An 06:50 flight from Gatwick on Thursday 27th meant an early start. An e-mail from Easyjet saying you should allow 3 hours to go through meant I met up with Brian about 05:00. We passed through the formalities in about 5 minutes but only having hand luggage helped. Still dark when we boarded A-319 G-EZAU for our flight to Zurich. Pushback was 2 minutes early and we were airborne off 08 at 07:10. A cup of coffee and a chicken bun later, we landed on Rwy 14 at 09:24L.
Headed straight to the security post where you catch the bus to the spectators terrace. Worth allowing plenty of time here as was busy each time we went through. This may be the last year that the Terminal E terrace will be used as the old terrace should be reopening at the end of this year.
The 12:15 ramp tour coincided with the departure of 2 Ilyushin 76s and the arrival of an Ilyushin 96 so the rest of the tour was a bit of a rush when we got to the end.
There didn't seem to be as many aircraft parked up this year. Many aircraft drop off their passengers and fly off to park elsewhere. They then return later to pick them up. You therefore need to spend several days to see most of the visitors.
Plenty of normal airliner traffic as well as biz jets coming and going. Everything departs on the runway in front of you (28/10) and good pics can be obtained as long as the sun is in. Most arrivals are on 14 and tend to just appear round the terminal unless you keep your eyes open. The terrace closes at 5 and we headed for a quick bite to eat before going to car park 6 to finish the day. Departures on 28 can still be monitored and some biz park in front of you which is why I lugged my tripod with me.
Stayed at the Ibis again and their shuttle bus is very punctual. A bite to eat before crashing out.
Friday morning and no sleeping in on these trips. Breakfast was a reasonable buffet at the hotel before catching their shuttle to the airport. Each morning we would start on CP6 and then head for the security hut to join the queue of spotters for the terrace. The 11:45 ramp tour today. This one coincided with the arrival of an Ethiopian B737 so we were taken down alongside the fast taxiway off rwy 14. This duly arrived in front of us but took up a lot of our tour plus we went round the end of rwy 16 from here to start the tour proper. It again ended in a bit of a rush but we got some more nice pictures. Last ones off the terrace and back up CP6. Adjourned for dinner in the terminal. I was up for another stint in the cold but Brian headed back to the hotel to thaw out. He didn't miss much.
Saturday morning and the usual routine. No ramp tour today so stayed on the terrace. Met up with a lot of friends today which was nice. A bit after 13:30, decided to move to CP6 as the sun had come out and the view was facing south. Got to the security hut to see a nice German Legacy (D-ATRI) starting up. Decided I was going to get a shot so set off leaving Brian to follow. Came out of the lift with camera ready and it was at the end of the runway so just caught it. It's a good spot here but don't think I could manage a whole day as the wind whistles through the slats. Dinner again in the terminal when the light went but returned later for some tripod shots. Some were pleased to see the Korean G550 (HL8200).
Sunday was our last day so checked out of the hotel after breakfast. A nice hotel and have no complaints. The staff were particularly helpful. A bit expensive though so might try somewhere else next time. Back up the car park until time to check in. Formalities fairly straight forward and we were soon through. Was hoping to catch a shot of my G4 frame (N585D) sitting in the cul de sac and as luck would have it, was the only one left. Little did I know I would catch this in Florida 2 weeks later. Headed for the train to our terminal where a few more numbers went in the book, including our first SAS CRJ-900. A nice Korean BBJ arrived just as we boarded G-EZIZ for our flight home.
Pushback was 13 minutes late at 11:08. A stop in the de-icing bay before departing rwy 28 at 11:27. Landed at Gatwick (rwy 08) 74 minutes later.
A good trip with 118 new numbers. Cold as you'd expect but worth the effort.
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