Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc

Abraxas · 08-30-2008, 10:57 AM

Hey All,

It was a nice Saturday morning and so FlyingDoc had arranged to meet at Sydney Airport to 1) meet, 2) have a chat and 3) do some spotting around Sydney Airport. Pop (nosegear) joined us as well and we had a great morning of spotting at the Tower Mound and the Beach.

Gerard, it was great to finally meet the infamous FlyingDoc in person, and if you're ever up in Sydney again, we should try and hang out at the airport once more. Pop, thanks for coming along and once again your binoculars coming in handy - identifying a QF B737 at cruise altitude?!

Anyway, I concentrated on photography this time around (but still captured some video), so here are my attempts. Doc, I hope you got some good ones as well!

Dan

Qantas B767-300ER - VH-OGA

Qantas B737-400 - VH-TJY

Qantas (New Zealand?) B737-400 - ZK-JTR

Qantas B747-400 - VH-OEC (I think, it might've been G) An unusually early rotation for a QF B744. Not that we were complaining!

Asiana B777-200ER - HL7739. Nice to see we still get a mix of the old and new c/s from Asiana.

Global Express BD-700 - N36LG

MasKargo B747-400F - 9M-MPS

Qantas B767-300ER - VH-OGD. First Qantas bird painted in the new livery, over a year later and still striking.

VirginBlue E-170 - VH-ZHA

Air Canada B777-200LR - C-FIUF

China Airlines A330-300 - B-18306

Not sure how many more photos I can fit, so I'll put some more in the following post...

Abraxas · 08-30-2008, 11:10 AM

Part Two...

Viva Macau B767-200ER - B-MAV

Qantas B737-800WL - VH-VXN

Ambulance Service NSW King Air - VH-AMR. Another FlyingDoc!

Garuda Indonesia A330-300 - PK-GPC

Time to change the spotting location... So we drove out to the Beach, and were greeted with a taxying Qantas B744 when we got there.

Qantas B747-400ER - VH-OEH, the plane that greeted us as we got to the Beach, powering down 34L.

Qantas B747-400ER - VH-OEI. Sistership to the previous 744ER came past shortly later.

Airside Tarmac Tour Bus. This tour group were following OEI at a safe distance. Lucky for them as they would have been able to experience the power up of the 744ER as it began its take-off roll.

Qantas B747-400ER - VH-OEI. Rotation on 34L.

LAN A340-300 - CC-CQE. This very aircraft took my girlfriend and her father to Santiago via Auckland in August 2006. So lovely to see it once again.

Air Pacific B747-400 - DQ-FJL. The Island of Viti Levu returns to Sydney, however, the state of the artwork on the side of the 744 could do with an update/fix.

VirginBlue E-170 - VH-ZHC

Strange Smoke. Not sure what caused this large thick black smoke in the distance, but we were concerned (and excited) all at the same time. I think Doc should have a good photo of this one in contrast to a taxying plane. I was worried it may have some impact on the third runway, but the smoke soon thinned out. Crisis Over!

That's all from me. I hope you enjoyed. I look forward to seeing Doc's contributions also

Dan

n777co · 08-30-2008, 01:13 PM

Not bad at all! I do really like them.... Now where is Doc's photos???

united · 08-30-2008, 03:08 PM

Wow. Seems like you two got some great airlines there. Nice mix of Boeings and I love the LAN picture. Great stuff!!

flyingdoc · 09-03-2008, 11:21 AM

Sorry it has taken me so long to post on this one boys - over 800 photos to sift through and then upload a few.

Firstly, thanks to Dan (Abraxas) and Pop (Nosegear of DA.C) for taking time out of their weekend to host me and spend some time spotting.

I had a great time and it was fantastic to meet a couple more of the brethren. Sydney has got to be one of the coolest airports in the world to spot at. Awesome proximity, good vantage points and a superb variety of aircraft to see. Looking forward to visiting again.

Inevitably, when 2 blokes are standing right next to each other watching the same planes, there will be a sameness to the shots, but I have tried to mix it up a little. Hope you enjoy!

JAL 744 taking off

MAS Kargo departing

Aeropelican "City of Port Stephens"

Roo tails - old and new.

Virgin Blue in flight.

Thai - new livery (Pop doesn't like it!)

Air New Zealand - Star Alliance livery - All Black!!

Viva Macau (in need of a wash) playing leapfrog.

Heavy duty - SIA

flyingdoc · 09-03-2008, 11:31 AM

Some more...

China Eastern Airlines passing the tower...

JetStar A330-200 in silver

Thai (old livery and a tad dirty) touching down.

Air Canada rotating

PAL rolling by...

Day not complete without Cathay Pacific!

Qantas A330 resplendent in her new livery.

As of 30th August 2008 Qantas B737, VH-VYG "Australind" still wears 2006 colours - even though DragonWings has announced their September release with the same registration in the new Qantas livery!!!

? perhaps Nicole Kidman heading out??

flyingdoc · 09-03-2008, 11:42 AM

Picture perfect! QF B747-438ER holding in the sunlight before cleared to take off.

A deceiving picture!! Probably just smoke from venting in the fuel depot in the background but it made for a striking picture as this Dash-8 went past!

Imperfect picture - shooting through hurricane fencing can be frustrating, particularly when the planes are traveling at speed. Another good shot ruined by the dark corner... grrrr

VB 737-700 with air brakes on.

ANZ in traditional livery.

Garuda A330 with her brilliant blue dazzling

...and a detail of her Visit Indonesia titles.

Traffic passing the old tower...

Emirates rotating

Singapore heavy

flyingdoc · 09-03-2008, 11:51 AM

Last set for tonight - getting late!

Some taxiing.

Detail of ANZ A320 door - apparently it's not a good thing to be called a "Zeal" by a Dutchman!

REX (Regional Express)

Traffic overhead

JetStar A320's

Singapore Airlines B744 taking off

A few more to follow tomorrow... Night-night.

Abraxas · 09-03-2008, 12:12 PM

Bloody awesome photos Doc! So many in there are excellent. Standouts for me were the leapfrog Viva Macau, and where were you to get those flying overhead shots?! They all came out quite well.

By the way, your LAN A343 rotation turned out much better than mine! Oh, and glad you captured a photo of the Aeropelican cos I didn't get any in my lot. Sure beats the all white livery they used to wear!

Really glad you had a good time with us and the weather was great that morning. Did you notice how it deteriorated over the remainder of the weekend though?

Looking forward to the next installments!

Dan

flyingdoc · 09-04-2008, 08:45 AM

'Twas a great day out and was certainly the best weather of the whole weekend. The rain on Sunday brought the airport to a standstill and the rest of the day's flights were delayed by about 2 hours. I left for the airport at 6.30pm and got home in Melbourne after midnight!!

The overhead shots were taken outside of Maccas just before you got there. Most of the rest of my shots are similar to yours. Here goes!

This was a thrill for me - had not seen this JetStar carrying the Seaworld whale before. Still waiting for the "promised" 1:400 version of the JQ Titans special livery - maybe this one will make it onto our shelves?

This Thai must have had a full load - very late rotation.

One of Virgin Blue's 737-7BX's - VH-VBT "Launie Lass"

Compared with a 737-7BXW - VH-VBR "Mackay Maiden"

And here's the competition...
QF B767-338 VH-OGD - "Maitland" the first of the new roos.

QF A333 VH-QPE "Port Lincoln"

QF B738 VH-VXN "Fremantle"

QF B734 VH-TJW "Strahan"

QF DHC-8-400 VH-QOD "Emerald"

QF B767-338 VH-OGI "City of Port Augusta"

flyingdoc · 09-04-2008, 08:56 AM

And finally...

A couple of close-ups from the beach

JetStar A332 VH-EBA

QF B747-438ERs - VH-OEH and VH-OEI

Thanks Dan for a great day out, mate!

And that's all folks!

Abraxas · 09-04-2008, 09:20 AM

Absolutely excellent photos Doc, except the ones with me in them lol

Glad you had a great time and you got some good shots to remember it with! Saved them all

Dan

Captain Wahoo · 09-04-2008, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abraxas

Absolutely excellent photos Doc, except the ones with me in them lol

Glad you had a great time and you got some good shots to remember it with! Saved them all

Dan

Wow Dan, you got to meet the legend (Flyingdoc) eh? I am envious. I bet the night before you couldn't sleep, tossing and turning all night. Then the big day, more anticipation than getting married! Your palms sweating, heart racing, mouth dry, voice cracking, body trembling, stomach turning!!! Doc has that affect on people. I bow to you Dan! You're my hero!!!

a_loser · 09-04-2008, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Wahoo

Wow Dan, you got to meet the legend (Flyingdoc) eh? I am envious. I bet the night before you couldn't sleep, tossing and turning all night. Then the big day, more anticipation than getting married! Your palms sweating, heart racing, mouth dry, voice cracking, body trembling, stomach turning!!! Doc has that affect on people. I bow to you Dan! You're my hero!!!

Y'know, when I met Wahoo for the first time, I had the same experience (couldn't sleep the night before, etc.) - turns out it was just indigestion.

cathay250 · 09-04-2008, 06:41 PM

Great Photos! Thnak you so much for taking the time to share them. Sydney really looks like a great airport to spot, not only because of the locations but because of the fantastic variety of Airlines and Aircraft!

08-30-2008, 10:57 AM	#1
Abraxas RJ Captain Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Age: 25 Posts: 465	Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Hey All, It was a nice Saturday morning and so FlyingDoc had arranged to meet at Sydney Airport to 1) meet, 2) have a chat and 3) do some spotting around Sydney Airport. Pop (nosegear) joined us as well and we had a great morning of spotting at the Tower Mound and the Beach. Gerard, it was great to finally meet the infamous FlyingDoc in person, and if you're ever up in Sydney again, we should try and hang out at the airport once more. Pop, thanks for coming along and once again your binoculars coming in handy - identifying a QF B737 at cruise altitude?! Anyway, I concentrated on photography this time around (but still captured some video), so here are my attempts. Doc, I hope you got some good ones as well! Dan Qantas B767-300ER - VH-OGA Qantas B737-400 - VH-TJY Qantas (New Zealand?) B737-400 - ZK-JTR Qantas B747-400 - VH-OEC (I think, it might've been G) An unusually early rotation for a QF B744. Not that we were complaining! Asiana B777-200ER - HL7739. Nice to see we still get a mix of the old and new c/s from Asiana. Global Express BD-700 - N36LG MasKargo B747-400F - 9M-MPS Qantas B767-300ER - VH-OGD. First Qantas bird painted in the new livery, over a year later and still striking. VirginBlue E-170 - VH-ZHA Air Canada B777-200LR - C-FIUF China Airlines A330-300 - B-18306 Not sure how many more photos I can fit, so I'll put some more in the following post... __________________ Reaching for the Skies... Flights 02/10/08 EY451-EY011 SYD-AUH-LHR A345-A346 \| 24/10/08 EY038-EY450 CDG-AUH-SYD A332-A345 01/11/08 QF575 SYD-PER A332 \| 03/11/08 QF582 PER-SYD B743 COLLECTION \| TRADE \| VIDEOS

08-30-2008, 11:10 AM	#2
Abraxas RJ Captain Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Age: 25 Posts: 465	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Part Two... Viva Macau B767-200ER - B-MAV Qantas B737-800WL - VH-VXN Ambulance Service NSW King Air - VH-AMR. Another FlyingDoc! Garuda Indonesia A330-300 - PK-GPC Time to change the spotting location... So we drove out to the Beach, and were greeted with a taxying Qantas B744 when we got there. Qantas B747-400ER - VH-OEH, the plane that greeted us as we got to the Beach, powering down 34L. Qantas B747-400ER - VH-OEI. Sistership to the previous 744ER came past shortly later. Airside Tarmac Tour Bus. This tour group were following OEI at a safe distance. Lucky for them as they would have been able to experience the power up of the 744ER as it began its take-off roll. Qantas B747-400ER - VH-OEI. Rotation on 34L. LAN A340-300 - CC-CQE. This very aircraft took my girlfriend and her father to Santiago via Auckland in August 2006. So lovely to see it once again. Air Pacific B747-400 - DQ-FJL. The Island of Viti Levu returns to Sydney, however, the state of the artwork on the side of the 744 could do with an update/fix. VirginBlue E-170 - VH-ZHC Strange Smoke. Not sure what caused this large thick black smoke in the distance, but we were concerned (and excited) all at the same time. I think Doc should have a good photo of this one in contrast to a taxying plane. I was worried it may have some impact on the third runway, but the smoke soon thinned out. Crisis Over! That's all from me. I hope you enjoyed. I look forward to seeing Doc's contributions also Dan __________________ Reaching for the Skies... Flights 02/10/08 EY451-EY011 SYD-AUH-LHR A345-A346 \| 24/10/08 EY038-EY450 CDG-AUH-SYD A332-A345 01/11/08 QF575 SYD-PER A332 \| 03/11/08 QF582 PER-SYD B743 COLLECTION \| TRADE \| VIDEOS Last edited by Abraxas; 08-30-2008 at 11:14 AM.

08-30-2008, 01:13 PM	#3
n777co ATP Captain A Wings900 Supporter Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: hoffman est. IL Age: 17 Posts: 2,936	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Not bad at all! I do really like them.... Now where is Doc's photos??? __________________ CHICAGO TO HOST THE 2016 SUMMER OLYMPICS! http://chicago2016.org/news/pages/splash.html http://www.trainsandplanes.biz/index.php Respect those who serve in the Armed Forces Owner of a Windows Vista Laptop! 48 Models and counting!

08-30-2008, 03:08 PM	#4
united RJ Captain Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: (Naperville) Chicago,IL,USA but now Singapore,Singapore,Singapore. Age: 43 Posts: 574	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Wow. Seems like you two got some great airlines there. Nice mix of Boeings and I love the LAN picture. Great stuff!! __________________ DA BEARS

09-03-2008, 11:21 AM	#5
flyingdoc Master ATP Captain Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 45 Posts: 4,642	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Sorry it has taken me so long to post on this one boys - over 800 photos to sift through and then upload a few. Firstly, thanks to Dan (Abraxas) and Pop (Nosegear of DA.C) for taking time out of their weekend to host me and spend some time spotting. I had a great time and it was fantastic to meet a couple more of the brethren. Sydney has got to be one of the coolest airports in the world to spot at. Awesome proximity, good vantage points and a superb variety of aircraft to see. Looking forward to visiting again. Inevitably, when 2 blokes are standing right next to each other watching the same planes, there will be a sameness to the shots, but I have tried to mix it up a little. Hope you enjoy! JAL 744 taking off MAS Kargo departing Aeropelican "City of Port Stephens" Roo tails - old and new. Virgin Blue in flight. Thai - new livery (Pop doesn't like it!) Air New Zealand - Star Alliance livery - All Black!! Viva Macau (in need of a wash) playing leapfrog. Heavy duty - SIA __________________

09-03-2008, 11:31 AM	#6
flyingdoc Master ATP Captain Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 45 Posts: 4,642	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Some more... China Eastern Airlines passing the tower... JetStar A330-200 in silver Thai (old livery and a tad dirty) touching down. Air Canada rotating PAL rolling by... Day not complete without Cathay Pacific! Qantas A330 resplendent in her new livery. As of 30th August 2008 Qantas B737, VH-VYG "Australind" still wears 2006 colours - even though DragonWings has announced their September release with the same registration in the new Qantas livery!!! ? perhaps Nicole Kidman heading out?? __________________

09-03-2008, 11:42 AM	#7
flyingdoc Master ATP Captain Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 45 Posts: 4,642	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Picture perfect! QF B747-438ER holding in the sunlight before cleared to take off. A deceiving picture!! Probably just smoke from venting in the fuel depot in the background but it made for a striking picture as this Dash-8 went past! Imperfect picture - shooting through hurricane fencing can be frustrating, particularly when the planes are traveling at speed. Another good shot ruined by the dark corner... grrrr VB 737-700 with air brakes on. ANZ in traditional livery. Garuda A330 with her brilliant blue dazzling ...and a detail of her Visit Indonesia titles. Traffic passing the old tower... Emirates rotating Singapore heavy __________________

09-03-2008, 11:51 AM	#8
flyingdoc Master ATP Captain Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 45 Posts: 4,642	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Last set for tonight - getting late! Some taxiing. Detail of ANZ A320 door - apparently it's not a good thing to be called a "Zeal" by a Dutchman! REX (Regional Express) Traffic overhead JetStar A320's Singapore Airlines B744 taking off A few more to follow tomorrow... Night-night. __________________

09-03-2008, 12:12 PM	#9
Abraxas RJ Captain Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Age: 25 Posts: 465	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Bloody awesome photos Doc! So many in there are excellent. Standouts for me were the leapfrog Viva Macau, and where were you to get those flying overhead shots?! They all came out quite well. By the way, your LAN A343 rotation turned out much better than mine! Oh, and glad you captured a photo of the Aeropelican cos I didn't get any in my lot. Sure beats the all white livery they used to wear! Really glad you had a good time with us and the weather was great that morning. Did you notice how it deteriorated over the remainder of the weekend though? Looking forward to the next installments! Dan __________________ Reaching for the Skies... Flights 02/10/08 EY451-EY011 SYD-AUH-LHR A345-A346 \| 24/10/08 EY038-EY450 CDG-AUH-SYD A332-A345 01/11/08 QF575 SYD-PER A332 \| 03/11/08 QF582 PER-SYD B743 COLLECTION \| TRADE \| VIDEOS Last edited by Abraxas; 09-03-2008 at 12:15 PM.

09-04-2008, 08:45 AM	#10
flyingdoc Master ATP Captain Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 45 Posts: 4,642	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc 'Twas a great day out and was certainly the best weather of the whole weekend. The rain on Sunday brought the airport to a standstill and the rest of the day's flights were delayed by about 2 hours. I left for the airport at 6.30pm and got home in Melbourne after midnight!! The overhead shots were taken outside of Maccas just before you got there. Most of the rest of my shots are similar to yours. Here goes! This was a thrill for me - had not seen this JetStar carrying the Seaworld whale before. Still waiting for the "promised" 1:400 version of the JQ Titans special livery - maybe this one will make it onto our shelves? This Thai must have had a full load - very late rotation. One of Virgin Blue's 737-7BX's - VH-VBT "Launie Lass" Compared with a 737-7BXW - VH-VBR "Mackay Maiden" And here's the competition... QF B767-338 VH-OGD - "Maitland" the first of the new roos. QF A333 VH-QPE "Port Lincoln" QF B738 VH-VXN "Fremantle" QF B734 VH-TJW "Strahan" QF DHC-8-400 VH-QOD "Emerald" QF B767-338 VH-OGI "City of Port Augusta" __________________

09-04-2008, 08:56 AM	#11
flyingdoc Master ATP Captain Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 45 Posts: 4,642	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc And finally... A couple of close-ups from the beach JetStar A332 VH-EBA QF B747-438ERs - VH-OEH and VH-OEI Thanks Dan for a great day out, mate! And that's all folks! __________________

09-04-2008, 09:20 AM	#12
Abraxas RJ Captain Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Age: 25 Posts: 465	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Absolutely excellent photos Doc, except the ones with me in them lol Glad you had a great time and you got some good shots to remember it with! Saved them all Dan __________________ Reaching for the Skies... Flights 02/10/08 EY451-EY011 SYD-AUH-LHR A345-A346 \| 24/10/08 EY038-EY450 CDG-AUH-SYD A332-A345 01/11/08 QF575 SYD-PER A332 \| 03/11/08 QF582 PER-SYD B743 COLLECTION \| TRADE \| VIDEOS

09-04-2008, 06:41 PM	#15
cathay250 First Officer Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Hong Kong Age: 18 Posts: 821	Re: Sydney Spotting 30-08-08 with FlyingDoc Great Photos! Thnak you so much for taking the time to share them. Sydney really looks like a great airport to spot, not only because of the locations but because of the fantastic variety of Airlines and Aircraft! __________________ Cathay Pacific Fleet with new longhaul product: 747-400 - 16 777-300ER - 8 (Including B-KPF, Asia's World City) A330-300 - 4 CATHAY PACIFIC Now your really flying

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