Attention, DCA planespotter types, and you know who you are.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Wed May 24, 2023, 12:35 PM - Edit history (4)

I went into work in DC yesterday. I took the newly reopened Yellow Line in both directions. On the way back home, at about 6:28 p.m., just as we were accelerating around the curve at the south end of the airport, I spotted what at first I thought was the empennage of a Viscount. Which is impossible.

Upon a closer look, I saw that it was a much more common P-3. It had a dark blue tail with a wiggly white line. I figured it had to be a NOAA P-3. Google is your friend, and a quick search this morning came up with this:

https://flightaware.com/photos/view/951273-931db33487ce2ed7a6216aa4d000789c48119544/aircrafttype/P3/sort/votes/page/1



The "wiggly white line" on the vertical stabilizer is an albatross. It was either N42RF, "Kermit," or the similar N43RF, "Miss Piggy." More searching found this:

https://www.radarbox.com/data/mode-s/A4FAC3

N42RF is nowhere near DCA. But N43RF is:

https://www.radarbox.com/data/mode-s/A52242

That's dynamic, so here's the log:

https://www.radarbox.com/data/mode-s/A52242/1970795274/log

It's N43RF for certain. To be exacting, the aircraft is a WP-3D. See this:

Lockheed WP-3D Orion

Right, a "Hurricane Hunter":

A Day in the Life of a NOAA Hurricane Hunter

I don't know how often it shows up at DCA, but a few years back, there was a NOAA aircraft here for an open house.

I'll look into it.

Contact Office of Marine and Aviation Operations

Update: these Hurricane Hunters:

https://twitter.com/NOAA_HurrHunter

Not these Hurricane Hunters:

https://twitter.com/53rdWRS