Airport Photography
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Zhuhai Airshow 2016 Record: Part 3
Regarding the formation flying of the British Royal Air Force Red Arrows aerobatic team, I found their formation explanations on the official website, and referred to the analysis of Red Arrows maneuvers. Combining these with the photos I took, I have listed the various formations to create a reference page.
Formation 0: Formation Taxi Entry
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Zhuhai Airshow 2016 Record Part 2
The photos are basically sorted out and uploaded to flickr. Feel free to visit. Today I’m writing about a niche topic: the APU of the BAE Systems Hawk trainer.
This time, watching the spectacular aerobatic formation flying of the British RAF Red Arrows at Zhuhai,
they use the Hawk trainer manufactured by British BAE Systems. -
Record of Zhuhai Airshow 2016 Part 1
I went to Zhuhai and took four or five thousand photos, but just haven’t had the time to sort through them. This weekend, I checked about a tenth of them, and only retouched a few dozen. I don’t know much about fighter jets, and my photography experience is limited, so I’m really not satisfied with many of the photos..
On the morning of Saturday, November 5th, I didn’t go to the main venue. I went to the south side of Zhuhai Airport first. This is the rooftop of a dilapidated hotel, referred to as the “Gun Tower” by Chinese netizens and as “Ruins” by Japanese netizens. Since this location has front-lighting in the morning, a large number of professionals come here to shoot. For instance, I saw a CCTV crew, and the world-famous aviation photography master Katsuhiko Tokunaga was also there.
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Farewell to the Retirement Flight of the Cathay 747-400 in the Rain
Back in August, I mentioned that Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 747-400 was about to be retired, and it was scheduled to operate its final commercial flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong on October 1st – Flight CX543. Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the day to say goodbye to the Cathay 744 has arrived.
Perhaps there is a more sentimental mood when saying farewell in the rain. For instance, in Tang Dynasty poetry, there is Wang Wei’s “Seeing Off Yuan Er on a Mission to Anxi”: “A morning rain in Weicheng settles the light dust; The willows by the guest house are fresh and green. I urge you to drain another cup of wine; West of Yangguan, there are no old friends.” And Wang Changling’s “Seeing Off Xin Jian at Furong Tavern”: “Cold rain enters Wu at night, linking with the river; At dawn, I send you off amidst the lonely mountains of Chu. If my family in Luoyang asks how I am, tell them my heart remains like ice in a jade pot.” Today, the light rain continued incessantly, as if the heavens themselves regretted the retirement of this Queen of the Skies.
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All Nippon Airways Star Wars Livery No. 3 Aircraft
About a year ago, I wrote about the maiden passenger flight of the ANA Star Wars livery 787-9 JA873A and took another look at the R2-D2 special livery aircraft taking off . Half a year ago, I also introduced the ANA Star Wars livery aircraft No. 2 JA604A , but I didn’t expect that it would take another half year to finally meet aircraft No. 3, (because it generally flies international routes from Narita Airport to the USA) It wasn’t until yesterday that I learned on Twitter that JA789A had flown from Los Angeles to Haneda Airport. Despite the poor weather, I rushed to the international terminal and finally captured it in my lens.
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Cathay Pacific's Boeing 747-400 is About to Retire
I saw this press release: Cathay Pacific Retires “Jumbo” Jetliner; Final Flight is CX543 from Tokyo (Haneda) to Hong Kong on October 1st
Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 747-400 is set to retire within the year. The final 747-400 will operate flight CX543 from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Hong Kong on October 1st.
Currently, Cathay Pacific only possesses the last three 744s, with registration numbers B-HKT, B-HUI, and B-HUJ, which are used for routes to Haneda, Narita, and Taipei.
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JA602A Special Livery Before and After
JA602A is a Boeing 767-300 passenger aircraft, which entered service in January 1998, making it 18 years old.
This aircraft was originally just an ordinary aircraft with a standard livery,
but fortunately, it was selected in 2009 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of All Nippon Airways (ANA) as the “ANA Mohican Jet”,
flying around Japan for three and a half years with a vintage livery from 20 years ago.
This year, JA602A was sold by ANA to its subsidiary Air Do (formerly Hokkaido International Airlines),
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Open Boeing 787 APU Intake Door In Flight
Continuing from the previous post Comparison of APU Inlet Doors, let’s continue discussing the APU.
In a set of photos I took in the autumn of 2012 showing a 787 before and during takeoff, I discovered that the APU inlet door was actually open!
Common knowledge tells us that the APU is the Auxiliary Power Unit, used to supply power to the aircraft while on the ground. After the engines are started, the APU is turned off, and consequently, the APU inlet door is closed, as introduced in the Comparison of APU Air Inlet Doors.
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Airport Shot from the Sea
I stumbled upon a promotional poster from a travel agency,
advertising a boat tour to view Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) from the sea, specifically within Tokyo Bay.
I had never experienced photographing aircraft from this angle before, so I signed up immediately.On the day of the event, we gathered at the International Terminal. There were about 30 participants in total. It looked like most were aviation enthusiasts; half of them were carrying DSLRs with telephoto lenses—everyone came well-prepared. We walked west from the airport for 15 minutes to reach the boarding point.
I didn’t realize there was such a pier tucked away in the Tama River. -
ANA Star Wars Livery Aircraft No. 2
I have previously introduced the first passenger flight of the ANA Star Wars livery 787-9 and watched the R2-D2 special livery take off again. Actually, there are a total of 3 Star Wars livery aircraft. The 2nd aircraft, JA604A Boeing 767-300 – “STAR WARS ANA JET”, has been in operation since last November, but I just hadn’t specifically gone out to find and photograph it until this day, when I accidentally captured it at Haneda Airport.
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CP+ 2016 Camera and Photo Imaging Show
I have been attending the CP+ Camera & Photo Imaging Show every year since 2011, and this marks my 6th time. My thoughts from last year are here – CP+ 2015 Camera & Photo Imaging Show and Aviation Photography Seminar.
I feel that the number of visitors to the venue increases every year. In an era where the economic environment is relatively depressed, the camera market remains quite vibrant, so the CP+ exhibition operation is very successful.
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Aircraft Photography at Twilight
Generally speaking, the hour or two surrounding sunrise and sunset is the prime time for photography. The light is soft and warm at this time; as sunlight refracts through the atmosphere and projects onto the clouds, it often creates a mysterious aesthetic.
Below are a few photos I took recently. I am particularly fond of these two with Mount Fuji in the background.
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Dazzling Airport Night Scenery
The weather is nice on the first day of the three-day weekend, so I came to Haneda Airport to challenge myself with some night photography. Since the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens
has lateral image stabilization, I surprisingly managed to get stable shots handheld at 1/10s, which was a huge surprise.
Below are a few photos taken at the observation deck on the roof of Terminal 1.
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Hawaii Air Tour 2015 (Real Flight)
It has been a busy week at work, with several days of overtime until 10 PM. So, to relax this weekend, I’m looking at some photos of the Hawaiian scenery taken a few months ago to relieve some physical fatigue.
The company I contacted for this flight is Noah Flying. Their main business is charter flights for commercial purposes and pilot training. To promote their services, they also conduct sightseeing flights, using a C172. The owner is Japanese, used to fly Boeing 737s for an airline, and later started his own company at Honolulu International Airport.
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Another Look at the R2-D2 Special Livery Takeoff
Following up on the previous post Shooting the inaugural passenger flight of the ANA Star Wars livery 787-9.
Yesterday morning, I went to another nearby flight simulation shop, LUXURY FLIGHT. I flew the 737NG for an hour; I will summarize that experience slowly over the weekend. After finishing, I rushed to Haneda Airport Terminal 2, because on this day, the R2-D2 special livery aircraft began its domestic passenger operations. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to shoot the takeoff of flight ANA555 in the afternoon.
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Filming the First Passenger Flight of ANA's Star Wars Livery 787-9
Ever since ANA announced the Star Wars Project, I have been looking forward to capturing this much-anticipated aircraft. Yesterday, I finally achieved my goal.
On Saturday, the R2-D2 aircraft conducted its maiden flight with passengers at Haneda Airport. This aircraft features a livery modeled after the famous robot R2-D2 from Star Wars, and it is said that the painting work at the Boeing factory took twice as long as usual. The purpose of this flight was to provide an aerial tour for lottery-selected tourists. The route was a departure from Tokyo Haneda Airport, passing over Mount Fuji, Lake Biwa, Kyoto, and other areas, then returning via Nagoya and Izu to Haneda. Since the route was similar to the A350 flight last year, I bet again on a departure from Runway 05 and a landing on 34L, setting the photography location at Ukishima Park.
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Filming Vietnam Airlines A350-900 Takeoff
Following the previous post, the moment of departure has arrived. Below is a record of the series of processes from pushback to takeoff.
At 9:15 AM, cargo loading was complete, and ground crew began closing the cargo doors.
At 9:18 AM, two maintenance staff entered the cockpit with the loadsheet (weight and balance). The Captain and First Officer verified the data together.
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Capturing Vietnam Airlines A350-900: Ground Operations
Since first seeing the A350 last November, this eye-catching latest passenger jet has completed various tests and gradually entered commercial operation. To date, Airbus has delivered a total of 5 aircraft to Qatar Airways, Vietnam Airlines, and Finnair, but I haven’t had the chance to see one with my own eyes until now. Fortunately, on September 20th, Vietnam Airlines finally put the A350-900 into service on the Narita-Ho Chi Minh VN300/VN301 flight. Since it was a Sunday, I couldn’t miss such a great photo opportunity.
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787 Photos Taken at Narita Aerospace Museum
On the 3rd floor of the Aviation Museum at Narita, there is a small observation balcony, with RWY34L right before your eyes. Therefore, it is quite good for close-up shots of aircraft on approach to land, and those waiting for takeoff on the Taxiway. However, there are some downsides: one is that there are many visitors, which easily blocks the view. Another is the backlighting in the afternoon, which inevitably calls for exposure compensation. Of course, in the summer, heat haze is severe, so details of aircraft on the ground are completely obscured.
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Watching Trijets at Honolulu Airport
Went on a sightseeing flight in Hawaii again, took a few snapshots of some trijets on the Apron that are rarely seen in Japan anymore, sharing them here.
First is the Boeing 727, a 727-200 from Asia Pacific Airlines, registration number N705AA.
Asia Pacific Airlines is a cargo airline providing cargo charter services in the Asia-Pacific region, operating a total of 3 Boeing 727s.
