Taking off on a very wet runway after a storm

HI-548CT seconds before touchdown on runway 9L. Thanks to Dominican carriers such as this one Miami saw a wonderful revival of Connie operations during the late 1980s and early 1990s. This particular Connie was delivered to the USAF in 1956 as 54-0183, and was written off while in storage at Santo Domingo on September 22, 1998, when a C-46 Commando collided into it during Hurricane Georges.

Ex Conair C-GKFF. Only flew with this Guatemalan carrier for less than a year, so I was very pleased to get it in front of my camera. It was delivered to Aerovias in October 1987, and withdrawn from service in July 1988. It later flew as YV-501C, 9Q-CJP and EL-WIL, before ending up in storage at Johannesburg-Rand, South Africa in 1997. It was broken up there in early 2004.

Seen following a heavy rainstorm

Only 39 CL-44s have been built, and this aircraft was the last one. It first flew in March 1965, and was delivered to Loftleidir of Iceland a year later, as TF-LLI. Unfortunately it came to a premature end when it crashed on approach to Barranquilla, Colombia on 6 July 1988.

Guyana's national airline made two weekly fligths into Miami, using two Tupolev 154s. One was leased from TAROM (YR-TPJ) and operated in TAROM colours, the other was this very nice Tu-154M in full Guyana livery. Today I was lucky, and I was able to capture this rare bird landing on Miami's southern runway. It was sold to Cubana in 1988 as CU-T1276, then became RA-85818 with Omskavia, EP-MAJ with Iran Air Tour, then back to RA-85818. Last noted in 2009, fate unknown.

Note the background !

With engine no.3 shut down, prop feathered, AESA's venerable workhorse YS-05C is seen here on another one of Miami's routine three-engined arrivals. Less than two years later, on June 29, 1988, this aircraft crashed at Comalapa, El Salvador, during take-off for yet another flight to Miami.

A Constellation in flight… Sheer grace and beauty. If only today's boring Boeing/Airbus shapes could be replaced by this...! This is what Miami still used to be like in the early 1990s. This Connie, and another one, then a DC-7 and a Mexican DC-6 would all pass this point on short final runway 09L within 20 minutes… Paradise!

Unusally, this aircraft also carries its registration on its nose.

Seen at the George T Baker Aviation School close to Miami airport.

Incorrectly marked as N-48063

AMSA's "City of Miami" grumbles past on one of its many cargo flights into Miami. This was the second of two Connies on approach to runway 09L within 5 minutes, a wonderful experience! In 1992 this aircraft was damaged when a DC-4 ran into it at Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and it was stored there. Eleven years later, in 2003, the Ramey AFB Historical Association started work to restore her for display at the Ramey AFB in MATS colours. Unfortunately the work was later halted, but this Connie was still there by early 2018.