Night Spotting

I'm starting to get bored watching Emirates arrive. KLM's 777s coming in at sunset is also a little tedious at this point. Even gawking at Cathay's A346 on short final gets a bit old.

It's not the most 'sane' of ideas, but I've been wanting to spend a few hours at night watching all the stuff we don't normally see. The EK A345 departure at 11-something PM for one thing...I hear KLM has a 744 on the night run most days of the week, too, and the Cathay A343 (yes, -300) from Vancouver is one regular most of us have never seen.

Not to mention all the obscure cargo flights...

Perhaps some of you guys would be interested in screwing up your whole body clock by heading out for an inside-out spotting day one Friday or Saturday evening or night. Like 8PM through midnight (and beyond??)...I'm sure most movements are few and far between, but I'm serious.

Thoughts? Would anybody even be up for it? Photos would be stupid (save for a tripod and light-streaks), but I'd love to drive through the airports at that hour and look around, or even go out on a clear night with a few guys and watch logo lights (plus logo), a pair of strobes, and a red beacon climb out of 31L or arrive on 31R.


Brian

I would not mind doing something like that. I would like to see the China Airlines 747 and I hear sometimes they bring in the A340.


Eric

Eric,

Glad to hear you're up for it. If there are a few more people interested maybe we can actually plan something.

I went out around 9PM or so last August/September (it was really dark) and stood in the El Al Cargo parking lot for a little while. An Asiana 744, Air Jamaica A340, and other stuff came in on the Canarise...but there was a China Airlines Cargo 744 holding to take off on 13L for 10 or 15 minutes...and when those landing lights came on and the engines throttled up...wow...something I won't soon forget, that's for sure!

Brian

I'd be up for it, too.

I have done a couple trips to JFK at night... the last one was at Costco on a Saturday night around 11:30-midnight. Very interesting, to say the least.

Steve, didn't I see videos of late-night arrivals on your site? I remember seeing COPA whizzing by in complete darkness, but surprisingly I was still able to make out the logo on the plane.

Yep that was that one time... damn it was chilly at the time!

I've been wanting to do some evening and night time shots. The week nights are pretty open for me.

i'd be up for it, provided i don't need to be in work at o' dark thirty...