Phil Derner

Here I discuss aviation in many forms! Read more about my career on my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philderner/

I am currently the Western Regional Representative (CA, NV, AZ, OR, AK, WA, HI) for the National Business Aviation Association.

04/19/2022

Next week (Thursday the 28th), the Arizona Business Aviation Association will be hosting a business aviation Safety Day in Phoenix. For any role in aviation, being there is a great way to expand your knowledge, engage with others in the industry, and revisit vital ingredients that make up our industry's strong safety culture.

Those who do not attend these types of events are at a major disadvantage. You can also get CAM credit for attending.

My session, which will consist of an industry update, starts at 8am! I hope to see you there.

02/21/2022

My aviation career, in coffee mugs.

02/11/2022

Having a great time representing at the Industry Expo and Winter Warmup in Palm Springs!

Excited about the heavy presence of business aviation friends and diversity organizations!

01/22/2022

I was super excited to try a new camera setup this morning at March ARB and immediately upload my shots to the NYCAviation photo hangar when getting home.

If you heard my recent interview on the Aviation Spotters Podcast you would know how big of a deal aviation photography was to me for all of my early years as an aviation enthusiasts. I haven't owned legit camera gear in almost a decade. It is amazing to feel like my old spotter self again, even though the photos themselves are nothing special.

01/10/2022

Like humans, aircraft meet their end through various means. Though most end up getting scrapped, a few sad examples meet a more violent end.

I shot this photo at JFK in June of 2004. Boeing 747SPs were already very rare in the world, mostly used for VIP transport at the time. This one, registered 7O-YMN, was the equivalent of Yemen’s Air Force One. I was with a group of friends and there are several images online taken from within a second of each other.

On March 19, 2015, rival forces fighting for power in Yemen clashed at Aden Airport, and this aircraft took significant damage by gunfire, ultimately being destroyed. Photos 2 and 3 show the before and after of the aircraft sitting on the Aden ramp. To clarify, the overhead images are from satellite imagery and are not my bad attempt at emulating .

Boeing made 45 747SPs, and though a couple of airframes’ lives ended in accidents, this was surely the most violent. Another one (VQ-BMS) was damaged beyond repair during Hurricane Laura in August of 2020.

01/07/2022

I don't know what other airlines did but JetBlue put their dispatchers into the simulators and into several initial training classes that were shared with pilots. This was great for CRM and it gave dispatchers an understanding of how pilots were applying their knowledge and some of the tricky situations that pilots encounter where our help was vital.

We shot RNP approaches, tried landing hot, high, and heavy, fought turbulence, windshear, and attempted to respond to engine failures. No, we didn't always get through them successfully. Actually, we rarely got away from those dangerous ones, which showed us the value of great pilot training and the respect for those who sit in the left and right seats who have kept our skies safe for so long.

This photo is from the Spring of 2012.

01/05/2022

The inside of LaGuardia Airport's Central Terminal Building, pre-security, didn't afford too many great views for photography. The glass carried a heavy green tint, and the runways were a little too distant and didn't offer clear views (light towers, aircraft tails, APU haze, etc.).

It did, however, offer nice gate lineup shots like photo #2, showing diverse airlines in the narrow alleyways. From this photo (both taken 12/26/2005), we see things that have all changed. The aircraft types still operating but the schemes are all different, and this vantage point simply doesn't exist anymore since the construction of the new LGA terminal. To be honest, I don't know what pre-security views are even around there anymore. Anyone know?

All pre-security photos were based on our ability to take photos in general. PANYNJ forbade photography on airport property but asked that we call their media department prior to showing up at the airport. When calling, whoever answered would either tell you that photography was forbidden and you can't do it, or they'd reluctantly say "Ok," wondering why you're telling them that you're going to take photos to begin with.

Note my ATA hat, which I wore until the blue was sun-faded to a very light purple.

(Both photos are from December 26th, 2005)

09/21/2020

Doing some pre-flight math when I was a loadmaster for North American Airlines, transporting troops around the world. This is probably 2007 on a 767-300.

08/28/2020

That time I got to sit in the left seat of a British Airways Concorde, pre-beard, pre-headshave, and before flag patch hats kicked Ralph Lauren hats out of my life.

08/24/2020

Back in 2003 I filmed this Delta 737 go very wide on his “Expressway Visual” approach to make room for another aircraft departing on the same runway.

Pretty wild to see them still turning to line up while over the runway threshold.

08/22/2020

I took this photo in 2009, knowing but not quite realizing that my time with LaGuardia’s control tower of 1964 was limited and that it would mean so much to me when it was gone.
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This Delta 757-200 is departing off of LGA’s runway 31, and shooting it far away from College Point’s Hermon MacNeil Park, I’m shocked there no heat haze on this September morning.
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Address

Palm Springs, CA
92262–92264

Website

https://nbaa.org/news/business-aviation-insider/get-know-nbaas-new-western-regional-representative-phil-derner/

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