JetPhotos.Net Forums - The Friendly Way to Fly

JetPhotos.Net Forums - The Friendly Way to Fly - Flight Review Forum http://forums.jetphotos.net en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:15:54 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.jetphotos.net/images/misc/rss.jpg JetPhotos.Net Forums - The Friendly Way to Fly - Flight Review Forum http://forums.jetphotos.net JFK-MSP-JFK with Sun Country http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48955&goto=newpost Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:14:48 GMT *Route - New York JFK : Minneapolis* *Airline - Sun Country Airlines* *Scheduled departure - 10:55 (11:07 actual)* *Arrival - 13:00 (13:22 actual)* *Aircraft - Boeing 737-800* *Seat - 26A* *Class - Coach* Check-in area was deserted and i checked in straight away. Security was abit packed, with passengers from my flight holding people up, by not putting their 1L bottles of water in the bin. Route - New York JFK : Minneapolis
Airline - Sun Country Airlines
Scheduled departure - 10:55 (11:07 actual)
Arrival - 13:00 (13:22 actual)
Aircraft - Boeing 737-800
Seat - 26A
Class - Coach

Check-in area was deserted and i checked in straight away.
Security was abit packed, with passengers from my flight holding people up, by not putting their 1L bottles of water in the bin.
After that incident i was late getting to the gate and was last getting to the gate.
After walking on-board, First class didnt have a spare seat, and after passing the open curtain, there was only about 30 people on board.
I sat in 26A.
During Pushback, the First Officer told us the Incredible load factor of 21%.
Safety demo was manual.
Take off was smooth and quick, and as soon as we got above the clouds the Complimentary drink service started, and i got a Coke.
Soon after that the Buy-On-Board service started and i got Pepperoni Pizza for $6.
The Rest of the flight was uneventful.
I plugged my Headphones into the Armrest and listened to the crap Audio that Sun Country have.
We Started our descent about 40 minutes prior to touchdown.
The Passengers who held us up at security , turned on their phones and started blaring out crap music, and eventually after arguing with The Pursur, and 2 F/A's , and a number of passengers, they turned it off.
Landing was amazingly smooth and a big clap after landing.
Usual Welcome from the crew.
We Parked up at the gate and disembarked swiftly.
During the walk down the jetway, the Cool crew from our plane turned on their phones again and started playing Bone Thugs n Harmony out loud, which echoed throughout the Terminal.
After being told off by their parents, they shut up for the first time since we boarded in JFK.
I collected my bags and headed to my hotel.

Route - Minneapolis : New York JFK
Airline - Sun Country Airlines
Departure - 06:30 (06:45 actual)
Arrival - 10:05 (10:00 actual)
Aircraft - Boeing 737-800
Seat - 14A
Class - Coach

After a fun week in Minneapolis, it was time to head home.

An early start and i arrived to MSP at around 05:00.
The check-in area was PACKED , and the Sun Country Desks appeared to be centre of attention, so i assumed my flight was full.
After checking in i got seat 14A, and headed quickly towards security.
No problems this time.
I ran to gate H4 and again i was last on-board.
I walked through First Class which was again Packed, and walked through the closed curtain to see that again my flight was nearly empty.
I saw that rows 13,14,15,16,17 were deserted and that row 18 had 1 person in it.
I sat by the window on row 14.
Safety demo was manual.
Pushback and take off were normal.
Turbulent climb to cruise, and the drink service started about 45 minutes after take-off.
I got a coffee to keep me awake.
This flight was strange, never, ever, have i been so cold on a plane before:confused:
The Buy-On-Board service got no business and no one purchased anything.
I decided to catch some ZzZz :sleep:
When i woke, we were half way through descent, and we landed very very smoothly.
A round of applause from the passengers as we taxied off of the runway.
We taxied to a gate and we disembarked.
I collected my bags and got picked up by my friend.

Overall i will give Sun Country an 8/10.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.

:-x:-D:love::(;-):sleep::lol::confused:8-):wiggle::wink::roll:8) ]]> Flight Review Forum LondonJoe http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48955 DL Trip Report TPA-ATL-DTW-TPA in F/Y with 77L and Cedar Point! http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48909&goto=newpost Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:48:41 GMT Previous Reports:
NW Trip Report TPA-MEM-DTW-CLE-MSP-BOI in F/Y
NW Trip Report BOI-MSP-DTW-CLE
NW Trip Report CLE-DTW-TPA
DL Trip Report TPA-ATL-DCA-ATL-TPA in F/Y

Hello,
Once again, I'm here posting yet another trip report. This time it is of my latest trip up to Detroit. My family and I flew up to meet with relatives and to spend the Halloween weekend at Cedar Point. If you don't know what Cedar Point is the please click here.
We met up with my uncle who had recently returned from a Mumbai trip and he got us rooms and tickets and Hotel Breakers for our stay. I was originally going to take the nonstop TPA-DTW flight but I saw an opening and you guys are about to experience exactly why I took it. Also, in my opinion, this is one of my more detailed trip reports. So, enjoy!

Tampa, Florida
5:50AM
Friday, October 30th, 2009
I woke up to my "Anthem Pt. 2 - Blink-182" ringtone. I jumped out of bed, took and shower and waited for my family to get ready. Once everyone was ready to go we got into the Xterra and headed to the airport. The drive was normal with no major traffic problems. Only problem we had was the new overpasses and road by the airport entrance re opened after being redone and we missed the airport exit! But, we still got there. We parked at the long term lot and made our way into the airport.

Tampa International Airport
6:35AM
I checked in at the Delta counter and checked my one bag. I got to see the itinerary for my flights one more time there. I had specifically chosen to change my nonrev listing from NW493 to DL2058 and DL1442. Some would ask, "Why would you WANT to connect through Atlanta!?" Well, my answer is, because I get to fly on a 777-200LR. I had gotten the loads for both flights which ended up being great. Anyways, I went through security and made my way to gate E62 to see my Boeing 757-200 ETOPS sitting at the gate waiting for it's first flight of the day. I patiently waited with my tall Java Chip Frappaccino for my name to clear the stand by list. As expected, it did. But this time, First class. I finished my drink adn got on the plane for my short flight to Atlanta.

Air Lines Flight #2058
Tampa (TPA) - Atlanta (ATL)
Equipment - Boeing 757-200 ETOPS
Seat Assignment - 05A, First Class, Window
Departure Time - 7:24AM
Arrival Time - 9:31AM
Flying Time - 2 hours 07 minutes
Departure Gate - E62
Arrival Gate - B27
Aircraft Registration - N650DL, delivered on 6/28/1989
Status - Delayed due to traffic in Atlanta. Landed about 20 minutes late.
Video - Delta Flight #2058 from Tampa to Atlanta

Flight #2058
I boarded and sat down in seat 05A. The first thing I was asked was if I wanted a drink. We pushed back and taxied to 18R for our short takeoff roll to Atlanta. I got Sprite in a glass cup and a Delta cookie, which by the way are very good. We reached cruising altitude and I basically explored the IFE for a while. I also logged in with the "Deltatrygogo" promotional code for free wifi. About a half hour from Atlanta the captain came on and said that due to an emergency resulting in ground delays in Atlanta we were going to enter a holding pattern. We went in ovals for about 20 minutes until we descended into Atlanta. The landing was excellent with no bad turbulence. Once we parked I got a quick picture of the cockpit then left.

Flightaware map for flight #2058.

My plane, N650DL sitting at E62 in Tampa.

Departure board for Atlanta wiht my name cleared as #1.

PTV's in first class. First time ever having TV's on board a domestic flight for me!

There was a turquoise color in the cabin. I thought this looked nice with the terminal in the background.

Sunrise as we depart Tampa.

Finishing our turn over Tampa Bay.

Sprite and free WiFi!

Just over the Georgia border.

In our holding pattern.

Some clouds.

Holding.

Finally landed in Atlanta. Taxing to the gate here.

Gate B27

N650DL's cockpit.

Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport
The Atlanta airport was pretty nice in my opinion. I got off 2058 and headed for the tram to Concourse E, to find my 77L. I do have to say though, they really do jerk that tram around compared to the one in Detroit! Anyways, I found my flight on the screens and headed to E16. When I arrived I saw the beast sitting there staring at me! Haha. I sat there waiting... After about 20 minutes they called my name and gave me my seat. 41A. They said Business had checked in full but I didn't care, I just wanted to get on.

Inside Atlanta's international concourse. (Concourse E)

Air Lines Flight #1442
Atlanta (ATL) - Detroit (DTW)
Equipment - Boeing 777-200LR
Seat Assignment - 41A, Economy, Window
Departure Time - 10:24AM
Arrival Time - 12:33PM
Flying Time - 2 hours 09 minutes
Departure Gate - E16
Arrival Gate - A30
Aircraft Registration - N703DN, delivered on 3/6/2009
Status - On Time
Video - Delta Flight #1442 from Atlanta to Detroit

Flight #1442
This is one of the most amazing flights I've ever been on. Once I boarded I could tell this plane was brand new. Everything smelled nice, everything was clean and the seats were spotless! I found my seat (41A) and found out I had the entire row to myself! I took a few pictures as we taxied to the runway and saw the Delta Breast Cancer Awareness 757. After watching the takeoff I turned on my little PTV. I looked through it to find it was a different selection then the previous flight. So, I watched my two favorite shows. House and NCIS. As we cruised I looked around the cabin and took pictures. I was given a Coke and some peanuts, but I would have preferred the cookie. We started our descent into Detroit, Michigan once I was halfway through mu NCIS episode. When we landed we all clapped when the flight attendant told us we had military personel on board for a brief visit back home. Once we parked I talked to the captain and took some more pictures. But, I had to get off of the plane at one point! Haha

Flightaware map for flight #1442.

N703DN sitting at E16 waiting for me!

Gate E16 and Flight 1442.

View from my seat.

View while taxing.

Climbing over the storm clouds in Atlanta.

Watching House M.D.

The huge wing of the 77L.

My snack.

Cruising.

The cabin.

My row.

Coming up on Sandusky. Exactly where I would be 8 hours later.

Wingview.

Descending.

Spoilers.

Detroit!

Turning while on approach.

On final.

The two tails.

PTV's switched over to this.

The flightdeck on N703DN.

Business Elite seating.

N703DN viewed from the Detroit terminal.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Co. International Airport
When I arrived in the Detroit airport I made my way to the bathroom. After that I did some roaming which included going over to the airlink terminals. I had a while to sit around because my mom and sister where flying on NW493 nonstop from TPA getting in at around 2:45PM and my cousin was coming in from Boise at around 4:30PM. When my family got off the TPA flight we made our way to Chili's and ate. I got the Broccoli Cheddar Soup and a Bacon Cheese Burger. Once we finished we sat and watched the Tokyo flight leave. Then, we went over to gate A27 for my cousins flight arriving from Salt Lake City. Once we got him we went to baggage claim and got our bags.

Inside the tram in Detroit.

An A320 CFM engine.

A Northwest CRJ-200 taxing by.

My mom and sister arriving.

Their plane parking.

The Drives, Cedar Point and Detroit
The drive from Detroit to Cedar Point is about three hours. My uncle had brought his '09 Explorer and his friend, Michelle, brought her '08 Mountaineer, with her daughter and her friend. My cousin and I decided to drive with Michelle. We basically just slept a little bit, talked and ate. We stopped at a gas station after passing though Toledo and we got a 64oz Gatorade and two huge sourpatch bags! We finally got into Cedar Point at about 7:30PM. We checked in and went into the park. We all rode Maverick, Magnum XL-200, Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. We finally got to sleep at around 1:30AM!

Saturday, October 31st, 2009
We got up at about 9:00AM and immediately got ready and got in the park at 10. We rode a bunch of rides including Magnum XL-200, Millennium Force, Raptor, Maverick and Top Thrill Dragster. We finally talked Michelle's daughter and her friend into riding Dragster. So after dinner, we rode it and it ended up being their favorite ride. We ended up riding Top Thrill Dragster 10 times between 9PM and midnight. There was like no line. We finally got to be that night at around 2AM.

View from our hotel room. Lake Erie.

Top Thrill Dragster. Launches you from 0-125MPH in 3.8 seconds sending you straight up 420 feet then straight down! The most amazing ride ever!

Cresting the top.

Sunday, November 1st, 2009
We got up at around 9AM and finished our packing. We checked out and I was given the keys to my uncles Explorer. It was a big up from my mom's Xterra. We left and met my grandparents at a Bob Evan's down the street. I got a huge breakfast since I hadn't really eaten anything lately. After we ate we all got in the cars (Explorer, Mountaineer and Camry) and started driving back to Detroit. We stopped at a Nuclear Power Plant and took a family picture in front of it. Haha. After that we finally made it back to Detroit, or more specifically, Novi. We took our bags downstairs. We came back up and my aunt came back inside and said that the dog, "Frosty" had chased a raccoon up a tree. It was pretty funny to see a raccoon in a tree and a miniature dog barking at it! I took a picture of it then went back inside. Later, we drove to Buffalo Wild Wings. On the way there we got about 3 feet from hitting a deer. No exaggeration. All I heard was tires squealing from the other lane and then I saw a deer running in front of the car! We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings for a while and played games. When we went home, my uncle let me drive his 2010 Lincoln MKS. It is officially the nicest car I have ever been in! I went back, packed and went to bed since I flew home the next day.

The raccoon Frosty chased up a tree!

My uncle's 2010 Lincoln MKS.

Detroit, Michigan
5:45AM
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
I woke up in the early morning. The first thing I did was go wake my cousin up. I got dressed, took a shower and ate breakfast. We got in the car and headed to the airport at around 6:30AM. I didn't have a very long travel day ahead of me (1 flight) but my cousin did since he was going all the way out to Boise through Minneapolis. When we arrived at the airport we got our bags out of the car, said goodbye to my uncle and went inside.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Co. International Airport
After arriving we made our way to a surprisingly long check in line. It took us about a half hour to get through it! Afterwards we went through security. As I was taking my shoes off I remembered that I had left my face wash and acne medicine in my backpack. Both being over 7 ounces each. So, all I said was ooooh crap! Luckily they didn't catch it and let me go with it. After security we went with my cousin to A40 to say goodbye when he left for Minneapolis. Afterwards we headed over to A8 for our flight to Tampa. Since I had about two hours I decided to ask for my mom's Delta ID and look around for the stop over store. After being given directions several times I finally found it. It involved going down an authorized personnel elevator to the "gate" level. I bought a 747 cockpit poster, a DTW crew bag tag and a Delta key chain. After that I went back up and waited to be called for the Tampa flight. They cleared us in an exit row and we boarded.

Check in.

Inside the terminal.

The tram and the fountain.

Water.

747-400.

Delta Stop Over Store.

Airlines Flight #2173
Detroit (DTW) - Tampa (TPA)
Equipment - Boeing 757-200 (5500 Series)
Seat Assignment - 33F, Exit, Economy, Window
Departure Time - 10:32AM
Arrival Time - 1:00PM
Flying Time - 2 hours 28 minutes
Departure Gate - A8
Arrival Gate - E67
Aircraft Registration - N503US, delivered on 4/22/1985
Status - On Time
Video: Northwest Flight #2173 from Detroit to Tampa

Flight #2173
Boarding the plane I automatically knew it was the 5500 series. (I didn't look at my pictures yet at that time). The plane itself showed alot of aging and dirt. The tray tables were scratched and almost broken, the carpet was worn out badly, windows were scratched and the plastic around the windows were cracked. Even the seats, showed age. I looked out onto the wing and saw dirt. Of all the Northwest flights I've taken in my life, this had to involve the worst plane. We pushed back and took off. The flight was fairly uneventful and I slept most of the time. I woke up for the descent and found that the flight attendant in the jumpseat right infront of me was talking to my mom. Apparently they were partners at the Northwest Experience last year. We took a different approach into Tampa this time. We came in from the east over downtown and turned around south of MacDill. The landing was kinda rough. We parked at our gate I we went back home after a long weekend!

Flightaware map for flight #2173.

Our gate to Tampa.

N503US.

View from my seat.

Taxing past N676NW. I was on that plane in June 2008 while it was still in Northwest colors.

Descending into Tampa.

Tampa Airport.

Downtown Tampa. The blur is not the camera. It was the window.

Turning back towards TPA.

Over MacDill Air Force Base.

Back home.

Again, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read my report. I put alot of work into this so I hope you enjoyed it. If you'd like to see my previous reports, use the links at the top of the page. If you'd like to view my Jetphotos or YouTube videos click the links below. Once again, thank you and enjoy!

My Jetphotos

My YouTube Videos

Sincerely,
Matt Doehring

]]> Flight Review Forum chiefnwa http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48909 Daytrip to Frankfurt with Lufthansa + Pics http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48888&goto=newpost Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:46:41 GMT This will be a spotting daytrip to Frankfurt. People have told me about Frankfurt, but never been there before. When booking the flight, although booked through BMI, the ticket says operated by Lufthansa. Thursday 13 August 2009 MAN-FRA Lufthansa BD 3369 Airbus A320-211 D-AIQT Seat 24A This will be a spotting daytrip to Frankfurt. People have told me about Frankfurt, but never been there before.

When booking the flight, although booked through BMI, the ticket says operated by Lufthansa.

Thursday 13 August 2009
MAN-FRA
Lufthansa
BD 3369
Airbus A320-211 D-AIQT
Seat 24A

Got to Macjester airport early.
When checking in the check in agent said she could not find our details in the computer at first. Thankfully it did work out as we had booked the flights ourselves.

There was a queue through security and immigration. Then a slow walk to the gate.

Boarding was called and boarded the plane and it was not a full flight. There was a small delay and since the Germans like to be on time the captain was not happy at being late. We did push back about 15 mins later.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

For a short 1hour 15 minutes flight, the takeoff roll seemed quite long,
There was minimal turbulence during the flight.
Breakfast consisted of a cheese roll that was a little dry but was ok.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

Landing in Frankfurt was good.
The plane parked on a remote stand once the engines were shut down, the familiar A320 barking dog sound was heard. However this time it sounded more like someone was trying to cut a hole in the side of the plane with a hand saw. We were then bussed to the terminal, so I saw a few aircraft like United 747s etc on the way into the terminal. I made sure I grabbed a window seat on the bus.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

Some of the aircraft I saw from the bus.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

Once in the terminal we got through, immigration ok and got the skytrain over to terminal 2.

Once over at terminal 2, made our way to the observation deck. You have to pay 4 Euros I think and go through a security check. While lining up to go through the metal detector, if you even put your toe on the yellow line before it is your turn, you get told in a very stern voice in which only the Germans could do to get back. Talk about keeping everything under very tight control.

Apart from lots of Lufthansa traffic, there was also quite a lot of middle eastern and eastern European airlines too.

Here are some of the photos I took from the observation deck. Too many to include all in the trip report.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

Thursday 13 August 2009
MAN-FRA
Lufthansa
BD 3368
Airbus A320-211 D-AIQE
Seat 21A

After spending the day on the observation deck. Where I got a bit sunburnt. I did not expect that in Germany, as most think the weather is usually cold and rainy, but today it was sunny and humid and hot sat outside most of the day.
Since we got our return boarding passes in Manchester, we did not have to check in again, just go through security and immigration etc.
Once at the gate I thought we were going on the aircraft that was already parked at that gate, but it was soon pushed away and we were put on busses and taken out to another aircraft.
Tarmac boarding was ok tonight since the weather was favourable.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

The flight home tonight was full.

Once loaded we were soon on our way home.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

A turkey sandwich was served with a drink.
Flight was very smooth with very little turbulence.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

Landing back in Manchester were a little rough as the plane swayed from side to side a little bit and the captain stomped on the brakes quite hard.
Since there was major work being done to many of the taxiways there was a delay until we could get to a gate.
Since I was one of the last off, said hello to the captain on the way out and said how I had gotten sunburnt in Germany which he chuckled to himself, probably thinking how did he get sunburnt in Germany?.

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

MyAviation.net:

Photographer © Ryan Hothersall

Tonight was particularly slow going through immigration, geez how much does it cost to put a couple of extra staff on rather than just having one overworked person on?

Then got a bit lost trying to get out of the airport and once we found the taxis, dad was not happy about being charged £25 to be taken 7 km back to the hotel. We eventually found one who was cheaper but had to ring him to come, so there was bit more of a wait.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was midnight and we were both knackered.

Lufthansa has a good service on their short haul routes and there is none of this going to out of the way places like the low cost airlines do. In the future if I do another daytrip to Frankfurt I would fly with Lufthansa or another big name airline again, sure you pay more but I think it is worth it.

Despite it’s vast size, Frankfurt is not a hard airport to get around, but be prepared if you step over the line (or on it) expect a good old German style telling off.

So that caps off the German adventure. ]]> Flight Review Forum ryan http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48888 Oct. 25, 2009, WN 3275/WN 562; AUS-HOU-OKC http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48884&goto=newpost Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:19:46 GMT *Date: October 25, 2009 Flight: Southwest WN 3275 Leg: AUS-HOU SDT: 3:50p.m. ADT: 3:55p.m. SAT: 4:45p.m. AAT: 4:45p.m. Aircraft: Boeing 737-300W Registration: N623SW, del. March 25, 1996 Dep. Weather: Partly cloudy, towering cumulus observed. Temp. 83F, wind S at 20-25mph with some higher gusts. Date: October 25, 2009
Flight: Southwest WN 3275
Leg: AUS-HOU
SDT: 3:50p.m.
ADT: 3:55p.m.
SAT: 4:45p.m.
AAT: 4:45p.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 737-300W
Registration: N623SW, del. March 25, 1996
Dep. Weather: Partly cloudy, towering cumulus observed. Temp. 83F, wind S at 20-25mph with some higher gusts.
Arr. Weather: Partly cloudy, temp. 85F. Wind E at 5-7 mph.

After a nice four-day visit it was time to head back home. My sister dropped us off at Bergstrom Intenational Airport. On the way to the terminal I saw a Frontier 319 ready to depart 17R, with the Owl tail. Check-in was pretty quick, as was security and we were on the airside in about 7 minutes. Again, we had A passes for both flights, although it seems since the introduction of WN’s new “Early Bird” option, obtaining a boarding position somewhere from A 16 to A 30 has more to do with luck than checking in exactly 24 hours on the dot before your flight’s departure. Anyway, I wasn’t complaning since I knew I would still get a window seat. We had about 45 minutes left till boarding began, so I decided to make the usual trek to go for some spotting in the west concourse of AUS’s terminal.

It was pretty busy, with passengers coming through the three security checkpoints. I like how AUS has a third checkpoint at the end of a glass-walled walkway that goes directly from the main terminal check-in lobby to the west concourse. There weren’t too many planes at the concourse with the exception of a UAX 170, so I just walked over to the west end to find a quiet spot for watching traffic on 17R.

AS' daily nonstop to SJC, dubbed the "Nerd Bird." Shot 1 of 3.

Shot 2 of 3.

Shot 3 of 3.

After a while I headed back to the gate, since it was getting closer to boarding. This was the busiest part of the terminal, with some AA M80s headed out to LAX and ORD, and WN jets coming and going. While waiting for our flight we decided to get some ice cream from Amy’s Ice Creams, directly across from our gate. I had never tried Amy’s Ice Creams before, that’s some pretty good stuff. I know Amy’s is a local favourite though.

Our plane arrived ahead of schedule and quite a few passengers deplaned. This flight was scheduled from SLC-PHX-AUS-HOU-MSY. Boarding was completed on time and we were soon cleared to taxi to RWY 17L. Some FAs came by and took drink orders right before pushback to save time during the flight. I passed on drinks and peanuts though.

Our plane to HOU.

The rest of the flight was as usual, with one small exception. Daytime heating and the availability of deep Gulf moisture had resulted in a nice cumulus field along our flight path, and towering cumulus had been developing. So after takeoff, the pilots spent the better part of 15 minutes dodging cumulus towers, or in more specific terms, cumulus congestus. We did fly through some of those and it was quite bumpy at points, but hey, I was having a blast. It was awesome to watch the cu-towers as the pilots dodged them, making S-turns several times to avoid some mean suckers. That’s one of the few times I’ve seen convective clouds from such a close vantage point. Due to the off and on turbulence, the FAs were unable to serve drinks or peanuts and with the flight being so short, they were able to get only a few orders out initially before they had to be seated for the rest of the flight.

Getting pushed back with an ASA CR9. You can also see the tail of another AS 737, headed to SEA.

DL Conn ASA CR9 coming behind us.

A Cessna 182 (if I'm correct) at the hold bar after doing an engine run-up in the penalty box.

80 kt!

This is what's called getting lucky.

About to fly through some building cumulus.

Nice cu-field, made for a bumpy ride at points, not that I was complaining!

This could double as a cockpit shot :razz:

Anvils from some storms in far southern TX.

Descending to HOU.

A crazy stack interchange in Houston.

A nice wing vortex...

What I believe is Reliant Stadium.

The Enterprise Jet Center at HOU.

Landing at HOU was a little bumpy due to the crosswind of course. After heading into the terminal we checked the gate for our connecting flight to OKC.

Flight: Southwest WN 562
SDT: 5:15p.m.
ADT: 5:45p.m.
SAT: 6:35p.m.
AAT: 6:55p.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 737-300
Registration: N386SW, del. June 27, 1994
Dep. Weather: Mostly cloudy, wind E at 5-10 mph. Temp. in the low 80s.
Arr. Weather: Overcast. Temp 57F, wind N at 15-30mph with some higher gusts.

Our connecting flight was delayed by thirty minutes, which gave us some extra time at HOU. Not that I was complaining, but HOU is well, like DAL only with some more airlines. The aircraft came in eventually, and turns out WN 562 was scheduled only to be from HOU to OKC, so there was a flight number change from the previous segment/s, wherever it came from. This was a packed flight again. We had positions A 41-A 43 this time, a little up front. After boarding was complete, the FA made the usual introduction and the pilot spoke over the P/A system, apologizing for the delay. He mentioned the previous segments had been delayed by weather at one of the airports and they were trying to make up for the time, which on a Sunday isn’t easy.

HOU's new terminal.

Our plane to Oklahoma City arriving from somewhere...

Houston skyline in the distance.

Approximate flight time to Oklahoma City Will Rogers Airport would be around 55 minutes once airborne. After engine start and taxi to RWY 13R, we held short for a bit as there was some arriving traffic.

Holding short for some arrivals. 1 of 3.

Arrival 2, a WN 737, with #3 visible.

Arrival 3, an FL 712.

Visible here is part of the Houston Ship Channel.

Flying through some cloud layers.

If you look closely, you'll see the plane's shadow with a halo around it.

Reflection of the fuselage and navigation light on the engine cowling.

High-level clouds associated with a cold front over SE OK.

Evening sunlight on some cloud tops.

Descending to OKC.

It was a lot darker than these photos suggest, my camera wanted to display two shades lighter

South Oklahoma City and Moore, OK.

Exiting RWY 35L on to RWY 13-31. We landed coming from the end of the runway visible here.

After takeoff, we looped around and headed straight to OKC more or less. The rest of the flight was pretty usual, this time I did get some water and honey-roasted peanuts. We flew over the cold front already in SE and southern Oklahoma, and descnded into a thick stratus layer. It was pretty dark already, so I got to witness a rare dark-with-city-lights approach to OKC. Landing was pretty smooth with full reverse (always love that) and the pilot exited 35L onto RWY 13-31 before heading to the gate. Our bags didn’t take much time at all to come out, and we went home.

Again, a good set of flights with Southwest. ]]> Flight Review Forum Foxtrot http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48884 Oct. 22, 2009, WN 1069; OKC-DAL-AUS http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48883&goto=newpost Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:43:36 GMT *Date: October 22, 2009 Flight: Southwest WN 1069 Leg: OKC-DAL SDT: 1:25p.m. ADT: 1:40p.m. SAT: 2:15p.m. AAT: 2:35p.m. Aircraft: Boeing 737-700W Registration: N285WN, del. 8/8/07 Dep. Weather: Overcast with scattered light showers. Temp. 59F, winds NW at 15-20mph with higher gusts. Date: October 22, 2009
Flight: Southwest WN 1069
Leg: OKC-DAL
SDT: 1:25p.m.
ADT: 1:40p.m.
SAT: 2:15p.m.
AAT: 2:35p.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 737-700W
Registration: N285WN, del. 8/8/07
Dep. Weather: Overcast with scattered light showers. Temp. 59F, winds NW at 15-20mph with higher gusts.
Arr. Weather: Partly cloudy. Temp 61F, winds N at 15-25 mph with higher gusts.

We had decided to go down to Austin for another family visit, so the day and time came to once again hit the airways. After a quick 25-minute drive to OKC, we arrived to see the semi-covered shuttle lot full (where we usually park), so we parked in another lot south of the garage. The shuttle arrived just as we parked, good for us since we were a little late this time. Anyway, after checking in our bags (free, of course :razz: ), we headed to the west checkpoint. Unfortunately, only one lane was open and it was rather busy, this being a weekday. So the line eventually backed up, and it took us about 10 minutes to get through. I didn’t understand why the other three lanes at that checkpoint weren’t open. They should’ve had at least another lane open. :roll: We made it to Gate 16 in time though.

Our ride to DAL and AUS.

Looking west onboard WN 1069.

An AA M80 parked on one of the RON stands at OKC.

A NW Airlink CR2 headed out to MEM on RWY 31.

WN 1069 had been scheduled on PHL-MDW-STL-MCI-OKC-DAL-AUS-OAK. Pretty routine for Southwest I’m sure. It got delayed a little at MDW while waiting for connecting pax from other delayed flights. Quite a few passengers got out of the plane after it came to the gate from MCI. We had secured A passes again, but quite a bit at the back of the A-group, in spots 52-54. This flight was full, no doubt about it. I was quite happy to be in a 73G again, the -700 is a powerful beast. After getting settled I looked outside at the usual OKC traffic, a UAX 145, a NW Airlink CR2, a DL Conn CR9 etc. I noticed that some aircraft were taking off from RWY 31, in addition to RWY 35L. I was hoping for a RWY 31 departure instead of using either of the main runways like it almost always ends up being. However, when the lead FA announced “short taxi” over the PA for the other FAs I knew I would finally get a chance to experience the crosswind runway takeoff. Nice!

About to taxi onto RWY 31 at OKC, apologies for the drops.

OKC's ASOS

Some hangars on the west side of the field.

We waited for an unmarked white DC 9 to depart from 35L, then headed out to DAL. We soon flew into and over the low clouds. The rest of the flight was routine, nothing out of the ordinary. On final to DAL’s RWY 31R we flew right by the Dallas skyline (of course) and I got a great view of the Cotton Bowl.

Turning right for DAL.

What flying is all about...

On approach to DAL.

Descent to DAL.

The Cotton Bowl, with "OKLAHOMA" and "TEXAS" still visible in the end zones.

One of Dallas' stack interchanges.

Downtown Dallas.

Before docking at gate 8 at DAL, the FA announced the connecting gates for pax flying to LIT or AMA, probably since their connection time had shortened due to our late arrival. We just relaxed for the short turnaround before continuing to AUS. WN FAs always do a head count of onward travelling pax on same-plane service, I don’t know if any other airlines do that. Anyway, after a short time we got pushed back for Austin Bergstrom.

Flight: Southwest WN 1069
Leg: DAL-AUS
SDT: 2:40p.m.
ADT: 3:00p.m.
SAT: 3:30p.m.
AAT: 3:55p.m.
Dep. Weather: Partly cloudy, temp 62F. Winds N at 15-25 with higher gusts.
Arr. Weather: Partly cloudy. Temp 67F, winds N at 15-30 mph with higher gusts.

After holding short of RWY 31L for some arriving traffic, we took off from DAL and flew right over DFW, then continued south. Again, this leg was also a fully packed one. There’s nothing much to say about the rest of the flight, pretty much the usual.

Holding short with a company 737 on short final.

The former Dallas Cowboys venue-Texas Stadium.

Hmm, I wonder what airport's runway that could be down there... :razz:

I like how Southwest has the network map printed on the back side of its napkins.

On descent to AUS.

Being joined by a company 737 on final to 35L, we were on final to 35R.

Bergstrom traffic. Welcome to Austin.

We flew by AUS on a downwind for RWY 35R, and we were joined by a company 733 on parallel approach for 35L. AUS was quite busy, three AA M80s, a B6 320 and a WN 733W were parked at the gates, ours and two other WN 73’s could be seen taxiing in, one was headed out to 35R followed by a DL Conn CR9, and one WN 737 had landed behind us. Plus an Alaska Air 738 was headed to SJC, the “Nerd Bird”. The terminal was of course, packed also, and we walked on down to the arrivals level/baggage claim. It wasn’t too long before we got our bags, and we headed out where my sister picked us up.

Overall, a pretty good set of flights with WN. ]]> Flight Review Forum Foxtrot http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48883 US/YX MKE-PHX-MKE (pics) http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48879&goto=newpost Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:34:06 GMT Hello there once again as I'm back with yet another trip report. This time the purpose of the flights wouldn't be for a vacation or a daytrip, but for college visits. Being a senior in high school, I knew I wanted to go out and explore some colleges located outside of the Midwest. I couldn't really picture myself going anywhere in the Northeast or Deep South, so I turned my attention to the Southwest and that's when Arizona State and the University of Arizona really started standing out to me. The campuses looked pretty cool from some of the pictures I looked at and both schools aren't too terribly hard to get into. Not to mention the, what is it, 360 days of sunny, dry, warm weather they get down there?! {sun} That pretty much sells itself! After all, having lived in Wisconsin my entire life I could definitely go for the idea of passing on a few winters. Oh yeah, and having the chance to fly out there and back for visits 2-3 times per year helps too. ()-) {thumbsup} It took a little convincing, but eventually I got the go-ahead as my parents warmed up to the idea of going out there to check the schools out in-person. My dad let me create the itinerary so for the outbound flight I picked US (because I had never flown them before) and then YX for the return. The flights were to take place only days before YX was to remove all their 717s from service, so at least this way I knew I'd get a chance to fly on em one last time...or so I thought. Turns out, two weeks after we booked the flights, our 717 flight got switched to an E190! {banghead} Ugh oh well, at least I had gotten to try the YX 717 once before, plus this way I'd get a chance to try out a new plane type in the E190. Anyways, two days after taking the ACT it was finally time to head out, so on with the report...(Oct. 26-27)
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Departure time from MKE was 7:15 AM, so after getting up at 5 AM we left for the airport not too long after and found ourselves in the parking garage with about an hour and half to go until departure. Only my Mom and I were going this time, so we just drove ourselves and then left the car in the parking structure overnight. We then went inside and down to US's ticket counters which are all the way at the end.

As you can see from the picture, there really weren't that many people in line and in no time we got up to one of those self check-in machines and printed out our boarding passes. Since we had all our stuff in a small carry-on suitcase, we didn't have to worry about checking any bags so we were set to go. Then as we were heading up this for some reason caught me by surprise a bit when I first saw it, WN's new ticket counters! I guess it somehow slipped my mind that their start at MKE was only days away.

After getting a quick bite to eat at Cinnebun, it was on to security. When we got in line there was this white, kind of fat, bald guy in front of us that looked strangely familiar. I knew I had seen him before and then it hit me, it was Gord Ash, the assistant general manager for the Milwaukee Brewers! A seal on his bag with his name on it confirmed it, it was him. I am a pretty big Brewers fan and I actually was wearing a Brewers shirt at that moment, but I figured I'd leave him alone so I didn't say anything. Anyways, after getting past security I found myself in concourse C for the first time since they finished building the new hammerhead. I was eager to check the place out and I thought the new gates area looked pretty nice, especially with the cool lighting.

There was still an hour before departure and since it was still too dark out to take any pictures, I kinda just walked around and checked stuff out. There were some FL planes at the gate that were goin to IND, LAS, BWI, and MCO with other flights scheduled to arrive within the hour. That was basically it, so I just headed back to C19 and waited for boarding to be called. At about 6:45 they started boarding our flight as well as a company CRJ flight to CLT, and after getting on I made my way back to seat 19F.

While getting on I noticed that Gord Ash (seated in first class of course) was also on our flight! I guess that made sense with him heading to PHX for baseball stuff, but I was a bit surprised that he was flying US and not YX, who happens to be the official airline of the Brewers. {scratchchin} Anyways, the boarding process as a whole took kind of long because everybody brought maximum sized carryons (gee, I wonder why) and this resulted with not enough room in the overhead bins. Eventually they got those issues sorted out and we pushed back and headed out to 19R. After waiting for a NW A319 and AE E145 to go first, we took off into the rainy/dreary sky and there wasn't much to see because almost from the time we left the ground we were already in the muck of the rain/fog/clouds. About thirty minutes into the flight the meal and drink service started. They were selling some snack boxes or sandwiches for around 5-7$ which I didn't pay much attention to, and instead just got a coke. Then I mainly just listened to my IPod and looked out the window. Here's a cabin shot, I don't think there was a single empty seat on this flight.

Then we passed over the Rocky Mountains and while the view was indeed stunning, it did get pretty bumpy for a bit.

They came around with drinks one more time before landing and this time I got cran-apple juice. Eventually populated areas started coming into view and we started descending into PHX.

We flew past downtown before turning around to line up for a smooth landing on runway 8.

We were actually on the ground thirty minutes early, so we had to go off to the side for a bit and wait for a company A320 to clear our gate before we could park.

After getting out I snapped a pic of our A320 that had just brought us from MKE. Its next flight was to RNO.

We then headed out to the rental car shuttle bus and it was off to see the first college!
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Check-in time for our hotel wasn't until 3 PM, so once we got our car we started driving down to Tucson to check out the U of A. It was about a two hour drive through some pretty desolate landscape, but we did drive past an airplane graveyard/storage site which was pretty cool to see for the first time. When we got down there, I was really impressed with what I saw after touring the school. The campus was great, way better than any others I had seen up to that point. Sometimes I wondered though how these guys can even stay focused on studying when they're in such a great vacation-like place!

Here's the swimming pool.

And then the stadium where I'll be playing my college football? Nah, I wish. {sarcastic}

We drove into downtown Tucson afterwards and it was alright, a lot nicer than some of the other surrounding neighborhoods that looked kind of old and run-down, but it was getting dark at this point so we headed back to our hotel in Mesa. It was one of the Days Inn hotels, and I guess it seemed like it was a pretty nice, small kind of hotel. The next morning we ate a complimentary breakfast, checked out, and then headed over to Arizona State's Tempe campus which was a short drive from the hotel. The campus was good, but not as good as Arizona's. It was just a bit too 'urban' for me and it also seemed to me like there were way too many people at ASU which made it seem a bit 'crowded'.

After seeing both I think I'm gonna have to go with Arizona as my number choice, but I'm still going to apply to both. We still had some time before we had to go back to the airport for our 4:25 PM departure, so we drove over to downtown Phoenix before heading back to the airport. Here's a shot I got of downtown.

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After dropping off our rental we took the shuttle bus over to terminal 3 to catch our YX flight back to MKE. When we got inside there wasn't anyone at the YX counter, so I went over to F9's counters to see if we had to check-in there, but they said it was still too early for that so we went back and eventually the YX person showed up to start checking us in.

Since we were one of the first ones there, it as a breeze and in no time we were headed for security. Like check-in, that was also quick and we were at the gate 5 with still over two hours to go until departure. I walked the length of the concourse, but the only plane was an AA MD-80 going to DFW.

There was no good food in the concourse so I had to go back outside of security in order to get some pizza at Sbarro's and then when I got back my mom went to go eat while I tried doing some spotting.

My spotting opportunities at this point were kind of limited because in my opinion this concourse must've been the dullest one in the entire airport. I already mentioned that there weren't any good places to get food, but on top of that there was almost nothing going on airplane wise. Aside from that AA MD-80 to DFW, there was only our flight and then another AA flight to ORD. About half the gates on the concourse weren't even in use! Needless to say, it got pretty boring pretty fast so I just sat down and waited for our flight to arrive. Here's that other AA MD-80 going to ORD.

Finally, our flight from MKE arrived and pulled into the gate, a Republic operated E190 still wearing the 'Connect' titles.

It took forever for them to get a group of elderly folks off the plane, but when they finally did we got on and were set to go at the originally scheduled departure time.

YX's E190s vary in configurations with this one in 2x2 all the way down and the first five rows having extra leg room (I was in 18D). After pushing back, we taxied to 25R and waited for a WN 737 and US CRJ to go before taking off into the hazy Phoenix sky.

We climbed out over downtown Phoenix and then turned around to head to back MKE. It was moderately bumpy until we got up to cruising altitude.

The flight attendants started the drink service not too long after takeoff and it seemingly took forever for them to get back to us because of how slow they were going, but when they finally did get to us, I got a can of Dr. Pepper and then they started going around with the BOB meals. I didn't get anything because I wasn't that hungry, but don't get me wrong the one time I had one of their meals it tasted great. Here's a cabin shot, there were quite a few open seats in the back so I'd say the load factor was probably around 70%.

And then they finally came...THE COOKIES!!! I hadn't had these in forever! {drool} I did find it kind of interesting though that even some of the adults seated in the rows ahead of us kept looking up and asking the flight attendants when the cookies would be coming.

The cookies were of course delicious and then the flight attendants came through with another drink service and I got another Dr. Pepper. Then I kinda just sat back and relaxed until it was time for landing. It was a pretty bumpy descent until we cleared the clouds, but after that it was pretty smooth as we made a nice landing on runway 1L and then taxied to the gate.

As I mentioned earlier, there's only a few days before YX removes their last 717s from the fleet, so after getting off the plane I walked over to a nearby gate to see the YX 717 for probably the last time up close. I did have the chance to fly on one last May, but I definitely wish there would've been more opportunities. I'm definitely gonna miss seeing these around MKE because in my mind YX and the 717 just go together so perfectly.

Anyways, after doing my 'goodbye' if that's what you wanna call it, we headed straight out for the parking garage, got in our car, and started driving home.
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Well this is my 13th trip report and I hope you enjoyed reading it!!! I'm usually not one to complain when it comes to flying, so I'd have to say that my flights on YX and US were both pretty good. It was nice trying US for the first time, and I'll consider them again if I ever need to go out to the west coast somewhere (I'm not flying the CRJ to CLT/PHL!). And the YX E190, well it may not be as good as the 717, but I'll still give it a good review in my book. I however wish they'd make it a traditional 'signature' configuration up front with 1x2 seating. Anyways, comments are always appreciated as it takes some determination to put these kind of reports together. Thanks a lot!!! ]]> Flight Review Forum polishsausage248 http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48879 Trip Report: LCY-LUX-LCY http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48806&goto=newpost Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:32:02 GMT Dear All: A number of people have told me over the years that I ought to write a book and, whilst not particularly heading that way, I do find myself writing just for the pleasure of it.

I realise that a Trip Report of over 8,700 words is a lot but, if you're bothered to read (I've divided it up into headed chapters) quite apart from hoping that you'll enjoy it and find it informative, I'd appreciate it if you point out any inaccuracies or mistakes to me because this may, one day, end up as some sort of chapter in some sort of book.

Cheers, Paul

In the beginning...

I don’t know why but I didn’t sleep at all the night before so I ended up switching the alarm off and taking a decision to lay there in a semi-state of slumber until 0400 so as to get as much rest as was possible before rising for my early flight to LUX.

For me London City is a more demanding journey, even during the early hours, than Heathrow. I live near Gatwick so they take about the same amount of time to reach albeit that they lie in opposite directions around the M25 but it seems, to me, that the fumes near the Dartford crossing are particularly obnoxious while travelling through East London, not one of my favourite places in England, is one of those things in life I’d rather miss.

That said, I arrive at LCY at around 0520, park in one of the residential streets nearby, check that there aren’t any restrictions posted up and unload my luggage – 1 x camera bag with body, lenses and accessories as hand luggage and my hold baggage – 1 x 4-tread aluminium step ladder.

To the lounge Jeeves!

Luxair were good. They answered my e-mails very quickly and professionally and demonstrated a real sense of service. By the time I travelled I not only knew that I could take my ladders to LUX and back, irrespective of aircraft type and airport / airline policy, they also marked my reservation accordingly thereby making sure that anyone with an interest in my transit knew that I was travelling with this unusual item.

Walking up to the airport and into the terminal I felt a little conspicuous without a bucket and window cleaning kit and also mildly amused at what the sparse amount of people around at this time in the morning might think. If there were any break-ins in the area I think I might have got questioned by the police but I arrived at check-in, ladders in hand and uncontested, at about 0540.

I tuned in to LCY ATIS on the drive in but to no avail. I guess it was too early in the morning to be broadcasting so, since there were no on-line check-in options on the flight and the odds are about 6 to 1 for westerly operations, I hedged my bets for an airport terminal view on take-off and asked for a seat on the left hand side in front of the propeller. I was duly placed in seat 5A.

As I entered the departure lounge for only my second flight from LCY ever, I thought to myself that it rather reminds me of the Golden Age of Aviation. The environment looks ergonomic enough but somehow dated while not being particularly old but perhaps the most conspicuous aspect was the clientele most of who were smartly dressed and in possession of important looking hand luggage rather than being in holiday attire and carrying the latest popular walk-on luggage item and duty free regalia. Reminiscent of that golden age perhaps, but there’s a vastly different reason for passengers' smart appearances when using LCY today. Over the years this airport in Docklands has become an increasingly successful business traveller’s port which is so close to London’s financial district that you could almost touch it from the end of runway 26 and Britain can no longer have quite as much of the island mentality as it once did - business needs to be done very much on continental Europe these days.

I estimate that 90% or more passengers in this aesthetically nondescript lounge look like business travellers. Some sit drinking coffee and eating something they've grabbed from the breakfast counter while others look as sleepy as I feel and typically make themselves comfortable in neat back-to-back rows of brown leather seats which seem to interlock like Lego bricks. Power sockets proliferate throughout the compact area, a number of them having laptops plugged into them with business men and women poring over them but, as I take in my environment, my thoughts turn to the darkness outside and particularly towards the only thing moving on the field at this time, the windsock on the far side.

“Runway 26 for a view of the terminal”, I thought, “windsock blowing towards the Atlantic”, “operations will be…..oh, sh*t”. Unless the wind changes we’ll be on easterly ops, runway 10. I learnt some time ago that when the best laid plans of mice and men are frustrated it is our response to the situation which is all important in determining whether we live successfully or not and it wasn’t long before I had philosophically outmanoeuvred the fact that my plans had been usurped by the forces of nature and so decided that it was time to take a look at the ramp in front of the terminal. “Is ‘my’ Q400 in yet?” I asked myself as I passed a City Jet RJ85 followed by one of their Dornier 328s. From my position at Gate 7 I can already see the two SWISS RJ’s further along one of which, I knew from my drive in, was the last parked aircraft at the end of the ramp.

Back in the lounge a woman in a brown jacket, short black skirt or shorts with black leggings and sporting a shiny, jet black perm sat at the ‘breakfast bar’ area with her back to me as I walk around. It wasn’t the laptop she worked on while she grabbed her bite to eat that made me notice her rather it was the fact that, having rested her right ankle on her left knee under the table top, the long black heel of her shoe jutted out past the limits of the bar like a fencer’s foil. Freudian’s would have a field day on this image: is she adopting this un-lady like posture to vie with her male contemporaries or perhaps was she making a bold but subconscious statement to warn off anyone that might even think of disturbing her: “approach me and I’ll spear you…” I’ll leave it to you to fill in the rest of the sentence, which probably depends on whether you’re male, female, a ‘don’t know’ or both.

All still very sleepy, conversations between people tended to be muted, almost as if to not wake the baby, and I took a stool looking directly out the window to watch for signs of life outside. Taking a brief look over my shoulder I saw that the departure board up on my left showed all flights as “Wait In Lounge” before readjusting my gaze outside to periodically check the windsock with half a hope for a change in wind direction.

Let the flying commence

At 0611 there was a veritable explosion of activity in the lounge when about a dozen people got up out of their seats followed by any number of people who packed their laptops and papers away while simultaneously looking at the departure boards. These now proclaimed that the first two flights of the morning, LX643 to Zürich and LX441 to Geneva, were boarding at gates 9 and 6 respectively. As more people keyed into the group mind-set the stream of people leaving the lounge and heading out along the corridor to the gates gathered momentum. The woman with the ‘weapon-for-a-heel’ had vacated her seat slightly behind and to my right although her personal effects remained and, as I sat thinking and reading the information I had gathered on LUX, two airport employees made their way along the windows, cleaning and polishing them. As the first approached me I made to move my Lowepro off the table top but he gestured for me to stay put and worked around me. “I guess it saves him work” I thought, cynically, but he was more than polite and otherwise efficient and conscientious in his work. “Objection” cried my inner court room.

It wasn’t long before LX643 made its way down the runway and confirmed my earlier thoughts: eastbound ops. this morning. I looked back at the departure board and read “Cancelled”. “CANCELLED!.... oh, … ah, thank goodness for that!” I thought, as I double-checked and saw that the word stood next to the flight just above mine; LH4801 to Frankfurt. There was another flight to FRA about 40-50 minutes later upon which, I’m sure, passengers would be placed but my flight, LG4592, was still showing up as “Wait In Lounge” for its 0740 departure.

A guy with a bald, possibly shaven, head in possession of the obligatory coffee, breakfast sandwich and hand held black-and-blue-red-berry-thingamy-gadget came and sat a few stools to my right before being joined by a female colleague. “Morning”... “I’m glad you didn’t say Good Morning” she replied as they went on to play a quiet game of “You don’t want my life today”. To my left an attractive woman in her early twenties sits in the brown leather seats. Smartly dressed, although relatively casual, she seems to be doing limbering up exercises, sitting bolt upright on the front of the seat and stretching her back. A man in a cream coloured raincoat approaches her, she stands up and they greet each other. “Colleague” I think but, after a brief chat, he sits up on a very high chair while she takes a stool in front of him at shin height all the while chatting to him while opening a box of shoe cleaning equipment. They check the boards together, maybe to confirm whether there is enough time for her to service his footwear or not, while a serious looking preoccupied thirty-something man in a black suit sits himself down on the adjacent high-seat.

At 0648 HB-IXW, the aircraft I had the pleasure of flying on into LCY from ZRH in 2005 pushed back, taxied out and rolled down the runway bound for GVA. By this stage I had resolved my sense of disappointment over my plans being confounded and was reminded of how, whenever that happens, there’s always a bonus somewhere further down the line if we’re at all accepting of the phenomenon.

The first shoe-shine man gets up, thanks the girl and asks her if she’d like a coffee. She refuses and he sets off towards the coffee bar without paying her or tipping her – this is a free service, obviously – and she moves on to ‘Mr. Preoccupied’ and goes through the necessaries even though he seems to be under duress to talk to her. I watch the intriguing social dynamics from time to time and notice how sensitive she is towards her customers, just getting on with the shoe-shine instead of engaging him in conversation. A while later he starts to chat to her, perhaps feeling embarrassed at being such a grouch towards an attractive girl who, after all, was giving him a professional service, free of charge and demonstrating how, when you make a decision to do your work with the right sort of pride, any job can be worthwhile.

Just in front a guy sits reading a newspaper, or perhaps I’d be more accurate if I said he's looking at The Sun. The front page perfectly demonstrates the tabloid’s balanced, thought provoking, journalism and masterful editing by having a photograph of a ‘babe of the moment‘ with short skirt and bare midriff next to the bold headline: “World’s Fattest Bloke Lives In Ipswich”. Maybe he’s playing for Ipswich Town - who haven’t had a win all season - I mused, inwardly wondering how they and my team would get on later tonight.

Twenty minutes

At 0654 I saw that my flight had been pushed back 20 minutes for an 0800 departure before my attention was taken by the first arrival of the day. Touching down 20 minutes early, I watched as British Airway’s latest A318 CJ Elite, G-EUNB, flashed past me and put rubber to concrete a little way to my right as it concluded the BA002 service from JFK.

By 0659 the darkness on the horizon had been infiltrated by bandings of bright light which announced that the day had broken. A man in a flat cap ambled about the lounge while a VLM Fokker 50 arrived followed, soon afterwards, by the flight from Luxembourg. This would surely be my aircraft, given no hitches. As I watch LX-LGC fly in over the threshold I collected my thoughts and papers together before heading down past ‘shoe-shine girl, through the double doors and into the upper corridor that gives access to the gates.

Quick turn-around

I always like to catch photographs of aircraft I travel on and even better if that happens to be the day of my trip so I wait at Gate 5 which has service equipment ready for an arrival in the hope that my Dash 8 would pull in there. It is now just after 0700 and, as Lima-Golf-Charley heads along the taxiway to my right I can see that she’s too fast for Gate 5. I make haste along the corridor to Gate 6.... still too fast, Gate 7... this looks like it. It’s getting busy now as more aircraft land, one after another, to fill up the ramp and I can see the slender lines of my Dash 8 slowing down before she makes a left hand turn and heads towards the building slightly to my right. Now moving at a snail’s pace she approaches the large yellow “FULL TURN” notice written on the ground which has been backed on a black background for maximum contrast and, hence, readability. Once there the pilot executes a tight right-hand turn through 300 degrees or so before she comes to a full stop directly in front of me. In an instant the power is cut from the two Pratt & Whitney PW150A turbo-props and within seconds of the six bladed Dowty propellers starting their deceleration the ground support crew and baggage handlers are on the case. Once the propellers rest the front door is folded downwards, its four steps lit up for safe passage, and passengers disembark swiftly and make their way across the 15 metres or so to the entrance below. A steady stream of my fellow LCY-LUX travellers pass me by, some giving me a cursory glance, maybe wondering why I haven’t made my way downstairs to the departure lounge, but most seem far to pre-occupied to even notice my presence. The man in the flat cap passes me by and carries on down the stairs to my left as an Air France Regional Jet pulls in on stand 6. The light quality is changing every few seconds now as sunrise begins to make its presence felt through the thin strata of clouds.

All aboard

It’s now 0716 and passengers are disembarking the Air France flight while I decide that it’s high time for me to head on down to the departure lounge. I’m greeted at the door by a young woman in LCY uniform wearing a high pony tail originating from a ‘Croydon Facelift’ and who has more than a hint of ‘Essex Girl’ in her accent. On checking my boarding pass I return a smile for her terse “Thank you” and make my way into the seated area but decide to stand for the short wait we would have. A few minutes pass by and it looks as if we’re waiting on people so I decide to sit down and check that my D300 is neatly stored and that it has the desired lens and correct settings. I’ve come unstuck like that before where, for example, the equipment had inadvertently switched to manual focus, and it’s never a great moment when you realise that the split-second of opportunity has just passed you by because you haven’t checked your gear in a while.

A fewn minutes go by and the stragglers, all of them as smart as the next business traveller, are checked through to the Spartan lounge before it becomes obvious that we’re ready to board. The first group of about 20 make their way across to our aircraft, delivered to Luxair exactly 2 years and 4 months to the day. A group of us stand at the double doors where ‘Essex-Girl’ blocks our passage and monitors embarkation and the road traffic which is passing along the ramp road just in front of us. After a few minutes it’s our turn as she turns to us and smiles gesturing our safe transit to the aircraft. I don’t know why, I’m certainly not superstitious or mindlessly habitual, but I usually touch the external fuselage on my way in. More of an acknowledgement that this latest flight, on this latest aircraft, on this latest day has come about primarily because the human spirit has, in a very short historical timescale, overcome the forces of nature in such a stupendously creative way that without it my keenest desire to fly would be nothing more than pie in the sky.

I’m now seated in 5A and try to hang my jacket on the fastener of the folded tray in the back of the seat in front. I feel ever so squashed, possibly experiencing the least amount of space since I travelled on the worst seat row on a BA RJ100 some years ago. My Lowepro didn't seem to want to go even part way under the seat in front and the small diameter of the fuselage meant that there was little room on my left for me to pass my feet under it, given that my kit bag was mainly in the foot well. My seat-companion saw me struggling with my jacket and offered to place it in the overhead locker. “Thank you” I replied as he did just that while I opened the flap of my Slingshot and primed my camera.

Thanks to Da Vinci, Montgolfier and Wright et al

While not enough comfort can be undesirable, too much can kill the soul and stifle the spirit so, electing once again to focus on the positives – have flight, have window seat, have camera - I made myself as comfortable as I could for the short flight and turned my attention to the scene outside. On the ramp I could see that our aircraft had since been joined by another VLM F50 and a Lufthansa RJ while my ears tuned in to the crew’s welcome briefing. Speaking firstly in Lëtzebuergesch or, ‘Buergesch’ for short, I was intrigued by how many of the intonations reminded me of Schweizerdeutsch, the Swiss-German dialect that I had grown up listening to at home. There was enough similarity in the language that, within the few parameters of the context we were in, I could understand as referring to a delay of 15 minutes. He proceeded to repeat the message in French and then German by which time I had understood the message and thus only half listened to the English version to check if I had fully understood. The delay is due to air traffic but we were due to get off at the revised time of 0800 as latterly displayed on the departure boards.

I always read the safety card because nothing promotes stupidity more rapidly than arrogance. If I’m ever in a dire situation on a flight I certainly don’t want to come unstuck because I had missed a small detail that might just be sufficiently different on this flight than on previous occasions having convinced myself that “I know all this”. With safety-card read and instructions duly delivered by the crew I watch the VLM F50 on Gate 8 get serviced as the ground crew retreat from our aircraft. The air-conditioning has cut out and I decide we either have a problem or, more likely, we’re about to start up.

Half a minute later I hear the the number 2 engine on the right start and the air-conditioning is restored. The airframe buffets gently as parts of the propeller's blades rotate through supersonic speeds to a steady hum. I watch the hub of number 1 engine's propeller which I’m sitting slightly in front of, intently registering the first slight movements of start up. It’s not long before we’re now at taxiing power and we start forward a few metres to position ourselves for a left turn behind a SWISS RJ holding short of the runway and the Air France RJ that was on Gate 6, EI-RJK, in the number two slot. Another VLM F50 comes in over the threshold, the SWISS RJ expedites his departure and, at 0759, we move forward to the number two slot. In this departure phase EI-RJK is also quick to depart and, as we take up our position on the runway, I’m interrupted from my primary focus by my seat companion. “Is that a professional camera?” he asks.

Now having to balance my attention between catching anything of interest outside and an interesting conversation inside we’re up and away and heading over the Thames Estuary by 0808. After denying I had done any press work, assuming that he meant Paparazzi style, I remembered the press work I have done for an employer’s Press Office in the past but I decide to leave it there so that we could move past my interests and activities on to wider conversation and, in the half hour or so where the weather is mostly overcast, I learn that my seat companion works, unsurprisingly, in banking.

We chat about a gamut of things that spin off his opening gambit, firstly arriving at Swiss roots partly due to a photograph I had published in a Swiss Aviation magazine. “Over the Bernese Oberland in a Piper must be great” he exclaimed, as I went on to explain the totality of experience for me being interested in aviation and photography whilst having a deep affinity for the region, my being half Swiss. “I’m Swiss too...” he says. “Aaaah, I should say Gruetzi then!” I exclaim... “...but not from the German part, from the French part near Geneva but I’ve lived here for 12 years” he replies.

Half an hour can go by very quickly when you have an engaging, two-way, conversation and we go on to touch on subjects as diverse as banking, travel, children, families, holidays, business trips, predominant cultural perspectives in Poland and Russia – being half Polish as well I know something about the one while, on the other hand, he has lived in Russia - WW2, Communism, the Cold War, Catholicism and a host of interrelated matters that come from being interested in what other people can offer us in terms of expanding our limited view of the world.

We break off for a moment as I notice that the cloud cover had waned and, looking out my window, I see a large airfield bathing in sunshine which I guess must be BRU as the crew announce, simultaneously, that we are passing Brussels to the left. Camera at the ready I fire off a salvo of shots and explain to my seat companion that these are the moments that I particularly enjoy – a higher view of our earth bound environments - and I'm reminded of my conviction that, if we’re at all accepting of the phenomenon, when our plans are frustrated we get to enjoy a bonus somewhere further down the line. Our conversation turns back to photography and he notes that it must almost be like shooting a movie at 6 frames a second, after which he leaves me to fill my boots with the changing scenes outside.

Down on Terra-Firma again

At 09.03.15 we are on final approach coming in over the sun drenched city for an easterly landing on runway 06 which we will set down upon at 09.04.30, or 10.04.30 local time.

As we bear off the runway and make our way past the control tower, a sorry looking Tesis Cargo Boeing 747 freighter, VP-BXC, in old El Al livery stands with only two engines attached while, further on, we pass an elegant looking Embraer ERJ-135 Legacy belonging to the Greek Government, 135L-484, and similarly good looking Spanish Air Force Dassault Falcon 900, T 18-2.

We turn in to stand and the engines wind down. I shake hands with my seat companion and explain that I’ll be last off as we leave each other with best wishes and I watch everyone else rise as quickly as possible to stand awkwardly in the isle before the door opens. I gather myself together, Slingshot over my shoulder, and allow the penultimate passenger to pass me before moving in to the isle myself. As I approach the front exit the flight attendants bid me farewell and then respond to my request to get some photos of the flight deck. “No problem” the crew reply as they vacate the cockpit and allow me the time for a few angles. I back myself out and they smile and communicate a very positive “only too happy to help” demeanour. As I exit zipping up my Slingshot I become acutely aware that the ground crew are waiting for me, only me, so as to get the transit bus under way to the terminal building.

One step at a time

Passing through customs with the minimum of fuss I find myself in baggage reclaim and ask at the desk about my unusual luggage. “Ah, yes... just wait there where it says ‘Oversize Baggage’ and someone will be out to meet you". Within a few minutes I was reunited with my step-ladders and inwardly entertained a smile before heading off out the arrivals doors and over to the car hire counters.

Budget Rentals had a sign up and shutters closed. “Back in 10 minutes” it read, but as I approached the representative appeared from the back and opened up. Voucher handed over, details given and credit card charged I receive the keys to my Renault sitting in level -2, bay C23. The negative floor numbering protocol reflects the fact that the main car park here is under ground, completely, something quite typical in small, well organised European countries. As I might have expected, everything in the car park is as clean, neat, well organised and uncluttered as everything else so far and having checked over the car to make sure that the only dents and scratches were those listed I headed off for the first spotting location, ‘Spot 7’ on Mike Moro’s excellent on-line guide to spotting at LUX (http://www.aviation-photography.lu/).

After having no luck on the JetPhotos.Net forums I found Mike’s guide and contacted him to clarify one or two points. It was his confirmation that I really had to have a car and step-ladders for all but a few spots, spots which wouldn’t be useful for photography for most of the day at this time of year anyway, that had determined how I planned the trip.

Typically, judging by his excellent guide in the first place, Mike had answered my queries with insight and expediency and, having exchanged cell-phone numbers, we were due to meet up for an hour or so over lunch time, if he was able to break away from his work. I made my way around – always a little confusing at first because although I’ve driven on the right many times, it takes time to get back in to it being a regular driver back home in the UK – and somehow, by a combination of good directions and homing pigeon sense, I find my way to ‘Spot 7’ by 1125 local time. “It doesn’t look good” I think to myself as I scramble up the grassy bank with camera gear and ladders in hand. The Slingshot makes this type of exercise a relatively easy and, once atop, I set the steps against the fence post for safe and secure use. Mike had said that they now have new EU fencing and, let me tell you, this stuff is a spotter’s nightmare. Although I could stand waist high to the top of the fencing, I note that doing so puts me a great risk of the possibility, at least, of falling forwards on to the rolled barbed wire on top. I try, nonetheless, holding on to the top of the fence and, on climbing down, I happen to lightly touch one of the barbs. Blood flows from my finger immediately – they really are that sharp!

There’s nothing else for it but to wait for an aircraft and shoot through the gap that appears between fence top and barbed wire at certain points where the fence posts are set at different levels in the ground. Positioned just opposite the tower I shoot off a couple of shots of the nerve centre and wait for the first aircraft movement. Ten minutes go by before a Luxair ERJ-135, LX-LGK, taxies past the tower, right to left, and up to the 06 threshold. I hear the roar of engines pushed to full thrust and I take up my position with lens through the gap. LX-LGK rotates off the runway just to my left and I have chance to fire off a number of shots and catch her graceful take off. Less than 3 minutes later I hear the roar of jet engine thrust reversers and line up the French Air Force Falcon 50, no registration visible, in my viewfinder. I take one shot as it bears off on the taxiway. Only one shot, just to register its presence, because at this distance there’s heat haze and her undercarriage is obscured by thge grass on the airfield.

The arrival of the Falcon is quickly followed by the departure of another Luxair, this time with markings that remind me of my ‘home’ airport. The Embraer 145, registered LX-LGW, rolls down the runway within a minute of the Falcon bearing off and passes right by me and out of photographable view before rotating. “This really won’t do”, I thought again as I check the time and notice a text message from Mike. He has too much work and can’t make it but wishes me good spotting and best regards. I reply returning my best regards before thinking about what to do next.

I had downloaded the airport timetable and compiled a list of all scheduled arrivals and departures for the day so I knew that the airport was now entering a lull and decided firstly to walk as far as I could either way to look for a better position. Exploring the area to my right was swiftly curtailed by undergrowth and uneven ground while, to my left, I could walk right up to the end of the runway, or so it seemed. On my way I came across some wooden pallets that someone, Mike?, had strategically placed against the fence and which now acted as shallow steps. Happy now to place the ladders in open ‘A frame’ mode on this firm footing I tried the position and waited as one or two light aircraft landed and took off.

With no significant advantage over my previous location I trekked further west but noticed how the level of the ground tended to be rising airside in relation to my position at the fence. Possibilities pretty much exhausted now I thought about moving on to Mike’s ‘Spot 6’ which is directly opposite the cargo ramp; after all, one of the prime motivations for coming to LUX was for the freight traffic but I knew that this location, today, was less than perfect also. Although near the runway threshold the problem today is that it’s the runway 24 threshold, not the 06 threshold. Departing aircraft will generally be fairly high while arriving aircraft – well, its way past the terminal complex and, as I now know from my flight and the handful of arrivals I had seen – will depart the runway some distance away. Even the nearest bear off point is at a non-photographable distance and I would only see larger, heavier, aircraft on there so ‘Spot 6’ would probably restrict my photography pretty much only to cargo and longer rolling departures.

All thought out I also knew that moving to one of the north side locations was no good just yet because of back-lighting but I did have one other possibility. ‘Spot 1’ lies near the American Cemetery and Memorial just to the south of the centreline approach for 06. However, I know from Mike’s information that landing aircraft would be fairly head-on. That’s fine, of course, but my decision would be based on ‘something different’. I can get aircraft against sky virtually anywhere and since I don’t tend to upload more than one or two of each type in each livery to JetPhotos.Net – and then they would usually have to be significantly different angles or backgrounds – and because I also like to catch facets of design and livery together, it makes Spot 1 relatively undesirable for me. It didn’t help, either, that the roads around this location were relatively complex while 6 looked fairly easy to reach from 7 and had the added attraction of a quick route around to the north side locations for later, so I discounted Spot 1 in favour of Spot 6.

Close encounters of the natural kind

I ambled my way down the narrow streets, the diesel engine chugging its way through forested areas and small towns, and I arrived at Spot 6 by noon. Leaving the car in the small parking area I made my way up the forest footpath and soon found myself at the perimeter fence again, well to the east of my previous spot. Ladders against fence post I registered the Atlas Air, Southern Air and Cargolux Seven-Forty-Sevens that dwarfed the West Air Europe ATP at the freight terminal on the D300’s memory card. Doing my usual search and find trip around I found a few more angles and confirmed that there were no other aircraft in the area from positions both to the right and left of the footpath. Once again I walked as far as was useful in either direction and decided to settle down at a point side on to the Cargolux machine, LX-TCV. Here someone, Mike?, had embedded and chained a 3-tread step-ladder to the old fence which now stood about 50 metres back from and considerably higher than the new fencing. Next to it was a ‘spotter hole’, which had been gouged out to accommodate a lens, wired up and reinstated as a hole again at some later stage. This was good primary evidence of LUX spotting history and the permanence of the ladders convinced me that I was in the best place given all the options.

Allowing myself to become bored isn't one of my strong points so the lack of moving traffic became a cue to do and observe other things. I ate my lunch and sat on my ladders which I had placed in such a way as to provide a seat, later photographing anything that took my interest. Two Luxair Boeing 737’s; one old livery, one new, sat nose to nose out on the field while the cargo centre looked conspicuously quite. “I can’t come to LUX without a decent photo of a Cargolux Lump” I thought to myself, slightly frustrated by the fact that much of Tango-Charley-Victor‘s lower front was obscured by service equipment.

All seemed well at 1237 when I saw Tango-Victor-Charley's nose being opened; giving the impression at first that she was smiling. Side doors were folded up and pallets of cargo were being loaded on board while, overhead, Pilatus PC-12, PH-ECC, departed. However, apart from one or two other light aircraft movements this was about as hot as it got before the next item of interest almost an hour later, a Luxembourg Air Rescue MD-902 Explorer, LX-HRC, which passed north-to-south and close enough to get a shot of, albeit that it was backlit.

In the area nearby I had noticed some leathery looking mushrooms growing nicely in the shaded and slightly damp ground while I disturbed a cricket from my camera bag before I had time to get a shot of him. Elsewhere, a small stump that was propped up against the fence had some interesting fungus sprouting out of its surface while a Peacock butterfly came and kept me company for a minute by settling on the leg of the ladders I was sitting on.

Not too enamoured by the metal it took flight again and landed in the grass to bask in the sunlight, so mimicking the very thing that I was doing. It remained in the grass long enough for me to get a series of close-up shots, not the easiest of tasks when hand holding a long lens and, in observing the amazing design, my thoughts turned to airline liveries. The most attractive liveries, it seems to me, usually have strong similarities to colour combinations and design features in nature, and here was one of nature’s examples of how we, as human beings, find our own creativity in reinterpreting what has already been created.

By 1400 the Cargolux “Lump” has her nose and doors shut and I anticipate an imminent departure as a procession of vehicles make their way over to the Southern Air 747, N765SA, positioned on the opposite side to the Cargolux and behind the Atlas Air 747, N418MC.

Following the lunchtime lull, LUX lurches back to business

A variety of freight made its way across to N765SA, one low trailer even having a car on it, and by 1430 I could hear what sounded like aircraft engine exhaust coming from the left side of the ramp where the Atlas and Southern machines stood. To the right, Cargolux was now tanking up which explained why the reality didn’t match up to my earlier anticipation while something else challenged my take on the reality of this moment. Given the ongoing and unbroken noise I was hearing, strangely I saw no evidence of heat haze from the auxiliary power units at the back of any of the lumps on the ramp. I sat back down, back to fence and periodically checked the scene, especially when I heard an increase in the noise level but at no time was there any other evidence to suggest that a cargo aircraft movement was imminent. After some time of my scanning the area I finally saw a few flashing lights of tractors and roller vehicles that were working on the area adjacent to the cargo stand. It was these vehicles that were making this noise and, as similar as it was to an aircraft running its APU, it was the wind that conveyed and changed the nuances of sound quality. That's not the first time the weather has confounded me today but, looking at the big picture and sunshine, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Nonetheless, I doubted my conclusion when it appeared that a tug had connected to the front of N418MC, only to reaffirm its likelihood when the tug moved off without Atlas. It had merely stopped between my line of sight and the 747's nose wheel but perfectly in line so as to suggest that it was about to pull the aircraft forwards, perhaps to reposition her elsewhere.

By this time the airport had kicked into life again with its usual traffic: Luxair ERJs, Dash 8s and 737s, VLM F50s, and the Star Alliance livery SWISS RJ, HB-IYV, departed while other aircraft, most of which I couldn’t catch sight of, landed. “I’ll get them on the way out” I thought to myself, since the photography for departures from this point, I had now found, was actually quite good. I'm getting slightly concerned though, because although Cargolux is now devoid of tankers and loading vehicles there aren't any other signs of life. She's just sitting there and I'm wondering if this day is going to be unproductive as far as one of my main priorities is concerned. It is a glorious day, my immediate environment is very pleasant and I’ve had one good flight and can look forward to another, but will I return with little to show in terms of aircraft photography and, more specifically, cargo aircraft?

At 1510 my concern abated. I hear the reverse thrust of an altogether larger aircraft behind the trees that block my view on to most of the runway and a short while afterwards I glimpse what can only be a 747 moving cross field through the openings in the trees. As she emerges I can see the dull grey tones and beautiful nose profile of this Cargolux 747 and I’m now certain to arrive home with at least one good shot of a cargo aircraft. I take the opportunity to fire off shots of LX-GCV against ever changing backgrounds as she tracks left to right past the Atlas and Southern 747s before turning in to the cargo ramp in front of me. She parks on the end stand, between me and LX-TCV, and by 1516 she smiles as her nose opens to offload her cargo.

Three minutes later I relive the experience in toto with LX-UCV heralding its arrival by forceful reverse thrust before appearing from behind the trees to follow in GCV's tracks over to cargo where she would come to rest between her sister ships, the line up eventually reading TUG one way and GUT the other.

The Sun moves me

I had been periodically checking the shadows on the ground to anticipate when the sun will pass from the south side of the runway centreline to the north side and the moment came to make tracks back to the car and drive the short distance around the eastern perimeter road to Mike’s ‘Spot 4’. Spot 4 is a mound of grassy land next to the Hotel car parks and which overlooks the cargo ramp. As such there are too many lighting posts and service apparatus in the way but it offers a good view of the taxiway behind the area where the building site equipment I had noticed earlier continued to work. Standing atop I can now survey this site and I make a note of just how substantial an area it covers, possibly having the same dimensions as the cargo ram. The surface level has been gouged out to some depth and I wondered if this was going to be a ramp extension. If so, an increase of 100% would suggest major growth forecasts.

At 1632 my hours of watching Tango-Charley-Victor are rewarded when she's pushed back before taxiing out to the end of the runway some 3,500 meters to the west. Having watched her lift off some 9 minutes later it seemed like a perfect time to head back to the terminal. I knew I could get more photographs from there but my main incentive was so that I could catch the rental desk which would shut at 1700. I had the option of dropping the keys off elsewhere, but if I catch the desk I can leave knowing I had handed everything over to the person who had dealt with me in the morning, check-in early and then go off for another wander to take a look at this new terminal and surrounding area.

I had less than twenty minutes but it would have been absurd to visit a petrol station because I had used so little fuel and Spot 4 is just around the corner from the terminal and car park. Once parked, I took the lift into the terminal proper and delivered the keys at a few minutes before five before making my way to the check-in desks.

Check-in chuckle

The young check-in assistant looked at my step-ladder, then at me, and smiled. “Unusual” she said, “first time I have seen this”. “Now you have something to tell your friends” I replied, acknowledging her amusement at my ‘luggage’ as she found my booking and the notes thereon. I opted for the port side again in full knowledge that photo opportunities were going to be very limited by the time we departed, but at least it would give me a slight possibility of catching what was not possible at LCY in the morning.

Ladders handed over at the oversize counter again I was now free to wander around for a while. Upstairs I entered a restaurant where a number of people sat watching at the windows. On the midfield ramp SAS CRJ-900, OY-KFD, was ready to leave its stand beside the only Luxair Q400 on the field. Not wanting to travel on any aircraft twice at the expense of a different aircraft, with only 3 of this type the odds were fairly high that I might travel on the same aircraft as the one I travelled on in the morning. However, if this aircraft was operating LG4597 I was going to be in luck. LX-LGD, stood motionless in an area where the only activity was the SAS CRJ which was now taxiing past her before turning right along the taxiway for a runway 06 departure.

Although a tad far away for an ideal image, inexplicably I didn’t photograph the Q400. My mind was obviously on other things because, unbeknown to me, the Southern Air 747 I had been hoping to catch was rolling at the end of the runway and now surprised me as it lifted off in front of me. Thankfully, I reacted to shoot a number of images of N765SA although more by luck than judgement. A few minutes later I was treated to the latest European Government aircraft as the Italian A319 CJ that had landed earlier in the day followed the Southern lump into the late afternoon sky.

Lounge Lizard

That was the last action I sought before deciding to move through to departures. Unlike LCY, this was obviously a new environment, bright and spacious, with several compartmentalised gate areas. The boards show my flight as leaving from Gate 8 so I follow the signs and make my way through to the relevant area, sit down, and begin to realise just how tired I am.

It’s not long before I see, LX-UCV, taxiing past after a 2 ½ hour turn-around while two minutes later another, LX-VCV, arrives and passes by going the other way. Another two minutes pass and another Cargolux machine lands, this time the all white LX-PCV, while a subsequent 10 minute gap sees LX-GCV head on out to the runway. I’m fully “Cargoluxed up” now and, as well as catching another two cargo airlines, all Luxair types in their newest livery and various other aircraft, including Governmental aircraft, the only disappointment is that I didn’t manage to shoot the old livery 737 which I have never gotten so far. Philosophical to the end, I decided that, as with all things, this may just signpost another opportunity elsewhere on another day.

We have a 25 minute delay this evening, once again due to traffic, and as the light begins to draw in we're called through for boarding. I'm seated at the front of the bus by 1820 and LX-LGD would seem to still be the only Q400 out on the ramp. After 10 or so minutes of waiting, the bus driver enters and we head off across the ramp before Lima Golf Delta is confirmed as our aircraft as we pull up alongside to disembark and board her.

LGD to LCY

I much prefer boarding this way than through gate tunnels, in respect of all our senses and, climbing on board at the front again, I go through the standard greetings with the flight attendant before gesturing to the man in seat 8B that I’m in 8A.

I had the presence of mind, and previous experience now, to take my jacket off before taking my seat and, once in, had none of the problems with luggage stow that I had on the outbound flight. As I checked the interior I saw that row 6 was the row immediately behind the short curtains, not row 5 as on Lima-Golf-Charley. Maybe it’s a slightly different layout although I couldn’t see if the forward rows had any more leg room than us and the curtains seemed to be attached as if to be adjustable along the length of the cabin. Somehow, I had more leg room but, given my observations, I was just too tired to be asked to think about them and what they might imply.

Twelve minutes later we’re up and running on both engines and we turn on to runway 06 eight minutes later, at 1855, a full half an hour late. I catch as many photos as possible but ten minutes later we have cloud cover. My seat companion, slightly older than he on my outward journey but just as smartly dressed, certainly well spoken and of British background, makes to look out the window and asks me if it’s clear. “No, cloud cover” I reply. He returns to reading his Luxembourg newspaper; no “World’s Fattest Bloke Lives In Findel” headlines here, although I’m not sure if I would have picked up on it if there were since it was written in French.

After the on-board service consisting of choice of roll and drink but, unlike the morning flight, no coffee afterwards, I fold away my tray and hold my cup in which I’ve neatly compressed all the other packaging. My seat companion gestures to take it from me and I accept as he condenses it into his cup which soon disappears when the flight attendants move down the cabin tidying up. We strike up a conversation. He’s originally from the Cheshire borders, is also in banking working across the world stage, has lived in Africa, now lives in Luxembourg and wouldn’t return to England to live. Life choices are there to be made, especially when you have an abundance of them, and we consequently have an even more diverse chat than the one I had on the outbound flight. Subjects range from mushrooms, through language and its cultural expression, education, world air cargo centres and finally the new BA LCY-JFK-LCY service. He thinks is a very good idea and a service which he may well try sooner than later as he offers me his jacket to mask out the light in the cabin for night shots over London.

Obviously a seasoned traveller to and from LCY, he points out a few landmarks that he knows. “Crystal Palace” he says, “aah yes, the IBA transmitter with red lights and the BBC transmitter with the bright white strobe on top... I grew up there” I thought, as the comment reminded me to tune the car radio in to Radio London on the way home to check how my team, Crystal Palace, get on against Leicester City. Of course, I'd also be wondering if Ipswich would gain their first win of the season too, fat bloke or no fat bloke.

About 10 minutes before landing the flight attendants offer boiled sweets, especially useful for LCY due to the relatively steep approach. I take one and notice I’ve grabbed a wrapper with nothing in it but I don’t find the approach problematic, unlike last time when I had severe ear pain.

Once down I shake hands with my neighbour and stay back again hoping for some night shots of the flight deck, albeit that I’m very tired and want to just get back home. The crew are once again very obliging and I disembark, last again, and head off through customs to pick up my ladders. Unlike LUX, this seemed to cause a bit of a problem. The young woman at the desk told her colleagues that she was “missing some step-ladders” and was subsequently told that they had been brought through. A few minutes later I could see one of the ground crew holding them over at the baggage belt as she received the news by phone and, having gestured that they were mine, they brought them over to me. Too tired now to want to do anything but get home I locate my car, load up, tune in to Radio London, and head off around the M25 and down the A22.

Back in the UK

The commentary tonight is from Leicester’s Walkers Stadium so I have a blow by blow account of my team’s progress. The first half ends at 0-0 with Palace well on top but the commentary has the ring of a game that we ought to have won by now and which is therefore more likely to be lost since the psychological balance of ascendency inevitably switches under these circumstances. Midway through the second half Leicester are awarded a penalty. Our goal keeper saves it but a Leicester player slots home the rebound. The referee lets the ‘goal’ stand even though the scorer was proved to have encroached the penalty area and I felt, in that moment, that we weren’t going to get back into the game and would even possibly leak another goal since pursuing attack more readily in search of an equaliser would naturally leave defensive gaps. Unfortunately my anticipation this time was correct and Leicester scored again as I pulled up my road and on to my driveway.

Back home I powered up my desktop, downloaded my photos, and noticed that all the images I had taken from the time we approached LCY onwards were out of focus. This time, rather than being through inadvertent switching, I remembered that I had deliberately used the manual focus capability but was obviously too tired and distracted to remember to switch back to autofocus afterwards. More disappointingly, it hadn’t registered with me when I shot the flight deck at LCY.

Too bad I guess but, on balance, thanks to Mike and the weather the day has been well worth being alive for so, with boiled sweet missing, night flight deck shots ruined, Palace losing their recent unbeaten run, and me being dog tired I decide that it must be worse for an Ipswich supporter because they still only managed a 1-1 draw by letting in a goal in the 4th minute of injury time tonight and, besides, I’m in receipt of information that the world’s fattest bloke lives there. ]]> Flight Review Forum HB-IHC http://forums.jetphotos.net/showthread.php?t=48806