Northern Ireland Aviation Enthusiast's Forum
General Aviation Discussion => Spotting Trips => Topic started by: Hammerhead on December 01, 2010, 01:29:09 PM
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Well folks this lovely weather we are having has got me thinking of warmer places to do some spotting.... 8)
So Im planning to do a mid week day trip to Madrid around the end of March when the temperature there is around a nice 16-17 degrees....
I thought Id mention it here and see if anyone else would fancy the trip....
Now as some of you might know Ryanair no longer do a return flight on the same day ,so my plan is to fly out with Ryanair and return with Aer Lingus...
At the moment Ryanair are charging €16.39 (excluding booking fee) and the Aer Lingus return price is €34.04 (including booking fee) which makes a grand total of €55.43 including Ryanairs €5 booking fee, not bad value as Ryanair charged €50 for the same trip in 2009..
The flight out departs Dublin at 07 20 and arrives Madrid 10 50 with the return trip departing 20 15 arriving Dublin 21 50
Another plus point in returning with Aer Lingus is they will be using the new Terminal 2 at Dublin..
Anyone else interested??
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I would certainly be interested in going, if I'm still around come March :)
When were you planning on booking your flight?
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Yea, I'd probably be up for that although I'd likely go a day early and just stay the night at a local hotel and fly with Ryanair in both directions.
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I would certainly be interested in going, if I'm still around come March :)
When were you planning on booking your flight?
I'll give it a week or so to give people a chance to say if they are intrested in coming,
then we can arrange a date.....
Im thinking of around the 23d of March
How does that sound to you Dec?
Yea, I'd probably be up for that although I'd likely go a day early and just stay the night at a local hotel and fly with Ryanair in both directions.
I was thinking of that too Dave, But with Ryanair's return flight leaving at 11 25 the next day you will only get a extra couple of hours spotting at best ,and also its €40 return with Ryanair so I dont think its worth the extra expense, unless you can get a hotel for €15....
Don
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I was thinking of that too Dave, But with Ryanair's return flight leaving at 11 25 the next day you will only get a extra couple of hours spotting at best ,and also its 40 return with Ryanair so I dont think its worth the extra expense, unless you can get a hotel for €15....
Don
Yea fair point, it wuldn't be worth staying the night as with the 11.25 flight, no spotting would get done. :-\ Must also cosider Barcelona, it seems to get a good mixture of aircraft aswell. Either way, I'll aim to stay the night and meet up with anyone you wants to go for a day.
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Im thinking of around the 23d of March
How does that sound to you Dec?
Let me just check my calendar... nope nothing on for that day so "shouldn't" be problem, at this stage.
I'm in, for now.
Given the departure time I may, or may not, head down to Dublin the night before and stay over. I'll mull over that one.
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Put me down for this trip!
Nearer the time if the Belfast area people want to chip in with the parking fee I would be more than happy to drive down.
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I have just booked the flights for the 23 of March.... ;D
Now all I need is for the Spanish air traffic controllers to not pick the same day for another strike... ::)
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Hey, whats going on for this trip? I take it that it's a day trip? Anyone else going? We can't have Don going on his lonesome ;D
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It seems currently, a Ryanair flight out to Madrid on the morning of the Wednesday 23rd costs 18.99 euros (probably +5 euros for fee's) and a flight back to Dublin with Aer Lingus in either the evening of the 23rd or the evening of Thursday 24th is 29 euros (again probably +5 euros for fee's). That's about 60 euros for the flights alone. If anyone wantd to stay the night, I can't imagine the local hotels would be too expensive.
Dave
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Just booked my flights so I'm committed now ;D
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I'm committed now ;D
Good man Dec... 8)
Whos next?? ;D
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I'm wanting to book this now. So could someone going please double confirm flight details/numbers so I don't end up going to Copenhagen!
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Can't speak for Hammerhead but I'm hoping he's booked on the following for 23rd March:
Outbound - Ryanair FR7158, Dublin to Madrid, dep 07:20, arr 10:50
Return - Air Lingus EI0595, Madrid to Dublin, dep 20:15, arr 21:50 @ T2 ;D
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Booked!
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Ok, my intentions are to travel out on the Wednesday with you guys and then stay the night at a local hotel and then fly back the Thursday evening. Don, is Connor going? This trip will be a lot hotter than the previous one in November.
Dave
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Myself and Woody (BHD) are now booked as well, flying out on the early Ryanair flight and returning the following day on the evening Aer Lingus flight. :)
Dave
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what Dave said!
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ROLE CALL!
Less than two weeks now. Who all is going?
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Present! ;D
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Si ;D
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Unfortunately I'm going to miss the trip as a Hospital appointment has come up for the 23d.... ::)
But I'm sure the rest of you will come back with some great shots..... 8)
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Unfortunately I'm going to miss the trip as a Hospital appointment has come up for the 23d.... ::)
But I'm sure the rest of you will come back with some great shots..... 8)
Really sorry to hear you're not going Don. Hope the hospital visit isn't for anything serious.
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Here sir!
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Checked in online? How are you getting down Merlin?
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Heading down after work on Tuesday and staying overnight in Dublin.
Decided not to risk any problems on Wednesday morning, plus I'll get a bit more sleep :)
What about yourself?
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I'm driving down from Bangor and parking at the airport!
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Has anyone looked at a weather report for Wednesday? :-\
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As they used to say on the "Fast Show"..........Tempaterio Interio....Scorchio! ;D
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As they used to say on the "Fast Show"..........Tempaterio Interio....Scorchio! ;D
I think Dec was referring to the fact its looking like a wet day in Madrid on Wednesday Angry
More like wetio ::)
http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Madrid-SPXX0050 (http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Madrid-SPXX0050)
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Yeah unfortunatly not looking good. I tried usual trick of checking a few sources with the hope of picking the best weather for the day, but all sites state heavy rain :-(
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Merlin!
We'll have to arrange to meet you somewhere in Dublin Airport! :D
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Merlin!
We'll have to arrange to meet you somewhere in Dublin Airport! :D
No probs, just let me know when and where.
I'll be the one in the Nike sweatshirt ;D
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Well guys have a safe journey and I hope the weather holds up for you. Looking forward to seeing the photos :)
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I took a look at the weather for Madrid last night,and I was surprised to see it may well be warmer here in Norn Iron.
Hope you have a good time,and the sun put`s in an appearence. :)
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I'll meet you at the first cafe sort of thing after security then! I'll be grey hoody and glasses :D I'll let Dave know of this plan!
Keith
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I was planning to head over about 10 past 6 to grab some breakfast before the flight. Do you want to agree a time to meet?
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I'll probably be there a lot earlier anyway. Probably from about half 5. So if you're going to go through security for breakfast just meet us in the first cafe after security
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Are you sitting comfortably, then I'll begin:
Trip Report for 23/3/2011
Result: FAIL
Left Dublin on time, although somehow I failed to meet up with the others before departure. Instead we met up as we were getting off the plane. Hadn't realised that when I booked my seat I'd opted for Priority Boarding which meant I was 5th one on so grabbed one of the emergency exit seats ;D . On arrival we had to circle Barajas for about 15 mins due to congestion at the airport.
Can't believe how dire the weather was, the weather forecast understated the conditions, as usual. The only sunshine we saw for the entire day was at 30,000 feet on the flight down. Madrid was solid cloud and frequent rain.
Getting to the 'mound' turned out to be a more complicated than Dave and Woody were expecting as the route they used last time was now occupied by a construction site. Instead we had to loop round before crossing the main road. We found an alternative route but more on 'that' later.
Aircraft on display was a mixed bag. Didn't see a single American carrier the entire day. The bulk of the aircraft were from Iberia, Easyjet, Ryanair, Spanair, and Air Europa. But we also saw representatives from Germanwings, Swiss Air, Air France, TAP, BA, PGA and Turkish Airlines, to name a few. Just one 747 (Aerolineas Argentinas) and one 777 (Korea Air). We spotted a 707, but only at a distance although Dave might have gotten some close-ups.
We decided to take a break for lunch around 2 o'clock and walked up to Burger King, where a good meal was had by all. Woody especially liked the coffee ;D
Back to the mound, this time we tried a different route. For those familiar with the area instead of turning left off the main road and crossing the white bridge we instead went straight down the road towards the roundabout located beneath the mound. Getting to the roundabout required us to cross the 'bridge of death' but we all made it safely.
Once back on the mound we discovered that, if anything, conditions were worse than before. It was now considerably darker than earlier and also the rain seemed to start almost as soon as we arrived. As a result we only took a handful of pics before we all decided to call it a day. We headed back across the 'bridge of death', again everyone made it in one piece, and parted company at the Metro station. Dave and Woody were staying overnight and flying back today (I will be extremely annoyed if they got a better day weatherwise today than yesterday).
Kingsavo and I retraced our route back to T1. We thought we were getting a deal on the Metro as the return ticket only cost €1 (the outbound trip had cost €2). However it turned out that the ticket didn't get you into the airport and instead you had to buy another ticket (€1) and use that to get through the turnstile. Once in the airport we headed to our gate where we hung about until departure time (8:15pm) only to find that the flight was delayed. We finally took off at around 9:30pm (Madrid time) and got into Dublin around 10:30pm local. While the Ryanair flight had been full, the Aer Lingus flight wasn't.
Didn't get much of a look at T2 as the arrivals area is pretty sparse, before we knew it we were outside.
Didn't make it back to Crossgar until 2am this morning :'(
Total number of pics taken: 188
Summary: while it was good to meet up with Dave, Woody and Kingsavo we learnt that if you're thinking of going to Madrid in March for photography, don't (and to think I had been seriously considering wearing shorts and a t-shirt).
Next up Dublin in May :)
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Sorry your trip was a bit of a washout-it was a lovely day here,which seems doubley cruel.
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Sorry to hear the trip was a wash out, you missed a great couple of days here. ::)
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Myself and Woody arrived back into Dublin at around 10pm, and by 10.30, we were zooming back home towards Belfast. The new T2 at Dublin is very nice, although with all the Aer Lingus aircraft gathered around it, it left the middle of the airport deserted! Also didn't see the retrojet despite keeping an eagle eye out for it.
Anyhow, despite the poor weather (which was FREEZING!), and absolutey nothing interesting appearing on the first day (I can't remember a single widebody aircraft taxing past us?), it was still nice meeting up with everyone. Nice meeting Declan for the first time, hopefully not the last. After Declan and Keith headed back to the airport for their return flight, myself and Woody went to find our hotel, not too far from Baraja's metro station. The Don Luis Hotel was very nice, and had the nicest glacier sweets I've ever tasted at the reception! :D
Since we had been up the whole night beforehand, we were knackered and in bed by 9pm, leaving us a good nights sleep for the following day. The weather wasn't much better although at least it didn't rain. Two full days in Spain and not a single sight of the Sun... I mean honestly?!?!? We could even see our breaths for most of the day! Traffic on the 2nd day was much more interesting; AA767, Continental 757, US Airways A330, Qatar 772LR, Conviasa A342, Air Europa A332's, Iberworld A330, Aero Mexico 777, Thai 747 in old livery which is rare these days, SBA 767 and lastly but not least, an Aer Lingus A330 operating the Madrid-Washington route. Pictures didn't turn out as bad as I feared, all relatively bright and sharp considering the rotten conditions. I hope everyone else got some decent photos.
Looking forward to Dublin midMay now for the EUFA final ;D
Dave
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Kingsavo and I retraced our route back to T1. We thought we were getting a deal on the Metro as the return ticket only cost €1 (the outbound trip had cost €2). However it turned out that the ticket didn't get you into the airport and instead you had to buy another ticket (€1) and use that to get through the turnstile.
Yes, we thought we had a bargin aswell, completing forgetting that it was the same thing last time :-\ It wasn't until our 1 euro tickets were spat out at the turnstile at the airport that we remembered that a supplement ticket was required.
As I mentioned above, the 2nd day proved a lot more fruitfull than the first. Here's small selection of the more interesting movements of the second day;
Saudi A320
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5029/5559483611_413cdac9a7_o.jpg)
Aer Lingus A330 to Washington
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5173/5560061374_3765e77872_o.jpg)
Iberworld A330
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5228/5559484163_f2b89ffbdd_o.jpg)
Delta 767
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5181/5559484419_aec4a9e40c_o.jpg)
Santa Barbara Airlines 767
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5016/5560062256_46044b06c2_o.jpg)
Thai International 747
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5173/5559485065_7a6091bc71_o.jpg)
Local Traffic
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5107/5560062920_28ec5de63b_o.jpg)
LAN Ecuador 767
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5101/5559485701_f46ec6c6ff_o.jpg)
Iberia Retrojet A320
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5056/5560063574_8ec30ce90a_o.jpg)
Conviasa A340-200 (A lot of locals turned up braving the cold weather for this rare aircraft)
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5184/5560063866_98fb1c8735_o.jpg)
Qatar 772LR
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5054/5560064158_93f8f9153a_o.jpg)
AeroMexico 772ER
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5104/5559486809_27a734e411_o.jpg)
Air Europa A332
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5262/5559487165_72430e0952_o.jpg)
Aerolineas Argentinas 744
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5229/5560065166_2ca263a8db_o.jpg)
Dave
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Nice shots despite the weather Dave... :goodjob:
Who would have guessed that the Spanish and Irish weather would do a swap for March.... ::)
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As Don says nice shots despite the crappy weather, hope you have better weather on the next outing
Paul
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Thanks for the comments guys. Anyone else willing to show their pics from the trip? :)
Dave
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No! :P
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A little random but I just discovered the Thai 747 we saw (HS-TGY) was involved in an incident in Madrid back in 2006 when it knocked off the tail of an Air France Embraer 135 ;D
(http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/4/5/7/1099754.jpg)
A.net link here (http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-France-(Regional/Embraer-EMB-135ER-(ERJ-135ER)/1099754/L/)
Opps!
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Ouch