shamrock838
2007-06-06, 11:50 AM
Greetings,
I visited JFK Spotter Site A around 4.30p after seeing some “heavies” departing 31L after having trekked up Cross Bay Boulevard from Broad Channel. V-e-r-y windy conditions … and … no shortage of bugs at Site A.
After an hour or so of spotting I saw an increasing number of flights departing from runway 22 L/R off to the east and climbing out straight out over the Rockaways. What started out as an even mix of alternating departures (31L vs 22L/R) gradually increased in favor of 22 with a greater number of heavies … Europe-bound? … heading seaward.
When only an occasional flight came up from 31L … I trekked over the bridge and up Cross Bay Boulevard to 157th Avenue to catch a southbound Q53 to the Rockaway beach area. With the strong SW winds the surf was up and scores of surfers were out waiting for “the wave.”
With sunset approaching I caught a number of heavies departing 22L/R … though I could have used a better side angle to reduce the number of “bellies.” Next time for that. Still … I got some nice side-lighting effects on some of them.
My black camera also attracted a few suspicious looks … as it usually does in populated areas … but nothing more. Finally the light faded and that was that. Heading north (homeward) on the Q53 I noticed an occasional departure still using 31L. This was close on 9pm.
QUESTION: - does JFK often split runway departures simultaneously … like the 22s and 31s … for extended periods … or does the heavier volume of evening departures dictate this?
Mike (shamrock838)
I visited JFK Spotter Site A around 4.30p after seeing some “heavies” departing 31L after having trekked up Cross Bay Boulevard from Broad Channel. V-e-r-y windy conditions … and … no shortage of bugs at Site A.
After an hour or so of spotting I saw an increasing number of flights departing from runway 22 L/R off to the east and climbing out straight out over the Rockaways. What started out as an even mix of alternating departures (31L vs 22L/R) gradually increased in favor of 22 with a greater number of heavies … Europe-bound? … heading seaward.
When only an occasional flight came up from 31L … I trekked over the bridge and up Cross Bay Boulevard to 157th Avenue to catch a southbound Q53 to the Rockaway beach area. With the strong SW winds the surf was up and scores of surfers were out waiting for “the wave.”
With sunset approaching I caught a number of heavies departing 22L/R … though I could have used a better side angle to reduce the number of “bellies.” Next time for that. Still … I got some nice side-lighting effects on some of them.
My black camera also attracted a few suspicious looks … as it usually does in populated areas … but nothing more. Finally the light faded and that was that. Heading north (homeward) on the Q53 I noticed an occasional departure still using 31L. This was close on 9pm.
QUESTION: - does JFK often split runway departures simultaneously … like the 22s and 31s … for extended periods … or does the heavier volume of evening departures dictate this?
Mike (shamrock838)