Frankfurt spotting EDDF/FRA day 2, 2017.05.21

After the first day of spotting, a short night, the second and last day came. Early morning wake-up call in order to get some shots of the morning arrivals. We had a flight later in the evening so we wanted to use as much of the day as possible. The morning was chilly, which compared to the heat we got later during the day was a very nice thing. Our main goals for the day were the retro planes that we didn't manage to catch the day before, as well as the MD11s. Despite the heat, the limited amount of  combinations available I am happy with the results. We changed our location a couple of time and after ANA 777 BB8 c/s arrived we headed to give back our car and wait for the flight, hence the couple pictures from the terminal. After a long and exhausting day we later boarded the half empty flight to Warsaw. Overall, very well spent two days at FRA!

A6-EFL

Frankfurt spotting EDDF/FRA day 1, 2017.05.20

After arriving earlier that morning from Warsaw, together with a friend first we walked to the hotel, left our unnecessary belongings in our room and got picked up by different friends (who arrived in Frankfurt the day before). Later on all of us moved to the first location. There was a plan for both days at FRA (3 days for some). The main goal being undeniably the MD-11F of Lufthansa Cargo. My personal small goals? Basically almost everything else. From the Lufthansa 747s and A380 via Asian carriers to such cargo companies as Saudia Cargo, Air Bridge Cargo or Asiana Cargo. In fact the majority of traffic was nice, all the 747s, 767s, 777s, 787s, some A330s, A350, A380s and so on, and so on. Companies and liveries very different to those seen in Warsaw. What we didn't manage during the first day we left ourselves for the second. The weather could have been better, but it wasn't tragic. A long day, a short night later on with an early morning wake-up call. All well worth the effort!

D-ABYF

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.

EPWA 2016.07.07 Azerbaijan and USAF (E4-B, C-32)

Preceding the NATO summit in Warsaw, some of the equipment was brought in earlier. Delegations arrived at different times and dates. On the 7th of July came in, apart from other, the delegation of Azerbaijan (with a Boeing 767, an Airbus A319 and a Gulfstream G200), and United States Air Force arrived with an E4-B, a C-32. Additionally some pictures of other traffic in the light of a setting sun.

75-0125 and SP-LRB

4K-8888

Amsterdam spotting, day 2. 2016.05.15

After being unable to catch the Martinair MD11 on the first day we returned to the airport on Sunday with the sole goal of getting it! The runway usage was rather unfavorable. We made our bets on the one that it would have a shorter taxi to. It didn't use it. It taxied all the way to 36L for departure so we drove after it, racing with time. On the route a police car got behind us so we couldn't drive to fast.. And we just saw the MD getting closer and closer to the runway. The last stretch, it's slowly lining up, it's rolling, we are nearly at the spot... We desperately stop, get out, take the shots that we are able to. All in all, not the worst, especially after that drive. Well, as we are already at the airport we stay there for a short time. Get some pictures of the "morning" departure wave from 36L. The sun is a little nicer than the day before. A couple nice heavies depart pleasuring us. After that we return home again and set for a well earned rest. The next day I have the morning flight back to Warsaw to catch.

PH-MCP

N772LA

Amsterdam spotting, day 1. 2016.05.14

After arriving earlier that morning from Warsaw, picking up my bag, I headed to the viewing terrace first. A couple of shots over there while waiting for my friends to arrive. When Robert, Mike and Simon got to the airport I met up with them and we headed off for some approach shots. Later, after a brief lunch stop when the sun wasn't well situated we headed for the Polderbaan. My first time spotting in Amsterdam and that was amazing! There we spent a couple of hours taking some classic, great shots. The weather was very chimeric. One moment pure sunshine, the other clouds all around. Wind like hell, and later came the rain. Finally we left the spot and drove home. A couple of first for me, a couple of shots I'm very happy about. The highlights: surely the cargo 747s (both -400 and -8s), the rotations of all heavies (747, 767, 777, 787, A340, A330) - phenomenal! The DHL A300. Unluckily the MD11 of Martinair was not given to us that day and it was one of our highlights on the 'to do' list.
So I ended the day with my first 748 shots, and that plane, I must say, has so much power! It's even better live then I thought!

PH-BFL rocketing out of the Polderbaan

VQ-BRH

Prague spotting, day 3 An225 departure 2016.05.12

The moment news about the Antonov 225 "Mriya" coming to Prague spread out I started planning and scheduling a visit in the Czech capital. Together with three other friends we made up a team and planned everything. It ended with three nights and two full spotting days, plus one short, just for the departure of the 225. Everything will be divided in three entries, link to other parts are available at the end of the entry. This was my first visit in Prague for spotting, and I must say, that the spotting locations are good! sometimes you need to walk a little, but hey, that's all in it!

This day we woke up early. I had to give up the previous days night spotting in order to get a rather good sleep before returning to Warsaw today. Another gambling day, weather to go to the hill near runway 24 or one near 12. In case of departing from 12 there was no sensible place to catch the rotation. We decided that the second option will be better. It will give us the possibility to both get the rotation from 24 (a little backlight if it goes too late) and taxiing to runway 12. And so it was. I hoped greatly for a 24 departure, that would have been spectacular from that spot. Anyway, the departure got delayed, so the sun was already on the wrong side of the runway axis, not much but anyway. It was chilly, the sun slowly rising gave a little heat on the faces, but a hat and scarf was necessary.
As usual, the giant needed a couple of minutes standing on the runway to heat-up the engines. That sound was spectacular!
Another thing that was unusual is that on of the wheels didn't hide after take-off (it can be slightly seen on my photos). There are photos showing it en-route with the wheels out. Crazy!

UR-82060

N431UP, now just imagine the An225 in that position, or similar.

Prague spotting, day 2. 2016.05.11

The moment news about the Antonov 225 "Mriya" coming to Prague spread out I started planning and scheduling a visit in the Czech capital. Together with three other friends we made up a team and planned everything. It ended with three nights and two full spotting days, plus one short, just for the departure of the 225. Everything will be divided in three entries, link to other parts are available at the end of the entry. This was my first visit in Prague for spotting, and I must say, that the spotting locations are good! sometimes you need to walk a little, but hey, that's all in it!

We spent the second day almost entirely at the hill near the crossing of the runways. Early in the morning we caught the arrival of Hainan (and couple more) on runway 24.
That days spot gives us the opportunity to see both landings, taxiing and departures from runway 12 and 06 (which is not in use). Highlights of that day? Heavies, a couple special liveries and some nice light.

N431UP

B-8117

Paris CDG spotting LFPG/CDG 2015.06.22

Monday came quickly. Three nights in Paris have passed since my arrival. During that time I've been at Le Bourget for the Air Show and at Orly airport for some spotting. This was supposed to be my last day in Paris, after the night I had to catch the flight back home. So we decided, together with my friend, to go for a little spotting at CDG - which is the main airport in the Paris metro area. After planning nearly everything out before arriving to France we knew that the distances were huge and without a car it would be nearly impossible to get some decent results. We did rent a car the day before (it was needed at ORY) and had a schedule of what arrives or departs when so that we could have a chance of catching everything (or at least most of the things) we came here for, which was: Air Tahiti Nui A340, LaCompagnie 757, the Air France 747s and A340s, UA/AA 757s and other plane+livery connections that are usually unavailable in Warsaw. To the "cooler" things we got I could add: FedEx 777s, UIA 767, TK A330, SAS retro jet, Egyptair 777, Air Transat A310 and more! Well, I can't say I am disappointed with the results. Although the weather was from the poor kind, in the morning full overcast, and later during the day rain came so we started spending more and more time in the car :P (of course lets add the trips for food to nearby villages).
Overall, Roissy offers a wide range of pretty good spotting locations, but to get to them easily you need a car transport. There are, more or less, a couple of parking spots in the area of mosts of the spots. If you are interested in a decent guide check this spotterguide out. It did help me out with a couple of problems. And remember about the permit, we did encounter a check during our stay.
Have a look what came out of my camera:

F-HPJD

F-HBLA

Orly spotting and the Concorde; LFPO/ORY 2015.06.21

After a day at Le Bourget I went for a full spotting day at Orly. The second biggest airport in Paris. The highlights I wanted to get were a couple of different charter planes (like Air Caraibes or Corsair), some African airlines (like Air Algerie or Royal Air Maroc) and of course the Cubana Ilyushin 96 and the Open Skies Boeing 757. So before the trip, together with my friend, we did some research about where to spot, about at what time do the planes we wanted to catch land or depart. Apart of those gems, which we did manage finally to catch, there is a tonne of Air France planes (but not as much as at CDG) and Transavia. A pro tip: getting around without a car would be time-consuming and tiring. The distances between spots are not small so if you would decide to spot on foot, you would be rather stuck at one place only for most of the time, or would loose some of the planes during moving from a spot to another. So we did rent one that morning, which was a great thing to do! After a good day we wanted to see the Concorde standing next to the airport. Luck wanted that the man responsible for the complex, which it was part of, saw us and invited us inside. He gave us a private tour around the Concorde, which was, frankly A-MAZ-ING! The complex is called Musée Delta and is currently struggling with some land problems. The museum is open every Wednesday and Saturday between 2pm and 6pm and has a entrance fee of 3€. I strongly recommend visiting it during your stay in Paris! A fantastic place it is!

PS. Yes, the heat haze did some harm to a couple of the pics - sorry for that