JFK - 10/15/10: Boeing Dreamlifter

[moose135]

Thanks to the heads up on the "Inbound" thread, I headed out to JFK to catch the Boeing Dreamlifter. First time I've seen it in person. I knew they were going to come in on 31 - the winds were 300 at 20+knots, but I wasn't sure if they would come left or right. Of course, my scanner was at home:frown: I set up at Firestone, and was able to get LiveATC on the laptop, and heard Approach clear them for 31R, so I was all set. The sun poked through just enough to give me some reasonable light.

http://www.moose135photography.com/Airplanes/Airliners-and-Airport-Spotting/Kennedy-Airport/JM20101015N718BA001/1049360894_isJk2-L.jpg

http://www.moose135photography.com/Airplanes/Airliners-and-Airport-Spotting/Kennedy-Airport/JM20101015N718BA003/1049361037_E4v8m-L.jpg

http://www.moose135photography.com/Airplanes/Airliners-and-Airport-Spotting/Kennedy-Airport/JM20101015N718BA005/1049361187_q5WVJ-L.jpg

http://www.moose135photography.com/Airplanes/Airliners-and-Airport-Spotting/Kennedy-Airport/JM20101015N718BA006/1049361267_yRhVx-L.jpg

Etihad F-1 came in a little before the Dreamlifter, but it was a little too dark, and I didn't get a decent shot.

[eric8669]

Nice Catch! Great shots!

[gonzalu]

Wow superb catch... maybe I 'll get lucky and catch it while it leaves during the weekend... if it even moves while I try to get my first spotting session under my belt LOL

But man, that is one ugly airplane.. you would think Boeing could have thought about aesthetics as well as functionality... anyone know why it is here? I thought it was only used to ferry parts for the 787 Dreamliner...

[Zee71]

Nice catch...........does anyone know if the Dreamlifter is still here or did it depart already. Would like to catch this as well.

[NLovis]

WHAT!? I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR IT TO RETURN. DOE. To think i was at H-19 earlier in the day as well. DOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
http://i29.servimg.com/u/f29/14/69/87/53/img_1613.jpg

[adscram14]

Great catch Moose!

[gonzalu]

I am going to break the ice today... I will be heading out to JFK maybe around 12 today for my first spotting outing. Wish me luck, and if you see me, hold my hand LOL.

[Spunker]

Great grabs Moose

[Spunker]

Hi Mannt, I think it looks better than The Airbus Beluga

[gonzalu]

Actually, funny you say that, I think the beluga is nicer... smoother lines... The DreamLifter is like an afterthought... a bolt on for function more than a clean design... it just starts abruptly behind the cockpit etc. The Airbus seems to be well thought out with the cockpit being designed lower in the fuselage to accommodate the huge bulb...

I mean, these are really amazing departures from normal and to me, it is a miracle they fly at all. Anyone who has seen a C-5, 747, A380 or similar take off can;t help but wonder how the heck that monstrosity flies at all :-)

[eric8669]

Nice catch...........does anyone know if the Dreamlifter is still here or did it depart already. Would like to catch this as well.

As of 10AM it was still there.

[chrisparypa]

excellent catch !!

[hiss srq]

It's like John Goodman with a verticle stabilizer on his ass.

[Zee71]

Here are few I got this morning.

http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Aviation/Odd-Stuff/Dreamlifter04JFK16Oct2010/1050174487_RosVb-XL.jpg

http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Aviation/Odd-Stuff/Dreamlifter02JFK16Oct2010/1050174502_b9qQE-XL.jpg

One from the bridge in HoBe......boy do I wish I had a longer lens!!!
http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Aviation/Odd-Stuff/Dreamlifter05JFK16Oct2010/1050173824_zqBJx-XL.jpg

[DHG750R]

Plans subject to change, will likely sit till about noon Fri

BTW, Moose, excellent shots there!

[Nick]

Looks like a snake that just ate a big meal.

[gonzalu]

Zee71 and I tried a few different angles from the bridge at HoBe but still no clear shots...

http://manny.smugmug.com/photos/1051508895_LgjQA-O.jpg

http://manny.smugmug.com/photos/1051508915_K8XeP-O.jpg

http://manny.smugmug.com/photos/1051508943_opmfG-O.jpg

And a longer lens would not necessarily get you better images. Heat shimmer was horrible and the best shot I got was resting on the railing... the wind was bad and the lens acted like a sail, tough for sharp pics. Note these were at 650mm + 1.5 crop factor !! bad IQ at full size.

[gonzalu]

10-16 Still there in the same exact spot... I don;t think they have even opened the rear...

[NLovis]

Plans subject to change, will likely sit till about noon Fri

BTW, Moose, excellent shots there!

That is what I heard as well. Is going to sit untill 10/22. ETD is unknown

[gonzalu]

A security officer told Zee71 that maybe Wednesday...

[Zee71]

She said that, but I have a feeling she wasn't really sure. When I snapped the photo's another guy stated towards the end of the week. I'm thinking Friday as well.

Bottomline.........we'll have to keep our ears peeled, eyes wide open, and shutters ready to go!!!! I'm carrying my camera with me to work this week just in case someone here posts something about this bird departing.

[Mateo]

Bloody f$#%@ing hell. I did nothing on Saturday, went in to Manhattan on Sunday, but decided to just stay in the City and not go out to Queens, and all this time, a Dreamlifter was sitting there! So, I shuffled some pieces of my schedule around and cleared out tomorrow afternoon for some Jamaica time. Can someone please chock it until 4:30 or so?

EDIT: Just remembered it belongs to Atlas now and not Evergreen. Is it parked somewhere that's visible from the terminals? Don't care about photos; just IDing the thing.

[NLovis]

Bloody f$#%@ing hell. I did nothing on Saturday, went in to Manhattan on Sunday, but decided to just stay in the City and not go out to Queens, and all this time, a Dreamlifter was sitting there! So, I shuffled some pieces of my schedule around and cleared out tomorrow afternoon for some Jamaica time. Can someone please chock it until 4:30 or so?

EDIT: Just remembered it belongs to Atlas now and not Evergreen. Is it parked somewhere that's visible from the terminals? Don't care about photos; just IDing the thing.

No. When it was parked at building 87 you could at least get a nice shot from the fence at cargo service road but now its all the way on the other side of the airport in an isolated area, hanger 19. You would need to be on the AOA in order to get it on the ground. Otherwise You need to be around JFK and keep an eye open. Rumor is that it is departing sometime on friday.

[Mateo]

Aargh. Even if it's all the way out there, I should be able to see it from the Lefferts/Long Term Parking AirTrain stop, right?

[gonzalu]

Here, it is sitting exactly in this spot!!

http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&q=jfk+airport&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=John+F.+Kennedy+International+Airport,+Queen s,+New+York&gl=us&ei=Jly_TJrMEoP-8AaGoOjqBA&ved=0CCMQ8gEwAA&ll=40.654719,-73.81834&spn=0.008953,0.010965&t=h&z=17

if you have trouble with the link above, try this one

Boeing Dream Lifter Parking Spot (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=John+F.+Kennedy+International+Airport,+Queen s,+New+York&gl=us&ei=Jly_TJrMEoP-8AaGoOjqBA&ved=0CCMQ8gEwAA&t=h&hl=en&msa=0&msid=115229821993898284261.00049312ffc5d37b56223&z=20&iwloc=0004931302fa01a95de8f)

[Mateo]

Thanks to all; turns out it was visible from the monorail on the Federal Circle-T1 leg, and with all credit to Nick, I'm calling it the Snake from now on - that's exactly what it looks like!

[gonzalu]

Just looked at Flightaware for any flight plans... nothing posted :-( Does anyone have a clue as if it will leave early or afternoon? Can't make the morning but can sure try in the afternoon ;-)

[Zee71]

As of this morning 10/21, the Dreamlifter was still parked and nothing happening around the aircraft.

[DHG750R]

Looks like planned to leave now 630pm Fri evening. Not the greatest light , looks like the winds will favor the 31's into tomorrow afternoon

[gonzalu]

Sun set officially at 6:06PM and given that it will likely be LATE taking off, not so sure the light would be terrific. However the advantage is that they will likely do a Breezy Poit Climb or a Canarsie Climb which would make it face the sun. If they turn early, we could be doomed from HoBe with belly shots... is it OK to go right on the beach up to the train tracks? or is that area forbidden? Not the tracks, just near them.

Twi A: 5:42am
Twi N: 6:14am
Twi: 6:46am
Sunrise: 7:14am
Sunset: 6:06pm
Twi: 6:34pm
Twi N: 7:06pm
Twi A: 7:38pm
Moonrise: 5:33pm
Moonset: 6:52am
Full Moon: 8:37pm

[gonzalu]

Anyone have a clue on Flight Number and / or Aircraft type? Is it a B744 or B74C or what ? :-)

[seahawks7757]

On flightaware it will show as GTI for the callsign and file as a 744.

[Zee71]

Only shot I was able to get off at ISO 10,000 of the Dreamlifter departing in total darkness from HoBe. The Dreamlifter departed on 4L about 7:35pm.

http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Aviation/Odd-Stuff/Dreamlifter03JFK22Oct2010/1059995554_oQD7r-L.jpg

[seahawks7757]

Nice Mark lol

[lijk604]

Mark, on Derf's website he has a gallery of picutres titled "Grainy but worth it" This is the type of shot that fills that criteria. Nice catch.

[gonzalu]

Well, it turned out to be a bust, not 100% but 99% from a point of view of photography and enjoyment LOL. We waited around all day literally at Hobe. Mark and Conrad lasted until the very last minute when it finally took off, waaay late to get any pictures and regardless, the takeoff runway was changed to 4L with some flights out of 31L.

The departure began when Mark noticed the APU tail light come on. Then, while we were keeping an eye on it, it got dark... then it moved and we lost it completely. We found it again taxiing...

http://manny.smugmug.com/photos/1060589349_EjTHf-O.jpg

http://manny.smugmug.com/photos/1060589388_Fns8A-O.jpg

a heavily cropped closeup. Mind you this was shot in complete darkness... at ISO 6400

http://manny.smugmug.com/photos/1060589426_uNVD4-O.jpg

and eventually at 7:35pm, it left... I got lucky when I barely noticed the blue tail in the dark. This is a heavily cropped thumbnail in the center of the frame :-(

http://manny.smugmug.com/photos/1060589310_NMXAP-O.jpg

Thanks to Mark and Conrad for keeping me company to the very chilly end... it was freezing!