At first, my personal TOP5 photos of the year. No intended order. I tried to show a diversified range of shots. Not necessarily top quality, but all of them represent something that might be special to me (like let's say a memory) about it. Choosing just 5 wasn't easy. Sometimes I had to go with the one that has a bigger story behind it. Many great photos couldn't make it, and it was a real battle.
1. This one is for all the days spent at the airport, all the moments close with unusual guests at the airport, all the rides on the apron, all the sun, clouds, snow and rain that passed by and stunned my eyes. Entry source.
2. That one is for all the spotting trips made. For a frame I wanted to catch. For Prague, Amsterdam, Minsk, Madrid and more. For the people on the trips. For the variety of trips, airlines and airplanes seen. For the queen. The AN-225 couldn't make it as I didn't exactly get the shot I wanted, and it has been on the list already last year. Entry source and the direct photo source.
3. This E4-B arriving in Warsaw is for all the spotting at the fence in Warsaw. The NATO summit. The E4-B itself. All of the mighty machines that came to Warsaw that year. Another contender for that spot was the departure of an Antonov 124 from runway 11 - that was stunning! Photo entry source.
4. This shot is for all the flights taken, both those for typical traveling, those for fun and those that I needed to take in order to take a flight that was the main goal. Those that gave me trouble when planning and those that were easy as pie from the start. All the views, all the co-passengers, all the crew met on board. Entry source.
5. That one, for the new experiences, the sights seen, the future ahead. Entry source.
And now back to the beginning.
It has been a slow start to the year. No flights in January, solely work and studies, studies and work. Some photos from Warsaw, nothing special, all to be found here.
February came. And with it some "spotting occasions" arrived. Like a British Airways 777 medical diversion, the first visit of a Wizzair A321 in Warsaw or an El Al Cargo Jumbo Jet. For a nice start of the flying year a quick trip from Radom (RDO) to Warsaw via Ostrava and Prague with CSA.
March. March came in hard with yet another new Polish airport visited. Olsztyn-Mazury or Szczytno-Szymany, however you like it started with just two routes from Sprint Air - Cracow and Berlin. Currently they have some flights from both Wizzair and Ryanair and during the summer season LOT operated 3 flights per week from Warsaw (back in March I had no idea I'd return there in October). A new airport needs to be tested. Tickets were bought for a flight to Cracow. Later back to Warsaw with LOT and I arrive perfectly on-time for work.
That would be the only sensible thing I did in March.
April was another flying free month. Only pictures from Warsaw. Not much special guests, one Ilyushin 76 and an Antonov 30 on a Open Skies mission.
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| A Captains retirement |
May, on the contrary came in blasting! First: off to Paris on LO331, back with LO336. Three days at home, and off to Prague for the Antonov 225. 3 days over there (day 1, day 2, day 3). A day at home and again, this time Amsterdam on LO265 for some spotting (day 1, day 2) and back with LO270, direct to the university, and back to work. If that wouldn't be enough a couple of Jumbos visited as charters the airport in Warsaw (Kalitta, Atlas Air), Iranian delegation with their A340. A truly busy month!
That was big. Okay, time for June. After a bountiful May June was to be much basic. No flying, work change, with a greater need for dedication and input. NATO summit in July was closing in, thus heavy transports have been incoming (Omni 777, Omni 767, Atlas Air 767), a Israeli Air Force 707 in Łódź and also one fantastic entry to the airport for a close meeting with the MD11.
July - NATO summit in Warsaw, World Youth Days in Cracow - two big events that were magnets for some unusual traffic. The first one especially (for Warsaw). We've been lucky enough to get a visit from the C-5 Galaxy, for the summit leaders arrived from Azerbaijan (767 and 319 and small bizjet), Canada (Polaris), Turkey (A330), Spain (A310), The Netherlands (F70), Slovakia (A319), Bulgaria (A319), Czech Republic (A319), Germany (A340), Great Britain (A330), USA (Air Force One, E4-B and more) and many others. The E-4B was an attraction both on its arrival and its departure
We had some cargo transports for sheikhs with a white MD11F, a visit of a nicely painted Small Planet and Afriqiyah hybrid A320 and many many more. Have a look on July:
August. Another month, another no flying month. From the more interesting machines in Warsaw we got a Plus Ultra A340, a DHL 767 for maintenance, a Antonov 124 (with a nice, morning departure from runway 11), Kazakhstan Government A330 and also I did spend one morning on a departure wave (although the plan was different, but that in the post itself)
September brought some exams at work, passed them and was finally able to get some flying. After some pictures of a Corsair B747, two Beriev Be-200 and an Air China flight inauguration. After those "events" the time came to get back into the air. For a first, Wizzair A321 testing.
October surely was a good month. Lots of flying (compared to the previous months). Szymany with LOT, getting to Minsk with Ukraine International, flying the Mi-26 in Minsk, returning as LO706, flying the Airbus A310 with Tarom from Madrid to Bucharest and later on returning home with LOT (LO646) and for a nice ending, to Gdansk and back with a Carpatair Fokker 100 flying for LOT. A good month it was
November, a short story that will be. A quiet boring month, one thing: we got a Austrian Boeing 767 for maintenance, same day 1xAn30, 1xYk40.
December started with a trip to Vilnius, a small airport with some nice aspects (like a cinema hall with films playing all the time, a cool thing if you have a long wait). After Christmas, or more during it, a trip started that I still am on. Taiwan with a stop in China. WAW-PEK with LO and PEK-FOC FOC-TSA with Xiamen. For a nice ending some Taiwan flying with Daily Air and Far Eastern Air Tranport (Twin Otter and MD80)
Summing the year up. A very positive job change. Some really nice and rare flights (the Mi26 for example), the TAROM A310 (retired now). Some new airports (SZY, RDO, FOC, VNO, CMJ, MZG at quickest), new airlines (like CSA or Xiamen), some strange trips, routings and flights :) Unluckily if not for a couple of cancelled trips I'd probably have taken more flights than in 2015. TOP airline? LOT - 12 flights, TOP a/c type? The Q400 - 5 flights
Ending the year at exactly 30 flights (3 less than previously) is a quite nice thing (a third of which has been done in October itself). Especially considering the perspectives I've had at the start. Summing up at over 27 thousand kilometers and over 3 days in the air. What is more, I have passed the overall 200 flights mark. The year is ending in a splendid way. :)
2017 is going to have a kickstart with first flights on the 1st of January. I do hope that it will be an impact for a good flying year. Many plans, some booked, many others only planned, but are quite plausible.
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