Phoenix (PHX) 24Sep-2002

N757BJ B757
N800PA HS125
N914BD Da900
N915BD CL604
N938EJ Ce750
N973M Da900

D-AIBF* A340 DLH
N312TZ B738 ATA
N410WN B73G SWA
N583NW* B753 NWA ... reason for the visit

* photographed

WILLIAMS GATEWAY 22SEP-2002

Douglas DC-8-63
46054 N796AL Still parked at the same spot, but a dove have been painted on the tail in blue and white colors.

CV-5800
276 N381FL Contrac Cargo (active)

The two US Marshall Service were still there DC-9-31 N133NK and MD-82 N807US

Antonov AN-2 (WSK PLZ-Mielec)
1G21504 N4693W All black with a thin red stripe, no titles/logo.

Avra Valley, AZ (AVQ) 23Sep-2002

N749NL Constellation L-749 ... Departed on 15Sep-2002 to Alliance, Texas, on her journey back to the Netherlands. Complete story & photos here.

Aircraft movements week of 16Sep-2002

16SEP
N339RS L-39 MHV-IDA
N501MJ CRJ7 IWA-DFW
ADB807 A124 MHV-IAH
FAO9900 B72S MIA-TUS
SWA5002 B73G MHV-PHX ... N426WN

17SEP
AAH100 B732 HNL-MHV ... N804AL
ATN9171 DC-8 ROW-LIT
DAL9900 B72S VCV-ATL
CRX7015 MD11 ZRH-MHV ... HB-IWS

18SEP
N73724 B757 YVR-TUS-MZJ
CNX1 B72S MCI-MZJ
UAL9812 B744 SFO-VCV ... N191UA

19SEP
COA9971 DC10 MHV-ROW ... N83071

20SEP
N213UP B72S GYR-TUS
N41068 DC10 ROW-SVMC (SVMC = Maracaibo, Venezuela)
N922VJ DC-9 MHV-GBG (GBG = Galesburg, IL) - BGR-YQX
LOT9001 B763 WAW-MHV ... SP-LPD (?)

Phoenix (PHX) 17Sep-2002

Looks like President Bush will be back in the Valley next week...

"...President Bush will be in the Valley next week to raise money for
Republican gubernatorial nominee Matt Salmon and the state party,
Republican sources confirmed Monday. While Bush's itinerary has not
been finalized, he is tentatively scheduled to hold a fund-raising
event Sept. 27 in downtown Phoenix..."

Goodyear (GYR) 14Sep-2002

The maintenance & storage facility at Goodyear, AZ - Aviation Management
Systems, Inc (A.M.S.) ceased operations over the weekend due to financial
troubles. Employees showed up to work only to find locked gates and
security guards.

No clue on what's to happen with the aircraft they were storing and working
on!

LAS VEGAS NORTH, NV SEP09-2002

Correction to my previous report:

Piper PA-31 Navajo Chieftain 350
31-7952044 N27910 is not parked! Is named: "Spirit of Lake Mead"
31-7752170 N27419 is the one that is parked minues one engine/prop and is named: "Spirit of Pearce Canyon".

Aircraft movements week of 09Sep-2002

09SEP
N915AE JS32 ELP-IGM
DAL9900 B72S GYR-VCV N295WA
UAL9872 B744 SFO-VCV
USA9296 B757 CLT-MHV N616AU
USA9297 B757 CLT-MHV N615AU
USA9298 B733 PIT-MHV N534AU
USA9299 B734 PIT-MHV N411US

10SEP
N933AS MD80 arr MHV
BTA4361 AT43 IAH-ROW
BTA4390 AT43 IAH-ROW
USA9298 B734 PIT-MHV N412US
USA9299 B733 PIT-MHV N506AU

11SEP
COA9971 MD80 HOU-TUS
FFT912 A319 BGR-PHX N912FR delivery
USA9299 B734 PIT-MHV N408US

***Nothing noted for 12Sep and 13Sep.

Phoenix (PHX) 9.11.02

N912FR A319-111 [1803] Frontier, arrived on delivery approx 1615, parked at Frontier's gate at T3, later noted pushed back by the old Executive Terminal. Still present 9.12.02 at 0800.

I attended the Indianapolis Airshow last weekend (9/7/02), just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana at the Mount Comfort Airport (MQJ). The show was coupled with the 2002 “Corsair Gathering”. The show had a very nice assortment of WWII, Korean War and Vietnam era aircraft, most of which performed for the show.
About ¾ of the show was just like any other airshow, with the possible exception of the jet powered WACO bi-plane that performed. The day began to pick up significantly when the warbirds began to perform.

The first “wave” of warbirds to perform consisted of P-51’s, a Sky Raider, a Bearcat, a B-25 and an assortment of Stearmans and T-6 Texans. The aircraft took off and did a series of “circuits” around the flight pattern, making about 10 laps around the airport each. After the first wave landed, 1 of 2 F-18’s took off and did a solo demonstration.

During the F-18 demo, 5 F-4U corsairs started up and taxied out to the run-up area. As soon as the F-18 landed, the second wave of aircraft took off consisting of 5 F-4U corsairs, and other assorted warbirds. Soon after the second wave was airborne, a second F-18 took off and flew in the pattern with the corsairs. The corsairs and the F-18 then joined together in formation and flew past the crowd several times. The corsairs then broke off and left the area and the F-18 did 3 high-speed fly-by’s and then landed.

After the corsairs left the field (supposedly to do a photo shoot) the airfield was opened up to the public, and a huge swarm of private aircraft taxied out to take off. It is estimated there were at least 60 aircraft in line at any given time, and at least 120 aircraft took off within 1.5 hrs. After about a half hour, the corsairs landed and taxied in.

Overall, the show (mainly the last 2 hours) was very impressive. To add to the great action, the corner taxiway between two adjacent taxiways and the end of the runway were not roped off by show security. There were a hand full of people gathered down there that were able to get EXCELLENT close-up, un-obstructed shots of the warbirds taxiing and doing engine run-ups. I was able to take advantage of this and will soon post some of my better shots to the cactus wings photo section.