Yesterday I flew on American’s domestic inaugural flight of their new 787-9 aircraft (I posted some initial pictures from the flight yesterday) from DFW-LAX and back to DFW. American Airlines was kind enough to arrange ramp access for some of the media folks on the flight (VERY huge thanks to S, P, and B for helping me out!) so we could get up close and personal with the new jet.
American 787-9
Going onto an active ramp is a really cool experience and one I won’t forget. One of the crew chiefs, Gary, made sure we weren’t blocking normal flight operations (you think things are crazy in the terminal until you spend time on the ground!). He couldn’t have been nicer and was more than willing to accommodate us to make sure we got the pictures we needed.
Massive GEnx engine!
Put simply, it was hard to put the camera down! So many cool viewpoints and compositions to choose from! I wanted to share some of my favorites with you, I hope you enjoy them!
Wing view
Starboard GEnx engine (“number two”)
Side view of the engine
Tail view with an AA 777-223ER taxiing in the background
The back of the GEnx engine
Tail sign and cargo bay
Another tail view
Looking back towards the gate
Starboard landing gear and GEnx engine
The tail of a 757 next to us
More tail views!
I think my favorite is this one because you see two of the most distinctive elements of the 787-9: it’s curved wingtips and the unique engine cowling.
Wingtip, engine cowling, and American logo!
Again, a massive thanks to American Airlines for providing access to us media folks. In other news, I also requalified for Executive Platinum status on the flight over yesterday, so it was a great day for many reasons!
The photo of the cargo bay does not have a wingtip shadow. It’s the cargo bay door shadow (the following tail photo confirms it). Great shots otherwise.
Oops! Good spot, I’ll adjust the caption
Andy – these are wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
I agree on the chaos observation. I did some training for various airlines and then the TSA and APHIS in Hawaii at one time.
Going “backstage” at the airport is quite eye-opening. It’s a miracle the travel machine works so well! Now I just make sure I do everything right to mark my bags, take off old tags, get there early, and stay calm!
Wow, cool experience Andy! Nice images.
Thanks Jim!
Love the #2 engine front pic! Love!
How cool is this! As a former pilot and now frequent flier, love seeing the latest and greatest in aviation.
The last shot of the curved wingtip and the scalloped engine cowling is truly impressive both from a design aspect as well as the photograph.
Thank you for sharing Andy. I’ll be sharing on my social media feeds as well.
Thanks so much, share away!
I really like the lighting in the shots! What camera did you use?
Hi Jesse, these are from my Sony a7rII
As so many of your photos show the engines, you should give credit to GE who supply these engines (GEnx-1B).