Munich transfer, airside and spotting 2017.07.15

After arriving earlier on LO351 and having some time before my next flight to Lublin (BM1771) I walked here and there at the terminal, tried to take some pictures of aircraft but the dirty glass wasn't exactly helpful.

Quick hop to WRO LO3847 & LO3860

After the trip to Frankfurt time came to realize the last segment of my ticket, the short hop to Wrocław. Why? For the fun and for the M&M segment. So the day after the return from Frankfurt I hop on the evening flight to Wrocław, fly, wait 3,5 hours for the last flight of the day/read/take a couple of photos and return to Warsaw. Both flight: a quite usual Dash commute from A to B. Not much to say about them. One thing was that I got to fly on the last "untouched" Q400 in the fleet (EQE) so now I did sit on board each Q400 flying for LOT (and previously Eurolot).

22 May 2017
LO3847 (1640-1725) WAW-WRO
SP-EQI Bombardier Q400

22 May 2017
LO3860 (2105-2200) WRO-WAW
SP-EQE Bombardier Q400

Wrocław downtown during approach

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

EPWA 2016.11.21 Austrian Boeing 767

A sunny morning in Warsaw. Austrian came by with one of their 767s for maintenance. Apart of that the usual Qatari A330, Emirates 777 and the unusual Slovak Yak 40 and an Open Skies An-26

OE-LAY

MAD pre-flight spotting 2016.10.22

The next goal of October was to fly the Tarom A310. The story of all the troubles and adventures that I had before flying it at last will be in a different post. Here, to make it short, I'll just say that I've managed to take it on the MAD-OTP sector. I flew into Madrid with Ryanair and had around 12 hours to my flight to Bucharest which I decided to spend at the terminal. Terminal 4, used by Tarom, is quite nice for spotting both during the day and the night.

N780AV

EPWA 2016.08.17 Plus Ultra A340 and DHL B767

The summer season was a hard one for Small Planet Airlines. They encountered delays and fleet problems, sometimes they needed to wet-lease planes like the A340 from Plus Ultra in order to get their clients to their destinations. And later in the day one of DHLs Boeing 767s came in for some scheduled maintenance.

EC-MFB

A9C-DHK

EPWA 2016.07.09 NATO departures

After the middle of the night arrival of the Air Force one, I hoped for a daylight departure. Couple more minutes and that wouldn't happen. Quite nice weather gave the opportunity for some decent photos of most departing delegations. Various planes, various liveries, all of them not a daily sight.

T.22-2

82-8000

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

EPWA 2016.06.25 Omni 762 and RAF KC2

A evening like many but with some unusual planes and carriers coming into Warsaw. This time a Omni Air International Boeing 767-200 (N225AX) and a Royal Air Force KC2 Voyager (ZZ331).

SP-LNF

N225AX

EPWA/EPLL 2016.06.19 IAF B707

After a long time without them, they have returned. The Israel Air Force with their Boeing 707. Unluckily this time not Warsaw but Łódź. Nevertheless, it being close we (with a couple of friends) set out for the catch. All went perfect to the millisecond - the moment we arrived at the spot, the plane was visible on final. My first time at EPLL and I must say they do have some nice spots.
After the airport returned to its normal traffic, we returned back to Warsaw just in time to catch a Atlas Air Boeing 767 departing. Later that day yet another gem. A Gulf III did visit Warsaw. Simply a day of beautiful sounds.

264

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 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

Prague spotting, Antonov 225 arrival LKPR/PRG 2016.05.10

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!

The first day we had to choose a spot from where to catch the landing of the giant. We had to gamble a little. At first we decided to go to the "safest" place, which was beside the crossing of both runways. After deciding that the heat haze was very unsatisfactory for us, we returned to our car (quite a walk) and switched for the approach to runway 12. The entire operation of landing and later taxiing of the 225 was complicated. It could taxi only via the runways and had to park next to the threshold of runway 24. Winds were not favorable either. We risked, but had it worked out, the photos would be phenomenal. (it didn't). The Antonov landed on runway 24, made a u-turn and backtracked, despite the winds. Though luck. We had to get on with what we had.
My highlights for the day (excluding the 225): Delta 767, Emirates A380, CSA A330, Swiss 777, all the shots over the canola fields and the night panning training session was also fun. Especially the Czech A330 was something I wanted to catch. Take a look on day 1 at PRG:

UR-82060 taxiing to its stand seen with a crowd of people that wanted to see him

A6-EES approaching runway 12

EPWA 2015.12.29 UTair Boeing 767

After a couple of days in the hangar it has been taken out for a walk. The UTair Boeing 767-200 after service at the LOT AMS facilities in Warsaw.

SP-LRC

VP-BAL

VP-BAL

EPWA spotting 2015.11.29 TUI and Cargojet 767

It has been a long time since my last visit to the airport fence. The morning forecasted some nice weather, which all in all faded quickly away giving way to gray clouds all around us. I can't remember photographing the TUI charter planes yet, even though they fly to use for over a year right now. So I decided to go and catch two 767s at once, the departing TUI and arriving Cargojet.

C-FPIJ

C-FPIJ

PH-OYI

PH-OYI

Paris CDG pre-flight spotting LFPG/CDG 2015.06.23

Yesterday we returned with Robert home pretty late, the night was not going to be very long. Before ending our day we packed our suitcases and checked-in for our flights back home. He was bound to depart in the morning (7am-ish), my flight was 3 hours later. The plan was easy, we drive to the airport, I return the car to the rental service and he goes for his flight. Meanwhile having a couple of hours to spent I decided to walk around the airport and perhaps take some pictures. I couldn't leave my bag anyway before check-in for my flight opened. My conclusions after the morning? Terminal 3 has nearly no spotting opportunities, Terminal 2 is hard and not many spots, Terminal 1 is on the other side pretty nice. Open air, planes very close and so on. Most of the pictures where taken from T1. For more info and pictures of the terminals visit my entry about LO332.

F-RAJB

9K-AME

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