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  • Spotting Trip - Madrid: November 19, 2009

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Offline Dave

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Madrid - 19/11/09
« on: October 15, 2009, 11:44:34 PM »
Well, just booked myself on a day trip to Madrid on Thursday the 19th of November with a fellow member from the site. We won't be as lucky with the weaher as you guys but it should be an interesting day none the less.

Will also be interesting to see if we can find the spotting mound with your directions Conor  :)
« Last Edit: October 29, 2009, 08:26:18 PM by casper »

Offline BHD

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Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2009, 10:09:23 AM »
Well, just booked myself on a day trip to Madrid on Thursday the 19th of November with a fellow member from the site.

I would be the other memeber..can't wait :)

Woody

Offline casper

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Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2009, 10:11:41 AM »
If you don't mind me asking how much did the flights cost?

Offline BHD

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Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2009, 10:29:32 AM »
€50 (Each flight segment €20 + €10 card fee)


Woody

Hammerhead

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Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2009, 10:38:00 AM »
Are you thinking of joining the trip casper??  ;D  P.S. Dont forget some travel insurance.. just incase.... ;)
« Last Edit: October 26, 2009, 10:38:59 AM by Hammerhead »

Offline casper

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2009, 08:24:45 PM »
Quote
Are you thinking of joining the trip casper??
If it's OK I wouldn't mind although I do have a few obstacles:

1 - Boss (Wife) - She's given the go ahead :)
2 - Passport - Have to try and find it and see if it's still valid
3 - Time Off - Have to speak nicely to my boss (work) and see if I can get that day off. I work in a school and they don't really like me taking time-off during term time. But you never know.

Hammerhead

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #6 on: October 26, 2009, 08:38:43 PM »
Im sure everyone else would agree when i say......Get looking for that passport!!!!    :LOL  And as far as work is concerned im sure you could have a ''sick day'' every once in a while.... as long as you dont get too much of a tan when in Madrid.... 8) ....  ;D

Offline casper

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #7 on: October 26, 2009, 08:40:50 PM »
Quote
And as far as work is concerned im sure you could have a ''sick day'' every once in a while
I've worked there for just over 8 years and I've taken 1 sick day in all that time :)

Hammerhead

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #8 on: October 26, 2009, 08:47:10 PM »
i cant see you having a problem with a day off then... also heres a added incentive .... if the weather isnt good for the airport theres always here...http://www.fly-by.nl/Gallery/2008/Madrid%20Area%20Tour%20-%20day%204.htm   ;D

Hammerhead

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2009, 10:53:19 PM »
The sunset in Madrid for the 19th is 5.56pm http://www.sunrisesunset.com/calendar.asp?comb_city_info=Madrid,%20Spain;4;40.5;1;2&month=11&year=2009&time_type=0&use_dst=2 so there should be at around 7 hours of daylight for spotting at the mound....  heres hoping for sunny skys.... 8)

Offline Dave

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2009, 04:13:51 PM »
The sunset in Madrid for the 19th is 5.56pm http://www.sunrisesunset.com/calendar.asp?comb_city_info=Madrid,%20Spain;4;40.5;1;2&month=11&year=2009&time_type=0&use_dst=2 so there should be at around 7 hours of daylight for spotting at the mound....  heres hoping for sunny skys.... 8)

To go a step further, the weather on the day for the past few years  :LOL

2008; Max temp was 15oC remained mostly sunny all day.

2007; Max temp was 6oC with some rain, the tempatures in the negative in the morning.

2006; Max temp was 16oC, partially cloudy.

2005; Max temp was 13oC, mostly cloudy.

2004; Max temp was 14oC, no clouds all day, again temps in the negative in the morning.

 ;D

Offline Dave

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #11 on: November 13, 2009, 10:27:18 PM »
I don't want to jinx it guys but...
 
http://www.metcheck.com/V40/UK/FREE/europe_dayforecast.asp?day=6&locationID=3211
 
 :D  looking positive at the moment

Hammerhead

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #12 on: November 14, 2009, 04:43:59 PM »
Yes its looking good for the day Dave .. Just hope you havnt jinxed it..lol 

Offline casper

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #13 on: November 18, 2009, 09:07:33 AM »
Well good luck tomorrow guys, take care and may the weather and spotting opportunities be with you :)

Offline casper

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2009, 01:22:04 PM »

Hammerhead

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2009, 02:12:59 PM »
Thanks for the heads up casper, i dont think we have to worry too much as there is no where on the spotting mound to use a credit card... ;D    as for the weather it's looking very good for Madrid  http://uk.weather.com/weather/tomorrow-Madrid-SPXX0050  and not too good for here  http://uk.weather.com/weather/tomorrow-Dublin-EIXX0014   so get ready for a lot of shots of aircraft in sunshine... 8)    We will have to try and orgnaise a trip next year that everyone can get a chance to go on....

Offline Dave

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #16 on: November 18, 2009, 02:15:19 PM »
Thanks for the heads up Casper, I'll try getting some euros before heading down tonight. As Hammerhead says, it seems we'll be lucky with the weather with only a few clouds and decent temperatures. We'll definately have to organise a trip for next year :)

Offline casper

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #17 on: November 18, 2009, 02:16:29 PM »
Definitely - we'll ask Michael if we can charter one of his jets :)

Offline George

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #18 on: November 18, 2009, 10:00:38 PM »
have a god damned good time lads. Bring back dazzling pics:D

Hammerhead

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #19 on: November 19, 2009, 06:22:48 PM »
Four tired but happy spotters are now sitting in Madrid airport... Be prepared for some pics of sunny planes over the next few days...lol

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #20 on: November 20, 2009, 01:03:03 PM »
Yup, a fantastic trip was had by all, definitely worth all the tiredness. The weather was perfect and we saw some interesting stuff.
 
In the morning, our tiddley 737 parked beside an Air China A330 and an Aerosur 747 which happened to be a new aircraft with the airline (originally a Virgin Atlantic 747) and her first flight being on the same day, yet none of us knew it! Here's a picture of the Aerosur 747 from airlines.net from yesterday, photo taken by Diego Ruiz De Vargas - Iberian Spotters
 
http://www.airliners.net/photo/AeroSur/Boeing-747-443/1611743/L/
 
Unfortunately none of us caught the 747 as it unfortunately never moved from the gating area. Still an interesting aircraft so come across, particularly on it's first day with the airline. Also upon landing, we saw a cargo DC-8, although again, like the Aerosur 747, it didn't move during the time we were there.
 
Weather in Dublin was terrible when we left with heavy rain and strong wings; I've never seen a wing flex so much before in my life! Our flight arrived early at just before 11am, expected from Ryanair these days. We were greeted by a cloudless sky and 19oC temperatures.
 
After a long walk to the airports metro station, we hopped on to the metro and got off at the next stop, at Baraja's. Water was bought and then we headed to the spotting mounds with Squad701 and Hammerhead trying to get me to remember their instructions as a test. They had forgotten to tell me one important detail... to climb through a hole in a wire Fence!  :P
 
We got to the spotting mound following a short walk from the Baraja's station. There were already a group of Portuguese spotters on both the higher mound and the lower mound so we opted to share the higher mound with them.
 
We saw a range of aircraft, perhaps surprising though was the huge amount of Ryanair and Easyjet aircraft we saw during the day, reminded me abit of being at a home airport. Runway's for landing and departure had changed from the trip Squad701 and Hammerhead had from their previous trip so it made catching aircraft more difficult as we would only be able to photograph if they taxied to the end of the arrival runway, something that didn't happen often.
 
Also all the Iberia A340's were parked a good distance away through the heat haze and departed on a runway seemingly a good distance away. Effectively only photos of taxing aircraft could be taken, but the mounds did offer some nice angles.
 
The only thing is the huge amount of poles and lightposts... never complain about Dublin again  ;D
 
The mounds also offered some good shots of cars, trucks, and motorcyclists which suited some of us cough Squad cough  ;D
 
We eventually called it a day just after 5pm when the sun was going down, and opted to go straight to Burger King located beside the Baraja's station, where both BHD and Hammerhead skillfully ordered the food, with BHD using Spanish, and Hammerhead using caveman terms and pointing at the menu making grunting noises.  ;)
 
Once back at the airport, we passed through security quite quickly and headed for some snacks before the flight home. Ended up parked between an Aer Lingus A321, also due to Dublin 5 minutes before us, an Air Comet A330, and also an Aerolinas Argentinas 747  ;)
 
The flight home was uneventful with most of us drifting off to sleep for a short while. Unfortunately during the process of the safety brief, the cabin was bustling with noise people not listening to the cabin crew, however the cabin crew kept their cool and continued regardless so credit to them.
 
We arrived back at Dublin slightly early again at just before 11pm concluding a great day had by all. Personally I had a great time and enjoyed the company from all three guys and would love to do something like it again. Thanks for the great day guys!
 
Dave
 

Offline BHD

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #21 on: November 20, 2009, 02:21:55 PM »
Nice synopsis Dave, but you left out the bit about the flat type and being restricted to DUB at ~50mph :P

Woody

Offline Dave

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #22 on: November 20, 2009, 03:55:34 PM »
Nice synopsis Dave, but you left out the bit about the flat type and being restricted to DUB at ~50mph :P

Woody

LOL actually I had forgotten already about that! Woody had a flat tyre on his way to pick me up before heading down to Dublin, although we managed to change the tyre in 10-15 minutes to the spare tyre which was limited to 50 mph. Talk about bad luck before the trip had even started  ;)

Offline BHD

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #23 on: November 20, 2009, 04:20:15 PM »
But we had then used up our portion of bad luck for the day before 4.15am, and from then till arriving home it was good luck all the way!

Offline Squad 701

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Re: Madrid - 19/11/09
« Reply #24 on: November 21, 2009, 02:40:29 AM »
We came, we saw, we conquered  :D  Burgerking at least  ;)
A wonderful day out with great company,
We're such nice guys  ;D
 



 

 Notice how in this shot I photoshopped out the lampost going through the middle of the Air China aircraft

Notice how in this shot I photoshopped the lampost, but got bored half way down  ;D 

 

 

 





 
« Last Edit: November 21, 2009, 12:39:11 PM by Squad 701 »