Merry Christmas !!!

Here's wishing all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Have a great year ahead.

Retaining the tradition, here's Christmas Cargo bringing in all the gifts for everyone...

Same place, Different views - 02 / November [Part 2]

Part 2

Let's get right to it.

Firefly ATR72-600 (9M-FIB)

I was not quite aware of this next bird as it was hiding behind the parked Korean Air Cargo. Being a 757, it is much slimmer and is totally obscured by the 747. Here's the first (yep, there's one more) bird from the land down under, more specifically Kiwiland.

RNZAF B757-2K2 (NZ7571)

NZ7571 (cool that the tail number is the aircraft model) had a big 75 painted on the fuselage a couple of years back. Though it has since been removed. This shot shows both jets from the land down under.

Malindo Air B737-9GPER (9M-LNH)

This Malindo has an extra hump on its back since the last visit (that I was around that is).

AirAsia A320 (9M-AHF)

Managed to boost myself high enough to almost clear the fences. This was just a few seconds after liftoff. Not the everyday usual shot.

AirAsia (9M-AJE) with sharklets

I've always liked the view of wingleted / sharkleted (for this case) aircraft being well contrasted from the sky. The bank angle just adds to the fun of it. From the looks of this, this one's most probably heading South.

Tigerair A320 (9V-TAE)

This tiger still bears the old livery. the new one has a big "tigerair" on the side.

Silkair A320 (9V-SLL)

Followed by another Singapore-based airline, SilkAir.

Firefly ATR72-600 (9M-FID)

Since this segment started with an ATR, it would be appropriate to end it with another ATR. This is Firefly's fourth -600 series. Still looks clean and empty. Wonder if they might add more ads to this one in the future. FIC and FID are still all white (as of the time of writing that is)


So this is the end of part 2. Part 3 will cover the departure of the Airbus MRTT.






Tags:
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Same place, Different views - 02 / November [Part 1]

It's been almost a month since the last spotting session. To all the readers here, thank you for frequenting this blog. I truly appreciate it. Do leave comments if you have any thoughts.

Time sure flies. Before you know it, week after week, month after month passes in just a blink of an eye. Resolutions are made, deadlines are set, though many are still not met. However, a new year is coming. Time for new (renewed) resolutions and goals.

Back to the spotting session. A lot of shots are made from the ground showing the aircraft in the air. This round, more ground-ish shots are included, just to give a different view and perspective.

Airbus Faceoff

Lucky to have both the A330s push back at the same time. Pilots must've been waving to each other.

Dragonair A330-342 (B-HLI)

First to depart gracefully was Dragonair. Light was out and everything was just perfect. Towards the end of the year, the day tends to be brighter earlier, allowing for better early morning shots. Did not realise the rare species until I reviewed the shot on the camera screen. Saw it??

Thai Airways International A330-321 (HS-TEB)

To be able to catch the Thai from this angle meant that it had rotated really early. Guess it must have been a light load. This route was previously served by the A300 before they were retired and replaced by B734s. For me, whatever comes, if it flies, then I'm fine with it.

Malindo Air ATR72-600 (9M-LMK)

I did mention that there will be some different views in these postings. So here's the first one, giving you the feel of how tiny the ATR is when compared to its surroundings. With majority of my shots zoomed in right to the aircraft, the size gauging may be off sometimes.

AirAsia A320 (9M-AFM) with the Hat's of to Dato' Pahamin Livery

This was one of the special AirAsia that departed Penang. Nice grey touch as opposed to the original reds on AirAsia's fleet. They have very short turnaround times, allowing shots of the same aircraft at different times of the day.

China Southern Airlines A320 (B-6288)

This one was on its way back to China. Looking forward to seeing (and capturing) a Boeing in this livery here in Penang.

Korean Air Cargo B747-4B5F (HL7438)

It goes to show that no aircraft, not even the queen of the skies can escape from the effects of crosswinds. A slight tip to the port side shortly after lift off. Pilots were quick to correct the effects.

Malindo Air ATR72-600 (9M-LMO)

Malindo Air is constantly receiving new turboprops to its fleet. Now the registration has already gone to LMR. Good job to them. Their flight tickets are cheap too, with free baggage and light snacks served.


More updates on the second slot. To be continued........






Tags:
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Tuesday Spotting [2014.09.16] - Part 3

Last Part...

Time to wrap up this session.

Indonesia AirAsia A320 (PK-AXL)

Towards the end of the day, all that came in were lightweights.

Firefly ATR72-600 (9M-FIA)

Wanted to try a different angle for some of the aircraft coming in. So here is the back view of AirAsia.

9M-AJB

Then came this ATR. Not much different from the other Malindos coming in, but this had a tinge of nature in it. Just moments before, there were some birds flying around the approach path of their larger metallic cousins. (Cropped quite a bit so quality is lower)

Then came this metallic bird.....

Malindo Air ATR72-600 (9M-LMM) with a Brahminy Kite

Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYI)

And to sum up this session, here are two B738s from two neighbouring countries.

Malaysia Airlines B737-8H6 (9M-MXI)

SilkAir B737-8SA (9M-MGE)

The bright patch of light near the forward cargo hatch of Silkair is a reflection of the vehicles passing below.

That's all for now.

Hope you enjoyed it.

SSLee

Tags:

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Tuesday Spotting [2014.09.16] - Part 2

Continuation ....

Once again, we have another aircraft attempting to lose weight and save fuel by removing on landing gear door. :) Should be a maintenance routine as it happened to 9M-FYA last year. Link

Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYF)

Next up we have the Air Contractors' aircraft. They are operated by Air Hong Kong and are quite frequent into Penang. Here, it extends all its flaps and spoilers for us to see. Wonder what's up with the extreme rudder deflection.NOT RELATED but lots of leaves growing on the metallic fence wire.

Air Contractors A300B4-622R(F) (EI-EXR)

Up next are two narrowbodies from competing companies, Boeing and Airbus.

Malindo Air B737-9GP(ER) (9M-LNK)

AirAsia A320-216 (9M-AQY)

Aaaaannnddd the main catch of the day. Korean Air Cargo.

Korean Air Cargo B777-FB5 (HL8285)

This freighter was a real treat as most of the Korean Air Cargos that I've snapped were 744Fs. This is a great change. The new outlook, the elegant raked wingtips, those huge engines, and the AWESOME sound it emitted. (so much different from the 773s and 772s of Cathay, granted they are different engines)

After a great burst of happiness, it was time to head over to the arrivals part to get even more traffic. One arrival that I was anticipating was UPS' 767 from Kuala Lumpur which sadly never arrived.

Treated with baby Boeing of Sriwijaya Air though.

Sriwijaya Air B737-524 (PK-CLH)

Followed by Airasia. Bird sees plane, pilots see bird, bird flies away, pilots continues approach.

AirAsia A320 (9M-AQE)

One more edition coming up.


Tags:
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Tuesday Spotting [2014.09.16] - Part 1

After a month of absence, I shall resume.
This is one of those rare moments where spotting sessions are held on a Tuesday. Traffic was good as well. Sunlight was..... well you'll get the idea s the shots come in.

First off, are two foreign carriers that depart at about 8, both to their respective destinations of Hong Kong and Bangkok.

Dragonair A330-343 (B-HYI)

Thai Airways B737-4D7 (HS-TDG)

Starting to miss the sound of Thai's A300s. They have been officially retired.

3 ATR72s departed around this time as well (9M-FYI, 9M-FIA, 9M-LMK), but due to their small size, early rotation and lack of sunlight, the picture turnout was rather disappointing. No worries, as they would make a come back later in the day.

Malaysia Airlines B737-8H6 (9M-MXG)

This is one of MAS' latest livery, with the WAU edges cut off. Personally, the old version was in much better proportion, and looks more complete rather than this one. This looks like there was no space left to complete the logo.

AirAsia A320 (9M-AJB)

This was powering out of Penang International Airport. The airport and its new building (still old control tower) is clearly visible here.

The incoming SilkAir must have over estimated the approach (or maybe something else) and is seen making a tight turn to align with the runway. (Note the approaching AirAsia jet near the bottom for runway heading.

The turnaround time for most of the smaller aircraft are about 40 minutes to an hour. So it is possible to see them arriving and departing within a short period of time, and also see them coming in to Penang a few times per day.

MXG departing

Malindo ATR72-600 (9M-LMF)

FedEx MD-11F (N614FE)

FedEx Tri-Holer was up next. Had to lift the camera up real high to clear those fences, and even so, the fences still ended up in the shot. Better than blocking the jet. 

End of part 1. With the number of shots taken, looks like it will be a 3-part session.

Stay Tuned..

Tags:

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2014.08.17 Spotting Session - Part 2

Continuing on... here are some of the heavies that came in for the day. The great and sunny weather continued all the way to the end of the session. Yes, it was HOT, but well worth it.

UPS B767-34AF (N361UP)

This was actually one of my intended catch of the day. Back then (maybe about 2 years back), I used to always ask myself.. Why do I keep getting the UPS but not the FedEx MD-11. Then as time went by, I got more and more of the FedEx's MD-11 than the UPS' B763. So now here I am, back at hoping that I would get more 763s. The winglets really compliment this model. It makes it look more balanced and sturdy.

Lion Air B737-8GP (PK-LKW)

About a year old, this aircraft still looks great. No eyebrows on the cockpit though.

FedEx A310-324 (N808FD)

This one was also a great treat as FedEx usually send A300-600Fs into Penang. Sometimes two of them in a row. The A310 looks a bit stubby at this range :).

China Airlines Cargo B747-409F (B-18720)

Four engines, 18 wheels, and really loud up close. The sound emitted is just incredible.

SilkAir B737-8SA (9V-MGE)

Next is one of the best selling short-haul models, the B737. This is one of the latest (at time of writing) B738 of SilkAir. Silkair colours are simple and look nice regardless on whether it is on the Airbus models or the Boeing models.

Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYJ)

And to end it, here's an ATR, approaching slowly but surely to Runway 04.

This was one of the best sessions that I've had since the time I spotted the UPS 757 and the DHL 727. Truly enjoyed it and looking forward to even more sessions like this. Also one of those rare times that I can set a shutter speed of more than 1/800th of a second.

Links to those pics:

http://reachingtheskiesabove.blogspot.com/2013/02/dhl-727.html

http://reachingtheskiesabove.blogspot.com/2013/02/ups-b757.html

That is all for this session. Hoping that the next one will be equally great!!

Tags:

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ups 767 sslee penang

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fedex a310 penang sslee

lion air sslee

2014.08.17 Spotting Session - Part 1

Hello everyone. It has been long. But it was a good wait. It has been raining almost everytime I go spotting. It has greatly increased my ability to lie at a perfect angle so as to be able to snap the planes coming in, while still be in the shade from the rain.

But guess what??! This time, it was SUNNY and BRIGHT. One could not have asked for better lighting than that day. So here it is. The first bright set of photos after a long time.

Indonesia AirAsia A320 (PK-AXL)

9M-AJE, equipped with sharklets

Of course we cannot have Airbuses all day. So to break the trend, this baby Boeing flew in gracefully. Short and sweet. The winglets sure make the wings look that much longer.

Sriwijaya Air B737-524 (PK-CLO)

And we are back to Airbuses. The next shot is one that I do not get everytime. Lots of light, even enough to shine into the engine intakes, and enough for me to push the shutter speed to 1/800th of a second. This was at F8.0. Should I get this opportunity again, would be opening up the aperture to F5.6, and snapping at about 1/1600th or 1/2000th of a second, seeing if I am able to freeze the engine fan blades.

9M-AJG

Malindo Air ATR72-600 (9M-LML)

Malindo came in after all the jets, flying pass some thick cloud formations. They have rather distinctive light arrangements and the ATRs are quite easily recognisable from a distance.

AirAsia (9M-AJN)

Firefly ATR72-600 (9M-FIB)

9M-FIB is now fitted with a new paint job. Are they going to be doing this for all the new -600 series that are delivered??

That is all for now, will be adding the back segment soon, with UPS' 767, FedEx's A310 and SilkAir's 738. Stay Tuned.........

*PS :- trying out a different programme in resizing the images. There may be slight changes in image quality.



Tags:
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