You Down with IAD? image heavy

[megatop412]

I was in DC this weekend to see a friend's band play and had some time to kill...and following my rule of 'never leave home without a telephoto' I decided to check out the Udvar-Hazy center's parking lot at Dulles. I ended up not even making it inside the museum, I'll have to check it out a different time.

I picked a hell of a day to go there.The wind down there was insane. INSANE. Pilots were asking for wind checks all the way down. I tuned to ATIS and heard the computer voice say "Wind 290 at 25 gusting to 38. Wind shear advisory in effect. Approach in use ILS Runway 1 Right circle to Thirty" and was like 'what the hell does that mean'. Well I found out when I came up on the Udvar-Hazy exit ramp. Apparently what they do is shoot the ILS for 1R, then just as they get to the threshold the pull this crazy left turn to line up with 30 at the last second. The turns are just beautiful, reminiscent of Kai Tak's glory days. It's kind of eerie looking actually. Too bad there wasn't a clear view of them.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/142044.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/144425.jpg
this one was the craziest
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/142730.jpg
The AF A380 comes in there, and they weren't having any of that. Tower offered to swing him a little more to the right so he could make the turn without making things too dramatic. Which precluded me from getting an even crazier shot. By the time he came into view he was settled on a nice straight-in approach
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/133834.jpg
Others that chose to keep it mellow in the turn:
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/142222.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/154357.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/154845.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/161249.jpg
Qatar was one of a few that actually attempted to crab it all the way down to 1R. Here they are going around after their first attempt, initiated after I watched what looked like them going over a speedbump in the sky:
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/143811.jpg
It was very difficult to keep the camera steady, which introduced a little blur here and there, but overall they have a real nice mix of traffic down there.
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/134529.jpg
"St. Keeva"
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/141503.jpg
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/141657.jpg
"Japan"
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/143603.jpg
"Minden"
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/145543.jpg
The 1st-delivered Boeing 777, N777UA
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/150513.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/151333.jpg
there were several red-tailed hawks in the area
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/151842.jpg
The battleship gray is alive and well worn on the regionals
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/152521.jpg
Is that a satellite antenna on your fuselage or are you just happy to see me
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/152704.jpg
my first KLM A330
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/153814.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/160009.jpg
A sudden gust hit this bus
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/150736.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/155444.jpg
I thought the 70's were over
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/155735.jpg
http://media11.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/160328.jpg
http://media10.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/161527.jpg
I leave you with a shot I wish was of better quality, but at least I have it- like strutting runway models, here is "Toste Viking" approaching while "Potsdam" flies the downwind leg(this is using all 500mm):
http://media9.dropshots.com/photos/476411/20120225/154233.jpg

[NickPeterman]

I'm glad you got to experience circle to land on a windy day at IAD. If you had let me know you were coming in, I might have ben able to drive up and meet ya!


Nick

[Ychocky]

This is awesome! Those banks are sick!

Thanks for sharing.

[Spunker]

Some really great shots there and one smokey 777! Glad I wasn't flying anywhere this past weekend with that wind.

[N221UA]

Nice angles megatop412! I was at Udvar-Hazy on 20th, paid my dues to the museum parking lot, and realized the angles aren't too great for the arrivals. I saw some family just simply walked out the parking lot and camped near the fence, and I saw another spotter simply parked in front of Udvar-Hazy at the access road. I wasn't too comfortable with either spots so I left early.

[megatop412]

I'm glad you got to experience circle to land on a windy day at IAD. If you had let me know you were coming in, I might have ben able to drive up and meet ya!


Nick

Yeah man I blew that, sorry- I was still "recovering" from the night before(went to the Rock and Roll Hotel) and I was surprised I was able to even navigate myself to Dulles. I had to imagine that R Lee Ermey was in the passenger seat shouting about how weak I was(it went something like "You call yourself a plane spotter? Why don't you go back to your little friend's house and have yourselves a little tea party, you maggot!") just so I wouldn't turn the car around and go back to sleep.

But I will certainly PM you next time I go down there. I had a blast so I'm sure I'd like to hit the parking garages next time.

[NickPeterman]

Just out of curiosity, but did you walk out of the parking lot, to the grassy area near the pay booths to get into the lot? They say good shots can be had there with a smaller lense (70-200, perhaps less). And please do, I will be having some new gear that needs testing in the next few weeks, and any excuse to go up to IAD is a valid one :)

Now if only I can find an excuse to come up to JFK...

[threeholerglory]

did you try the view from the control tower they have up there? if you paid to get into the lot, it's a free ride up top and if i'm not mistaken you can go outside and there's a great overview of the airport. it was raining when i was there last or i'd have some sample shots but it looked like it could be promising.

[NickPeterman]

I'm pretty sure they no longer let you go outside, if hey did in the past. I know people who have tried to shoot through those slanted, black tinted, panes of glass to no avail.

[megatop412]

I never ventured very far from the car due to the winds. I had no idea you could go in the tower, and even if you could that was not the day to do it. I would have been swept off whatever little balcony they have there like I was a little bug. But that would definitely be worth checking out if they still let you go outside