AN-12 at BFS - 28.12.08

[Dave]

I was at BFS today briefly in th early morning sunshine and notice an AN-12 parked on the cargo ramp. I managed t grab an out of focus picture of it before heading on towards the end of runway 07 (umph! so much for Killead Church!). We opted to watch the landings not realising the the AN-12 was due to take off half an hour later on 07. We could hear it from our spotting location, but just couldn't see it. I did catch a glimpse of it after take off however.

Nice to see such Russian aircraft around. With the exception of the AN-224 flying overhead when I was young, this is the first Russian aircraft I have seen and heard!



The morning was a waste of time, I had forgot to set up my camera - the wrong focus point was be used, and the photos were under exposed leaving them a tad dark! I never learn!

[vortex003]

The morning was a waste of time, I had forgot to set up my camera - the wrong focus point was be used, and the photos were under exposed leaving them a tad dark! I never learn!

I keep forgetting to adjust the ISO on cloudy,wet days 

[Angry Turnip]

Easterly wind at the moment so landings are on 07 which is difficult to get decent pictures from,especially at this time of the year with the sun in a very low arc.

Shots from 07 are really only possible from the Antrim to Crumlin Road but no were to park so not recommended.

[casper]

Still a nice capture. I'm thinking of heading to Aldergrove sometime this week to see if I can do some spotting.
Some ideas for spotting locations can be found here
http://www.spotterswiki.com/index.php?title=Belfast_International_Airport_(BFS/EGAA)

[Dave]

Actually If I'm going to be honest, I found the best spotting place yet for runway 07. It's better than Killead Church as you can get uninterupted pics from infront, side and behind. If spotting from Killead church, you can only get front and side views, or back views from the church carpark.

Despite the sun (pffft dark photos in sun!! typical!) the photos were still dark. Here are some samples from this location. I will try finding it on google maps.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22682700@N02/   - my flickr page with all the photos. More examples of the views below. This place really is better than Killead Church at the runway 25 end.







This spot is on a small lane just past the runway lights of 07. It could almost be someones driveway however a car (presumably the owner) entered the lane and gave us a friendly wave on his way past. It has a stoney siding just wide enough for a car to park there and still allow other cars through.

Also if you go down the lane far enough which we dared not do (as we wern't 100% sure who owns the lane), you can also no doubt see the aircraft entering runway 07 as well as the terminal in the background.

[Dave]

Ok I've looked at googlemaps and it seems to have changed a fair bit since the maps were updated. I've done my best to locate the position and it is either of the two red lines, although I believe it is the 2nd lower line.



If it is the 2nd lower red line, there are now two houses along it. One at the bend which I believe the driveway is on the other side of the house, and a farm at the end of the lane. That's about as best as I can point out. Today myself and a friend parked on the lane near to the main road, making sure to leave enough room for any passing cars. It seems to me that the that car entered did not mind us being there, so for the moment I assume it is ok to remain close to the entrance.

[Angry Turnip]

DO NOT USE THAT LANE-That IS a private lane for 2 houses-I went there a few times with no problems but then one of the owners took the hump because lots of people started to come up.

They called the police who in turn contacted the Military Police who said it was illegal to be there taking photos,as I was so close to the Military side.
That was only a few months ago,so I would NOT recommend going back there.
A friend of mine who works in RAF Aldergrove told me the MPs have stepped up patrols in that area-so best avoid it.

If you carry on a little towards Crumlin there is a small carpark on the left beside a graveyard from which you can get decent shots,but again passing police patrols will move you on.
If you head down that road to the left "Diamond Road",there area few good spots there also-haven`t seen police patrols there.

[Dave]

Phew, thanks for the pointers there! I will try out somewhere along Diamond Road and report back tomorrow. Although I'm hoping things will be back to normal tomorrow with Runway 25 in use.