Taipei Songshan spotting TSA/RCSS 2016.12.31

Taipei Songshan airport is located in the city, with convenient access to the MRT it's very easy to get to. It offers mostly domestic flights and flights to Japan (apart from other international destinations). TSA has a pretty decent viewing terrace located over the domestic terminal thus most of the traffic you'll witness at the gates is the same all time round. Uni Air ATRs, FAT MD80s, Mandarin Ejets. The runway is visible in the background so you may also observe some taxi ops and departure/arrivals. Unfortunately you look out through glass windows which may be a problem during rainy or very sunny weather.
At the place there are a couple of benches, charts with information about aviation and the local traffic, lavatories and there is also a fast food bar where you'll find something both to drink and to eat. And the wifi is free.
After some time the heat haze got too strong for me to even want to look at it thus I've decided to leave. The traffic forecast wasn't very optimistic either for the next 2 hours. I believe that that could be a great spot for some night pictures!

B-16821

FE28 MZG-TSA 2016.12.30

After successfully getting to Magong from Kaohsiung with Daily Air and their Twin Otter I had some time before my flight back to Taipei. Time for lunch, some peaceful thinking and well, visiting the airport inside out. Finally I could check-in for my Far Eastern Air Transport flight to Taipei Songshan.

30 December 2016
FE28 (1835-1925) MZG-TSA
B-28025 McDonnell Douglas MD83

The MD80 series was on my 'to do' list. Having the luck that some still do fly on Taiwan I knew that I must get on one. Almost easy booking on-line with FAT with a short notice (absolutely not a problem on Taiwan, the fares area rather stable). Only thing left was to get a good seat. 33 is great! It was dark during the entire flight, which being in addition short, didn't give too much time for proper photo shooting. The sound of the engines right behind the window, the spool up, mmmm, honey for my ears. All topped up with a very nice co-passenger and a pretty decent view on the Taipei 101 on arrival.

Inside the MD83

Daily Air Twin Otter KHH-CMJ-MZG 2016.12.30

During my trip to Taiwan I had to get on one of the island hopping flights. At first I thought I'd get on a Dornier 228 but a Twin Otter isn't too bad after all. As they don't operate in Taipei I had to choose a destination that would nicely fit with all the scheduled times. After all I decided to fly from Kaohsiung to Qimei and on to Magong with Daily Air and return to Taipei from Magong with Far Eastern Air Transport and their MD80 (a separate post will come for that). I took to THSR from Taipei to Kaohsiung, hopped on the MRT and arrived at KHH with tonnes of time to spare. So I walked around, took some pictures until finally, one hour before departure I could check-in and proceed through the security area. The waiting area is general for all flights and the 'gate' shows up moments before boarding. We area taken to the plane by bus, seats are assigned I get on my cosy 1C with the best view in town. My head nearly touches the ceiling and my bag sits at 1D. Awesome flight with glances into the paperwork, the FMC and other visible systems. The pilots surprised to learn that I'll be flying with them on the next sector, I disembark, grab some fresh air, wait for the plane to be loaded, papers filled out, the crew to rest and well, I had to check-in for the flight at the local check-in desk. The terminal looks sufficient for the needs of the locals. No belts, everything is manual. Unluckily the weather was gloomy and windy, which after all was a good thing because I did not regret the short stay. I'll have to return one day for a walk around the island.
On the second sector I sit in the fifth row, behind the wing. The only thing I want is for the plane to land in Magong. Wind and the size of the plane together with our low altitude come together for some pretty solid turbulence. Unlucky that there is a storm nearby. Lucky that the flights did even depart. The day before all Daily Air flights have been cancelled due weather.

Overall, I may surely recommend flying those short hops around on those tiny machines. I am still am after the Do228 though ;)

MF883 FOC-TSA 2016.12.26

Christmas came and with the New Year ahead it was time to fly out somewhere. Destination: Taiwan, via China. First stop: Beijing, the second one: Fuzhou, the last leg from Fuzhou to Taipei with Xiamen.

26 December 2016
MF883 (1825-1945) FOC-TSA
B-5302 Boeing 737-800

B-5302 is painted in the SkyTeam livery. Being after a long journey and a short night, a long layover in Beijing and having two hours in Fuzhou the flight was probably going to be a hard one, a slept through one. And so it was. After rechecking in my bag for the flight I head to the gate area. The airport in Fuzhou Changle is rather poor in shops in the international section. Majority of the traffic is domestic thus the international section is considerably smaller. Because they also don't accept Visa cards I even can't pay for anything, only if I'd withdraw cash from an ATM. Back to the flight. While waiting fro the flight I walk around and take some pictures of planes on the ramp before the sun fully goes away. The terminal is empty, the sun sets, we start boarding. I get into my seat by the window at the front (44A) and almost immediately fall asleep. I'm awaken for departure, then for the meal and the landing itself. The flight passes quickly and we arrive at the city located Songshan airport where after briefly passing immigration and picking up my bag I meet with my sister.
The cabin on this flight was rather clean and quiet, sleep quality - hard to say, decent :D
The crew? Not too much contact did I have. The meal, same as on the previous flight from Beijing, just worse. Did not eat.

Christmas spirit all around

B-5302 being prepared for my flight

Xiamen Boeing 757 experience MF8166, 2016.12.26

Christmas came and with the New Year ahead it was time to fly out somewhere. Destination: Taiwan, via China. First stop: Beijing, the second one: Fuzhou.

26 December 2016
MF8166 (1325-1620) PEK-FOC
B-2869 Boeing 757-200

My stopover in Beijing isn't the shortest which gives me the possibility for some spotting from the terminal area. Time slowly passes by but finally boarding started. We are taken by bus to the aircraft. Not many passengers on the flight today, no problem in choosing a seat on board. The crew makes no problems so I sit at 45A. You can feel the power of the 757, especially that the plane is rather empty today. En route we do experience slight turbulence. Most of the time we cruise over the clouds. The meal is served, noodles today, no choice, no tray, quite greasy and apart the parts that are toughened due to heat, the meal is edible. The crews english is sufficient for me to get what I'd like, we kinda get on ;)  After around two and a half hours we land in sunny Fuzhou and deboard to the bus which will take us to the terminal where I have another 2h stop before my final flight of the day to Taipei.

LO91 WAW-PEK 2016.12.25

Christmas came and with the New Year ahead it was time to fly out somewhere. Destination: Taiwan, via China. First stop: Beijing

25 December 2016
LO91 (1455-0635+1) WAW-PEK
SP-LRC Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Christmas Day, late breakfast with the family and off to the airport. Quick and problem free baggage drop off, security and passport control. Boarding started more or less on time. Seated down in 7A with more than sufficient legroom I buckle up and wait for the pushback and takeoff. After we depart and head east it quickly gets dark and will stay that way all the way to Beijing. Some time into the flight the meals are served, one portion wasn't enough so later on I had to ask for a second one. With my stomach satisfied I could get on to the In Flight Entertainment system and watch some videos. The flight was rather smooth and passed by quickly. Oh, I would have forgotten about a small nap before arrival. Well needed at that time of the day. Surely a good start of the trip!

Taxiing to the runway