"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
02/15/2015 at 15:44 • Filed to: planelopnik | 7 | 12 |
My son and I took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday to drive up to Dallas (DFW) and do some plane spotting. It was an epic day, with two A380s, an American B787 and a BA747. I'll have those pictures up tomorrow. Here, an American 777-200 (N777AN) touches down to end its flight from London Heathrow (EGLL/LHR).
E. Julius
> ttyymmnn
02/15/2015 at 15:50 | 0 |
I've always preferred the 747 to A380. For some reason the A380 just doesn't look as impressive to me. That being said, I've never ridden on one so I guess I don't have much room to talk. I didn't know you were near DFW though. If anybody does an Oppo meetup type thing in that general area during the next school year I might drive down from Norman.
ttyymmnn
> E. Julius
02/15/2015 at 15:53 | 1 |
I'm not near DFW, I'm in Austin. So it was a 6-hour round trip for this expedition. But it was worth it. Personally, I think the A380 is ugly and ungainly (those the wing is an engineering masterpiece of beauty). But it's one of those things you have to see to add to your list. My son was really excited to see it, and the second one, a Qantas arriving from Sydney, landed right in front of us. I think I've got some really good shots of it, but I'll have to wait until I can view them on my computer and not this little laptop.
E. Julius
> ttyymmnn
02/15/2015 at 15:57 | 0 |
Ahh ok, never mind then. Austin is nice though (don't tell anybody from my school I said that). It's funny, the last few times I've flown it's been with Air France through CDG, which is absolutely dirty with A380s. I've never been plane spotting before, sounds like fun if you go with someone who knows what they're talking about.
ttyymmnn
> E. Julius
02/15/2015 at 16:00 | 2 |
It's fun if you like planes. But depending on where you go, there are always spotters around, and they are usually pretty nice, if in a geeky sort of way. Most of them use all the latest plane tracking software, and the hard core ones don't just go out and see what shows up. They plan their activities around certain aircraft. So, if you're out plane spotting and a bunch of cars suddenly pull up and people with long cameras climb out, you can be certain that something interesting is about to happen. It suddenly got very busy yesterday just before the Qantas 380 arrived.
Jcarr
> ttyymmnn
02/15/2015 at 16:12 | 0 |
Super jealous. I'd have to drive to O'Hare (6 hour one way) to see any widebodies. Still plan to do it someday, though.
No 777-300ERs? They're my personal favorite and I've never seen one in person.
Saw the A380 at Oshkosh a few years ago (Airbus had to ferry their own tug over because Wittman didn't have one powerful enough on hand). Impressive, but ugly as hell.
revrseat70
> ttyymmnn
02/15/2015 at 16:16 | 0 |
Ahh too bad this wasn't posted yesterday. While you were in the area, you could have popped over to the base near the intersection of Bomber and Clifford, in Fort Worth. Those guys are always practicing in their F18's/16's at really low altitudes. My friend and I enjoy some Frisbee Golf out there, and love the soundtrack
03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST
> ttyymmnn
02/15/2015 at 16:17 | 0 |
Awesome, I've been wanting to make the trip down to DFW to spot but I have never gotten the chance. The most spotting I do is at home since a few different flight paths go directly over my house. Though seeing a 777 fly right over your house at some very low altitudes is kind of cool.
What airline flies the second A380? I only knew of Qantas bringing the A380 here. That and the 787 are still planes I have yet to see.
EDIT: Ignore one of these post, kinja is still acting up!
03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST
> ttyymmnn
02/15/2015 at 16:20 | 0 |
Awesome, I've been wanting to make the trip down to DFW to spot but I have never gotten the chance. The most spotting I do is at home since a few different flight paths go directly over my house. Though seeing a 777 fly right over your house at some very low altitudes is kind of cool.
What airline flies the second A380? I only knew of Qantas bringing the A380 here. That and the 787 are still planes I have yet to see.
ttyymmnn
> revrseat70
02/15/2015 at 16:27 | 0 |
Is that over at the JRB? I've been to an air show there. I hadn't thought about rolling that into a trip to DFW. I'm going to try to get to Love Field one day. There should be some really good spotting opportunities there, especially now that traffic has picked up.
ttyymmnn
> Jcarr
02/15/2015 at 16:28 | 0 |
I'll have to go back through and check registrations. I did see a few 777s, in addition to the one I posted above. Not certain of the flavor, though.
revrseat70
> ttyymmnn
02/16/2015 at 10:37 | 0 |
Yeah its the JRB. Lockheed Martin has an outfit there as well. I have only been to Love a couple times. I think it must have been recently renovated? Because it seems much nicer. Although that's more than I can say for its location.
ttyymmnn
> revrseat70
02/16/2015 at 10:48 | 0 |
For many years, traffic to and from Love Field was restricted by the Wright Amendment , which stated that flights operating at Love could only go to neighboring states, and longer flights were restricted to planes with less than 56 seats. This amendment was put in place essentially to eliminate any competition to DFW. The amendment was repealed in October of last year. So traffic at Love will be picking up considerably in the next few months.