With a new facility under construction, the cargo scene at Pittsburgh International Airport is taking off (pun intended). But while Pittsburgh plane spotters are used to seeing freight companies like FedEx, UPS and Amazon Air at PIT, it’s not often they travel all the way to Alaska to capture those planes in action.

Austin Casper Wood took off from PIT to do just that. He headed to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC), where he photographed this Boeing 747-8F. The 747-8 is often dubbed the “Queen of the Skies” due to its massive size, but the 747-8F is specific to cargo, with small adjustments that make it ideal for large shipments.

Wood’s photo captures the scale of the plane, making the air traffic control tower behind it look small by comparison. Look closely at the photo, and you can see some folks up in that tower, ready to help this plane take off.

It’s fitting that Austin took this shot at ANC, because the airport plays a key role in the U.S. cargo sector. Thanks to its location between North America and Asia, air freight finds a perfect mid-point in Anchorage. PIT shares a similar advantage: situated between two major cities, New York and Chicago, offering a huge benefit to airlines and freight forwarders.

Back home in Pittsburgh, Kimberly Kieser shared this over-the-city shot at sunset on Facebook. The sky opens up, shining a spotlight on downtown Pittsburgh, while a few of our city’s 446 bridges reflect on the water.

That spotlight on our city is quite fitting, considering the exciting changes coming to its airport in the next year, like opening a brand-new terminal, adding another nonstop flight to Europe and opening a cargo facility, just to name a few.

Thanks, Austin and Kimberly!

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Downtown Pittsburgh seen from the air during a sunset. (Photo submitted by Kimberly Kieser)