happening on the flight deck when a crew decides to go-around.”

    Unless you’re me, in XPlane. When in doubt, I stay committed to landing. I got no time for go arounds! 😬 #XPlane #FlightSim #Aviation

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    Went out to Burris Creek today, west of Black Butte Lake. For the first time we saw Lewis’s woodpeckers! They were constantly harassing each other. They’ve gorgeous pink bellies. We also saw a Nuttall’s woodpecker and an Emirates A380 Reg. A6-EVO Dubai-SFO (EK225) at 39,000 feet #LewissWoodpecker #NuttallsWoodpecker #Birds #A380 #Aviation #Fujifilm #SOoCA Lewis’s woodpecker with red and gray plumage flying like a bullet against a clear blue sky.A Lewis’s woodpecker perched on the branch of a leafless tree against a clear blue sky. It has a red belly and red spots on its head.A small Nuttall’s woodpecker with a red patch on its head & white spots on its feathers is perched on a bare tree branch against a clear blue sky. Dry oak leaves are nearby on the branch.An Emirates A380, is flying high in a clear blue sky, leaving four contrails behind.

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    2024 was an off year for travel as I didn’t once make it to a major airport. I only stopped in Medford for an overnight stop and so spent a short time at the airport watching Coulson tankers and E-175s #2024Top4AviationScores #AvGeek #Aviation #FujifilmA large DC-10 firefighting aircraft labeled “10 TANKER” is landing on a runway, with an American flag visible in the background. A large three-engine DC-10 aircraft is taxiing on a runway with mountains and trees in the background. A fenced area with a “No Trespassing” sign is visible in the foreground. A Coulson C-130 firefighting aircraft in flight, featuring a bold red and black design with the number “138” on the tail.

    An E175, reg N515SY, with American Eagle branding on a runway, with trees and distant hills in the background, viewed through a chain-link fence.

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    The Snow Geese cannot be missed right now at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Also not to be missed: widebodies on approach to SFO. In this case, a KLM 787-10 #SnowGeese #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC #Aviation #SFOA large flock of Snow Geese flying in the sky with some foliage blurred in the foreground. A distant KLM 787-10 flying across a clear blue sky, leaving a contrail behind.

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    On this day in 2023, we began our trip to Germany. We flew KSFO-EDDF (Frankfurt) on United 777-3 reg. N2250U #Aviation #Avgeek #Travel #N2250U #B77W #KSFO An airport scene at SFO with a United Airlines 777 on the tarmac, a monorail train in the foreground, and a parking lot filled with cars. The background features airport buildings under a low overcast sky. The ground is damp. A United Airlines 777-3 is parked at the airport gate on a rainy day. Ground crew and equipment are visible around the aircraft. Overcast skies are in the background.

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