Arizona & California 2022
16.11.2022
I woke up at 03.00lt in order to catch a taxi to the airport in Hannover at 04.00lt. The security check was fast and smooth. I had to wait for nearly 1,5 hours but better be way to early than too late.
HAJ – AMS
KL1900 RJ-175STD PH-EXN
Flight time: 00:41h
I woke up at 03.00lt in order to catch a taxi to the airport in Hannover at 04.00lt. The security check was fast and smooth. I had to wait for nearly 1,5 hours but better be way to early than too late.
HAJ – AMS
KL1900 RJ-175STD PH-EXN
Flight time: 00:41h
My departure was at 06.10lt and the plane was fully booked. I was offered to drop off my handluggage for free because the overhead bins were too small for all the handlugage from all passengers. The service on this short hop was good, we were offered a coconut maccaron as well as a bottle of water. After 41 minutes we arrive in Amsterdam
My original booked flight was canceled so I was rebooked on the next one, which was no problem, but I had to spent nearly 6 hours in AMS before my onward flight to LAX depart.
I spent some hours with planespotting from Terminal E and walked through the other terminals, grab some coffee and a tasty muffin.
I spent some hours with planespotting from Terminal E and walked through the other terminals, grab some coffee and a tasty muffin.
Aprox 50 minutes prior departure I went to the gate area and there she was
Our gate today was E20 and the boarding was on time. This flight was packed ! We went offblock on time and departed direct west.
KLM offer free wifi for whatsapp and other messangers in economy class for 60 Minutes, which I used after departure to message to my girlfriend. I tried to send some pictures but it took very long. Neverless a cool thing from my point of view.
After one hour lunch was served. I could choose between vegetarian pasta and some meatballs with mash potatoes. I choosed the later one and it was OK but nothing special.
The routing took us over Northsea, Ireland and Greenland which was under the clouds. Over northern Canada the clouds dissapear and we had a beatifull view down below.
We arrived 40 minutes ahead of schedule
.
I have to say the service was OK, not as good as on Delta Air lines but the crew was lovely!
KLM offer free wifi for whatsapp and other messangers in economy class for 60 Minutes, which I used after departure to message to my girlfriend. I tried to send some pictures but it took very long. Neverless a cool thing from my point of view.
After one hour lunch was served. I could choose between vegetarian pasta and some meatballs with mash potatoes. I choosed the later one and it was OK but nothing special.
The routing took us over Northsea, Ireland and Greenland which was under the clouds. Over northern Canada the clouds dissapear and we had a beatifull view down below.
We arrived 40 minutes ahead of schedule
.
I have to say the service was OK, not as good as on Delta Air lines but the crew was lovely!
As I arrived in LAX I went through immigration, took my luggage and went to Terminal 3 for my 3rd flight today to PHX on Delta opb Skywest.
I spent 2,5 hours in Terminal 3 and got really tired but finally my last flight of the day started boarding. This flight was also packed but I was lucky to get a priority seat. The service on such a short hop is the same but you have just a little more legroom.
LAX – PHX
DL3906 RJ-175LR N308SY
Flight time: 1:01h
The Service itself on SkyWest Airlines was great. The lady in charge was lovely from my point of view such service make the different, even on short flights.
I spent 2,5 hours in Terminal 3 and got really tired but finally my last flight of the day started boarding. This flight was also packed but I was lucky to get a priority seat. The service on such a short hop is the same but you have just a little more legroom.
LAX – PHX
DL3906 RJ-175LR N308SY
Flight time: 1:01h
The Service itself on SkyWest Airlines was great. The lady in charge was lovely from my point of view such service make the different, even on short flights.
After arrival I took my rental car and went straight to the hotel to get some sleep.
https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/laquinta/tempe-arizona/la-quinta-inn-phoenix-sky-harbor-airport/overview
What can I say about the Hotel? It looked a bit warn out, but it was OK. I just wanted to sleep near by the airport and therefor it was good.
17.11.2022: Marana Pinal Air Park / Davis Monthan Air base / Tucson Airport
I woke up quite early due to the jet lag so I headed off to the Pinal Air Park in Marana. On the fence there a several RJ-145 of American Eagle and only good to photograph early in the morning. I arrived there at 6.30am but I had to wait until shortly past 7 until the sun came up behind the mountain. I managed to get a few other stuff as well and was happy.
Marana Pinal Air Park (MZJ/KMZJ)
Davis Monthan Air Base (DMA/KDMA)
I further drove to the famous Davis Monthan Airbase in order to get some of the stored C-130 Hercules from South Kolb Street early in the morning hours which went very well! I walked along the fence and got 20-30 C-130! I also tried some other spots as well.
Tucson Airport (TUS/KTUS)
My last visit was in 2016 so I thought I have to visit TUS again. As I arrived several F-16 did some touch and gos. It is not that easy to spot some stored aircrafts, because they are parked very close together but I got some nice ones.
My Hotel in Tucson was a Holiday Inn Express at Tucson Airport
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/tucson/tusmr/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-EX-_-US-_-TUSMR
For dinner I went to a really nice aviation touched restaurant. The food was great !!
https://flapsandracks.com/
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/tucson/tusmr/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-EX-_-US-_-TUSMR
For dinner I went to a really nice aviation touched restaurant. The food was great !!
https://flapsandracks.com/
18.11.2022:
Avra Valley / Eloy Municipal / Coolidge Municipal / Phoenix Mesa / Goodyear / Phoenix Airport
Avra Valley Airport (AVW/KAVQ)
My first stop was at Avra Valley were I got some A-4 wracks but it was impossible to get the propliner.
Eloy Municipal Airport (E60)
I went further to Eloy Municipal Airport where nobody took care of me as I walked across the field and hangars. I got a DC-3, a Twin Otter and other stuff.
Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08)
My next stop was in Coolidge Municipal Airport which is really great. You can just walk around the tarmac. There were 3 C-130, 3 C-130 wracks, 4 C-23 Sherpa and a ex SAS B737-700. Between the runways were also 2 A319 of Alaska Airlines.
Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA/KIWA)
I stopped at Mesa for about 10 Minutes to get a C-130 of the Marines and 2 A320 of Allegiant.
Phoenix Goodyear Airport (GYR/KGYR)
It was the time were I had to decide to go to Goodyear or to Scottsdale. I opt for Goodyear but due to high traffic I arrived just past 15.15lt and it was not easy to get any aircraft from the western side of the runway. They are building some logistics center and you can‘t park your care close to the fence. After all I have to say it would be better to go to Scottsdale instead of Goodyear but thats life.
Phoenix Airport (PHX/KPHX)
After sunset I went to PHX to get some nightshots from Parkdeck 4.
My Hotel for the night was a Red Roof Plus, which was quite OK.
https://www.redroof.com/property/az/tempe/rri265
https://www.redroof.com/property/az/tempe/rri265
19.11.2022: Goodyear / Buckeye Minicipal / Quartzite / Blythe / Thermal Airport
Phoenix Goodyear (GYR/KGYR)
Early in the morning I tried my luck in Goodyear again this time from the eastern part of the airport.
Buckeye Municipal Airport (BXK/KBXK)
I went to Buckeye Municipal Airport. There are some really nice propliner and again I could easily walked tot he aircrafts. As a bonus there were 2 nice Helicopters.
Quartszite
My next stop was in Quartzsite. There is no airport but 2 F-4 are in a memorial park.
Blythe Airport (BLH/KBLH)
I went further tot he small municipal airport of Blythe where I only got a beautifull C-47 Chinook.
Thermal Regional Airport (TRM/KTRM)
My next and final stop fort he day was in Thermal which is nearby Palmsprings.
My Motel for this night was nearby the Joshua Tree national park.
www.highdesertmotel.com/
It is really basic, but it was cheap and a few Bars and restaurants are along the street. For just one night it was good.
www.highdesertmotel.com/
It is really basic, but it was cheap and a few Bars and restaurants are along the street. For just one night it was good.
20.11.2022:
Victorville / B-52 at Edwards Airbase / California City / Mohave Airport / Lancaster Airport
Victorville Airport (VCV/KVCV)
On this day my first stop was in VCV. I looked in every corner and tried to get some pictures which wasn't so easy. I spent there 1,5 hours and was happy with the results.
NB-52B Mothership 008 at Edwards Airbase
I did a short stop at the northern gateguard of Edwards Air Base
California City Airport (L71)
A few miles further north is the small airport of California City were several Gulfstream business jets are stripped of their parts. You can also find a nice gateguard as well as some Fougas
Mohave Air & Space Port (MHV/KMHV)
My next stop was at the Mohave Air & Space port, where I spent aprox an hour and got some nice ones too
Lancaster Airport (WJF/KWJF)
My last Airport for the day was a few miles further south in Lancaster. There are some Propliner but I only got one of them, but there are some other aircrafts too!
For the night I choose the Glendale Hotel which is in the north of Los Angeles only aprox 10 miles from the Griffith Park away. My plan was to enjoy the sundset at the Griffith Obersavtory and to takes some pictures of the skyline of Los Angeles.
www.glendalelahotel.com/
The Hotel was really good and was perfect located for my trip.
www.glendalelahotel.com/
The Hotel was really good and was perfect located for my trip.
21.11.2022: Ontario Airport / Flabob Airport / Hemet-Ryan Airport / March Air Reserve Base
Ontario Airport (ONT/KONT)
I started early in the morning to Ontario Airport. There is a stored B727 which I got and UPS has a big hub for the Los Angeles area.
Flabob Airport (RIR/KRIR)
The traffic in ONT wasn't great so I went further to the smal airport of Flabob were I found 3 DC-3 and a really nice gateguard. Due to the fact that there is no fence I went into the Cafee, which has some really tasty cakes and cookies by the way, and asked if it is OK to go on the apron for some pictures of the DC-3s. The lady just said "..sure.., why not!?".
Hemet-Ryan Airport (HMT/KHMT)
After spending more than an hour at Flabob it was time to head to Hemet-Ryan Airport were some fire fighters are based, but I found some other stuff as well.
March Air Reserve Base (RIV/KRIV)
My final airport for the day was March Air reserve Base were KC-135 and C-17 are based. There is also a great Museum but unfortunately it is closed on mondays so I had to take some pictures over the fence. The apron was packed with KC-135 and C-17 and after an hour I heard some jetnoise. 1 F-15 was on the runway, but never departed. It seems it had a technical issue because it taxied back to the apron after 20 minutes.
I spent the night at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Fullerton, which was nice.
www.wyndhamhotels.com/hojo/fullerton-california/howard-johnson-fullerton-anaheim-hotel-and-conference-center/overview
www.wyndhamhotels.com/hojo/fullerton-california/howard-johnson-fullerton-anaheim-hotel-and-conference-center/overview
22.11.2022: Long Beach / Los Angeles Airport
Long Beach Airport (LGB/KLGB)
I started the day in LGB but I spent there just under one hour before I went to LAX
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX)
Several weeks before this trip I heard about a new position in a parking garage at the southern side of the airport. It is the AT&T parking garage where normal visitors are allowed in the upper levels. You have a great view on both southern runways for inbound traffic or aircrafts are taxing for departure, but it is really tricky! Keep watching Flightradar in order not to miss anything because due to the buildings on the left you just have 2-4 seconds for pictures, but from my point of view its my favorite position in LAX!
After 2 hours I saw on Flightradar that an Aloha Air Cargo B767 will depart in the next hour so I decided to go to the Imperial Hill position for some nice departure pictures
23.11.2022: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX)
After checking out of my Hotel I went to the famous Hoe's parking garage where I spent 1 hour.
Traffic and weather was nice but just 90 degrees side on shots with blue sky was a bit boring and I knew that Air Premia B787 would depart in an hour so I decided to spent the last hours at the Imperial Hill.
Now it was time to head to the check-in desk in the terminal. After security I tried to take some photos from inside the terminal but it wasn't easy.
LAX - CDG
AF069 B777-300(ER)
Flighttime: 10:22h
This flight was packed and I only got a seat at the aisle, but no problem for me because I was already tired.
AF069 B777-300(ER)
Flighttime: 10:22h
This flight was packed and I only got a seat at the aisle, but no problem for me because I was already tired.
Departure was on time and after one hour dinner was served. I choosed the vegetarian pasta which was good, but nothing special. I slept for about 4 hours and woke up over Ireland when breakfast was served.