By me
All photos me too, copyrighted
Having recently gotten into a position where I do a fair bit of air travel (to put it mildly!), I had suddenly (and somewhat unexpectedly) found myself being served with ever-increasing opportunities to snap – up close – various flying machinery operating out of Europe’s major airports. While these naturally tend to be of the airliner variety (and therefore not the default topic here), every once in awhile I do come across a true gem, something so fascinating, rare and unusual that it immediately warrants a feature at Achtung, Skyhawk! 🙂 .
Even though snaps of these machines are still few in number – with my definition of “fascinating” mostly to blame 😀 – I feel they are nevertheless numerous enough for me to cobble together a short, but hopefully interesting, post for my viewers’ pleasure. For a bit of added “weight”, I have also decided to add a couple of shots taken “en route”, showing that the journey to the destination airport can indeed be half the (photographic) fun!
As a tool for doing business, a 737-200 bizjet may not really be the best of choices; but as a statement of style, very, very few machines come close! An absolutely stunning 1981 classic, VP-CAQ had – interestingly – never seen a day of passenger operations, having been delivered with an executive interior straight from the factory. Often seen flying all over Europe (despite the EU’s stringent noise regulations), at the time this photo was taken CAQ had already been parked at Dubrovnik Airport (LDDU) for several days, likely waiting on a client…
A photo that perfectly encapsulates a popular Croatian saying: “to have more luck than brains”! It’s not often one gets a spontaneous chance to photograph a VIP military transport on the apron of a major European aerodrome – without someone trying to chase you away! Enjoying the early morning sun on one of Vienna Airport’s (LOWW) remote aprons while waiting for Mr. John Kerry (who was in town to attend some nuclear talks).
An interesting visitor from the north easily standing out among the Citation and Falcon crowd at Zadar’s Zemunik Airport (LDZD). Operated by Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, 57+05 is normally based by the North Sea and is used (as can be inferred from the titles on the fuselage) for detection and monitoring of sea pollution. Interestingly, this machine is not a classic Dornier-built example, but the NG model, produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics and assembled in Germany by RUAG (the owner of the Do-228 type certificate).
Nature showing off what it can do as we maneuver around a growing towering cumulus near Zurich (LSZH), Switzerland. Easily visible are little pouch formations hanging beneath the cloud called “mammatus clouds”, which are an early indication that this cloud could eventually produce a heavy storm.
Enjoying the charming (and unbeatable) atmosphere of the cockpit at night as we cruise southwards across the Alps, roughly halfway between Munich (EDDM) in Germany and Klagenfurt (LOWK) in Austria…
Saluting the setting sun on another beautiful, calm and crisp summer evening. Traversing southbound above the Northern Adriatic Sea – just off the Istrian Peninsula and Pula Airport (LDPL) – we were treated to this fantastic view by a large high pressure area that had been parked over the region for several days…
Achtung, Skyhawk! 