TBA
Crankyflier Dorkfest
Lucked out and got a spot to this year's Crankflier Dorkfest ramp visit to LAX. Quite a crowd of very enthusiastic aviation geeks who made it, and there was not only a shiny new Airbus A321neo courtesy of Delta parked waiting for us, but also a Boeing 757-200 converted freighter courtesy of DHL. And not part of the event, but parked right next door, was a Kalitta Air 747F that was not only parked, but that took off about 90 minutes after the event started. We got front-row views of it taking off on runway 25R, plus plenty of other fun airplanes, including a United 737 MAX 9 and a United 787-9 landing.
Getting inside the Delta A321neo was cool, as was meeting Captain Geist, seeing them wheel up a lithium battery cart to it, and of course, sitting in the cockpit. As modern as the newest model of Airbus A321neo is, the amount of similarity to the original design is still striking, down to the massive rows of fuses and the control sticks. Delta's Delta One domestic first class product is pretty sweet too, although due to the crowd I did not spend too much time here. After all you can sit in Delta One anytime with enough money, whereas getting invited to the cockpit is a much less common occurence.
Being inside DHL's old 767-300 was even cooler, as getting inside a cargo plane is pretty much unheard of for the average non-airline person. A Boeing 757 may be an old bird-- this one clearly had its share of wear and tear, as the LAWA maintenance guy explaining the cockpit was happy to tell us-- but still, to see the entire fuselage empty from the cockpit bulkhead to the rear bulkhead, cargo hooks on the floors, signage for each position, etc. was super cool. And the cockpit, more old than new, but still not original, was pretty awesome. Three jump seats, the in-cockpit bathroom, and the decided informality compared to commercial passenger operations, down to a plastic cooler full of snacks-- all fun bits to see first-hand.
Some more airplane spotting on the ramp before I had to leave. Sadly my time at the main Dorkfest event, at the airplane spotters' park right next to In-N-Out on Sepulveda Blvd., was pretty brief due to prior committments. But was still good to stop by for a bit and say hi to well-known faces in the aviation industry, including American Airlines' own Ethan Klapper. Still had time to witness a Japan Airlines (JAL) widebody pass overhead before I left as well!