What airplane did you see flying today?(airplane spotting)

[The Inspector]

Is the last attempt @ NATIONAL (from Vegas) back in the air, or did someone buy the name and round up some desert early 757's and give 'er another try?
The Vegas based NATIONAL was started by the same nest of bandits that started WESTERN PACIFIC and before that originally started AMERICA WEST-

[CAPFlyer]

This is a new cargo carrier formed from the old Murray Air (who was originally started with a few DC-8's to ferry parts around for Chrysler). It became National in 2008 after completing their acquisition of National Air Cargo (a freight forwarder).

Their fleet (originally a pair of DC-8-73F's) has now expanded to -

3x 747-400BCF (leased from Air Atlanta)
1x DC-8-63F (former Arrow Aircraft if I remember correctly)
1x DC-8-73F (ex-UPS), recently acquired to replace an older DC-8-72F
1x 757-200F (+2 more in conversion)

[davidbray]

Not today, but recently a lot of Aerial Applicators have been buzzing all over the place around me. Yesterday I saw an AT-602 I believe (didn't quite look big enough to be the 8,) as well as a radial engined duster as well. Later I heard a higher altitude single engine radial but he was too far up for me to ID him.

[The Inspector]

Who's doing the pax to box mod? Boeing in Wichita was buying older '57's out of the sand boxes and refitting them with all new upper 43/44 cabin skins and a real Boeing big door. ATS when it was still BADWRENCH attempted modding older 57's but had some quality issues as well as the completed airframe came out looking like someone had boarded over all the cabin doors I believe their partner went bust as did the freighter mod business.

That -62F is a real oddball! Not many -62's were originally built for JAL and a couple to UAL for really long thin stuff like Chicago/Tokyo. A standard 55 fuselage with ten wing tanks (inboard leading edges). Only a couple became freighters as surplus -61/-63C's were a dime a dozen, the 'C' came from the factory with thicker skins so they could be turned into freighters and the -62 wasn't cost effective because of the shorter cabin.

[CAPFlyer]

According to AeroTransport, the conversions of the 757's are being done by PEMCO in Dothan.

[The Inspector]

That's sort of scarey-plus you get Boeing engineering support for a 757-221 or whatever passenger plane it was, because if Boeing didn't build it or modify it, it's carried as a pax airframe for product liability, that's why when FEDEX bought fleets of tired old retired727-200's and turned them into box haulers, all engineering was done by FEDEX for FEDEX and they drove them until they were out of hours or a check would exceed the money the airframe could generate in the hours left on it they then parted them out for rotables and junked the airframes lots of old 727-200's went to their graves wearing purple and orange.

[Myles]

Saw a DC-3 flying overhead this morning on the way in to KSTS (Charles M. Schulz, Sonoma County Airport, Santa Rosa, CA). Then a while later heard the sweet sound of a Mustang flying.
Either Speedball Alice or Lady Jo. That made my day today. Better than the Bear Republic Racer 5 beer I am drinking now.

[The Inspector]

Watching the SEAFAIR hydro races today 8/7/11 and during the all day Boeing airshow over the race course was someone (TV station covering the races identified about 6 aircraft including the Blue Angel's) doing a smoke routine in a LEAR 23 or 24, didn't know any of them were still flying-

[Iam Grounded]

Was it yesterday, or 1945?

[CAPFlyer]

Watching the SEAFAIR hydro races today 8/7/11 and during the all day Boeing airshow over the race course was someone (TV station covering the races identified about 6 aircraft including the Blue Angel's) doing a smoke routine in a LEAR 23 or 24, didn't know any of them were still flying-

That'd be Clay Lacy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ah9tBdQ ... dded#at=15

[The Inspector]

Just had an overfly from Sentimental Journey here in Mt . Vernon apparently it's doing rides from Bayview Airport

[RickH]

Saw one of the NASA U-2s today at EFD.

[kalamazookid]

Mike Gillian's FM-2 was flying around the pattern at KLWA (South Haven) this morning. Also saw a T-6, it appeared to be the tri-color "Miss Behavin".

[Django]

Saw Vlado tearing up the sky over the Goodguys car show on Saturday in the Mustang.

[RickH]

Saw a TA-4 flying between Clear Lake and Galveston Island, then back to EFD today. Anybody else down by the bay see it ?