Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: airport

I'm fairly sure this was a 777-300ER, given what Air France usually flies, and given the apparent length of this aircraft. However, because I wasn't sure when I posted this, I didn't put it in the title. When I tried reviewing photos of 777-300's, versus 777-200's, I couldn't find an objective spotting feature to make it certain. If someone knows for sure, please let me know. I don't take too many photos of airliners that I've been on anymore, but for some reason I decided to take this shot before departing JFK for Paris Charles De Gaulle. Typically, flights from the U.S. to Europe take off from the U.S. East Coast in the evening, arriving the next morning to avoid losing a day.

Piper Cherokee isn't a band, but the (probable) model of that plane. It could be something related, actually, as Piper manufactured several models with a similar airframe to the Cherokee, and there are probably some replicas in circulation, too. This was taken at Fluff Fest, though. As I said above, I'm guessing the type from the shape, as I haven't been able to determine 100% that it's a Cherokee. At least one of the planes I spotted at Rokycany airport (I've forgotten in what year), where Fluff Fest was held, had a registration assigned to a Cherokee, though, this is likely it.

I had meant to visit the aviation museum at Kbely airport for many years, and in 2014 I finally got around to it. The photos I'm posting today barely scratch the surface of what I found there, as I took pictures of almost every public exhibit with my cameraphone. However, these are examples of what I took with my Zeiss-Ikon Contina LK, loaded with Kodak Tmax 400. These two fighters are the first in the series, being both Soviet-built MiG-17 jet fighters. They look different because the one on the right has radar, with the distinct bulge in the intake (a very imaginative design), and appears to be two-seat, hence the longer canopy. These were some of the earliest jet fighters used by the Czechslovak air force, other than some Messerschmidt Me-262's built at the end of World War II, some of them by Avia. The Czechoslovak air force also had MiG-15 fighters, but older pilots have told me they were only used as trainers. Of course, the Czechs also built the Aero Delphin, which as an entirely Czech design, and the museum has at least one. However, the Delphin was only a trainer.

The textbook trivia answer as to the first jet airliner, is obviously the DeHavilland D.H. 106 Comet, introduced in 1952 after a 3-year testing period. However, it was initially a disaster, quite literally, as four crashed fatally in only the first two years of operation. Later variants fared better (after the initial losses were traced to a badly-designed fuselage that couldn't deal with both pressurization and high subsonic flight), although in total 26 of 114 Comets were lost, a rate of 22.8%. The second ever jet airliner to be introduced was the Tupolev Tu-104, seen here, and it fared far better. Introduced in 1956, 204 were built, and 32 lost to crashes (37 were lost in total, as 5 were destroyed by terrorists), a loss rate of 15%, if you exclude terrorist attacks. In addition, many Tu-104 crashes were non-fatal, to the point were over a third of passengers survived on average. A particularly notable incident was the first one, in 1958, where the pilot successfully landed with no engines (they had run out of fuel) albeit short of the runway. The reason this Tu-104 is displayed at Kbely, though, has nothing to do with any accident. Instead, it is significant to Czech aviation history because CSA were the only export customer for the Tu-104, thus making them only the third airline in the world (after BOAC and Aeroflot) to operate jet airliners. Another surviving CSA Tu-104 can be seen in a park in Olomouc, where it has been converted to "The Aeroplane Bar."

This Ilyushin Il-14 airliner appears to be ex-air force, but Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie (Czech Airlines, or CSA), were the primary users in Czechoslovakia. The Il-14 was one of a series of improved DC-3 and DC-4 copies developed in Russia during the 1950's, and many survived into the 1980's. Today, while they no longer work for Aeroflot or CSA, they are used by smaller airlines and charter services, especially in Africa, as they can land safely on dirt runways. This applies mostly to 4-engine Il-18's, though, rather than 2-engine Il-14's (the Il-18 was more than simply a DC-4 copy, however, and was by far the most advanced of the series). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-12 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-14 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-18 This is not unlike the fate of the surviving Douglas DC-3's. As historians will note, Ilyushin were not the first Soviet design bureau to copy the DC-3, as the Lisunov Li-2 was an even closer copy produced during World War II. The Kbely museum actually has one that they keep in one of their hangars with other World War II aircraft.

Although to the best of my knowledge this is CSA's only wide-body, heavy jet right now, it has made a certain amount of headlines since its introduction early last year. I was hoping they would use it for flights to Kennedy, like they did with their earlier heavy jets, but so far I haven't had my wish. On this trip, which descended into a fiasco almost immediately, I had to fly via Frankfurt and Toronto, and couldn't get any airline to fly more directly to Syracuse or Kennedy.

This Airlony Skylane UL, another plane classified as a microlight under Czech regulations, is also operated by Franair, hence the livery. Based aerodynamically on the Cessna Skylane, although only loosely, it is scaled down, and powered by a 100-horsepower Rotax 912 engine (similar to the Zephyr, although Franair's Zephyr only has an 80-horsepower Rotax) rather than the 235-horsepower Lycoming 0-540-J3C5D used in the original Cessna. This makes it smaller than any plane currently made by Cessna other than the Skycatcher, which it can still outperform. It is also far cheaper, although it is a higher-end aircraft than the Atec Zephyr.

This is an Atec Zephyr 2002LS microlight, which is actually Czech made. Microlight planes are fairly popular in the Czech Republic due to their relatively low cost (comparable to a car), and greater capability than a traditional ultralight. In fact, some of them rival lower-end light transports in certain aspects of their performance. Microlights are a legal category used for some planes classified as ultralights in some countries, but not in others (the term "microlight" is used in several jurisdictions). This means that they are heavier than ultralights but lighter than light transports, with some characteristics of both. Many could almost be flown IFR, but generally microlights are only legal for VFR. Therefore, it is common to fly them VFR at under 4,000 feet, at speeds under about 115 m.p.h. or so, compared to about the same speed for a single-engine light transport, and half that speed for a traditional ultralight (even slower in some jurisdictions). The Atec Zephyr is one of the most popular microlights in the Czech Republic, but there has been talk of discontinuing it in favour of the newer Atec Faeta. When I checked the Atec website today, however, it appeared that the Zephyr was still in production. This Zephyr is operated by Franair, a flight school based in Kladno.

This is a taxiway, but looks like a runway. In actuality, the runway is off in the distance, at the end of the taxiway. The only runway at Hradec Kralove Airport is 7874X197 feet, the length in meters being 2400 (the 197-foot width converts to 60.05m), meaning that it can service small jets and lightly loaded jet airliners and cargo planes. At least one website says that there is jet fuel on hand for those who need it. Strangely, I never found where the planes are parked, as so many other things go on at the airport (mentioned earlier) that the fencing is really confusing. What's secure, and what isn't??? After all, I was standing in the middle of the taxiway, and that apparently was alright, although I shot this photo through a fence they had set up near one end. Looking down the runway at that gantry, I assumed it was for drag racing, meaning that on this day the airport must have been closed to flights (the racers would have crossed the runway on a pass, but of course this is all speculation on my part). Not much information is available online. Google Earth seems to show parking that would be to the right in this photo quite far behind those trees.

On the subject of motorsports, I found this modified APC at the airport, by all appearances in running order, but strictly for peaceful purposes. Because it's modded, I don't know exactly the make and model. It could be a Polish OT-64, as the photos of those available online seem to match it best. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:POL_Warsaw_Bemowo_.JPG

Hradec Kralove Airport used to be an air base, as evidenced by the many old military hangars there. Today it is overshadowed by the nearby Pardubice Airport, but remains open not only as a general aviation airport but also as an exhibition ground, hosting motorsports events, concerts, skateboarding events, and extreme sports.

The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was originally a Nazi German spy plane, but remained in production long after the fall of the Nazi regime, with a number of variants and manufacturers. It is often credited with being one of the first purpose-built STOL aircraft, simply because it has enough lift to take off and land in a very short distance, in spite of its conventional design. I don't know the background of this particular aircraft, but I noted that its cockpit appeared to be fully modern. The newest version of the Storch that I found online was this one: www.slepcevstorch.com The Slepcev is only 3/4 the size of the original, which looks close to the size of the aircraft in the photo.

This is a view of the runway at Rokycany airport, which is grass, although some of the taxiways have been trampled to dirt. Because it's a grass runway, it's hard to see in this photo.

This is one of the hangars at the Rokycany airport. For a sport airport that can only service the smallest aircraft, Rokycany has ampler facilities than average, including a tower and snack bar.

This is a Hindustan Ambassador taxi, probably built sometime between the 1950's and the 1980's, as the car was based on a Morris Oxford Series III upon its introduction in 1957, being built by Hindustan Motors in Uttarpara, India. The company had actually started in 1942, building other Morris copies, but upon the introduction of the Ambassador, no major design changes were attempted until the 1990's, when safety concerns forced a redesign. To this day, the cars remain in production in this newer, redesigned form, in spite of competition from Tata and, of course, the whole range of foreign cars which offer a higher level of performance and comfort. This Ambassador was on display in Praha Ruzyne airport, advertising flights to India.

This was another shot that I took of the A380 with the next roll of film. Unfortunately, I had to change rolls as it was taxiing towards us, but luckily, it was going very slow. This might be my best of the bunch.

Here's another shot of an odd section of New York. That airport down there isn't LaGuardia, it isn't JFK, it isn't Newark, it isn't MacArthur, or even the now-closed Flushing, but rather is Floyd Bennet Field, which has some claim to being the city's oldest airport, being built in 1929, although Flushing was actually built in 1927, as was Republic. Roosevelt field, the origin of Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, was even older, dating to 1917, but it doesn't survive today, having been replaced by a mall. Therefore, Floyd Bennet Field's claim to being the oldest in the New York area is very dubious, although it's probably the second oldest within the official city limits (Flushing would be the oldest, I think). It's now a museum, and features some of the oldest surviving airport buildings in the United States, and therefore the world, dating back to 1930. It doesn't host regular flights anymore, meaning that Republic can lay claim to being the New York area's oldest functioning airport within New York State, although Teterboro airport in New Jersey is even older, dating to 1917, and is owned by the Port Authority of New York.

This technically bad, blurred, photo was shot from a train, as this was about the only chance I got to see Tempelhof, and I didn't want to pass it up. As Wikipedia says, "Designated by the ministry of transportation on October 8, 1923, Tempelhof is the world's oldest commercial airport, and the world's first airport being connected to a subway-network in 1927." That's something very impressive to me, especially when you consider that it was also the first with restaurants and shops like modern airports, all 25 years before the first jet airliners. It has long enough runways to take 747 jumbo jets, but aircraft visiting Tempelhof are often expected to taxi under certain overhead bridges in the airport that were constructed long before aircraft got so large, so today most planes using Tempelhof are very small by the standards of modern airliners, and there has been talk of closing the airport. I hope myself that it will survive as a museum, and I would support any such effort to preserve it.