Special Arrivals into Penang

So here we are for the second post of 2018. Today's session was a rather short one with one main catch, the first A330-300 Passenger-to-Freighter unit.

Air Hong Kong A330-322P2F (EI-HEA)

She was an ex Malaysia Airlines bird. It went for a conversion before returning as a freighter. One difference from the A332F is the lack of the nose gear extension blister (and of course the increased length).

Port side view

Heading to the cargo bay

One opportunity not to be missed. A shot of two freighters from A and b.

A and B

Korean Air Cargo departed at 9am, as per the usual departure slot. The 77Fs are the more common type now. Only on some days will be get the glimpse of the 74F. Hoping for their 748F to visit soon. Here's the rotation shot, just as the nose gear lifts off.

Korean Air Cargo B777-FB5 (HL8285)

Flexing her wings

With the departure of the 777F, came back to back arrivals from some rather familiar traffic. From Singapore:

SilkAir B737-8SA (9V-MGM)

Scoot A320-232 (9V-TRK)

Now just as I am about to call it a day, I spot something rather interesting on FR24. A 747, on its descend somewhere off the coast of Phuket. This meant only one thing, it was headed to Penang (my mind just casts off possibilities of it heading elsewhere, too quick to be descending for KL anyway). So I waited. and here she is, all the way from Azerbaijan.

Silkway West Airlines B747-4R7F (4K-SW008)

Now that is one long tail number. She used the entire length of the runway. Wasn't the best conditions for FedEx which was right behind this Queen. I would guess that they had to slow down to minimum speed to allow for this visitor to clear the runway.

All out, flaps, spoilers, reversers

FedEx came in shortly after. She was able to make the turn onto taxiway Delta, though she had to give way.... to the Queen of the Skies.

"After you.."

Here are some shots of the rare visitor.

The Nose

The Tail

The complete set

One last arrival before leaving. Indonesia AirAsia. Gotta have at least a shot of the reds before leaving right?

Indonesia AirAsia A320-216 (PK-AXT)

And back to Silkway.

Heading to the bay

And to end this post, here's a nose bump.

Nose-bump

Thanks for viewing. Keep on visiting for more.

SSLee

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a330-300 passenger to freighter sslee86

silkway west airlines penang 747 sslee

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.