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Ian Kluft ✅✈️🎈🌋
@ikluft@avgeek.social
mastodon 4.7.3About me: Software Engineer network/cybersecurity, pilot/CFI, Libertarian, electronics, Ham, rocket/balloon tracker
Hi! I'm Ian Kluft. @ikluft@avgeek.social is my Aviation & Science account.
#aviation #pilot #avgeek #science #weather #geology #fedi22
Also me: @AstroHawk@spacey.space (space) & @KO6YQ@pnw.zone (tech/local)
494 Followers
62 Following
50 Posts
Joined December 16, 2022
Location:
Portland, Oregon, USA🇺🇸
About:
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PDX Planespotting:
Replying to
North American #avgeek alert: if you're on the path of the #Airbus A350-1000ULR flight test #AIB35LR and can take a picture of an airplane at altitude, get your telescopes and cameras ready. It will fly over California and cross the USA and Canada on the way to France. No stops are planned. And the ULR is an incremental update on the A350-1000LR. So as tests go, it's likely to go smoothly. #A35K #aviation #travel #avgeek
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A friend said some tickets became available for #SpotLAX2026, the Friday night rooftop planespotting party. So it's momentarily not sold out at the time of this posting. (It's separate from #Dorkfest / #LAXDorkFest2026 which is held in the Westchester planespotting park. [Edit: it's back to waitlist].) SpotLAX tickets were already sold out before DorkFest started taking RSVPs. #KLAX #aviation #travel #avgeek
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They turned, now headed for direct overflight of the Los Angeles metro area. Anyone know an #avgeek friend with telescope who can get pics of a widebody jet at 41000ft? Ping them. Please add pics in this thread. (attn @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org )
globe.airplanes.live/?icao=39a3fb
https://
adsb.lol/?icao=39a3fb
#Airbus #AIB35LR #A35K #aviation #travel #avgeek
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"New airliner sets record flying 24 hrs nonstop from Australia to France" by @arstechnica@mastodon.social - #Airbus A350-1000ULR #AIB35LR test flight MEL-TLS going eastbound (long way around) took 24 hours and 25 minutes. It flew over Los Angeles & London. It was record longest non-stop unrefueled flight by an airliner. It wasn't a scheduled passenger flight, which is a different category record this model will probably take as well after certification. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/07/new-airliner-sets-record-flying-24-hrs-nonstop-from-australia-to-france/ #A35K #aviation #travel #avgeek
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ADS-B tracking sites have acquired #Airbus A350-1000ULR #AIB35LR off the coast of Southern California. It appears to be headed for a "feet dry" (landfall) point around Santa Barbara. (attn @gb0n@avgeek.social )
https://globe.airplanes.live/?icao=39a3fb
https://adsb.lol/?icao=39a3fb
#A35K #aviation #travel #avgeek
26 years ago, July 25, 2000: Air France Flight 4590 Concorde crash in Paris killed all 100 passengers & 9 crew aboard. The chain of events was started with foreign object debris FOD that fell from a Continental DC-10. A metal strip cut a tire which exploded, ruptured a fuel tank and started a fire that brought down the plane. Kevlar shields under the fuel tanks briefly returned Concordes to flight from Nov 2001 - Oct 2003. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590 #TDIH #history #aviation #travel #avgeek
"A Massive Flow of Rock and Mud Tumbled Down Mount Rainier Centuries Ago. Scientists Pinpointed Its Date to Better Understand the Volcano’s Complex Threats" by @Smithsonianmag@flipboard.com - Communities downstream from Mt Rainier have lahar (volcanic mudflow) drills where residents walk to higher ground. One of those historic mudflows has been more precisely dated to 1507 as scientists learned how to correlate rock layers, tree rings & radiocarbon dating. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-massive-flow-of-rock-and-mud-tumbled-down-mount-rainier-centuries-ago-scientists-pinpointed-its-date-to-better-understand-the-volcanos-complex-threats-180989162/ #volcano🌋 #geology #PNW
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@douglasvb@m.ai6yr.org We might not learn the BAW919 captain's name. But he saved as many people as Capt Sully did in 2009. But this may get less attention because he saved the plane too.
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@douglasvb@m.ai6yr.org Yes. That was a conclusion of the Air France 447 crash investigation. But the Airbus interface is deeply established. Rather than re-do the user interface on all Airbus jets, they had pilots train for it in the simulator. But as we saw in this case (and like 447), the junior pilot wasn't able to change thinking & muscle-memory with the change in control law. Fortunately the captain understood what was happening and took over. 😰
Fly-by-wire issues have bitten both Airbus and Boeing.
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Spotted on final approach to Portland Int'l Airport #KPDX: #UnpaintedAirplane Boeing 737 MAX9 flying as BOE964. This was the airplane's first flight, which departed from Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington #KRNT. The pre-painted rudder and transponder telemetry both indicate this plane will be going to United Airlines. After landing it taxied to the Boeing Portland Paint Hangar. #PicklePlane #aviation #business #travel #avgeek #PNW
"Horizontal Stabilizers" by XKCD comic - The cartoonist wonders out loud if airplanes really need those "little wings" in the back. Short answer: Sure, just remove one of the pilot's 3 axes of control and see what happens. But it doesn't even count as a short flight if it runs off the end of the runway, failing to get off the ground. Don't buy a ticket from an airline that cuts flight controls to save costs. https://xkcd.com/3241/ #aviation #pilot #avgeek #travel #WTF #oops #humor
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#Airbus A350-1000ULR test flight is currently returning from Melbourne🇦🇺 #MEL / #YMML to Toulouse🇫🇷 #TLS / #LFBO going eastbound with favorable winds to make a one-stop-around-the-world test. Later they will also need to test westbound Australia to Europe against unfavorable winds. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/AIB35LR/history/20260727/0700Z/YMML/LFBO #aviation #travel #avgeek
Spotted on approach to PDX: Royal Canadian Air Force RCAF CC330 (Airbus A330) - this is a Canadian government VIP transport. I don't see news of the Prime Minister visiting Portland (which has happened). So I'm guessing it's an RCAF General visiting related to the North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD, a joint US🇺🇸/Canada🇨🇦 military command. It flew to PDX from Colorado Springs COS, also a NORAD base. #military #aviation #avgeek
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BOE446 did eventually make it to Portland today, after repairs at BFI for whatever malfunction caused the Boeing test pilots to divert 2 days ago on the plane's first flight out of the Renton factory. It will be painted with registration C-GYYS and WestJet🇨🇦 livery. Other avgeeks looked up this 737 MAX8 is line number LN9714. Here's my video of the landing on Runway 28L at PDX a little before noon today. #UnpaintedAirplane #PicklePlane #KPDX #aviation #travel #avgeek
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View of Boeing Portland Paint Hangar from the Columbia River levee bike path: two 787-9 Dreamliners parked in front of the hangar, one newly-painted for Lufthansa and one behind it just arrived in LOT Polish Airlines livery but will be repainted for Lufthansa.
On the far right, a 737 MAX9 missing a door plug is N704AL from Alaska 1282 blowout. It has (so far) never left PDX since that day. Alaska returned it to Boeing ownership in exchange for a MAX10 order. #KPDX #aviation #travel #avgeek
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"Boeing to start 737 Max production on new assembly line July 6" by CNBC - New Boeing 737 MAX assembly line at Everett WA (Paine Field #KPAE) will start July 6. The 737 "North Line" is mainly for MAX10 but also some 8/9 (no 7), adding to existing 737 production at Renton which assembles on average 2 planes each weekday. Boeing used vacant space in the Everett factory from the 747 which ended 2023. Everett also makes 767 & 777. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/05/boeing-ceo-737-max-production-assembly-line.html #aviation #business #travel #avgeek #PNW
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@douglasvb@m.ai6yr.org The only thing I can think of causing an even remotely analogous in-flight change in aircraft controls is a total hydraulic failure. Up until the 80's it was assumed it couldn't happen with redundant systems of a 3+ engine jet. On United Flight 232 in 1989, it did. The pilots' inventive solution to use differential engine thrust saved more than half the people on board when it should have been uncontrollable & unsurvivable. Technical fixes + simulator training, and it never recurred.
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So how do we know the airport code of the _secret_ Air Force base at Groom Lake #Area51 is #KXTA? That was a big #oops on someone's part in 2007. A routine aviation navigation database update was not scrubbed for classified material and... there it was. The story was broken by AOPA when pilots noticed it on #aviation GPS units. USAF response: "We know. It doesn't matter." 😀 Student pilots needed to be taught not to use it as a waypoint. https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2008/january/10/dont-ask-dont-tell-area-51-gets-airport-identifier #military #avgeek #history #WTF
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British Airways 919 #BAW919 incident on July 6 shows hard lessons from history have been learned. But they're still hard. The computer interface on Airbus planes has pilots pull stick back so computer flies optimal airspeed. When air data fails, the computer goes stupid into direct controls - habitually pulling the stick back pushes the nose up until the plane can't fly (aerodynamic stall). Lessons from 2009 crash of Air France 447. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447 #aviation #travel #safety #avgeek
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When the #Airbus A350-1000ULR comes in range of civilian ADS-B receivers off the coast of Southern California, you can use its ADS-B hex code 39A3FB to track it. (Until it comes in range, the systems will display its last position off the coast of Australia many hours ago.)
https://globe.airplanes.live/?icao=39a3fb
https://adsb.lol/?icao=39a3fb
#A35K #aviation #travel #avgeek
"How Airspeed Sensors Work" by @hackaday@hackaday.social - #GPS & #GNSS 🛰 can tell ground speed for purposes of navigation. But flying an airplane🛨🛧 or glider first requires airspeed. Piloting at takeoff, landing, cruise and maximum "red line" are all by airspeed. Airspeed differs from ground speed by wind direction/speed you're flying in. Airspeed is measured via a pitot tube (French word: silent t on the end) which looks like a forward-facing spike. https://hackaday.com/2026/06/30/how-airspeed-sensors-work/ #aviation #pilot #avgeek #science
"Passengers Say They Won’t Fly To [he who shall not be named] Airport—United Now Lets Them Switch Destinations Free" by ViewFromTheWing - United is not charging fees for the itinerary change for passengers who refuse to fly to Palm Beach, Florida's airport due to its recent renaming. Customers have to call support to change destination to other Miami-area airports without change fees. https://viewfromthewing.com/passengers-say-they-wont-fly-to-donald-trump-airport-united-now-lets-them-switch-destinations-free/ #USpol #aviation #travel #avgeek
"Ryanair jet window ‘dislodged’ during flight forcing emergency landing in Greece" by @CNBC@flipboard.com - Initial chaotic reports say RyanAir 737-800 (NG, not MAX) experienced a window blowout on climbout from Thessaloniki Airport #SKG / #LGTS🇬🇷. A seat-belted passenger was injured, partly pulled out and rescued. Reports mention debris from the engine caused the window blowout. So the main story appears likely to change to an uncontained engine failure. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/10/ryanair-jet-window-dislodged-flight-emergency-landing-greece.html #aviation #travel #avgeek
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Video of landing roll of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner as Boeing 751 on Runway 28R at Portland International Airport #KPDX. It arrived wearing the livery of LOT Polish Airlines, but was an NTU (not taken up/cancelled order). This is line number LN1046 - it was parked at San Antonio Kelly Field #KSKF in Texas for over 2 years waiting for a buyer. It taxied to the Boeing Portland Paint Hangar, where it will be repainted for Lufthansa and start on interior rework. #aviation #travel #avgeek
"PDX opens shiny new baggage claim escalators as major renovation continues" by The Oregonian @OregonLive@mstdn.social - Terminal construction projects are continuing to reach completion through the year at Portland Int'l Airport. South-side escalators down to baggage claim from the new exit at Concourses B/C (Alaska, American, Frontier, Hawaiian & JetBlue) are open. The north-side escalators are scheduled to open in June. https://www.oregonlive.com/travel/2026/05/pdx-opens-shiny-new-baggage-claim-escalators-as-major-renovation-continues.html #KPDX #aviation #travel #avgeek #PNW
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@ErrolNZ@mastodon.nz I visited there in 2007 (the only time I've been to NZ so far). I think that plane was behind the C47/DC-3 in this pic.
RE: @acarsdrama@live.acarsdrama.com
Why does this sound like a ferry crew for a Spirit Airlines creditor? #SpiritShutdown #aviation #business #travel #avgeek
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@acarsdrama@live.acarsdrama.com OMGWTF! No, not that! It's... it's... so... furry! 😱
[from South Park s12 ep11]
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After 15 days in the Boeing Portland Paint Hangar, the 3rd Boeing 787-9 (or any type 787) for China Airlines of Taiwan departed #KPDX as BOE758 for Kelly Field #KSKF in San Antonio, for either pre-delivery interior work or parking. I didn't have time to get to the airport - so these pictures are from home at a distance of 5 miles while taxiing and 8 miles on departure. It's just enough to confirm they actually did paint the plane while it was here. #aviation #travel #avgeek
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@intrepidhero@vmst.io I know where you're going with that. 😀 You're describing a canard airplane. They actually don't remove the vertical stabilizers - at least in Rutan designs and derivatives, they moved them to the wingtips. If you want a stable and controllable plane for the pilot, there needs to be vertical surfaces toward the back to provide yaw-axis stability and control. Pretty much only military designs put up with unstable handling, usually augmented by computer. Here's a canard example...
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"British Airways Captain On Stress Leave After First Officer Nearly Puts Packed Plane Into Stall Over Central London" by PYoK / Mateusz Maszczynski - More on British Airways Flight 919 Airbus A320 malfunction in air data system: A320 reverted to alternate control law, which removes computer processing from pilot controls. The first officer nearly put the plane in a stall over London when the captain took over. Crash averted. https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2026/07/30/british-airways-captain-on-stress-leave-after-first-officer-nearly-puts-packed-plane-into-stall-over-central-london/ #BAW919 #aviation #travel #safety #avgeek
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@simonbp@social.linux.pizza OK, good to know. As a result of your tip, I looked more online and Wikipedia agrees with you.
They mention this airframe 330002 specifically on the CC330 Husky page. I looked at the page before, but this is helping put together the bigger picture.
It only says 002 on the plane. So I can guess where the 330 comes from. The long stream of digits suddenly makes more sense.
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@ptld2_dot_btg@pdx.social If you're not familiar with the bike paths to the terminal and the viewpoints in the parking structures, let me know if you want to meet nearby on bicycles. It sounds like we've got common interests to talk about anyway.
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"Holes" by #XKCD comic - Comparison of various mostly-artificial holes in the ground and their depths: tunnels, mines and bore holes compared by depth to the Mariana Trench at the deepest spot in the Pacific Ocean. The deepest parking garage in the world is under the Sydney Opera House. The mouseover text prods readers toward the crystal caves in Mexico. Also some #oops markers where digging projects didn't go well. https://xkcd.com/3266/ #geology #mining #science #entertainment #humor
"Ex-NATO chief Rasmussen warns of ‘disintegration’ of alliance, calls for new European defense bloc" by @politico@flipboard.com - Anders Fogh Rasmussen (formerly Prime Minister of Denmark 2001-2009, NATO Secretary General 2009-2014) recommends a new European defense bloc to replace NATO due to uncertain USA commitment. His proposal would include Ukraine, plunging Europe into #UkraineWar. He is not a current official - depends if countries take up the idea. https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/08/anders-fogh-rasmussen-interview-nato-00911431 #NATO #USpol #EU #politics
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That's different. I was at PDX getting ready to take pictures of BOE446, a brand new 737 MAX8 on that plane's first flight ("B1" flight), flying from RNT (737 factory) to PDX apparently for paint. Then it diverted to BFI (Boeing's flight test base). It looks like the test pilots found something wrong that needed work. The Boeing crew transport PC-12 N21AU was already at PDX waiting to fly the test pilots home. It departed shortly after the diversion. https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/BOE446/history/20260616/2000Z/KRNT/KPDX #aviation #avgeek
Replying to on avgeek.social
"Boeing CEO says company met requirements to increase 737 Max production to 47 jets per month" by CNBC / Laya Neelakandan - FAA monitoring of Boeing 737 production ramp-up has reached approval for another 5 planes per month, up to 47. That's an average of 2¼ planes each weekday. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/27/boeing-ortberg-737-max-production.html #aviation #business #travel #avgeek #PNW
"The Australian tree reshaping the world's wildfires" by DW News🇩🇪 - Originally imported for timber & wood pulp industry, eucalyptus trees from Australia have become an #InvasiveSpecies in Spain, Brazil, Chile, California, India & South Africa. They burn hot and make #wildfires🔥 worse. Across affected areas, varying efforts now seek to eradicate them and restore local native vegetation. https://www.dw.com/en/the-australian-tree-reshaping-the-worlds-wildfires/a-77560208 #nature #environment #science
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"Boeing starts building 737 MAX planes in Everett on new North Line" by @TheSeattleTimes@flipboard.com - Using area vacated by the former 747 assembly line that the Everett factory was originally built for, the new 737MAX "North Line" in Everett started operating on Monday July 6 as scheduled. This will slowly add to production capacity above the 3 civilian (MAX only) and 1 military (NG only) 737 assembly lines in Renton. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-starts-building-737-max-planes-in-everett-on-new-north-line/ #aviation #business #travel #avgeek #PNW
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#LAXDorkFest2026 is this weekend. And Brett announced the date for 2027. https://crankyflier.com/2026/09/16/cranky-dorkfest-is-saturday-and-the-2027-date-is-set/ #KLAX #aviation #travel #avgeek