USA - Classic Texan BBQ with Californian Desert

Hi all, and welcome to another travel blog! This journey takes us back to the United States of America. We are bringing two friends with us, Rudi and Wouter. Both also work in aviation, just like us, so we have a group of four well-educated avgeeks. Main goals for this trip: the Wings Over Houston Airshow and spotting at Laredo Airport. Good stuff is guaranteed, so let the fun begin!

Monday 21 October - To Fly, To Serve Disappointment

Today, we are not travelling yet, but we already make our way to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol for a night in the Citizen M hotel. Tomorrow, after a calm morning routine, we fly with British Airways to London Heathrow for our connection on their A380 to Dallas - Fort Worth. All is booked, we are already checked in and secured our seats on the upper deck for the A380. So nothing to worry about and we enjoy the views from the Citizen M room over Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Rudi is attending a concert tonight and Wouter already lives close to the airport, so they will join us tomorrow. 

Then, while enjoying the EasyJets coming and going by our window, we get an disturbing email from BA. "Due to predicted adverse weather, the flight from Amsterdam to London Heathrow has been cancelled." it says. Strange, because when we look at the weather forecasts for tomorrow for Amsterdam and London, it all looks calm, peace and quiet. Luckily, we are already at the airport, so we decide to walk to the terminal to the handler desk of Aviapartner, the handling agent for BA in Amsterdam. Let's tackle this issue as quickly as possible and let's get us rebooked on the earlier flight then. Bummer, but that is the best option for now.

The agent at the desk tells us however, that Aviapartner Amsterdam only provides customer service for the flights to London City for BA City flyer and that questions for the BA mainline have to be asked through the BA website. Turd. A little bit annoyed now, we sit down at a quiet spot near the Panorama Terrace to check out our options.

The first option that BA gives us for rebooking is not the earlier flight to Heathrow, but an American Airlines flight with a connection in Philadelphia. Although we have not been to Philly before, we are really looking forward to our first A380 flight, so we want to stick with it. Besides, we already paid the (ridiculous amount of) 70 pounds per seat to secure our spots on the upper deck. Luckily, one of the options that the BA website gives us is indeed the earlier flight to Heathrow and lets us stay on the A380 flight we already booked. However, when proceeding to select this option, the website keeps collapsing and giving errors. We are getting a bit upset now, so we try to contact the customer service chat.

It is so nice that the BA service chat is such a modern thing. It takes ages talking to a robot before we are placed in a queue to finally speak to an employee (located in India though). No less that forty nerve-wracking minutes later, we finally get an employee to talk to. We explain our situation and clearly state the flights that we now want to be booked on. We also want the guarantee that we still have our (paid for!) seats on that A380 flight. The employee assures us all is good and dealt with, and she sends us our new tickets after the chat. 

When looking at the tickets, we discovered that our seats were changed after all. Now actually really annoyed by this, we contacted BA again, only to hear that our initial seats are now occupied and cannot be given back and that they cannot do anything for us. So, now we are seated on the main deck, on the last row, and only one of us has a window. Angry, tired and defeated we call it a night and head to sleep. Tomorrow will be early - in contrast to what we initially planned. Luckily, we have plenty of time (over five hours now) during our layover at Heathrow to find a BA desk and get an actual service agent to see what they can do. Ugh.

Tuesday 22 October - Whale Riding to Dallas

The next morning, instead of a nice little breakfast, we quickly pack our stuff and make our way to the departures hall. Wouter and Rudi joined us in the queue for bag drop and we receive our boarding passes. Even though it is still dark, the weather indeed looks not bad, or CAVOK, in aviation terms (Clouds And Visibility OKay), so we are still a bit grumpy about our cancelled flight. Oh well, at least now we have some time to peacefully rest and prepare for our long flight to DFW at Heathrow. After some breakfast it is time to board, and right on time we take off to the United Kingdom. The flight is calm and the views of London are spectacular - as always. We make our way to our parking stand at Terminal 5 and through to the security filter. Luckily, we have some more time for our transfer then back in 2022, when we almost missed our connecting flight here!  

With all security formalities done, we make our way to one of the British Airways service desks to see if we could get our seats back. Thankfully, the lady behind the counter is really willing to help and even though she is not able to place us back on the upper deck, she was able to at least give us a window seat and place us back next to each other. For now, this is the best we could get, and we will file a claim for our paid seats with BA. Many thanks to the service desk lady who actually did the best she could to help us. Finally someone with a sense of service at BA. Oh well, we grab some food and make our way to the C gates to find a nice spot to relax and watch the planes go by. The view of all the A380 action here adds to the excitement to finally fly one of these whales! 

After a good few hours it is finally time to board the largest aircraft that we have ever flown in. G-XLEL will be our ship for this journey to Dallas Fort-Worth. We are seated at the very last row on the lower deck, so we get a good impression of the size of this Airbus A380 as we walk down the aisle to our seats. It still is a shame that we are not on the upper deck, but we make ourselves comfortable for the flight. It does not take long before boarding is completed and we are pushed back from our stand. 

The flight itself is pretty good, although the inflight-entertainment system is very outdated. The screens should be touchscreens, but those are not working. Then, the little remote controls are also all broken in one way or another. For example, the little joystick to operate the games does not work. Crap. The crew is actually really nice and during the flight we are actually given a tour around the entire aircraft cabin. It is remarkable how broken and dirty this cabin looks. Loose or missing panels, stains on the ceiling and some cracks on the walls. This cabin could surely use some TLC. 

The interior and IFE are not the only broken parts as the winglet on the right wing also misses the top half. This gives some weird looking wing views. Thanks to the crew for the aircraft tour, so we could get some other angles of the wing. It almost gives a retro feel to see the two engines without any (visible) winglet. The tour ends at the business class upper deck lavatory. It is soo spacious!  

Eventually, we are descending into DFW where the Texan sun had burned away the clouds so we could actually see the ground below. We land on runway 18R and after a quick taxi the massive A380 docks at the gate. We pay a short visit to the flight deck before joining the Texas-sized queue for immigration.. Any chances of getting to our rental car in daylight are now gone entirely haha.. Oh well, we are tired, jet lagged and ready to sleep in a hotel. 

Wednesday 23 October - Fort Worth For The Win!

Due to our jet lag, we wake up very early today. We all slept great. Our hotel is conveniently located in the township of Grapevine, very close to DFW airport. After a bagel breakfast we drive to NAS JRB Fort Worth. First stop is the Walmart superstore to get the needed groceries for the coming days. Tis Walmart happens to be next to the runway of NAS JRB Fort Worth. Back in 2019, we were here as well, and then we missed several jets taking off as we were inside.. Let's be quick this time and hope nothing takes off! 

That worked out well, and we even take the risk to drive to another spot to photograph the old C-130 Hercules Fat Albert. Of course, during this 2 minute drive (!) an F/A-18 Hornet takes to the skies. Bummer. We take our pics and quickly return to the Walmart parking lot, patiently waiting for some action. After some minutes we finally get some action in the form of an F-35C, a legacy F/A-18 Hornet and even a Dassault Mirage F.1! Eventually the Hornet returns and an F-35A takes off. We are happy with the results and decide to continue our day with a more touristy activity. Yee haw!

After a short drive we arrive at the Fort Worth Stockyards, a historic place where the Texans used to trade livestock. It still is a heavily themed area with lots of western and cowboy stuff all around the place. We take our time to discover all the souvenir shops with weapons, dead animals and lots of hats 'n boots. There is even a (closed) shop with all sorts of stuffed animals from all over the world. Creepy, a bit shocking but also somehow quite intriguing and beautiful. Eventually we end up in a shop with all sorts of beef jerky. We get a tour on the culture and variations of the jerky including some tasting as well! We end our Stockyards tour with witnessing the daily cattle drive. This is the march of the cows across the main street and shows the Texas Longhorns in their full glory. When the cows have passed we make our way back to our car for the short drive to Fort Worth Meacham airport for the Fort Worth Aviation Museum.

The Forth Worth Aviation Museum is located on the southern end of Meacham airport and has a nice and well kept collection of various military aircraft. The indoor part is not too big with lots of scale models, but the highlight is the outside area, which they call the "petting zoo". Yes, you are actually encouraged to touch the aircraft here! That is something that you don't see at any other museum. Another big plus for this museum in our opinion is the fact that with each airframe, the full history of that specific frame is displayed on the signs. All the details, fun facts, achievements, battle scars and eventually how the aircraft ended up here is perfectly described. We planned this museum to be a short hit and run, but we ended up spending way more time here as the collection was so interesting!

Highlights of the collection are the F-14D Tomcat "Christine", the F-5N Tiger II which happens to be the actual aircraft that played the MiG-28 in the movie Top Gun, and the YF-16. This museum is a real gem and we definitely recommend to come here when you are in the area!

The next stop for today is Fort Worth Alliance airport, which is on the northern side of Fort Worth. When we were here back in 2019 we were surprised by the departure of two F/A-18s and some more military trainer aircraft. This time, we are being greeted by a private Boeing 777-200! Still, there is plenty of other movement by the Prime Air Boeings, several flight schools here and eventually also some military stuff. We see a T-6 Texan II, a USMC Beech C-12 Huron and two T-38 Talons departing. Then, the highlight departure comes in the form of the ATAC Dassault Mirage F.1. Even though it is hot and the sun is turning to the other side of the field, we have a great time here with superb results. We are happy and with the Mirage gone, we decide to move on for something to eat. Lunchtime!  

After some amazing brisket buns at Buc-Ee's we continue our drive to the main spotting location of Dallas Fort Worth airport: Founders Plaza. Here we spend the rest of the afternoon watching some nice airliners coming in. Rudi is especially happy with the UPS MD-11 which came in in stunning light. 

Eventually the traffic became a bit less interesting so we decide to check out the hangar area of DFW looking for some hidden gems. The big highlight here is the hangar of Ameriflight where some nice turboprop freighters are parked on the tarmac. Beech 1900s, Embraer 120, Saab 340, they really have a nice and actually pretty photogenic fleet! With those in the pocket we continue to the fire station where several airframes are used as fire trainers. Although there are several fuselages stored here, only two Boeing 727s can be seen and photographed from outside the fence. 

With that, we drive back to Founders Plaza to watch some more airliners coming in in the golden light. All in all a great first day here in Texas. Bring it on for tomorrow!

Thursday 24 October - Back and Fort Worth 

This morning, after a nice bagel breakfast at our hotel, we return to Fort Worth Alliance to see the sunrise and hope for some action with ATAC. Even though the golden light is great and there are some nice jets parked, there is not much action going on near the Mirages. The private Triple 7 and the SpaceX 737 BBJ are nice catches though and the USA Jet MD-88 is also a nice surprise. Still, as there are no signs of action near ATAC, we decide it is best to leave and discover the other side of Dallas. 

Our next stop is Addison Airport. Back in 2019 (yes, these flashbacks will happen more haha!) we saw a nice Boeing 737-200 parked here, as this is also one of the home bases of Ameristar Jet. However, no Ameristar Jets appear to be home today, so we have to deal with a Challenger, a bling-bling plane and a rare Beech Starship instead. That Starship is also a resident here, so we are happy that we found it! We drive around the airfield, looking for some spots and hidden aircraft. We actually do find some in the form of an F-4 Phantom, a P-40 Kittyhawk and a good looking classic Gulfstream III.  We also started a side-quest, which is to spot/count as many Tesla Cybertrucks as we can. And with a matt-white one, number three is in the pocket! 

Then it is time for an early lunch at a nearby barbeque joint, which is one of the best barbeque places in Texas: the Cattle-ack Barbeque. The smells, the atmosphere and - most importantly - the meat.. soooo goooodd! 

With our bellies filled with the best brisket, beef ribs and sausage that we could wish for we make our way to Dallas Love Field, which also houses the Frontiers of Flight museum. This is a nice little museum with some unique pieces. We are greeted by an EA-6B Prowler, which was the last flying Prowler to be donated to a museum, an F-16B, which actually was the second twin-seater F-16 ever built, and lots of other nice airframes before we enter the building. Inside there is a nice variety of some navy planes as well as some more unusual stuff like the flying pancake. Another highlight is the Boeing 737-300 which is partially parked inside and outside. The volunteers here are also very welcoming and before we even could start our wander around we are stuck in a nice conversation with them. All in all a cool museum. We spend a few hours here before we have seen it all and continue our journey.

We drive around the field looking for some hidden gems here as well, but there is not much besides a Las Vegas Sands BBJ as well as the resident private 757. Still nice catches though. Eventually we end up in a park on the northern side of the airport where we could sit in the shade, surrounded by trees, birds, landing planes and a handsome little squirrel. Life is good :) . 

We could sit for hours here, as the light only gets better and there is plenty of nice traffic here. However, Rudi gives a heads-up that there is a real oldie being expected at Fort Worth Meacham that afternoon. We do our calculations and eventually agree to go there. We make a little detour to show Rudi and Wouter a bit of downtown Dallas and drive over the spot where president JFK was assassinated. Even though the traffic is rough, we are just in time at Meacham to see this old bird coming in: Gulfstream II N945PK with original Rolls Royce Spey engines. 

What a sight! Happy with the results, we are waiting for this classic to depart again. According to Flightradar, this Gulf should depart again in an hour. We wait and wait, and despite some nice other traffic coming in, such as an Ameriflight Metroliner, there is no sign of our Gulfstream. There are lots and lots of birds though.

Eventually, we had enough of waiting as we wanted to check out Alliance (AFW) once more. As we are almost at Alliance, we see that the Gulf II finally popped up on Flightradar. Bummer that we missed it, but is was the right call. The sun had just set as we arrive at our spot at AFW. We are greeted by the sound of starting jets, and first we are not sure which ones we hear. We see some Talons, but we are quite surprised when suddenly two F/A-18 Hornets taxi around the corner! 

We wait till the two jets take off, and boy, it is so incredibly impressive to see a fighter jet with afterburners in twilight. With the Hornets gone, we try to take some night shots of the Talons before we head back to our hotel. We can look back on another very successful day full of luck! We totally would have missed these Hornets had we waited for the Gulfstream five more minutes! 

Friday 25 October - Dallas to Houston

Thank God it's Friday! Waking up early again for our last bagel breakfast (yay) and we quickly make our way to Founders Plaza for some sunrise spotting. Traffic is nice this morning with two American Airlines retro jets and a departing MD-11. Also the Cessna 208 from Martinaire is a nice local catch. 

As the sun still rises, we make our way to the historical town of Grapevine and the Grapevine Heritage Railroad where a couple of old locomotives are parked. The train does not run today unfortunately, but an old F-type engine is always nice to see. We drive up and down the main street and check out all the Halloween decorations. This town looks old and has an old vibe, but is actually quite modern. 

Eventually it is time to leave Grapevine behind and we collect our stuff from the hotel. It is time to leave the big D for the big H today! 

With our bags loaded in the car, we make a quick stop at the Ameriflight hangar to try to make some more and better photos of the parked props over there. We are quite lucky actually, as there is plenty of action going on! The Saab 340 is being towed out of the hangar and parked next to the fence, a B1900 comes in and most impressively, an Embraer E120 Brasilia taxis out, while maneuvering carefully through all the parked planes. That is some impressive piloting and marshalling there! 

The pilots wave goodbye and  it is time for us to drop our Jeep and head to the terminal.

Check-in and security are a breeze and in no-time we are airside. Here we have plenty of time for spotting. The best way to spot at DFW is riding the SkyLink train. The ride is not the most comfortable, but the views are amazing and you are riding a nice loop around all terminals, looking down on the action. 

After a lunch at Thank God It's Friday (which went bankrupt a week later) we pay a visit to the DFW Employee Store, which is a nice aviation enthusiasts and professionals shop. Anyways, we don't get bored here and soon it is time to head to our gate. 

Today we fly with American Airlines on one of their numerous Boeing 737-800s. As we did not want to pay for seat selection, we are not seated at a window. Thankfully, our neighbor is kind enough to let us take some shots every now and then. 

The flight itself is quite strange. Cabin checks are not performed and service is non-existent. For a 60-minute flight that is not a big issue, but still it is strange for a flag carrier. We don't see the crew at all during the flight. 

Eventually we arrive in Houston George Bush International Airport, without any problems. The big question for now is: will there be a problem? And if so, what would the problem be? At least we are on time and our bags made it as well. 

Now we only need to pick up our car here, so we look for the shuttle, only to find a queue that almost reaches back to Dallas! We notice that the queue luckily moves quite decently, so we decide to stay in line.. This is a thing that DFW does way better. At DFW, each terminal has its own fleet of shuttles and with two stops per terminal this service is quick and reliable. At IAH, there is a large fleet of shuttles all stopping at all terminals, causing a big traffic jam as only the first shuttle may be boarded. It takes forever and by the time we get to our vehicle, the sun has set. 

Oh well, at least we have a luxury saloon car, and we are on our way to the second airport of Houston, Houston Hobby Airport. That is because our hotel is next to that airport. It is conveniently located between Houston downtown and IAH airport, as well as close to the Johnson Space Centre and Ellington Airfield. 

At our hotel we drop our stuff and we look for a Subway to have some dinner. Rudi stayed at the hotel as he was quite tired and wanted to get a bit of rest. After our delicious footlong subs, we make our way back to the hotel, expecting to come home seeing a sleeping Rudi. However, nothing could be further from the truth as we are greeted by an all-hyped-up Rudi instead. Rudi had checked Flightradar and discovered that there has to be an Air Spray Lockheed L-188 Electra on Hobby Airport, which should depart tomorrow!

Well, thát is what we call great news, so we all pack up again and start our evening excursion to find the Electra. That quest turned out to be not that difficult actually, as the first spot we check has the Electra on deck. Not too great for photos, so we try to look for other spots.  There are some great nooks and spots to check out at HOU, but unfortunately no better photo spots for the Electra. So, eventually we drive back to our first spot to try our best for night shots, hoping it would depart on time tomorrow. Happy with our results we go back to the hotel for a good and exciting night sleep. 

Saturday 26 October - Houston, we've got no problem!

This morning we quickly work through our breakfast as we have big plans for today. First, we head back to our spot next to the Electra, which is due out at 9 am. At 10 am till 10.30 am, we have our entrance slot at the Space Center, so we hope that the Electra will depart on time, as we do not want to miss our slot. 

We arrive at our spot and are happy to see that there is a lot of action going on around the L-188. In the distance we see the USAF VIP fleet parked, as the Vice President was in town. Luckily for us, one runway in out of use, so we do not have to guess where this Electra will take off. 

This L-188 is on its way back home to Canada after a deployment in South America. Her sister ship already returned home, but did not stop in Houston on her way back. So we are really lucky to see this one here! This grand old lady C-FVFH started her career as a flying engine test bed for General Motors, after which she flew for several airlines before ending up with Air Spray as a fire bomber.

As the sun (and the temperature) rises higher and higher, the auxiliary power unit is started and not long after the four Allisson turboprops come to life. The massive blades have a nice colorful reflection as the old prop liner taxis out to the runway.

We quickly get in the car to drive a bit further to a spot near the end of the runway to see the Electra depart. Two Southwest Boeing 737 Max 8s come in and thankfully vacate the area just in time so we could hear the roar of the classic Lockheed when she slowly reaches for the skies. The scene is literally straight out of an avgeek's dream, with the old Hobby terminal, a Gulfstream II, a Boeing 737-200 and a Lockheed Lodestar in the background. 

We watch the Electra disappear in the distance and as the departure was right on time, we do not have to hurry and calmly make our way to the Houston Johnson Space Center. No problems here!

After a short drive we arrive at the NASA space center. The main attraction here is the Boeing 747-100 SSC (Space Shuttle Carrier) which has a (mock up) Space Shuttle on its back! Such an impressive sight. We park the car and join the queue for the entrance, as we are a tad bit early. Temperatures are already through the roof, especially for our Dutch winter standards, so we are happy that the line for the entrance does not take too long. Once inside, we are blasted away by all the lights, space artifacts and gift shops. We really like the variety of Houston shirts with all sorts of problems on it. 

The main reason to be early is to book a free tram tour to visit the astronaut training facility. This facility has several mock-ups of the International Space Station units as well as various crew capsules such as the Soyuz capsule and the Boeing Starliner. It is quite impressive to see all these units and learn how the astronauts train here to safely operate in space. 

The tour ends with a ride along the legendary Mission Control Center, where the space missions are being coordinated. This is where the famous line was recorded: "Houston, we've had a problem"! 

The second tour of the day is a tour to the Rocket Park, which houses several old rockets. The star of the show is the Saturn V rocket, which is build up from various leftover Saturn parts. Here we get a guided tour around the rocket and learn all about the space race and the Apollo missions. It is incredible how small you feel standing next to five of these Rocketdyne F-1 engines. Imagine the noise, power and heat coming out of these! 

Back at the museum/discovery center, we get off the tram and take a look inside the Boeing 747. The interior is partially kept as it was, and partially displayed the development of the SSC. The idea of the piggyback riding on the Jumbo Jet was born and proved some engineers with a radio controlled model. This particular model is also on display inside the 747. 

The Shuttle itself is also accessible, and even though it is a mock up, it is very impressive. The cargo bay and flight deck can be seen. The stairs to all the levels give a unique perspective on this unique combi. 

The rest of the museum/discovery center is also really interesting. From a real SpaceX Falcon 9 booster to several capsules and even real moon rocks, it is absolutely fascinating and gives a great insight in the engineering that goes behind space and lunar science. We anticipated to spend a few hours here, but we end up spending the entire day here. We can definitely recommend coming here! 

We are actually pretty tired as we approach Hobby Airport and our hotel again, just wanting to take a rest for the rest of the day. However, that plan was brutally thrown away by the fact that Wouter sees a C-17 parked near the passenger terminal and we decide to take a look. It is difficult to take decent shots of the Globemaster unfortunately, but to our surprise we see a familiar Gulfstream II coming in for landing! We decide to do a bit of airport-discovery and drive around the airport to try to get close to that beautiful Boeing 737-200 VP-CAD. 

This turns out not to be that hard as well, as this plane is parked next to the fence. Unfortunately, with its butt to the fence.. But she surely is one of the most beautiful 737-200s out there these days! We saw here back in 2019 in Baltimore when she had her previous livery. Oh well, there is another Gulfstream II stored here too. We also see two AH-64E Apaches depart in the distance. We are happy to see that the C-17 also taxis out for departure, and takes off in the other direction - right towards us!

Happy with those results, we continue our drive to the 1940 Terminal museum where the Lockheed Lodestar and an interestingly painted HS125 Dominie are preserved. Also, a third Apache is parked here, so we are happy with that. Then we try to find the Gulf II that we saw coming in earlier and we spot a retro Southwest. Now we are actually really tired and hot so we go back to the hotel for a nice swim. Today was great, tomorrow is airshow day! 

Sunday 27 October - Wings Over Houston Airshow

Good morning and welcome to another day here in Houston! We get our breakfast and make our way to Ellington Field for the Wings over Houston airshow! We have photo pit tickets, so we are able to park close to the entrance, which is really nice. We are early enough that the showgrounds are not open yet, and the queue for the entrance is not too long as well. So, we join and wait for the gates to open.

It does not take too long before we are allowed onto the airfield. The sun is still low and gives a nice golden glow over the static show. Our first stop is the massive Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy, which usually is displayed with its nose open. Luckily, it is still closed off now, so we wait and see how the nose opens from up close. Really impressive to see the big Fred come to life! Then, we take our time to walk the static and the flight line, which is now still open as part of the static, but will be closed off when the flying begins. There are so many great aircraft here! NASA is on display with a T-38 Talon and a rare WB-57 Canberra, RAVN shows its BAe Hawk, and there are so many warbirds here! Highlights are the Messerschmitt Me-262, the A-4 Skyhawk and the F-100 Super Sabre. The last two are supposed to fly, but due to a technical defect, the A-4 is grounded for today unfortunately. 

We take our time to walk around all the warbirds. Various aviation museums have brought their aircraft to display here. The Commemorative Air Force has a big share in the flying today, with lots of T-6 Texans, Trojans, a C-47 Dakota and much more. Also present are the Collings Foundation showing their stuff, including the last American flying F-4 Phantom II. This plane is in heavy maintenance still and will not fly today, but it is the plan for next year! 

The Vietnam War Flight Museum has a lot of CH-46 Sea Knights as well as the A-4 and the star of the show: the F-100 Super Sabre that will take to the skies later today.

After we explored the static, we go to our photo pit to enjoy the flying. Let's go!

Like every US airshow, the flying starts with a parachute team while the national anthem is sang over the speakers. Today it is the Remax Parachute team who are jumping out of the CAF C-47 joined by to colorful Pitts Specials. Then the real flying begins in the form of a MiG-15 from the Vietnam War Flight Museum. The US Coast Guard gives a nice demo with their Dauphin. Then it is time for the Commemorative Air Force to launch some warbirds. The Dakota, a B-25, several T-6 Texans, a Beech B-18 and many more classics take to the skies to perform flypasts. Also the Tora Tora Tora team already takes to the skies to line up for their demonstration. 

 This team uses a fleet of Japanese aircraft replicas to demonstrate the aerial attacks on the Pacific front of the second world war. Lots of pyrotechnics and smoke make it a very impressive but also a hard to see demonstration. 

With Tora Tora Tora out of the way it is time for the next segment, which are historic bombers. The P-40 Warhawk is joined by two Grumman Bearcats, and are in a pattern with a Grumman TBM-3 Avenger and a Curtiss SB-C Helldiver. These are all really impressive aircraft with their big radial engines. The bombers all make several passes including multiple special photo-passes, where they present themselves at a nice angle. 

For now, we have had plenty of prop action, it is time for some thunder again.. The Vietnam War Flight Museum is about to start their display! Two CH-46 Sea Knights and an AH-1 Cobra take off, followed by the legendary Douglas A-1D Skyraider and the magnificent F-100 Super Sabre! The display is just as aggressive and spectacular as the previous ones and its hard to decide on what plane to focus. Well, the Hun (F-100) is by far the most special plane in the sky at the moment. 

Then it is time for the active military to give some presence. The Viper Demo Team is present with their F-16C painted in the prototype livery. The display is brutal and violent, which shows precisely the abilities of the Fighting Falcon. After the show routine the F-16 is joined by an old P-51D Mustang for the USAF Heritage Flight. 

After a couple of passes the Mustang leaves again as the Viper comes in for landing. The next jet on the program is slightly larger in the form of the new KC-46 Pegasus tanker. Unfortunately this show is not that interesting, as it only contains two passes of the big jet, with one pass with the extended aerial refueling boom. It is a shame there is no receiver aircraft involved in the demo. Oh well, a KC-46 with extended boom is also a first for us, but still. 

The day ends with a long but spectacular performance of the best and most precise demonstration team we have ever seen: the US Navy Blue Angels in their F/A-18 Super Hornets. For some of our readers, they are a staple at US airshows and they know the routine by heart, but for us this is the first time seeing them. What a sight and how close are those formations! 

In the days before this trip to the States, we had a movie night where we watched the Blue Angels documentary on Prime. With that in mind it gives a new and deeper dimension in watching the show. We are in awe and we are glad to be there. 

With the Blues back on the ground the show is over. We take some more photos of the static aircraft as we make our way back to the car. On the way out we try to take some shots of the gate guard in the form of a NASA KC-135, which was used for zero-gravity parabolic flights. Hence its nickname: "Vomit Comet". 

Tired but pleased with today we head back to our hotel. Let's pack our bags again, as tomorrow we fly out again! 

Monday 28 October - Bye Houston, Hello Laredo

Today we leave Houston behind and make our way westwards to the city of Laredo, on the Mexican border. This airfield sees a lot of US-Mexican border traffic in the form of classic cargo jets. So we want to see that for ourselves. First, we drop our rental off and get ourselves checked in for the flight with United Express. We are pretty early (as usual) so we have some time to kill, which is conveniently used by spotting some airliners. 

We see some nice local traffic such a new Viva Aerobus Mexico Airbus, a nice green Frontier special and the beautiful United  "Continental" retro 737. Also, a special event is going on with All Nippon Airways as they welcome their one millionth passenger today here. To celebrate this, ANA has send their R2D2 Star Wars special 787. 

Eventually it is time to get our *sses to the B-gates, where United Express docks their Embraer fleet. While enjoying some nice Chick Fill-A, we see our ride for today coming in: Embraer ERJ-145X N27190. 

We board the small jet with a smile. We cannot deny that we really like regional aircraft. We have flown the E145 once before, back in 2016! 

Boarding goes quick and after we laughed as Wouter hits his head upon entering the aircraft, we find our seats and enjoy the startup while looking at the engine. 

The flight itself is smooth and there is plenty to see out of the window as we cruise along the south coast of Texas. We can even spot Corpus Christi with the Naval Air Station and the USS Lexington aircraft carrier museum. 

Not long after we commence our descend and we land in Laredo. After a quick visit to the flight deck we make our way to the baggage hall where we also collect our car. The strange thing is, our bags did not make this flight. Even better, they arrived on a flight earlier! Really strange and should not be supposed to happen keeping baggage reconciliation in mind with aircraft loading, but somehow it happened. Luckily, United was so kind to send a text message with this info. 

For now it is time to get into our brand new Chevrolet Silverado and drop our bags at the hotel!

With the bags dropped we quickly make our way back to the airport where there is a nice spot near the UPS area where we have an oversight of all the action on the airport. We knew we could expect some classics here, but so many only this afternoon is just crazy. 

The afternoon starts with the arrival of a USA Jet MD-88 coming in, our Embraer departing, an Aeronaves TSM MD-83 coming in, a UH-72 Lakota departing, a McNeely Charter Service Fairchild SA-227AC Metro III landing and a  Royal Air Freight Learjet 35 departing. Then, the highlight of today departs in the most beautiful golden light imaginable: Ameristar Jet DC-9-15RC N784TW. Followed by "just an ordinary" American Eagle E175 and Aeronaves TSM McDonnell Douglas MD-83 XA-UVG departing again as the sun goes down. 

With the sun gone we still enjoy the arrival and departure of some more aircraft such as Ameriflight Saab 340B(F) N219KA, Legends Airways Saab 340B+(F) N419CL, and Aeronaves TSM McDonnell Douglas MD-82 XA-UTX nicknamed "El Amo".  With the arrival of an Aeronaves TSM Boeing 737-300 the evening ends. For us then, as we head back to the hotel as it has gotten completely dark now. The flight operation at Laredo just goes on and on at night. Oh well, we are already looking forward to tomorrow! Laredo, bring it on! 

Tuesday 29 October - Viva Laredo! 

We wake up in the Best Western Hotel, which is only a short ten-minute drive from the main spot at the airport. We have a nice breakfast before we board our Silverado and claim our spot at the fence. We do not have to wait too long for the action to start as the first aircraft already arrives from its short flight from Saltillo. This is already a big highlight in the form of Aeronaves TSM DC-9-15MC XA-UXR. With the DC-9 parked, we look for a different spot to get some more shots of this old jet. This new spot also gives good view on the two parked Antonov An-12BKs parked here. This field is already so amazing!

As the sun rises, the action continues. The UPS 757 arrives, is being unloaded and departs again. Then, the sun peeks through the clouds and gives a beautiful, truly spectacular light on the IFL Group Boeing 727-2S2F(A)(RE) N215WE that is parked on the ramp. 

As the field goes a bit quieter in terms of departures and arrivals Rudi an d Lars take the time to walk back to the other fences to shoot the Antonovs and the DC-9, now with sun.  Each of this planes is rare and unique, and a true aviation legend. Then, there is this one wide-angle photo. An Antonov An-12, a DC-9, an MD-83 and a 727 all active in one single shot. Is this the definition of heaven? As we go back to the original spot another US Army UH-72 Lakota departs. This field is truly amazing already, and we have not seen it all yet!

It is a nice and easy day, as we relax in our truck or on the truck bed, we wait for the action to happen. The DC-9 taxis to another spot on the ramp, a Gulfstream IV comes in and eventually we hear a deep rumble. This could only mean one thing: departing Antonov! As the rumble gets louder we see the dark blue An-12 coming around the corner, right in front of us. The noise is incredible! Apparently the crew is in a bit of a hurry as they taxi fast towards the runway. Unfortunately, the runway closest to us is now closed for maintenance, so all aircraft use the eastern runway. Gracefully and in true Soviet style, the old smoker slowly climbs out and reaches for the skies, leaving behind the characteristic trail of black smoke. It must be said, if you see an An-12 flying without smoke: call 911!

With the wodka-burner out of the way, the DC-9 comes back to life. This is our second DC-9 in less than 24 hours. We are absolutely over the moon with this classic jet! She must not be that heavy as she rotates pretty early, and by the time she passes us she is already quite high. We do not have much time to see the DC-9 fly away though, as the next classic passes by already in front of us in the form of the IFL Boeing 727. The mighty tri-holer slowly makes its way to the threshold. She also is quite light as the 727 rotates fairly early too. This is all made up for as she beautifully banks to the right, right in front of our eyes. What a jet! Even though the sun is not there now, this day is crazy!

With the 727 gone it was time for the sun to come out again. Talk about timing, I guess. Oh well, this gives us an opportunity to walk back to the cargo area to photograph the remaining An-12 and the Everts Air MD-83 again, but now in gorgeous sun light with dark clouds in the backdrop. Happy with the results, we head back to the big spot and enjoy ourselves with some smaller traffic such as an IFL Group Falcon 20, a King Air 360, an Aero Commander and another Metroliner coming in. 

Then, we want to try a different angle for an incoming MD-82, so we drive around the airport to the north side for the arrival of Aeronaves TSM McDonnell Douglas MD-82 XA-UXI. With that Mad Dog in the pocket, we make our way to the passenger terminal as we had a surprise for Wouter and Rudi. 

That surprise was that we arranged an airside photography tour with the Operations team at Laredo International Airport! The Operations Officer meets us in his office and escorts us to his car. During the tour we are shown all the aspects and all corners of the airfield. We even have the opportunity to stand on the (currently closed) west runway! Our guide is happy to show us around the various aircraft that are parked, but as he is just the Operations Officer, we have to be careful around some aircraft at the FBO (Fixed Base Operator) which are outside of his control. 

Still, we have a great time and soak it all in driving around all the USA Jet MD-88s. We are even taken close to the runway, off road, to witness the arrival of another MD-88. Then, we are taken to the cargo side of the airport, where we have been standing all the time. Here are still the An-12 UR-CAJ and the Everts Air MD-83, as well as several Metroliners and Saab 340s. Also the Aeronaves MD-82 is parked here. 

With that, we drive around the southern side of the runways, we drive by the fire station and with that this tour is already over. It looks like a short tour, but we have spend over an hour here airside! Many thanks to the operational directors of Laredo International Airport for making this special tour happen! 

After the tour we pick up our truck (pun intended) and go back to the hotel for a short break as there is not much traffic going in or out. We are hot and tired, so a bit of a rest is well deserved. We even decide to skip the return arrival of the IFL Group 727. 

When we see on Flight Radar that the action is again to start for the evening, we get up again and quickly make our way to the spot. Here we are greeted by Sierra West Airlines Boeing 737-3T0(SF) N569TR, which used to operate for West Atlantic in Europe as G-JMCO. As the Boeing taxis in front of us, Aeronaves TSM McDonnell Douglas MD-83 XA-TBC takes off. As this Mad Dog is gone, the sun reappeares creating the wonderful Golden Hour. Just in that golden light, another Mad Dog thunders down the runway. Aeronaves TSM McDonnell Douglas MD-83 XA-UZX slowly rotates and gently climbs out in the best light possible. What a joy to watch! 

Now both MD's are gone, and we are treated by two smaller jets coming in. Royal Air Freight operates a variety of business jets converted for cargo flights, and two Learjets now come in. I guess only to distract us from the main event: the IFL 727 taxing out again for departure!

This time, the 727 is fully loaded, and she also slowly rotates right in front of us, in the last golden rays of sunlight for today. We could not ask for a more perfect end of the day, and with the field almost empty, we take some sunset shots and make our way to the Panda Express for dinner. What a perfect day, let's do it all again tomorrow!

Wednesday 30 October

We start the day with the same ritual as yesterday, which works out pretty well again. The day starts with a funny little visitor in the form of a Panama registered Robinson R44 with floats. This little hairdryer came in yesterday evening and is now leaving again. With the wokka out of the way it is time for some jets again, and they come in a good variety. GlobalX comes with a nice blue Airbus A320, and Aeronaves TSM joins with a CRJ-200 Freighter. IFL brings in the good stuff again with a Falcon 20 and its - by now familiar - Boeing 727. Ah well, a 727 a day keeps the doctor away, isn't that what they say? 

With that, the sun peaks through the clouds again as the second 727 for today comes into view. USA Jet Airlines visits Laredo today with its 727 N727US, a nice older-engined variation in comparison with the IFL one. The sun gives a nice contrast as the white-and-blue triholer vacates the runway and taxis right towards us. The noise is overwhelming as the mighty 727 passes right in front of us, what a sight! 

With both 727s on the ground and not much happening, we discover that the Meridian Antonov An-12 UR-CAJ is due to depart in a few minutes, so we make our way to the other spot behind the warehouses. We arrive just in time as the crew has already boarded and the tug and towbar are already connected! Just as we decide to wait for some action in the shadow of the warehouses, the tug starts to rattle and the An-12 is carefully being pushed back. A little rocking back and forth is needed to place the Soviet-era freighter at the preferred spot for startup. The towbar is disconnected, disassembled and loaded in the back of the Antonov, while the pilots already start up the first engine. 

It all happens so fast, the fourth engine is not even running as the Antonov releases its parking brakes and taxis out to the runway. We quickly go back to our main spot to watch the An-12 rumble down the runway and reach for the skies. An Antonov An-12 never fails to impress. What a wonderful day already!

We wait a little longer for some action, but the field turns quiet for now. The Aeronaves TSM CRJ-200 departs again, and we decide to go for a short drive around the city. We drive all the way to the Mexican border crossing and the Rio Grande river, which is actually not that impressive as we hoped. Lots of border patrollers made that we did not feel too comfortable loitering about here, so we decide to take some photos of the diesel locos that are doing shunt work at the railyard. We also see two more Cybertrucks, which we did not expect here to be honest. As Halloween is coming, there are decorations everywhere. Really fun to see how big that is in the States compared to The Netherlands. Another fun artifact we see is a taxi/cop. Half police car, half taxi, choose your ride it says. Eventually we end up at our hotel again for a short break, waiting for some arrivals or departures to appear on FlightRadar. 

After almost an hour of relaxing in our hotel rooms, the action is about to start at the airport again. A nice trio of Aeronaves TSM Boeing 737-400s just took off at Saltillo to arrive here. So, back to the Chevy and back to the airport! We arrive just in time for a beautiful departure of a USA Jet MD-88, and then the threesome of 737 begins! First, XA-VFM comes in. Just as it parks,  XA-VFT lands. This one takes the entire runway and the livery differs slightly from VFM. VFT still has eyebrow windows but no Zorro-mask. She does have a little scratch on here nose though. Maybe she was in a fight? Who knows. Then, the final 737 comes in, in the form of XA-VGB. This one is red. The three sisters park nicely next to each other on the ramp. What a cute spectacle this was. And so many waving pilots! 

Thursday 31 October - Last Day Laredo