On my Hawaii/Australia adventure I took a total of six flights so it left me with plenty of time to do some airport sketching. A perfect way to spend time while waiting to board. Or a perfect way to spend time if you’re really bored!
I did a total of nine sketches, some of which I have included here.
I always enjoy the art in airports. My home airport, SFO, frequently changes what’s on show.
Most of the time I focus on the scene outside the window of planes parked at the gates. But at the airport in Cairns (Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef) I sketched some of the fish sculptures hanging from the ceiling (all rendered in a continuous-line sketch).
I have wanted to buy an airplane field guide to help me identify the different commercial airplanes I see at airports or flying north up the Pacific Coast. Telling an Airbus A380 from a Boeing 747 is an easy identification but what about other aircraft?
Where I grew up in Sunnyvale is on the flight path to Moffett Field Navel Base. By bedroom window faced the many military planes approaching the runway at Moffett.
A 2022 sketch of Orion the Hunter.
Like birds, I learned to identify the common Lockheed P-3 Orion, the submarine hunter. But I also could identify other aircraft: C-130 Hercules, C-5 Galaxy, F-16 Falcon, the Blue Angels with their A-4 Skyhawks and later F-18 Hornets as well as other aircraft.
As I hobby I built model airplanes which I hung from the ceiling with dental floss and push pins. Some of my favorites was an F-4 Phantom hand painted in camouflage and a KC-135 refueling a B-52.
These airplanes were easy to identify but when it comes to commercial jets, it is a bit more tricky.
Commercial jets can be broken down to the two major manufacturers: Airbus and Boeing.
Boeing is an American manufacturer founded in 1916. It has produced such iconic passenger planes as the 314 Clipper, the 377 Stratocruiser, the 707, 737, the Triple 7, and the renowned 747.
Airbus on the other hand is a consolidation of different European companies formed in 1970. Iconic aircraft on its roster are: the A220, A320, A330, A350, and the largest passenger plane in the air the A380.
To internalize the simple differences between the two manufacturers I created a short DIY field guide to aircraft, a sort of cheat sheet to use while at the airport (featured sketch).
I guess plane spotting from an airport terminal is a bit like birding in a mount museum, the planes are sitting on the tarmac giving you time for prolonged study. And planes don’t flush easy like spooked birds. Well neither do taxidermy birds!
Plane spotting at SFO. This plane has a pointed nose and the side windows form a “V” instead of a straight line. It also helps that it says: “Boeing. Proudly All Boeing” just under the window!Closer detail of the side windows of a Boeing. I believe this is a Boeing 737-9 MAX. Could I identify my plane that would take me to Honolulu? Straight side windows with a notch in the top corner. The nose is rounded and less pointy than a Boeing. This is an Airbus A330-200. It also helps that it’s labeled below the windows.My winged chariot to Hawaii. Another view of the Airbus A330 and the diagnostic cockpit window shape. Not seen in this photo but where the tail meets the fuselage, it is rounded with no extra angle like the Boeing’s tail.
While waiting to board my flight I found a comfy swivel chair and sketched the view before me of the B Gates of Terminal 1 (no pencil required). In the foreground is an Alaska Airlines jet and in the background is a Hawaiian Airlines plane at Gate 11. This was the plane that would be flying me to Honolulu.
I sketched the Alaskan Boeing before it pushed out to the taxiway leading to runways 1 (Left and Right). This left me time to add details to the Hawaiian Airbus and the jumbles of the surrounding scene at SFO.
My Tuesday after work sketch took me to the San Francisco Bay Trail which parallels Runways 28R and 28L and Taxiway F.
These are the two runways that handle most international traffic at San Francisco International Airport. In my two hours there, I saw planes landing or taking off from airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Condor (German), Lufthansa, SAS, Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic, Qatar, Iberian, Swiss, TAP Air (Portugal), Turkish Airlines, Zipair (Japan), and British Airways. San Francisco is really an international destination.
This trail and Bayfront Park are a well known location for plane spotting as you have unobstructed views of planes taxiing, taking off, and landing.
I was here to see the large passenger jet that largely replaced Boeing’s 747 on long distance international routes.
In an uncanny coincidence a Lufthansa 747-8 was on Taxiway F headed to Runway 28R when I was driving down Millbrae Avenue toward the airport. After I parked and walked up to the Bay Trail the 747 was throttling up for takeoff. Only four airlines currently have 747s in their fleet: Lufthansa, Korean Air, Air China, and Rossiya.
One of the few Boeing 747s throttling up for takeoff on Runway 28R. This is a 747-8, the largest 747 and Boeing’s largest passenger jet. This “stretched” 747 was designed to compete with the A380.
I was here to see the big boy that competed with the 747, Airbus’s A380. Two airlines fly A380s out of SFO, British Airways and Emirates. BA flight 284 was scheduled to depart at 16:20. But the flight was running a little late, which seems to be the norm.
The Bay Trail in the foreground and British Airways A380 is pulling away from Gate A11. This is one of 12 in BA’s fleet. Flight 284 on the Taxiway F for Foxtrot. This airplane is so large that the suffix “Super” is part of its call sign. This photo shows the scale of the world’s largest passenger plane compared to others on the tarmac. The aircraft in front of the A380 is an Air Canada Boeing 737 Max 8.A380 on its way to line up for takeoff as a much smaller United Airlines jet lands. Gear up with the South San Francisco sign below and San Bruno Mountain above.
Sketching Notes
I found a tree stump seat with the taxiways and runways in front of me. I first sketched in the fill as the runways are surround by the bay on three sides. In the background I penciled in the East Bay hills and mountains including Mt. Diablo. The tide was low when I stared sketching but was slowly filling in during the two hours of my visit.
Later I would add two planes on the taxiway, based on photographs taken in the field.
To my left and in the distance I could see the red, white, and blue tail of the A380 at Gate A11.
This is the Airbus A380. The A380 is truly an impressive aircraft which I had the pleasure of flying on from SFO to Frankfurt on Lufthansa (the airline currently operates eight A380s but they no longer use them to fly out of SFO).
The A380 is a full double decker with a flight range of 9,200 miles and a capacity of 850 passengers. It is larger than Boeing’s 747 and is designed for long range international flights.
On my afterwork walks I noticed a northbound British Airways A380 at around 5 PM each day. This is flight BA 284. The flight path parallels Ocean Beach and then turns northeast heading toward the Polar route over Greenland to its final destination of Heathrow Airport. I often watch it until it disappears with distance.
After work I wanted to get a sketching perch perspective facing north with the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, and Mt. Tamalpais at the base of the panoramic spread and the A380 flying above. Sunset Reservoir fits the bill.
I headed to the northwest corner of the reservoir to Sunset Reservoir Park with a brand new Delta Stillman & Birn sketchbook.
While I was sketching a man and a woman were walking up the path speaking French. I assumed they were from the Lycee Francais de San Francisco school just up Ortega. They had come to take in the amazing views. The woman walked over and asked if I was part of the urban sketchers. I replied that I was not and she told me that she liked to sketch too.
Then she and the man did something that boggled my sketcher’s mind which can be summed up in the following photo:
Yes, unbelievably they commented on my sketching and then turned around to stand between myself and my subject!
My plan was to do a loose sketch of the A380 as it headed northeast. Luckily the French couple moved on to take some more selfies with the distant Golden Gate Bridge in the background, before I had to ask them politely, to get out of my way!
Flight 284 is scheduled to depart SFO at 16:20. It seems it was running a bit late as the A380 passed by at 5:03.
A Heathrow bound British Airways A380 flies past the Sunset Reservoir.
SFO Runway 28R
I had sketched and photographed BA Flight 284 as it passed over western San Francisco and now I wanted to witness an A380 take off, head on!
One of the best ways to look down Runway 28R (SFO’s longest) is to cross Highway 101 on San Bruno Avenue. Here you can look down the runway towards aircraft taxiing into position for take off.
As a side note, runways are named after their magnetic heading to the nearest ten degrees so 28 degrees and the R stands for “right” to differentiate the runway from the parallel runway to the left: 28L.
Flight 284 was late getting out of the gate and I spotted the giant, shark like tail fin, sporting the Union Jack, as it crept towards the runway.
The A380 pulling onto Runway 28R. With the distance, the plane looks like a mirage.Flight 284 climbs off Runway 28R at 150 knots heading right toward me!Gear up, the A380 flying overhead. Next stop (10 hours 35 minutes later) Heathrow Airport.
Having made it through TSA in 11 minutes on a Saturday morning, I found myself before Gate D9, an hour and a half before boarding. Being that I was in the back of the plane, in Boarded Group F (I’ll let you use your imagination as to what F stands for), I knew that I would be one of the last to board the Alaska Boeing 737.
So after getting some joe and a scone, I found an empty row and had breakfast.
Now it was time to get low tech in the form of my soft cover Stillman and Birn Beta Series sketchbook (No batteries required).
I found one of those nice swivel chairs and sketched the Alaska Airlines jet at gate D9. The Boeing 737 sat at the gate with a fuel hose attached to the bottom (always a good sign) and the crew loading luggage into it’s underbelly.
Our flight was on time and despite the demands to check bags from Boarding Groups E and F because the overhead bins were full.
I was able to waltz on the plane as a one bag backpacker, shouldering my Osprey Farpoint 40 and I found an empty bin right above my aisle seat in Rom 30 (at least I was close to the bathrooms!).
On the other half of my panoramic sketch I added my view from Row 30, Seat D.
A little time travel: the featured sketch is from Reagan National Airport (DCA), in Virginia, just across the Potomac from Washington D. C. This panoramic sketch is from my return journey to SFO.
In previous SFO airport sketches I have drawn airplanes as they waited at gates. But this time I drew a swivel lounge chair. These are always prime real-estate at the airport and I found one to sit and swivel on and an empty chair to sketch.
I was pleased to know, after a bit of research, that my home international airport is highly rated amongst other airports. I guess it comes down to some simple details like where you park your butt on while you wait for your flight, and being able to swivel around to people watch.
Once on my flight to Seattle (SEA) I had a window seat in aisle 11, right in front of the starboard engine.
We were somewhere above Oregon or Washington, high above the clouds at our cruising altitude and I watched the clouds play across the landscape and the cloud’s shadows, well, shadowing it on the ground.
I did a sketch with my smaller panoramic journal, drawing in the starboard engine as a point of reference (featured sketch). Did I draw every cloud in my window view? We no, I used a bit of sketcher’s shorthand to sketch the most sketchable clouds.
At SEA, where it was raining of course, I transferred to my Icelandair flight to the Land of Fire and Ice.
On this flight I was glad to see some Icelandic beers onboard. Being a bird nerd, I ordered a Gull Lager. It met my expectations and I did a sketch to pass the time.
Skal!
I couldn’t wait to set foot in Iceland and add more ink and paint to my journals.
I arrived at SFO at 6 AM on a Sunday morning, plenty of time for my 8:42 flight to Phoenix Sky Harbor. Or so I thought.
I leisurely had breakfast having made it through security in about ten minutes, not bad for a Sunday morning. Plenty of time to catch my flight.
After breaking the fast, I passed by the departure board and my flight was rescheduled for 11:30 AM because of a “ Crew Connection”. I later found out that our crew was delayed in Reno, Nevada due to inclement weather.
Now I had three extra hours to spend (for a flight lasting an hour and a half!) at San Francisco International Airport!
I definitely got some steps in wandering in the terminal-mall that is SFO. I parked in a comfy swivel chair and people watched, which is first class at SFO. I attempted to add a story to those passing by, very much under the influence of Barbara Kingsolver. (My travel read was her first novel The Bean Trees, which is set in Tucson, Arizona.)
What to do? Sketch of course! Airplanes parked on the tarmac are very obliging sketch subjects. They sit still.
As I was sketching the tails of a line of United planes, an arriving flight pulled in front of my subjects. Good thing I had inked most of my sketch. Planes do move after all. Just not the ways a sketcher may want them to.
I got in two sketches at SFO until I finally boarded my United flight to PHX.
There is always a lot of downtime at an airport. I am the type of traveller that always arrives early, hence the downtime.
Sometimes I read or listen to music but I always try to do an airport sketch.
On my recent trip to the Windy City, I sketched the airplane that would be taking me there. In this case it was United Airlines largest plane in their fleet: the Boeing 777-222A. This plane has a capacity of 28 first class passengers and 336 economy. It’s cruising speed is 639 mph and we made the journey from SFO to ORD in about three and half hours.
I was told that you don’t mess around with Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. O’Hare is the fourth busiest airport in the world with 54 million passengers passing through in 2021. It had the moniker of the “busiest square mile in the world”.
So I headed out of Chicago for the 45 minute journey to O’Hare with plenty of time to spare. Even though it was a weekday morning, the security checkpoint lines took almost half and hour to navigate. There is a reason you don’t mess with O’Hare. It’s better to be early then to miss your flight.
A bar with a view. This is the view, sans foreground glass, for my O’Hare spread (featured sketch).
I found a window seat at a pizza restaurant (deep dish of course), opened my sketchbook and started to sketch the gate and airplane before me.
To me, there is no better way to pass time in an airport than sketching.
I always have my small Stillman & Birn Delta Series in my pocket. The reason I enjoy using this 3.5″ X 5.5″ soft-cover sketchbook is that it allows me to do quick sketches. There is not so much paper to cover as a “standard” sized sketchbook. If sketching because more easy, you tend to do more of it.
I always try to take a seat, facing a window and sketch the planes on the tarmac as they are lined up like a school of sharks at their gates. I try to sketch the plane I will be departing on. But any plane will do.
I have included a few of my sketches in this post. They were done at SFO (San Francisco) and DCA (Reagan International).
Corvid Sketcher 