PDX Planespotting

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by Ian Kluft

Introduction

Portland International Airport (PDX) has some varied interests for the aviation geek, or "avgeek". Being located in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) invites comparison to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

• Seattle is the headquarters hub of Alaska Airlines and its regional subsidiary Horizon. But Portland is also a secondary hub for Alaska and Horizon.
• Seattle has far more international routes than Portland. Portland has enough to be interesting.
• PDX is a mixed-use civilian/military airport with the Portland Air National Guard Base on the south side of the airfield. None of the Seattle-area airports is mixed-use.

Another interesting aspect of Portland for aviation geeks is that it has a Boeing paint hangar. Of course, Seattle dominates that aspect because Boeing Commercial Airplanes has two major factories there: wide-body jets at Everett's Paine Field (PAE) and narrowbody jets at Renton Municipal Airport (RNT). Both those airports have paint hangars. But they aren't enough to keep up with current plane production. So some planes get flown out unpainted, with a green vinyl protective coating, to get painted at either Boeing Field BFI, Portland PDX or Victorville VCV. Some airlines arrange their painting to be done at other airports. There is no Boeing paint hangar at Seattle-Tacoma SEA. So this adds to the interesting mix for planespotting in Portland.

I've found that bicycling has advantages for planespotting at PDX Airport. Airports of course are busy places with limited parking. Some good spots at PDX are only easily accessible by bicycle. I'll share my experiences here on getting to the airport and where the viewing spots are.

Though pedestrians can access all the points too, if you take transit or find a place to park. It's just a lot slower.

Airport diagram

Safety

Some safety tips are in the "prepare for the worst" category, unlikely to happen but better to have thought about ahead of time.

• Bring hearing protection and be ready to use it. Jets can be loud enough to cause incremental hearing loss. Anywhere around the south-side runway 10R/28L, there's a possibility that Oregon Air National Guard F-15s will take off. But any jet that goes around will also go to full power. Those are the loudest normal circumstances.
• Don't fly drones near the airport. Drones are a collision hazard for airplanes and helicopters. Portland International Airport has Class C airspace out to 5 miles away. Air Traffic Control Tower permission is required to fly drones at or near the airport. See the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) info page.
• Don't loiter in places lined up with the runways. Even though aircraft accidents are extremely rare, those are the places they would be most likely. Stay on the side of statistics and don't hang around for extended periods there. Those are considered "clear areas" for safety reasons - if anything happens, nobody should be hanging around there.
• If you see an aircraft accident, the control tower probably knows about it if it's on the airfield. Though if it occurred off-airport or you have reason to doubt the tower was able to see it, call 911 to report it. Photos or video should be made available to the NTSB for any investigation.

Security

Planespotters have excellent access at PDX. We should not take that for granted. Let's encourage each other to work together to make sure we don't lose our privileges. At all airports, planespotters need to try to be an ally of the airport's security. If not, we could see new restrictions on our access. So it's important to be well behaved, help set a good example for others and educate or discourage anyone who sets a bad example.

Don't touch airport perimeter security fences. Assume that doing so will at least catch attention, and may be considered a security incident.

When planespotting in the airport parking structures, assume you're in view of cameras at all times. Whether being watched live or on footage reviewed later, make it obvious from your behavior that you are there to see airplanes. Allow some room from parked vehicles as best you can. Don't show interest in parkedvehicles, except for your own if you drove there.

If approached by the Portland Airport Police (part of the Port of Portland) or other law enforcement, be cooperative and friendly. If asked, tell them what you're doing. Comply with any instructions they give you, keeping in mind they may have info they can't disclose at the time. As public safety and emergency responders, we all need what they do. All of us need to sustain a community relationship that planespotters are their allies.

If you see a security incident or suspicious activity, call either the Portland Airport Police or call 911.

Getting to PDX

Planespotters have options to get to PDX by car, transit or bicycle. Some locations are only really accessible by bicycle. I'll lump scooters in with bicycles since they can usually use the same routes. Rental bikes and scooters have geofenced boundaries which may not access the whole area.

Driving to PDX

Driving to PDX, use either NE 82nd Ave / State Route 213 or Airport Way and follow signs to short term parking (north side) or long term parking (south side) at the terminal.

Taking transit to PDX

If you don't want to pay for parking or mess with traffic at the terminal, an alternative is to park at a TriMet transit center and take the MAX Red Line light rail to the airport. The closest free parking lots are at Gateway/99th Ave Transit Center and Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center. (See TriMet's transit centers in Portland.)

The transit card for the Portland metro area (including Vancouver WA) is the "Hop Fastpass" or just "Hop Card". If you don't have a Hop Card for riding transit, you can buy them at MAX stations or some local stores. You can also tap a chip-equipped credit card at the station before boarding. If you want to minimize costs, note the "valid until" time when tagging in (2 hours later) and be sure to tag in and board a return train before then so it will be on the same fare. Otherwise a second TriMet fare with the same card in a day will become a day pass.

Bicycling to PDX

For cyclists, Portland Airport can be reached from most directions, some more or less direct than others. It's best to stick to bike paths and roads with bike lanes. Avoid or use extreme caution on roads which have no bike facilities.

Planespotting places at PDX

Planespotting areas at PDX vary in accessibility, some only accessible by bicycle. They are marked on the map with a sunglass-smiley icon 😎. In the parking structures, in case of rain you can find cover one floor lower.

long term parking structure: 4th or 5th floor, south side near "sasquatch" elevators

short term parking structure: 7th floor, north side near "duck" and "salmon" elevators

cell phone waiting overflow lot

SR213/82nd Ave and Alderwood

Marine Drive multi-use path on top of Columbia River levee

Marine Drive multi-use path between Broughton Beach and 33rd Ave

Marine Drive - Airport Way connector path

Cascade Station shopping center

Terminal overlook at interior gates

Which runway to choose

Airplanes take off and land into the wind. Check the NWS forecast for PDX to get an idea which runways will be in use and select your viewing location.

The official airport conditions are transmitted on the Automated Terminal Information System (ATIS), which is 128.35MHz at PDX. If you have a scanner, you can listen directly. Online, digital ATIS (D-ATIS) is available at various sites that display the FAA data feed, such as

• https://atisrelay.com/datis/KPDX
• https://atis.info/kpdx

Portland's main runways are numbered 28L/10R and 28R/10L. The numbers are the compass directions with the last digit removed, so approximately 280 degrees when landing and taking off westbound, or 100 degrees when eastbound. Since there are two parallel runways, they have a right (R) and left (L) suffix.

Here are some things for planespotters to watch for on the D-ATIS.

CLSD

stands for closed. You may see it with runways or taxiways. Runways in particular are what you're looking for so you don't get in position at a closed runway.

SIMUL

stands for simultaneous approaches and departures. It indicates the parallel runways are both open and in use at the same time. However, this is only for good weather. In poor weather (Instrument Meteorological Conditions, IMC), both runways can be in use but SIMUL will not be shown because the runways are too close to each other for simultaneous instrument approaches or departures. So an approach or departure for one runway blocks airspace of the other. Pilots will still request an approach to whichever runway is closest to their gate or parking.

OTS

stands for out of service. It indicates some equipment is not operating. When paired with a runway's ILS (instrument landing system) it means some flights may go for the other runway, if available. This is less significant than it used to be since most aircraft (particularly all airlines) at PDX can use GPS approaches when radio navigation is out.

You can anticipate planes will be landing and taking off into the wind. Use the direction the wind is reported or forecast to come from as the expected runway direction. When winds are coming from 280 degrees, roughly from the west, it lines up with Runways 28L and 28R. Likewise winds from the east line up with Runways 10L and 10R. Wind can come from any direction and doesn't necessarily line up with runways. So pilots and air traffic controllers use the closest direction. Crosswind landings are routine as long as they're within the capabilities of the crew and aircraft. When winds are calm, PDX uses Runways 28L and 28R.

There is a shorter crosswind runway 3/21 which is very rarely (almost never) used because it conflicts with the main runways 10L/28R and 10R/28L. Runway 3 is restricted to arrivals only, up to the first 3000ft before the intersection with 10R/28L. Runway 21 is treated as closed. In case of an emergency, the tower can waive those restrictions. It is usable for such scenarios.

• 28L/10R is south of the terminal, near the Portland Air National Guard Base
• 28R/10L is north of the terminal, near the Columbia River

When both runways are open, planes usually request (but don't necessarily always get) the runway closest to their arrival gate or destination on the airfield.

• Alaska, Hawaiian, Horizon and American (Terminals B and C) are usually on Runway 28L/10R.
• Southwest, Delta, United and international arrivals (Terminals D and E) are usually on 28R/10L.
• International departures and heavy aircraft (767, A330 and larger) prefer 28R/10L because it's the longest runway. Longer takeoff allows a higher takeoff weight with higher total of fuel, passengers and freight.
• Oregon Air National Guard F-15s prefer 28L/10R, next to the Oregon ANG Base. However visiting military aircraft may use 28R/10L if refueling at the FBOs at the north ramp.
• Cargo aircraft prefer 28L/10R for the shortest taxi to the central and south central ramp.
• New Boeing airplanes from the factories or from storage: incoming unpainted and outgoing newly-painted planes prefer 28L/10R for proximity to the Boeing Portland Paint Hangar at the south ramp.

Boeing Portland Paint Hangar

The Boeing Portland Paint Hangar is in a back corner of the field which is difficult to see. That's probably on purpose. But planes coming and going use the runways. When you are aware of a plane arriving for painting or departing with new paint, vantage points for Runway 10R/28L are the best options for photos. The PDX paint hangar has two "bays" (separate parts of the hangar) which can accommodate wide-body jets.

Boeing does not announce activities at the paint hangar. When possible they prefer to use paint hangars at the same airport with the assembly line - in Renton RNT for most 737s and in Everett PAE for 767, 777 and 777X. There are plans to expand 737 production so that MAX10s will be assembled in Everett, using space vacated in 2023 by the end of 747 production. There are also paint facilities at Boeing Field BFI in Seattle. Only when Seattle area paint hangars are booked, Boeing uses paint hangars outside Seattle, including Portland PDX and Victorville VCV (Southern California Logistics Airport).

Planes come to PDX for painting often enough to keep things interesting. The planes painted in PDX are all still pre-delivery, owned by Boeing and using a Boeing flight number. Many come to PDX on their first flight.

When a new unpainted plane arrives, metal planes (everything except a 787) are almost all green with a protective vinyl coating which will be removed in the paint hangar. Usually the rudder and winglets are pre-painted, offering the big hint who the customer is. You may also see a hint in the ADS-B telemetry indicating which country the plane will be registered to. Initially when a plane arrives, it has a "manufacturer temporary" registration number on the tail. Coming out of painting, it will have its permanent registration reserved for the customer. (If it still displays a registration assigned to Boeing, that tells you something different is going on. Prototypes are usually painted in Seattle. So that would likely mean it's not ready for delivery and would then fly somewhere with storage parking.)

In general, you can expect it to take 10-14 days to paint a 737, or 3-4 weeks for a wide-body. Sometimes a plane may stay longer if it's getting more work done than just paint.

The first flight is called the "B1" flight because it is flown by Boeing test pilots. These flights often go first to eastern Washington state and do lots of maneuvers while the test pilots check that all the systems are working as expected. (A vast number of tests are done on the ground before flight, including engine runs, control surface movement, landing gear swing and electronics checkout.)

When leaving the PDX paint hangar, the plane may do test maneuvers again, either a "B2" flight completing tests not done on the B1 or a "C1" flight by customer pilots for acceptance testing. Generally a newly-painted plane will fly to the airport with a Boeing Delivery Center where the purchase will be completed and the customer will take the aircraft. 737s are usually delivered from Boeing Field BFI. 767s and 777s are usually delivered from Everett PAE. The new 777X (-9 and -8) will be processed the same as the old 777-200 and 777-300. In any case, the plane is not ready until the test pilots say it's ready.

787s are no longer assembled in Everett since 2021. But some planes have needed rework (to correct errors or for cancelled orders) and were flown to Everett for that. For those, repainting can be done at PDX. But generally new 787s are now painted where they are built in Charleston CHS.

In rare circumstances, if a customer is not ready for delivery (or has gone out of business) the plane will be flown to storage at places such as Moses Lake MWH or Victorville VCV until a new customer is found. Some airlines have taken advantage of that situation to get planes faster than the long production backlog and/or at a discount. But they do require reworking the interior to the buyer's branding.

Planes coming or going from the PDX paint hangar are usually paired with a Boeing Crew Transport plane to fly the test pilots back to BFI/PAE or fly them down to PDX before flying out a newly-painted plane. These crew transport planes are currently single-engine turboprops such as a Pilatus PC12 or Cessna 208. They can be recognized for flying with a Boeing company radio callsign and flight number.