I went to Madrid for 2 full days in December to catch a few of the South American airlines that serve the airport. It turned out to be an excellent trip, with one perfect day and one average day. I also had great company for the trip, with my Dad, Fraser, Gavin and Karl (a great driver !).
We arrived at Madrid on Wednesday evening onboard G-EZGR (the last EasyJet A319) in very thick fog (we were the last to get into the airport and 12 aircraft behind us had to divert!), and started graphing at first light on the Thursday as the AeroSur B747-400 was very nicely delayed 40 mins so that we could catch it in daylight !! After that we went to the mounds, then to another landing spot for the South American arrivals before going back to the mound until sunset. After this we went into Madrid in search of a curry house, and after a tour of the city looking for one we made do with a buffet.
The last day, the Friday was spent on the mounds, as the weather wasn't as good as the day before. Later that evening, we flew home on board G-EZGR again back to Manchester.
We arrived at Madrid on Wednesday evening onboard G-EZGR (the last EasyJet A319) in very thick fog (we were the last to get into the airport and 12 aircraft behind us had to divert!), and started graphing at first light on the Thursday as the AeroSur B747-400 was very nicely delayed 40 mins so that we could catch it in daylight !! After that we went to the mounds, then to another landing spot for the South American arrivals before going back to the mound until sunset. After this we went into Madrid in search of a curry house, and after a tour of the city looking for one we made do with a buffet.
The last day, the Friday was spent on the mounds, as the weather wasn't as good as the day before. Later that evening, we flew home on board G-EZGR again back to Manchester.
Day One
Day Two (To be updated)
During October I found a cheap flight to Amsterdam, and with me needing the Martinair Retro I had to book it ! We departed on a Sunday morning on the early EasyJet flight (G-EZGK - A319) and stayed on the terrace each day, before flying home late Tuesday evening (G-EZGN - A319). Here is a small selection of what was photographed. (Will be updated when time allows)
Day One - Sunday (To be updated)
Day Two - Monday (To be updated)
Day Three - Tuesday (To be updated)
October - STN - LTN - EMA - Mildenhall AFB
Last Wednesday/Thursday I went down to Peterborough to see family, and on the way there/home, we had to call in at a few airports !! :)First we popped in at East Midlands for a couple of minutes as we were passing, and a ADB AN124 and South African Herc were parked up, as well as this cracking Rusline CRJ !!!
After calling here we went to Peterborough and called in at Mildenhall AFB for a couple of minutes with my family.
We spent the night, before leaving around 2 o'clock the next afternoon to come home...Since we had no set time to be back home, we headed to Stansted for a few minutes where this UAE Gvt B777-200 was parked up, next to a company B747-400 !!!
As it was still early in the day, we quickly called in at Luton before heading home, where a quick trip into the Monarch hangar was made to see a FedEx B757-200F !
FedEx was taken on my Blackberry mobile
August - East Midlands
Two and a half weeks later, I spent 3 days at Frankfurt, Germany. We departed on the Friday morning onboard FlyBe Dash 8 Q400 G-JECL (wearing George Best on the forward section of the aircraft). Along the way, we were treated to clear skies, and great views of Manston, Ostend and Liege were seen. Then, around 3 hours later than planned we arrived at FRA and got our rental car, then drove to the Runway 25 spot and onwards to the Runway 18 area in the evening. Here a few highlights from the first day.
An overview of Liege Airport while enroute, note the TNT B747-400F, 3x Southern Air B747F's and Avient MD11F and DC10F are included on the ramps parked up.
The third and final day was spent in the same way as the second day, with most of the morning and early afternoon spent by the Runway 25 spot, then moving to the terrace later on in the day before of flight back to Manchester on FlyBe's Dash 8 Q400 G-ECOF.
Emirates A380 A6-EDK on Emirates 017 Super heading to my local airport Manchester (taken from FRA).
June - Amsterdam
May - Palma De Mallorca (1 week)
We flew out on Thomson Airways B737-800 G-FDZA, and first visited the airport after arrival 2 days later for a ramp tour. During the tour I spotted the Iron Maiden B757-200 G-STRX pushing back and asked the minibus driver to pull over to take a few shots, and I was not dissapointed !!
Two days later, a few of us asked the coach driver to drop us off at the airport while the rest of the group went into the city. Again, this proved no problem and we happily spent the day graphing Air Berlin's and other european charters, and the Iron Maiden again !!
During the flight back as on most flights, my head spent most of the flight looking out of the window and a United B767-400 in Star Alliance flew just underneath. Here is a photo I managed.
Ferbruary - USA / Caribbean (2 weeks) In February 2011, I went on my 9th trip to the USA, as well as on a Caribbean cruise. During the 2 weeks, I visited Philidelphia, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Miami, St. Maarten (well, Maho Beach), St. Lucia, Barbados, The Bahamas, St. Thomas and Martinique. Here is a small selection of the stuff I photographed.
After departing Manchester on N277AY (US Airways A330-300), we arrived in Philidelphia with a few hours to spare before the flight to Fort Lauderdale.
After arriving at Fort Lauderdale late night from Phili on board US Airways A321 N177US, we went to the hotel for a couple of hours sleep, before heading back to the airport for a couple of hours.
The next day we drove down to Miami to read off what was parked up, and a quick run up cargo meant we saw this Tampa Columbia Cargo B767-200F pushing back ! Rude not to stay for a photograph ?
After the day on the beach, the next mission was to graph this cracking scheme on a YS-11 that some years ago was turned into a bar and restaurant.
Over the remaining time on the cruise, we visited Castries in St. Lucia (along with an amazing little airport !), Fort-De-France in Martinique (where shots were possible but very distant from the ship), Bridgetown in Barbados, Half Moon Key in The Bahamas and also St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.
After arriving back at Fort Lauderdale and dropping family off at a mall, we then headed to Miami. I have visited this airport on almost every visit to Florida, and the variety here is amazing, here are some of the highlights of our 4 hour stay.
April - London Luton
