Multi-purpose airplane over Fairhope: A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX flies along the eastern shore late Wednesday morning after departing from Crestview, FL. Captured about 2,350 feet up, the aircraft moves at 147 knots or 169 mph. Described by Cessna as the ultimate utility vehicle, the Grand Caravan can carry up to 14 occupants while…
Vietnam veteran and movie star in the air over Fairhope: A 1964 Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter flies across Mobile Bay and the eastern shore late Tuesday afternoon. Captured about 400 feet up, the helicopter moves at a ground speed of 112 knots or 128 mph. After going up for sale at a government surplus auction,…
Ghostrider in the sky: A true machine of war, a US Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J Ghostrider flies patterns over Mobile Bay Tuesday afternoon. Built by Lockheed Martin, the four engine C-130J provides air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Used by special operations and conventional forces throughout the world, the C130 is a heavily…
A test of Spirit: A new Airbus A321 passes over The Grand Hotel at Point Clear late Tuesday morning while lining up to land at Brookley Field in Mobile following a test flight. Photo shot from Fairhope, roughly two and a half miles from the aircraft…
A long ride to the other side of the pond: Aeromexico flight 34 flies over Daphne’s Christ The King Catholic Church Thursday afternoon. Captured at an altitude of 37,000 feet or seven miles high, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner moves at a ground speed of 568 knots or 653 mph during a nine hour flight from…
A US Coast Guard MH-65D Dolphin air crew passes over the eastern shore late Tuesday morning. Part of the Coast Guard’s fleet of aircraft since 1984, Dolphins have undergone upgrades including new engines, digital technology, flight control, weather radar and navigation systems. At least one such upgraded Dolphin is in use at the Coast Guard’s…
Southwest Airlines flight 3240 passes over Fairhope’s Rock Creek Golf Club Sunday afternoon. Captured descending from 10,700 feet or about two miles high, the Boeing 737 moves at a ground speed of 371 knots or 426 miles per hour while preparing to land in Pensacola following an hour’s flight from Houston. Photo shot from Fairhope,…
Volaris flight 4327 passes over Mobile Bay Monday afternoon while on a flight from Washington Dulles to San Salvador. Captured at an altitude of 38,000 feet or roughly 7.25 miles high, the Airbus A320 moves at a ground speed of 432 knots or 497 mph during the four and a half hour flight. Volaris is…
A privately owned Sikorsky S-92A passes over Fairhope’s North Beach park Saturday afternoon on its way from Mobile to Florida. Captured at about 1,325 feet up, the aircraft moves at a ground speed of 142 knots or 163 mph. The aircraft continues moving southeast over Josephine and then flies over the Gulf along Santa Rosa…
Flying low over Fairhope: A Bell 206 helicopter is seen making several low altitude passes over Fairhope from the Point Clear area to north of Hwy 104 Tuesday afternoon. The aircraft is registered to the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Photo shot from Fairhope, roughly half a mile away…