Another foreign trip barely 2 weeks after returning from Switzerland.
Sunday Feb 11th saw me at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 to meet up with Brian and check in for American Airlines flight 57 to Miami. Not really surprised that we had to pay an extra £20 each for the Airport Passenger Duty even though the airline had told Brian over the phone that it would not be charged.
Our 777 N752AN pushed back just 2 minutes after the departure time and we were soon rolling down runway 27L for a 9 hour 6 minute flight.
Entry formalities were fairly easy and my fingerprints and photograph were added to the database.
Headed for the Avis desk to complete the paperwork and then a shuttle bus to pick up the car. Brian had ordered a compact so we were quite surprised to see a Kia Sorrento in our space. Slightly bigger than I’m used to (I drive a Fiesta) but am always up for a challenge. We decided that we’d stay at Miami until it was dark so headed off for NW 36 Street to find a vantage point.
The main carrier at MIA is American with many 737-800s and 757s (both with and without winglets) plus A-300s. No MD-80s seen. American Eagle have a good presence with ATR-72s and Embraer jets. A good number of biz here plus many freighters. I counted 10 727s on the cargo ramp when we arrived.
We moved round to the photographers area next to runway 12 where there are holes cut out in the fence. A few spots of rain at dusk so we decided to set off to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale. It started to rain once we left Miami and didn’t really stop until Tuesday morning. Most of our travelling over the week was up and down the I95 so the navigator wasn’t too overtaxed.
The chosen hotel was the Ramada Plaza just a couple of blocks west of Fort Lauderdale Exec. It was adequate but suffered from a lack of nearby eating places.
Monday – I never get a good nights sleep the first night arriving in the US so getting up at 05:00 was not a problem. Decided that as the hotel restaurant didn’t open until 7 this was far too late. Most mornings were therefore usually spent waiting for McDonalds to open at 6. Not my favourite eating establishment but better than going hungry.
Started with a circuit of Fort Lauderdale Exec (in the drizzle) and a few biz in the book as you’d expect. A short drive south down the I95 to Fort Lauderdale International. Found the viewing area by the threshold of runway 09L. Pictures can be taken through the fence here but officially you’re not supposed to approach the fence. Saw my first JetBlue aircraft here. Plenty of their A-320s seen. Also prevalent are Spirit with 319s and 320s. Air Tran too with 717s and 737s.
Foreign airlines here include Aero Mexico (B73G) Air Canada (319/320/321), Air Jamaica (320/321) and Westjet (B73G). Like most Florida airports, loads of biz were seen.The weather was getting worse as the afternoon went on and we packed up at 4 (must have been bad!) but another look at Exec before giving up completely. Arrived in time to see a G4 preparing to depart so “Gulfstream mode” was selected and a vantage point found to get a shot (N669BJ). While exploring the nooks and crannies, an open door at the back of a hangar revealed a Westwind so a quick stop to get a better look. We were then invited to see the boss so hands were shaken and we went in. Showing enthusiasm for these Israeli birds resulted in cameras being fetched and shots taken. Needed to go out on the ramp to get pictures and as it was pouring they must have realised we were keen. An excellent way to finish the day.
Tuesday – north up the I95 today to Palm Beach. Arrived at about 07:20 to find the viewing park which was supposed to open at sunrise. In reality it was opened on each of the 3 days we were here at 08:00. The rain had finally stopped and a very pleasant day was spent here logging and photographing the many biz movements here. Airliners seen included Air Tran, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, Southwest and US Airways. Only break today was a visit to the terminal where I sneaked off and had a pizza leaving Brian peering in to the distant hangars from the car park roof. Finished at about 6 and headed home.
Wednesday – back down to Miami to meet up with Gavin for breakfast at Dennys. Brian wanted to spend the day here so I let Gavin drive me over to Opa Locka. Not very busy here but some really interesting aircraft present. 3 Antonov 26s and an Antonov 12 were nice as was a pair of old Gulfstream 2s. A line up of a DC-4, 6 and 7 was spoiled when the DC-6 started up and departed. What a great sight!Back to Miami mid morning where the rest of the day was spent in the sunshine watching and photographing the movements. A 4th An-26 arrived here which I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing in the US.
Thursday / Friday – consecutive visits to West Palm Beach these days. All I can say is “loads of biz”.
Saturday – a quick visit down to Miami to start for a Mexican G4 before returning back up I95 to Fort Lauderdale for the rest of the day. Due to the change of wind direction, we parked ourselves up on the Hibiscus car park by the terminal where a good view over the whole airport was had. An unusual moment was when the blocks of flats in the distance started to move before we realised that they were actually cruise ships. Another interesting selection of airliners, this time in the sunshine.
Off topic slightly was a contrail that appeared in the north and then just disappeared. This turned out to be a launch from Cape Canaveral of a satellite. Another first.
Sunday – was our last day so check out from our hotel. Another thorough trip round Fort Lauderdale Exec again in the rain. We found the dumped Mexican 125 this time and I managed to get some shots of some Sabres.
Then noticed that G3 N500EF was in which I’d been hoping for all week. Decided that the camera HAD to be pointed at this one. Couldn’t find a way so decided to ask at the reception of Aztec Aviation expecting to be told to go away. Was surprised to be told that if I came back in an hour it might be possible. It was indeed possible but a tug that wouldn’t come off until the battery was recharged and the awful weather didn’t help but I got a couple of shots. This and sightings of the based G450 (N464ST) and 550 (N565ST) meant I was happy.Back down to Miami where we had time for about an hour by the fence before returning our car to Avis. 622 miles of fairly uneventful motoring. Shuttle bus to the American terminal where we joined the queue for check in followed by the queue for baggage check in but no queue for security. My first beer for a week and a pizza and everything was going well. We boarded our 777 30 minutes before departure and then things started to go wrong. The flight was overbooked so I think this was creating a problem but then a technical problem couldn’t be fixed so the aircraft was withdrawn from service and we all got off after 2 hours. Eventually we all marched to the other end of the terminal as another aircraft had been found and we finally pushed back 4 and a half hours late. Must confess though that I had one of the best sleeps I’ve ever had on a flight so it passed fairly easily. The 7 and a half hour flight arrived at Heathrow at 10:10 the following morning.
A tiring (through lack of decent sleep at first) but very enjoyable trip. May well do the same thing next year.
My pics can be seen at http://bob-holland.fotopic.net/ Gulfstreams and Legacy shots are mostly in their own collections now.
