JFK 8/18 Want to catch Pink Delta? Go to the Mounds!

[kc2aqg]

Here's the recap of our awesome day of spotting at Firestone and the Mounds. The day started with me and Adam (Adam613) at Firestone spotting arrivals to 31R. We later joined Nick V, John (Moose), and "The Other Phil" (Phil Gengler) at Firestone where we shot a few nice looking birds including Zoom, which Nick was jumping to get, Virgin America, Royal Jordanian, among others. The light was pretty decent and the lack of cloud cover was definitely a plus. Here are a few examples (keeping in mind these are non-DSLR with very basic editing):









As the light went down on Firestone, we were thinking of calling it a day when all of a sudden we noticed that the stream of arrivals had stopped to 31R. After a quick check of the ATIS, JFK had officially switched over to the 22's, and after some evaluation of the light, we decided to go to the mounds. Now I know some on this board have labeled the mounds as a sub-par site for shooting due to the insects and overgrown shrubbery surrounding the spot. Let me tell you that we really squeezed some nice late-afternoon light out of this spot with some very nice shots for some VERY nice liveries. Granted the spot requires you to be a bit rugged, I'll be first in line to recommend it to anyone when the 22's are in use at the right time of day.

That said, Nick and Adam brought some great spotter's luck to the table. Not only did we catch Zoom and Virgin America out at Firestone, but we managed to catch the Air Canada A319 in the "Trans Canadian" Colors, the EuroFly A330, some various heavies making some wide S-turns on final, and most importantly (and a very big surprise to all of us): PINK DELTA!













And thus, the phrase "Want to catch Pink Delta? Go to THE MOUNDS!" was born. All in all, a great day with some great people. Thanks all of you guys for a good time and looking forward to seeing your posts!

[AirtrafficController]

really nice pics even from a non-dslr wish I was there to shoot.

[lijk604]

Ahhh...but you see, you can also catch Pink Delta @ HoBe! First time visit there for me, definitely an experience (but that's another story). I had family commitments in the afternoon, so I went for some famous HoBe banks in the morning. The wind was howling at times but you could not have asked for a better morning. At least for my next visit there, I know I dont have to get up so dang early, the light was really rough until around 10am or so. But enough of this balather...on with the show.

Pink Delta (starting her day)


First catch of the day


Tough light here


This one's for Big Phil


Delta Shuttle E-170


Song still around


Delta B738


TAM (One of my Top 3 of the day)


I have more to process, but I am burnt, literally & figuratively, will do more over the next few days.
Those include:
Copa B738
JAL B744 (x2)
Ethiad (A345)
Ryan Air (B757)
Taca (A319) - 75th Anniversary scheme

[NIKV69]

Was a nice evening at JFK. We were blessed with friendly NCPD officers and some good aircraft to shoot. A nice dinner finished off the evening as well.

Here is Pink Delta. Glad it came so you guys could get her in good conditions.

[nwafan20]

Wow, looks like you had great weather! Good pictures all!

[MarkLawrence]

DAMN...I need Pinky!!!!...please send her to FLA!!!..LOL

[adam613]

A good time was had by all! Thanks to Andy for the ride, Nick for the help with the NCPD, and everyone for the photography tips...there's a noticeable improvement in my shots after we ran into you guys :)

A few that haven't been posted yet.

Emirates A340 - not unusual, but one of my better pics:


EOS - a personal favorite that I had yet to catch:


Somewhat blurry Pink Delta:


I've got more, but it's late and I don't feel like editing anymore. I'll post a link to the rest tomorrow.

[PhilDernerJr]

Wow. All of you, great pictures. I especially love the TAM bank from HoBe!

[moose135]

Wow, today we had some of the best spotting weather I remember in a long time! Since I went to LGA first, I missed the Zoom and some of the other earlier stuff, but more than made up for that with some later catches. I was sitting at the light waiting to go into Firestone and I saw Nassau's Finest having a chat with Nick and company, but as he said, they were friendly.



It's not Wunala, but it will do:





This one's for you, Phil!


Things really heated up at The Mounds.


One of two Eurofly's we saw.








Along with Virgin America, these were the highlights of the day, a pleasant surprise.





Great shots, everyone. John, you got some nice shots at HoBe - that TAM departure is super. It was great seeing everyone out today. We got quite a haul - I ended up with 3 special schemes, a new airline, and a pair of Hornets

[Iberia A340-600]

Look like I missed quite the day at JFK!

Some great shots today and that TAM bank is supper, John!

[pgengler]

I was originally planning to head out Sunday, but since I was heading out to Long Island anyway for the morning/early afternoon, I figured I'd stop by JFK on my way back and see if anyone was out. I swung by Costco first, didn't see anyone, then swung over to Firestone, just missing Aer Lingus. (I also missed EOS again, but at least this time I didn't see it arriving as I was driving down Rockaway Blvd.) I haven't had a chance to go through all of my photos, but others have posted most of the interesting stuff already.

Firestone

Mexicana A318


Zoom


I was going for prop blur on this Freedom Dash 8. I think it worked out okay.


Old (not the new old) Delta scheme


The Mounds

After things died down at Firestone, we finally wised up and checked ATIS. Sure enough, they'd switched to the 22s, which was a bit of a surprise given the winds, but we're certainly not complaining as the light was great.

Pink Delta


One of three FedEx tri-holers; I caught a DC-10, an MD-11, and this MD-10


Iberia A340


I definitely had a great time. Thanks to everyone for the company and dinner!

[PhilDernerJr]

Thanks for that shot, Moose! That's usually my vehicle! You can see my head set hanging from the rearview mirror. haha

[wunaladreamin]

Great work guys! So sorry i missed out.

[njgtr82]

Great shots guys, looks like it was a great day out there yesterday.

Bill