“Boeing, Airbus Gear Up for Post-Tariff Fight for Orders”STORY (WSJ)
I searched the United aircraft number and confirmed that the plane taking off is an Airbus 319. The plane on the ground is most certainly a later model Boeing 737 - though I can’t confirm that. It’s always tough telling the two similar sized planes apart on the ground when traveling. However, the cockpit windows provide a clue.
The lower plane is
not a 737 “Max” - as the Max has odd shaped engines that are flat (not rounded) on the bottom for ground clearance. A bit of an “ugly duckling” when viewed at airports.
Learned years ago that the winglets (fins) are designed to reduce drag and increase fuel economy. Come in various configurations and sizes. They’re an expensive retrofit on older planes.
(Shot from today’s Wall Street Journal)
Comments
I suspect it’s some tricky camera work rather than an abort. But did experience 1 aborted landing in Tampa years ago. Pilot noticed another plane on the runway just before touching down. Pulled up sharply. Turned left. Did go-around.
Wish I could recall the type of jet we were on. (Maybe 727 or DC 9 just because they were so common back than)
Currently, this particular aircraft is "everywhere".
The small mountain formation in the background offers no clues for my brain.
Recent runs are here.
A fun chase for information.
ADD: My guess is that the airport is Vancouver.
Some pics indicate a low mountain range; at least possible from a particular photo angle. ALSO, Air Tahiti Nui flies into Vancouver.
“Air Tahiti operates flights to 47 islands in French Polynesia, and to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Most of them are served by ATR aircraft. Few are operated in Twin Otters and Beechcrafts, particularly Ua Pou and Ua Huka in the Marquesas. Discover our archipelagos and the main islands in the drop-down menu below.”
“Faa'a International Airport serves both domestic and international flights. Air Tahiti has daily flights to most other islands in French Polynesia and one international service to the Cook Islands. There are intercontinental flights to Canada, Chile, Metropolitan France, Japan, New Zealand and the United States. The airport is on Tahiti, which is an island among the Windward Islands, the eastern part of the Society Islands. Because of limited level terrain, rather than leveling large stretches of sloping agricultural land, the airport is built primarily on reclaimed land on the coral reef just offshore.”
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Air Tahiti seems to fly mainly smaller planes, but is showcasing some modern 737-900 (very nice large planes) Likely, the photo I linked was taken at Faa’a International Airport . It boasts a very long 12,000 ft. runway. I doubt a fully loaded A319 would require much over half that distance to get airborne, (They operate routinely off of NYC’s LaGuardia’s 6,000 foot runway.) That probably helps create the seemingly odd juxtaposition in the photo, as the A319 is already well aloft, yet seemingly close to airport infrastructure and a taxiing plane.
I don’t have time, but you might check on which airports United serves in that area. Likely it’s very few airports that both carriers serve.
Some possible illumination:
Our Destinations
Our Fleet https://www.airtahitinui.com/us-en/our-fleet-boeing-787-9
Papeete airport top photo. I don't think your photo from WSJ having a backdrop of the small mountains would be found in Papeete from any angle. And a zoom of the pic seems to show pine trees on the slope.
I'll have to remain in favor of your pic being at Vancouver.
Air Tahiti flies 6 times/week to Vancouver or vice versa.
Pillow time.....................
I've used FlightAware over the years to track flights (scroll down the page for other interesting stuff). A decent site to save for future use; as you may check past flights for a given route to discover average travel times, delays and other. The flight map is active when a flight is in progress, as well as left gate, taxi time, etc. A login or registration at the site is not needed for a lot of common information. You'll have to poke around the site to find what is most useful; but the link is probably what you'll need/use as a starting point, but there are various ways to enter known data (destination, flight numbers, etc.) to discover what you need or want. We've used the site in particular when our daughter traveled to Europe two different times. It gave us peace of mind knowing the flights to/from Paris and Frankfurt were on time and wouldn't cause connection problems for to and from NYC/Detroit metro.
The below link indicates the active schedule, as well as the "past" flights (scroll down) for this route.
Vancouver to Papeete schedule, via Air Tahiti Nui.
At least this is more fun for the investigative mind, versus trying to discover the uses of options and futures in a Tactical Allocation fund.
With the cursor on the pic, you'll have 2 zoom levels and you may move top/bottom and left/right. One helluva view of the plane. Other info below the pic furnished by the photographer. DATE noted is June, 2020. I wouldn't expected they were flying then.
ADD: Hank...........the name of/on the plane near the pilot windows in the Flickr pic, is the same name as found in the WSJ pic. The scalloped metal at the engine discharge area indicates a Dreamliner.
Looks like longest runway at YVR is 11,500 feet - about half of what that plane likely needed.
And thanks for participating in the aviation corner here!
PS - Yes, you’ve done your homework. Here’s a link to AT’s Dreamliner https://www.airtahitinui.com/us-en/dreamliner-experience-working
On page 3.3.1 is a graph showing the runway takeoff length of the 787 under various altitude, temperature, and loading conditions. At sea-level (Vancouver) the required runway length is only 5,000 to 10,000 feet, depending on aircraft loading from minimum (360,000 lb) to maximum (500,000 lb) weight, and assuming a temperature of 15° C (59° F). That temperature seems a bit on the low side, so the required length will increase a little as that temperature rises, to say, 70 or 80 degrees F.
In any case, the 787 should have no problems at all at YVR.
Anybody want to explain why the single aisle A319 in the distance appears larger than the twin aisle 787 in the foreground?
Speaking of photos, those photos that Catch found are really something else. Damned good photography.
The previous mentioned Flickr.com is a wonderful place to discover uploaded photos by anyone and from just about every place on the globe. To the best of my knowledge, one doesn't need to sign up for viewing pics. The site has been in place since 2004.
I discovered numerous, high quality photos taken by tourists of an area I traveled for 2 weeks in southern Morocco during my vagabond days of 1973. I didn't have a decent camera that I could drag along on the trip for photos.
Never been on the Dreamliner. First on a 777 couple years ago. The twin aisle jobs all look about the same inside to me. There’s so much interior it’s really hard to grasp.
@hank- Yes, I also wonder if that 787 is in line for take off or maybe just waiting to cross the runway behind the 319, because if the United is in fact taking off it must have started much further down the runway. Given the runway configuration as pictured, I'm uncertain exactly where those two planes actually were on the airfield. Air Tahiti most likely would be using the longer 11,500' runway for either takeoff or landing, so where the devil was he when that picture was taken?
Where I stayed in Tafraoute for two weeks (scroll down the page to the 3rd photo). The top center house nearest the rock ledge, 4 stories high. There's a single window in the right side tower. The house was the residence of an uncle of an acquaintance, who lived in Casa Blanca. He hadn't seen his uncle since about age 7; and this prompted the journey and the visit. A fully amazing experience. Very few outsiders visited in 1973. Today, one may schedule a tour of the area and stay at a hotel.
I can't find a map that clearly defines Tafraoute relative to the desert to the east and south and the technical boundaries. But, a lot of the area looked like a desert, regardless.
I traveled the country for 4 months; and this is the most embedded in my memory cells of all areas I have traveled and/or lived outside of the U.S.
A bit like working on a jig-saw puzzle.
This is the type of thing that keep we "older" folks in top mental condition.......well, most of the time (speaking for myself). My spousal unit may not concur at times.
But, here’s the best one I could dig up. Intersecting runways visible on left side. Might be able to match up some of the infrastructure visible in original photo.
Wondering about those yellow markers? Are those directions to boarding gates? If so, a view of the terminal (s) would lead one to the area.
@Old_Joe - Depends on temp, loading, etc. (as you’ve explained), but I’m reading that
9,000 -10,000 is enough for the 787 in many cases - especially cooler temps. So let’s not rule out the 26R / 08L (far right in photo). Given a choice of that or the intersecting one on a busy day, it might be a close call. Than there’s proximity to departing gate as well.
I use Google Maps a variety of things. This is an aerial view of the airport. I'm still perplexed about the pine trees and ridge in the background of Hank's original photo. At the top of the photo, across the Fraser River; is there a pine tree line on a ridge there? Also, to the south (bottom) across the Fraser River and to Swishwash Island; might there be elevation there and with pine trees?
This aerial, at least with a Windows PC; I can use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in or out. Also, holding the left mouse button lets drag in all directions. I'm not familiar with this process for Apple products; although a touch screen product would allow for finger gestures.
You may zoom "in" this aerial to the point of traveling along the runways to see the painted numbers of the runway.....(08L-26R)
I've not followed the disputes closely over the years, but am aware of the political problems with ownership/ancestral rights of the Sahara area and the naming changes. It is reported that there remains "clashes" in some areas.