Penang Planespotting #005 - 25 June 2016 - Part 2, With the KC-30

So here we have it. Most of this post is directed at the KC-30 (seeing they don't come that often, they should get a wee bit more attention). 

Seeing the mobile stairs moving away from the front door as well as the cones being removed by the ground personnel meant that it was moving soon. After all the doors closed, it was ready.

Royal Australian Air Force A330-203MRTT (A39-001)

Pushback was initiated and the profile of this MRTT slowly revieled itself. With an additional refuelling boom at the tail as well as wing mounted pods, this one's definitely an eye-catcher.

FedEx B767-3S2F(ER) (N107FE)

While waiting for checks on the KC-30 to be completed, this FedEx came. They send a mix of MD-11s and 767s up.

B vs A?

Approaching the cargo ramp

And here comes the barrage of shots of the MRTT.

Time to fly

A closeup of the tail

Holding before Runway 04

Rolling down the runway

Truth be told, after getting the KC-30, the feeling was just..... awesome. Enough for me to call it a day. Well maybe not quite yet cause whenever I look into the distance and see landing lights, I shall wait. This one's ex-Firefly.

Malaysia Airlines B737-85F (9M-FFD)

And I waited again for Firefly.

Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYG) - Promoting Panasonic's Sky Series Air Conditioners

And with that, the session was over. It is really great to go spotting without expectations, and to be rewarded by visitors or special ones. Sometimes not knowing the schedule is exciting.

SSLee

Penang Planespotting #005 - 25 June 2016 - Part 1, With the KC-30

This was one trip without any expectations. Just a short drive there to get the usual ones for the fun of it. Dragonair's 8am departure was timely, followed by Thai Airways.

Dragonair A330-342 (B-HLE)

Thai Airways International A320-232 (HS-TXC)

Little did I know that this may be the last time I see Thai's narrowbody in Penang. They have now switched to Thai Smile. Those aircraft are similar to the ones that have been captured but boasts winglets sharklets and really fancy colours.

A short scan of the airport's grounds gave me this little beauty.

These short scans are great as it gives you an idea on what to expect. Especially when the special one has a catering truck attached to the aircraft.

Malindo ATR72-600 (9M-LMR)

See that little plant trying to get some attention?

Air HongKong A300F4-605R (B-LDF)

Firefly ATR72-600 (9M-FIG)

You can tell the 600s from the 500s apart on the Firefly aircraft with the "Raccoon Masks" they have.

Some rubber burning

FedEx MD-11F (N592FE)

What used to be the interesting one to catch is now making more appearances in Penang. SilkAir is in the process of changing to an all-Boeing fleet of B738s. This is their 15th.

SilkAir B737-8SA (9V-MGO)

Korean Air Cargo B747-4B5F(ER) (HL7499)

Wings of the 747 are hanging down with a heavy load of fuel for the trip to Incheon. As always, the Koreans make a roaring departure with their 4 Pratt & Whitney 4k engines.

Penang Planespotting #004 - 19 June 2016

Just a short trip. Wanted to catch the Korean Queen. Got 3 frames from 3 different countries.

Thai Airways International A320-232 (HS-TXD)

Dragonair A330-342 (B-HLK)

Korean Air Cargo B747-4B5F(ER) (HL7439)

A quick but fun trip. Seldom get the change to catch the queen as it comes in early in the morning.

SSLee

Penang Planespotting #003 - 29 May 2016 - Part 3

Here's part 3. Some narrowbodies to start with.

Lion Air came in near the afternoon.

Lion Air B737-9GPER (PK-LHT)

Firefly with the Visit Kedah 2016 Livery departed just under an hour after it arrived

Firefly ATR72-600 (9M-FIE)


Sriwijaya Air B737-86J (PK-CMN)


SilkAir B737-8SA (9V-MGO)


Indonesia AirAsia A320-216 (PK-AZH)

And to top it off, like always, the Queen of the skies came in from Taiwan.

China Airlines Cargo B747-409F (B-18717) - With the gulfstream behind

That's part 3. More to come.

SSLee

Tags

gulfstream sslee penang planespotting

747 penang sslee

Penang Planespotting #003 - 29 May 2016 - Part 2

This edition of Planespotting #003 covers quite a few cargo craft as well as some special scheme jets. It is nice going without any expectations and to get something you've never seen.

Air HongKong A300F4-605R (B-LDF)

Got addicted to head-on shots, so you will be seeing quite a number of them in the coming posts as well.

Head on with Korean Air Cargo (HL7449)

Sriwijaya Air B737-86J (PK-CMN)

Sriwijaya now uses the Standard B738. No longer able to get the -500s, -300s and -400s. Oh look.... UPS.

UPS B767-34AF(ER) (N307UP)

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

UPS crossing the runway

And here are the specials. Got 3 of them coming up.

Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYG)

The first one promotes Panasonic's Sky Series Air Conditioners with the nicely fitting tagline, the Future is Up. On another note, it is a rather fine way to rub it in seeing how hot the weather was.

AirAsia A320-216 (9M-AHF)

Before the next special, we have the head-on of -AHF, before -AHX came in. AHX is the one with the Connecting ASEAN livery. It was revealed during LIMA 2015. Funny how after more than a year do I see it here in Penang.

AirAsia A320-216 (9M-AHX) - Connecting ASEAN Livery

Left Side

Part 3 coming up. Stay tuned.

Penang Planespotting #003 - 29 May 2016 - Part 1

So here we are, on another spotting trip. Was not expecting anything in particular. But hey, always are we surprised by the unexpected.

Private Bombardier Global Express (N360LA) Larger

Sitting there was this Global Express, with sunshades all up . Was hoping that it would depart during the duraion of this trip but timing wasn't right. No worries, there were a lot more.

Korean Air Cargo B747-4B5F (HL7449)

It was raining quite a bit in the morning. This allowed for some amount of condensation to be created by this Jumbo. Click click click.......

Malindo ATR72-600 (9M-LMR)

We have quite a number of narrobodies turning into the runway via Taxiway B. I guess that is to save time since 320s and 737s don't need the full length of the runway anyway.

AirAsia A320-216 (9M-AHF)

Waiting for aircraft on Final

Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYF)

Look at how level the plane can be off the ground. This firefly took a rather long time to touchdown. But when it did, it was one smooth landing. I doubt passengers might even feel the usual bump. Now for some Narrowbodies.

Malindo B737-8GP (9M-LNS)

AirAsia A320-216 (9M-AJA)

SilkAir A320-233 (9V-SLK)


China Southern Airlines A320-214 (B-6290)


Malindo B737-9GPER (9M-LNL)


Firefly ATR72-500 (9M-FYF)


AirAsia A320-216 (9M-AJA)

Now that we are done with the Narrowbodies, the next post will feature more widebody cargo aircraft and some special schemed aircraft too.

Sultan of Brunei's visit 16 May 2016

The Sultan of Brunei came visiting during May. Stayed for a few days before departing back to Brunei in his Private jet (V8-001). And luck would have it that Skywest's Fokker 100 (VH-FNT) stopped by after a repaint. It is now in Virgin Australia Colours.

So here they are, 2 in one.

Two lovely visitors to Penang

SSLee