The Arkansas summer was dragging on, and today we were due to be in Little Rock briefly to deliver a birthday gift to a friend. Never one to miss an opportunity, I managed to - once again - persuade the hubby and puppy to accompany me to the airport for an hour or so of spotting.
By early afternoon the atmosphere around KLIT was percolating with cumulus, and by the time we arrived at the airport exit there was a convective shower to our south. As it turns out, this little shower (along with its successive offspring) forced an airport arrivals/departures pattern change - making for a much more interesting and dynamic spotting experience as opposed to our last two lazy excursions. Arrivals were mostly coming in on rwy. 4L from the southwest, and as we sat at our regular gravel parking lot at the end of this runway we were jolted alert by a symphony of jet engines rattling our westward-facing windows. This was certainly a new experience for me, as opposed to having the departures from 4L powering overhead like we are used to! Two other spotters came to roost next to us also, however ten minutes later - after seeing a CRJ climbing out from 22L (the other runway) - our vehicle and theirs were engaged in a scramble towards that runway.
We took ourselves on a detour north past the terminal on Airport Rd., under the taxiway bridges and out to the cargo warehouses to scope the area for any lurking Southwest 737s - and we weren't disappointed! Two big, beautiful 737s sat docked at the terminal while filling up with PAX and luggage. After quenching our Boeing thirst, we followed the first one that pushed off for a 22L departure, although we were too late to see its takeoff roll from that runway's vantage point. The second 737 departed about an hour later but from 4L (go figure), but nonetheless a great spotting afternoon, some new angles for photography and many more tail #s! Enjoy!
N507AE makes our first tail# of the day and a nice little CRJ at that! The holes in the fenceline at the west side of the cargo area make a good spotting opportunity!
Siblings! :-D
N550WN and her sister, N797MX, make two beautiful additions to my tail# list and a stunning sight complete with those oh-so-nice blended winglets! Yess!
After pushing off, N797MX turns on an aircraft-dime and heads out briskly for a 22L departure to Dallas-Love-Field.
N797MX taxiing very quickly by us, and I relish in the hubby's exclamation of how big these things are. Yup.....I'm in love (OK OK - with him first, the plane second!). Metal fences - oh how I hate thee.
We race N797MX down Airport Rd. (obeying the speed limit and all traffic signals present, I might add), but it becomes apparent that the pilot and co-pilot are listening to Rick Ross, and are doing the proverbial turn-out-from-apron-into-immediate-takeoff-roll-hussle! In this shot, they are entering the runway. Bye bye, you beautiful machine!!
An unidentifiable American Eagle whooshes past us in my first at-speed, at-rotation, in front of me shot!
A short time later (with the sky unfortunately becoming very gray and nondescript), we get treated to a lovely arrival at KLIT on 22L. American Eagle tail# N691AE makes our second special-livery jet at this airport in three spotting trips - and I am happy! This jet is painted after the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure movement to find a cure for breast cancer.
United's pretty N785SK is the next to depart our runway. I am really impressed at their nice paint scheme, and really embarrassed at my inexperience at shooting these things at speed! This CRJ didn't rotate until well after the previous AE departure, and so I was somewhat early tripping the shutter.
We have the luck to see a Continental Expressjet Embraer RJ145 depart before we call it a day! N14945 departs 22L, and gives us a lovely view of the type of plane with Continental that we will be flying in less than six weeks time! Additionally - this image is zoomed out further because I was experimenting with a wider angle on the fast-moving jets. I won't do it again - full-zoom is the only way to go!
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