Nick Benson
N45RF, NOAA's Turbo Commander, prepares to depart for its last flight to Lakeland, FL. The aircraft was primarily used to survey snow and ground water, which helps forecast spring flooding here in the Upper Midwest. It's being replaced by a King Air.
It was an exciting day for aviation enthusiasts in the Twin Cities today, as NOAA's Office of Marine & Aviation Operations had four different aircraft operating here. A P-3 Orion dropped into MSP en-route to Alaska, and a trio of smaller aircraft were at nearby Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) in Eden Prairie, MN, where they'd just wrapped up a series of calibration flights.
Nick Benson
Commander Paul Hemmick and Ensign Alejandro Amezcua were the crew for NOAA45's last flight, FCM-LAL, May 7, 2021.
Nick Benson
Wheels up at FCM for the last time.
Nick Benson
The new King Air, NOAA67 (N67RF), and Twin Otter NOAA46 (N46RF), between flights at FCM.
Nick Benson
Winglet detail on NOAA's King Air.
Nick Benson
NOAA67 (N67RF), a new King Air, will replace the Turbo Commander once its remote sensing equipment is fully calibrated.
Nick Benson
Miss Piggy, one of NOAA's P-3s, arriving at MSP on May 7, 2021. It will spend the night here before continuing to Alaska for GRAV-D.
Nick Benson
Nick lives in Burnsville, Minnesota with his wife and three children. He grooves on railroad and aviation photography, politics, geography, weather, and LEGO. He started JetTip's smart flight alert service in 2017, and is now a full-time avgeek. He can frequently be found atop a step ladder at MSP's Aircraft Viewing Area.
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