Here are my favorite 2013 Aviation Photos, enjoy!

United 777-222/ER (N798UA) at the O’Hare Run on the Runway

JAL 9 headed to Narita takes off from RWY 28R at the O’Hare Run on the Runway

This American Airlines livery won’t be around much longer and I was very happy to get such a good shot. I was even happier to be out spotting with Jon Ostrower, Jason Rabinowitz, Gavin Werbeloff, and Bruce Bere, all avgeeks in the extreme.

American Airlines Boeing 767-323/ER on short final for RWY 22R. Because of the shifting winds that day, we spent a good portion of our time driving back and forth from one side of the airport to the other.

American Eagle Embraer E170-200-LR (E175) on short final for RWY 28R. This was my first shot of the E175 up in the air.

Etihad Airways Boeing 777-3FX/ER on short final for RWY 28R. This shot was a good cap to a day of great shots and great company as I got to meet Jay, the man behind the O’Hare Aviation YouTube channel.

For this shot of an SAS Airbus A330-343X I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I had wandered down to the beach by my house to shoot and it just happened to fly right overhead.

Whenever I have access to the ramp, the weather is gloomy. It’s just a fact of life that I’ve come to accept. But for the E175 unveiling that gloomy weather turned into an asset.

This summer I headed up to EAA Airventure or just “Oshkosh,” with Jaunted editor Cynthia Drescher. Oshkosh is an amazing collection of aviation from all over the world. From vintage civilian and military aircraft to experimental aircraft to hot air balloons. As the sun began to set, the hot air balloons got fired up, making for a great shot.

A 1943 Lockheed L-18 Lodestar’s Wright R-1820 engine at Oshkosh.

“Panchito,” a B-25J Mitchell Bomber flies at Oshkosh.

What are your favorite aviation photos of 2013? Let me know in comments.

My love for aviation goes back to when we moved into our house on the west side of O’Hare when I was about five. My bedroom window gave me an amazing view of easterly arrivals. Young aviation love was on full display on Saturday, and that to me was the part of the day. At the end of Runway 28R families camped out with lunch to watch the planes land. Everyone dropped what they were doing and grabbed their cameras when the heavies, like the Lufthansa MD-11 or Atlas 747 flew over. One young man there with his father was having a tough time getting a steady shot, so I loaned him a tripod. Jay, of the world-famous O’Hare Aviation YouTube channel was also there and helped him set up so he was in the best place for photos.

The thing I like most about planespotting and avgeekery in general is the community. People are passionate and share that passion through photos, video, or just listening to air traffic control and logging tail numbers. And the community has only gotten bigger and stronger as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have made it easy to find people who love aviation. I often get asked why I love planes, so I show them pictures like these, and they say, “Oh, I get it now.” There’s just something amazing about something that big fly through the air that makes anyone look up and say “wow.”

You can check out highlights from Saturday here, and Bruce’s photos here.

While other ads have recently fallen flat, United seems to be back on track with their new Friendly Skies ads. I just hope their passenger experience can catch up to their advertising.

Below are a few of the vintage ads that United ran in the in late-1960s and 1970s in magazines and other print publications like theatre playbills.

An ad for the Friendship Executive Service in 1975.

A bit of sexist copywriting in this one.

What do you think of United bringing back “Fly the Friendly Skies”? Does the slogan matter at all?

This year’s run adds a 10K in addition to the 5K, so you can run on the runway even longer. Also new this year is the location of the race. The race will take place on the brand new Runway 10C-28C, which will not open to aircraft until October. That’s right, we’ll get to run on the runway before it’s used by aircraft. Even better, as you can see in the map below, 10C-28C is much closer to the action than last year’s runway 27R-9L.

Last year United parked a 747-400 on the taxiway and used as a the centerpiece of the course. After the race was over, trolley’s took anyone who wanted to go back out to the runway to take pictures with the aircraft. I’m crossing my fingers that this year the 787 makes an appearance. You can check out the full gallery of photos from last year’s event here.

Go here to sign up for the Run on the Runway. To get $5 off your race fee before August 31, use coupon code RUNWAYrun2012.