2014.06.09 - Monday Spotting (Part 2)

Part 2, starts with a wave of A320s from AirAsia. You can see how the weather changes from ok, to dark and gloomy, giving quickly-protect-your-camera reaction.

Indonesia AirAsia A320 (PK-AXV)

9M-AJA 

Looked a bit high on approach while swaying from left to right

9M-AJE

More and more sharklet fitted aircraft operating into Penang

9M-AFY

And then... the rain came. With big drops of water threatening the life of my camera, I had no choice but to creep back into the car, hoping for no other arrivals within that period. It did pay of to a certain extent as I only got two aircraft coming in. I wonder what would have happened or how I would have felt if more came in. 

So first in under the rain was Firefly's first ATR72-600. The "noise" on the picture are actually rain drops, rather than digital noise. Had to sit at the passenger side and zoom out all the way in order to get a shot while still keeping the camera dry. The same couldn't be said for a small part of the seat though which was slightly damp after the short downpour.

Firefly's ATR72-600 (9M-FIA) Landing in heavy rain

Malindo Air ATR72-600 (9M-LMJ) with wipers in full speed in the rain

Well it was a good experience, and the second time (or was it the third) that I've spotted in the rain. The previous one I remembered was when Asiana's B744F came into Penang back in February 2013.

After the rain, it was the reign of Boeings. This section started with small Airbuses, so it shall end with small Boeings. Presenting... the Boeing 737.

First of it was Lion Air, sending in their B738.

Lion Air B737-8GP (PK-LJR)

Next from Singapore, Silkair with some visible vortices on the flap edges.

Silk Air B737-8SA (9V-MGD)

And finally, ending with an old workhorse of Malaysia Airlines, the 737-400. Didn't realised it at first but this should be the last series of shots that I've got on the -400 series as they were officially retired a few days later (doing a PEN > KUL sector)

Malaysia Airlines B737-4H6 (9M-MMK) on one of its last few flights

What a great ending to a great spotting session. Hope you've enjoyed it.

Thanks for viewing. Will be updating again should there be new sessions or from past (unposted) sessions if spotting trips could not be made.

SSLee

2014.06.09 - Monday Spotting (Part 1)

Now that the Singapore Airshow edition is over, let's snap back to Penang. I've made many trips, so I shall put them up here session by session.

Arrived at 10am to catch MASKargo's A332. Waited a while before seeing it come in. From a far, it was making a hard left turn from the West, too close to the runway and at too high an altitude. Made some adjustments to the left, then to the right, before abandoning that approach and performing a go-around.

MAS Kargo A330-223F (9M-MUC) - Performing a Go-Around

MUC seen from a far

Turning in for the second approach

Successful second attempt

And with this capture, I'm happy to have hit the target of getting all 4 of MASKargo's A332Fs. The next one that came in was much smaller than the Airbus.

Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYF)

This trip's weather was intermittently good and bad, with clouds blocking out the sun one minute, and sun shining the next. (YES, really changing by the minute).

SilkAir A320 (9V-SLS)

And the sun came out once to light this flying tiger. Tiger Airways is also known as Tigerair, with some of their planes already painted with the new name / livery. Some of them also come with sharklets installed. For now, I shall label them as I see them.

Tiger Airways A320-232 (9V-TAZ)

After the tiger came roaring in, the clouds came back. Though no worries, as it provided me with nice and comfortable shade. Besides, from a far, there were gaps in the clouds where the sun beams could shine through. This next one was a relatively new aircraft.

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

Shortly after the -800 series, the -500 series paid me a visit, well more like paid Penang a visit.

Sriwijaya Air B737-524 (PK-CLO)

The -500 series looks really cute, with its rather short body but wide wingspan, enough to earn it the term "Baby Boeing".

This was about the best the weather was that day. It started getting worse after this baby Boeing. Part 2 coming up real shortly.

Stay tuned.

Tags:

sslee a330-200f mas kargo penang go around

sslee 737-500 penang landing

sriwijaya baby boeing penang

sslee a332 go around penang

atr72-500 sslee

tiger airways a320 penang sslee

malaysia airlines b738 penang sslee

Singapore Airshow 2014 - Day 2 - On the ground and Goodbyes

Well here we are back on the ground. All the aerial displays are done.

We had lunch, which was Fish and Chips. Yes I know that you don't take such heaty food at 12 pm at an airshow, but it was soo tempting. Just couldn't help ourselves. A bottle of Sprite helped a LOT. Anyway, after lunch, we needed some rest from all the standing and walking that we've been doing. What better way to relax than to listen to the band of the United States Air Force.

USAF Band

They were energetic and simply AWESOME. They had quite a number of classics. From singing on stage to getting down to the crowd and just shaking away. I'm sure they enjoyed performing for the crowd, who by the way were cheering and giving support throughout the entire show.

When they had their break, we made our move as we needed to cover the remaining indoor pavilion before our flight back to Penang. There were not many booths open, since it was nearing the end of the last public day. Most of it were either closed or occupied by the public who were resting after a long walk.

KAI T-50 fighter model

Among the models still there were the T-50 trainer and fighter variants. These are the same type as those used by the ROKAF during their aerial display. There were still a lot of people though. The T-50 model area was where the mini indoor food court was. You could get a hot dog and a cup of coffee.

Hermes 900 Unmanned Drone

At first glance, through the corner of my eyes, I thought I saw a predator drone. I told my friends, "You know what, I thought I saw a predator drone. Let's go see it later." But then, upon closer inspection, it was not a Predator, though it was good enough. A Hermes 900 drone. Wingspan was large and really wobbly when shaked from the tips.

Quad copter

At another corner, the organisers had several quad copters, painting chines characters with extreme precision. These micro aircraft appeared to be pre-programmed to fly a designated path. They even dipped the brush into the ink pot, some distance away several times, before returning to continue with the remaining strokes.

Somewhere around this region, there was a meet and greet session with the Singapore Airforce's Pilots as well as ROKAF's pilots. They could had a chat (albeit a short one), have an autograph and even take a photo with them.

Schiebel Camcopter S-100

Another drone on display was this camcopter. A small little drone with a 360 rotational camera installed onto its belly. This was one of the last displays available. They even had imaging systems on display. Among those I tried a sniper scope with thermal imaging. An interesting experience as you get to see how hot/cool stuffs were, black being really cool and white being really hot.

They even had a line up of military tracked vehicles and also the latest version of the humvee. Looks more aerodynamic

New Humvee

Now that we have covered the entire Airshow floor area, it was time to go. We left via exit 6, which is kindly inviting us back in 2016. Definitely would be there.

Heading out

Even at 2pm, the queue to the shuttle was long, but it was moving. Took the bus back to the Expo station before going on an MRT to Changi airport.

Goodbye Captain Leo

Here are the 45th Anniversary gifts that all ticket holders got:

A bag with interesting goodies. One fan, one tinted shade to look at aircraft flying under the sun, one travelling bag tag, one collar pin (Red F-16) and of course a document bag. This was NOT limited to one per person, as they gave out to EVERYONE who had a ticket. So for those who had the tickets to both public days, (not sure about trade days), the would have gotten 2 sets of these interesting souvenirs.

It was an incredible journey filled with wonderful memories which will stick for quite some time.

A minute before touchdown, with second Penang Bridge in sight

Back on the ground

Just in time for the sunset

As per the plane in the sunset, "WOW" is really the word to describe this truly amazing and memorable trip to the Singapore Airshow 2014. Although it has only been 2 days at the airshow, it was more than enough to make me go back the next round. The displays, the performances and just the feeling of being amongst great flying machines were just magnificent. It goes to show how much we have excelled in a sense of transportation and defence. Apart from the experience there, being with a good company of friends also made that trip enjoyable.

Hope you enjoyed my postings, I hope to have been able to bring the Airshow to you readers. So here goes. After almost 4 months of posting, this is to close the Singapore Airshow 2014 segment.

Went to Singapore Airshow? Checked

SSLee