The usual early start on Saturday 15th November found me at Gatwick meeting up with Brian and Alex and checking in for Virgin's flight 43. Initial check in is done electronically which I suppose speeds up the baggage check process. We were told the flight was 30 minutes late but no idea why. In the end, push back was only 35 minutes late so not too bad. B747-400 G-VROS left the gate at 11:22 (STD 10:45) and was off runway 26 at 11:39. The flight was pretty full but then it is the only operator on this route. Leg room was only just adequate but then it usually is when you're over 6 foot.
Our flight lasted 10 hours 33 minutes and we landed on runway 01R at McCarran where the temperature was a lovely 72 degrees (slightly warmer than Gatwick). The moment was caught for posterity at www.airliners.net
Entry formalities were fairly straight forward and as we came out of the customs hall, we were met by the 4th member of the group, Martin, holding the sort of sign that drivers hold for their clients enscribed "B. WEMBLEY" which will give you an idea of our Mart.
Only an hour or so of daylight so we went up to the car park to see what could be seen. The first thing that strikes you from here is the skyline of casinos and hotels. It's quite impressive.

Alaskan B737-800 N560AS arrives 01L as seen from the sports centre
Frontier A-319 N906FR taxis past the crash gate for a 01 departure
Have to confess that after a few days it tends to go a bit quiet in the middle of the day so on Tuesday, Alex and I decided to see if we could find Henderson (KHND). We headed south down LV Blvd and were soon out in the middle of nowhere. After about 4 miles, turn left at the lights and then follow the signs off to the right. There is a nice modern terminal and I can recommend the restaurant upstairs (Landings) where a nice leisurely lunch was taken. The ramp contained a reasonable number of exec jets on each of our visits. Thoroughly enjoyed my visits here especially with 3 different Gulfstreams seen.
A surprising amount of military was seen throughout the trip. Navy F-18s, a C-27, a KC-135R plus a Canadian C-130 and from the RAF, a VC-10 and Tristar supporting 3 Harriers and a Tornado.
On our last full day, most of us decided to have a run up to North Las Vegas (KVGT) to see what could be seen. There is a nice little cafe on top of the terminal which gives good views over the field and serves nice snacks and cold drinks. Vision Air operate a number of Dorniers on pleasure flights so this kept the interest going. There are also some stored ones which we managed to find and photograph.
All in all, a great trip and of course lovely weather. Not sure that I'd want to do a 'proper' holiday as LV is based on gambling which doesn't interest me. A couple of walks in to town after dark to see the lights was nice but that's about it really.
On our last day, we dropped the car off early as Martin was going home a different way and had a much earlier flight. Our flight home was on B744 G-VGAL. We were airborne off 07L at 17:08 and landed at Gatwick on 26 at 10:26, 9 hours and 22 minutes later. Pictures from the trip at http://www.bob-holland.fotopic.net/c1617397.html
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