Penang Planespotting #010 - 19 August 2017 - Part 1

So the for the entire week, I've been greeted by MH's A330. You know when you first hear a heavy coming out of PEN at 8am, you would think it is Dragonair's 330. But upon closer inspection (well just a glance to the sky), MH's distinct woosh livery is seen. Checking later revealed that they were operating flights to and from Jeddah via MH8086 and MH8083. Yippee for me. Time for spotting.

2 330s at Penang. A lovely sight

Being an avid planespotter, nothing excites me more than seeing so many widebodies in one frame. Two 330s, a 777 Freighter and an A321, something that China Southern only recently started to send.

Malaysia Airlines A330-323 (9M-MTB)

Then took a gamble on the position to capture the departure of this beauty. On one hand, from this location, it would guarantee a rather good shot of the aircraft rocketing down the runway, though all whells would be on the ground. On the other hand, being further down the runway could give me a departure shot but steady hands are required as the plane would be much faster there (lighting was atrocious and it was rather Hazy).

Decided to try something different and went for the departure shot. First catch was Thai Smile

Thai Smile A320-232 (HS-TXL)

Up next was KA692 to Hong Kong. This time with Cathay Dragon. Their colours are starting to grow on me.

Cathay Dragon A330-343 (B-LBF)

Not too long after, here's Indonesia AirAsia leaving Penang.

Indonesia AirAsia A320-216 (PK-AXT)

And finally, the main catch for the day. I would say that gambled paid off, maybe not so in full but it was worth it. The exact rotation point was blocked by that wee tree you see on the bottom left. This shot is fine enough though. They used almost the full runway for takeoff as this is the exact same point where KA was in the shot above.

Leaving to Jeddah

Now before I had the chance to head back to the first spotting location, the queen arrived.

Eva Air Cargo B747-45EF(SCD) (B-16481)

Good thing too as this 747 was not slow enough to turn at Taxiway Delta (immediately to the left of the aircraft as viewed in the photo). Most heavies would turn off by Delta. More photos of the freighter.

Heading to the end of the runway

Waved to them, but I don't think they saw me.

Fully deployed control surfaces

Turning onto Alpha

Left Full view

Heading to the terminal

With no more (visible) aircraft coming in to land, it was time I head back to the first spot. Was not fast enough to catch the arrival of Air HongKong's A306.

Air HongKong A300F4-605R (B-LDD)

To continue in Part 2.

Penang Planespotting #007 - 06 August 2016 - Part 1

While spotting aircraft on the ground is underway, it is sometimes beneficial to look to the skies too.\

Dreamliner in flight

The day was nice and windy (not to mention cloudy), giving a great condition to go long haul (in spotting I mean). Was there early enough to catch the early AirAsia arrival. Greeted by a special one.

AirAsia A320-216 (9M-AHL) - Prince Lubricants livery

Dragonair A330-342 (B-HLJ)

Thai Smile A320-232 (HS-TXK)

Little did I know that Thai Airways was no longer going to serve this route. Instead, they are handing them over to their subsidiary, Thai Smile, similar to what Cathay did with Dragonair. Started to notice when FR24 showed a different aircraft type (32S) instead of the conventional 320. Nice to see them, but I am hoping that the big ones will make a visit every now and then.

Air HongKong A300F4-605R (B-LDD)

Proceeding on to Taxiway J

Some shots of this special-livery AirAsia.

While ATRs are a norm here in Penang Island, this one's a little different. First, it wasn't one that has been seen before. This was carrying part of the MASWings livery, part because part of the tail logo was missing. Secondly, it made such a "grand" entrance, tippy toe-ing in.

MASWings ATR72-600 (9M-MYD)

Based on the timing, I can only assume that this one was operating for Firefly. Since MASWings and Firefly are part of the Malaysia Airlines group.

AirAsia A320-216 (9M-AFW) - AirAsia Mobile App livery

While planespotting is a very fun activity, I could not help but notice this bird right next to me. I present to you MY-NAH.

This one however was slightly different. Felt like it has been domesticated and at the same time seriously bullied by its peers. OR that it was very tired. It did not bother this bird that I was so close to it. Just staring into empty space.

Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYF)

FedEx MD-11F (N606FE)

To be continued in part 2....

Heavy Day #1

This trip was extremely filled with landings, with the total of 24 landings, including the Asiana 747 in the previous post. Will leave out the B734s and the A322s (for now). The sad (yet great) thing was that it was raining during the first few landings, which seriously cut down the number of views of the aircraft, and was cloudy the rest of the day, hence the darkened gloomy shots. But the great thing is, I was not ROASTED. So oh well. worked for me.

First off, (well the first was a Malaysian Airlines B737-400) is the A300-600F of DHL/Air Hong Kong. 

A300-600F Air Hong Kong/DHL 

This freighter frequently visits Penang. About once every 2 days.

Next, this is actually the first for me. A Berjaya Air ATR-72-500 (9M-TAG).

Only managed to get a few shots of this aircraft as it started to rain then.

Then there was a great treat for me. A 767 operated by UPS. I could use tonnes of words to describe it, but I'll let the photo do the talking.

UPS B767-300 N340UP

I couldn't have hoped for a better timing and lighting for the shot of this aircraft.

That's all for this part. 

To be continued****