WORDS & WINGS: Palm Springs

1944 Grumman G-21A Goose, c/n B-101, CF-VFU, FIFT. Dockside somewhere up Knight Inlet, B.C., Canada in spring 1969.

[1959 Kodak Retina IIIS (Type 027) rangefinder 35-mm roll film camera, s/n 86125, with Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon 50-mm f/1.9 Synchro Compur lens, s/n 6841319; Kodak Plus-X Pan (ISO 125/22°) 36-exposure black & white negative film]

“The whole history of the Canadian North can be divided into two periods—before and after the aeroplane.”

Hugh L. Keenleyside, Deputy Canadian Minister of Mines and Resources, October 1949

Showing posts with label Palm Springs. Show all posts

Thursday, May 10, 2012

1958 Grumman C-1A Trader (Model G-96), c/n 78, BuNo 146048/6048/16, Blue Ghost #6, N7171M, Palm Springs Air Museum

In the hot sun at 15:18 PDT

1958 Grumman C-1A Trader (Model G-96), c/n 78, BuNo 146048/6048/16, Blue Ghost #6, N7171M, Pond Warbirds LLC, Palm Springs Air Museum, Palm Springs International Airport (PSP/KPSP), Palm Springs, California, USA

Capt. Arthur D. Ward USNR, VR-24 Fleet Tactical Support Squadron “Ghost Riders” (World’s Biggest Little Airline), Essex-class training aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CVT-16) “The Blue Ghost”, US Navy
powered by two 1,525-hp Wright R-1820-82WA Cyclone supercharged nine-cylinder, single-row, air-cooled radial piston engines with constant-speed three-blade Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propellers
retractable landing gear
crew of two (pilot and co-pilot), nine passengers or 3,500 lbs of cargo, COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) transport/all-weather carrier operations trainer
folding wings, enlarged, deepened fuselage, rearward-facing passenger seats, tail hook, known as “Mailman of the Fleet”
built by The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Bethpage, Long Island, New York, USA at Bethpage, Long Island, New York (F)
built as TF-1 Trader
one of 87 built
delivered to US Navy
redesignated as C-1A Trader in 1962
BuNo 146048/6048/JM-048
provided carrier onboard delivery to USS Lexington from NAS Pensacola
last operational C-1A Trader, last launch from USS Lexington on September 27, 1988 and retired from active service three days later on September 30, 1988
donated to National Naval Aviation Museum (formerly known as National Museum of Naval Aviation), NAS Pensacola (NPA/KNPA), Escambia County, near Pensacola, Florida, USA
on loan from US Navy
N7171M, Robert J. Pond, Pond Warbirds LLC, Palm Springs Air Museum, Palm Springs International Airport (PSP/KPSP), Palm Springs, California, USA on September 10, 1996
displayed in airworthy condition

Spring Break vacationing in Palm Springs from Saturday, March 17 to Saturday, March 24, 2012. I visited the Palm Springs Air Museum on Thursday, March 22 from after 14:00 to about 17:00 PDT.

At 15:19 PDT

[Casio Exilim EX-Z20 point-and-shoot 8.1 MP digital camera, 38–114-mm f/3.1–5.9 lens]

Thursday, May 3, 2012

1985 McDonnell Douglas MD-83, c/n 49385/1244, N429NV, “429”, Allegiant Air

1985 McDonnell Douglas MD-83, c/n 49385/1244, N429NV, “429”, Allegiant Air (Allegiant Travel Company), Enterprise, near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; powered by two 21,000-lbs thrust Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 low-bypass turbofan engines; crew of two (pilot and co-pilot), seating configuration Y166, medium-range, mid-size, narrow-body airliner; built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Douglas Aircraft Co. Division, Long Beach, California at Long Beach, California; built as MD-82; first flight on December 11, 1985; SE-DFT, Assur Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System, Stockholm-Bromma Airport (BMA), Stockholm, Sweden, seating configuration Y156, on December 20, 1985; SE-DFT, Spanair (Spanair SA), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain on June 3, 1991, leased from SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System; SE-DFT, Assur Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System, Frösundavik, Solna, near Stockholm, seating configuration Y156, on October 1, 1991, returned; SE-DFT, Spanair, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona, Catalunya on June 3, 1992, leased from SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System; SE-DFT, Nordic East Airways, Stockholm, seating configuration Y156, on November 29, 1992, leased from SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System; SE-DFT, Assur Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System, Frösundavik, Solna, near Stockholm, seating configuration Y156, on October 31, 1994, returned; LN-ROR, Assur Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System, Frösundavik, Solna, near Stockholm, seating configuration CY150, on December 13, 1999, re-registered; stored in April 2009; SE-DFT, Assur Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines (SAS Scandinavian System AB), Frösundavik, Solna, near Stockholm, seating configuration CY150, on December 16, 2009, re-registered; ferried Oslo Airport, Gardermoen (OSL), Gardermoen, Ullensaker, Norway–Keflavík International Airport (KEF), Keflavík, Iceland–Bangor International Airport (BGR), Bangor, Maine–Kingman Airport (IGM), Mohave County, Arizona on March 10 & 11, 2010; delivered to Allegiant Air on March 16, 2010; converted to MD-83; N429NV, “429”, Allegiant Air, Enterprise, near Las Vegas, Nevada on November 15, 2010, re-certificated.

Flight 212 just arriving (late) from Bellingham, approaching Gate 5, Palm Springs International Airport (PSP), Palm Springs, California on Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 6:05 pm.

Our Flight 213, non-stop Palm Springs–Bellingham, scheduled 6:35 pm departure, 9:25 pm arrival, in the midst of refuelling while the checked baggage of Flight 212 is unloaded, Gate 5 at 6:19 pm.

Again, my wife and I were some of the last passengers to board as we were part of Open Seating. And again, we were fortunate to locate two seats together, row 18, myself in seat D and my wife in seat E. Cabin crew were one female Flight Attendant and three male Flight Attendants. We departed at 7:02 pm. The flight was uneventful.

[Casio Exilim EX-Z20 point-and-shoot 8.1 MP digital camera, 38–114-mm f/3.1–5.9 lens]

1985 McDonnell Douglas MD-83, c/n 49385/1244, N429NV, “429”, Allegiant Air

Flight 212 just arriving (late) from Bellingham, approaching Gate 5, Palm Springs International Airport (PSP), Palm Springs, California on Saturday, March 24, 2012 at 6:05 pm.

[Casio Exilim EX-Z20 point-and-shoot 8.1 MP digital camera, 38–114-mm f/3.1–5.9 lens]

1986 McDonnell Douglas MD-83, c/n 49424/1284, N420NV, “420”, Allegiant Air

1986 McDonnell Douglas MD-83, c/n 49424/1284, N420NV, “420”, Allegiant Air (Allegiant Travel Company), Enterprise, near Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; powered by two 21,000-lbs thrust Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 low-bypass turbofan engines; crew of two (pilot and co-pilot), seating configuration Y166, medium-range, mid-size, narrow-body airliner; built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation, Douglas Aircraft Co. Division, Long Beach, California at Long Beach, California; built as MD-82; first flight on June 12, 1986; SE-DFX, Ring Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System, Stockholm-Bromma Airport (BMA), Stockholm, Sweden, seating configuration Y156, on June 20, 1986; SE-DFX, Nordic East Airways, Stockholm, seating configuration Y156, on January 5, 1992, leased from SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System; SE-DFX, Scanair, Stockholm-Bromma Airport (BMA), Stockholm, seating configuration Y156, on October 2, 1992, leased from SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System; SE-DFX, Ring Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System, Frösundavik, Solna, near Stockholm, seating configuration Y156, on October 31, 1992, returned; N840RA, Reno Air, Reno, Nevada on February 18, 1993, leased from SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System; SE-DFX, Ring Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System, Frösundavik, Solna, near Stockholm, seating configuration Y156, on February 15, 1998, returned; LN-ROU, Ring Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines System, Frösundavik, Solna, near Stockholm, seating configuration CY150, on December 10, 1999, re-registered; LN-ROU, Snowflake (Scandinavian Airlines System), Stockholm on March 15, 2004, transferred; LN-ROU, Ring Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines (SAS Scandinavian Airlines Norge AS), Fornebu, Baerum, near Oslo, Norway, seating configuration CY150, on January 26, 2007, returned; SE-DFX, Ring Viking, SAS—Scandinavian Airlines (SAS Scandinavian System AB), Frösundavik, Solna, near Stockholm, seating configuration CY150, on December 21, 2009, re-registered; stored at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN), Sigtuna Municipality, near Märsta, Sweden in December 2009; ferried Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN), Sigtuna, near Märsta–Akureyri Airport (AEY), Akureyri, Iceland–Bangor International Airport (BGR), Bangor, Maine–Kingman Airport (IGM), Mohave County, Arizona on April 27 & 28, 2010; delivered to Allegiant Air on April 30, 2010; converted to MD-83; N420NV, “420”, Allegiant Air, Enterprise, near Las Vegas, Nevada on July 17, 2010, re-certificated.

Boarding Flight 210, non-stop Bellingham–Palm Springs, scheduled 9:00 am departure, 11:45 am arrival, Bellingham International Airport (BLI), Bellingham, Washington on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 8:48 am.

My wife and I were some of the last passengers to board as we were part of Open Seating. We were fortunate to locate two seats together, row 17, my wife in seat D and myself in seat E. Crew were a Captain Miller and a First Officer Lowrie plus three female Flight Attendants and one male Flight Attendant. We departed at 9:13 am in cloud and light rain. Estimated flight time was 2 hours 29 minutes. We reached 33,000 feet altitude. We arrived at 11:50 am with wind gusts and overcast skies at 61°F, after experiencing some turbulence during the last half hour of flight and a bone-jarring, rough ride bouncing up and down, swaying between port and starboard, in the last ten minutes of our descent, landing somewhat hard. I exclaimed with a “Let’s do the WestJet thing!” and applauded with hand clapping. Some fellow passengers then followed suit.

At Gate 5, Palm Springs International Airport (PSP), Palm Springs, California on Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 12:07 pm.

Spring Break in Palm Springs, California, USA from Saturday, March 17 to Saturday, March 24, 2012.

[Casio Exilim EX-Z20 point-and-shoot 8.1 MP digital camera, 38–114-mm f/3.1–5.9 lens]