1st Post of 2011 ! JFK

[Roush6NY]

Was out for a few hours this afternoon, lost light pretty fast but had just enough for my catch of the day !!!

Manny it was a pleasure meeting you, I hope you made it on time to catch her takeoff

[gonzalu]

Kaz!! You did a HELL OF A JOB with the $sh1tt1 light!! I hate days like today because when I woke up, it sucked me into going out spotting thinking it would be nice all day. No sooner did I arrive and it took a dive. I ALMOST almost made it to the mounds. But when I got there, the light was still to the left of the planes meaning it would be back lit. Then JFK switched to 13's which suckered me into the spot we met at. And as Zee71 always tells me, stick to one spot and don't move LOL.

Yeah, we made it to Innwood to catch her leaving but the light was bad, it was far, it was high, it was ... GONE!! lol.

It was a pleasure meeting you and your wife as well. Too bad we did not have time to talk. Next time, let's make sure we do it at HoBe or Panera or somewhere where we can comfortably chew the fat! My pics will come up in a few... had a lot to do when I got home ... and that alone took one hour after Dubai 001 left :-(

[Roush6NY]

It was the same for me as far as the light, as soon as I left the house it looked great, as I was telling you after 20 min of being at the mounds it was GONE !

Looking forward to our next meet for sure pal

[hiss srq]

The Emrati 747-400 came in just as I was getting ready to step off and head home... They had a suprisingly small contingant compared to the normal armada that meets the airplane on the ramp... Lately this airplane has been to and fro quite often... At least twice in the last 3 weeks.... It's been an interesting month for VIP aircraft from the middle east. Everything from the Saudi Airbus to the Saudi 744 to this airplane. Great catch

[Zee71]

I can't believe I missed that UAE! I was going to take a quick peek this morning around JFK but had other things to take care (darn darn darn!!!). Great catches for the start of 2011!

Manny............there are times to move and then there are times to stay put. I was watching some of the arrivals for 13L from home, but nothing out of the ordinary.

[Roush6NY]

Thanks so much Mark

[Roush6NY]

Here are a few more, the light was pretty much gone at this point, did my best !

[gonzalu]

Kaz, I heard them announce on tower and figured you would catch them (Evergreen and Speedbird) nice catches even though the sun was gone (not that it was showing anyway)

Mark, we missed you today :-) But don;t worry, we spotted with you in our hearts!!

Well, crappy light == crappy results... here goes nothing. There was a general haze in the air that got progressively worse throughout the day. Notify NYC did announce air quality alerts for three days in a row. That is not only bad for your lugs, it is really bad for your exposures!

Started on Woodmere Park because The Mounds for 22L in the morning is no good (back-lit) . Woodmere is great for early 31R/22L arrivals before the sun crosses over the flight path, if only the air quality was better.







Air Jamaica was replaced with this North American this morning.



Never saw this guy on the trackers and it came in really low and from a 31R orientation (at least it seemed that way to me from my vantage point as it was turning hard until it lined up.)



Suicide Shot from Rockaway Blvd. I just stopped on the right side on a snow bank and shot as he came in on 22R. Traffic was very light today and I had no one behind me.



13L arrival while I was driving past the ALS



Now they went to 13s while 22L was shut down for FOD. One of the center-line lights had a problem and apparently was loose on the RWY



The eventually split 22/13 and there was a point where a 31L took off while 13R departures were going on. It must be fun for you ATC guys while the winds are calm :-)



My fav of the day until the UAE came in. Although I rushed it and got camera shake while trying to align the planes in the frame and so the American Eagle is blurred.



And the first rare catch of the year!! I already had shots of it in dusk at Hangar 35 (??) by the Triple Hangars but was not happy with it. I also had it coming on on 31R but from Innwood it is too far... so I was very happy to finally catch it at least close up if not flying.





The light just collapsed to shugar lol





Our attempt to catch Dubai 001 Heavy departing ended up as this really tight crop. At 400mm on 1.5x crop, Innwood is still too far from 22R :-( This image is for my archives... embarrased to show it but who cares, it is FUN! ;-)



It is a spec in the center of the frame on the original...

Overall, I think I accomplished getting out of the house and rewarded myself for playing Mr. Mom all day yesterday. Of course tomorrow will be perfectly sunny all day, Mark will be out and will catch the Space Shuttle on 22L from The Mounds... and I will be home licking my wounds... waaaaa!

[Zee71]

Excellent catches Manny even from Woodmere......you did done good!

[eric8669]

Of course tomorrow will be perfectly sunny all day, Mark will be out and will catch the Space Shuttle on 22L from The Mounds... and I will be home licking my wounds... waaaaa!

Manny, I think the shuttle would come in on 31L.

[gonzalu]

That's worse as you can still catch it from Innwood.... wait I forgot about you! You would catch the Swiss Air San Fran Scheme [again] and it will never come back... my luck.

[N221UA]

Very nice stuff Kaz! I woke up too late and the lighting was sh!t already.

[Lrusso]

Great Shots from all!

I love the UAE 747, the zoomed BA and Manny's American 777.


How were the mounds with all the snow did someone shovel them or something?

[TSGSpotting]

I love the turquoise on the Korean 773!

[Roush6NY]

Thanks guys !

The mounds are not good, I was taking my shots from the middle of the field where some snow was melted, I tried to get up there but the closer I got the snow was deeper so I just backed off.