dmpop
Aircraft photography, spaghetti code, half-baked thoughts
Guestbook ReadsI hauled Airbus BelugaXL catch after a week in Hamburg
Even though we live only a 5-hour train ride away from Hamburg, going there can be a costly affair. I did book a trip early this year, but I had to cancel it for reasons that I don't recall now. I pretty much gave up the idea of visiting Hamburg in 2024, but I was in luck. It turned out that I had more vacation days left than I expected, and the weather in Hamburg looked promising, so we booked a trip, and off we went.
We arrived to Hamburg on a Saturday, and due to the train being late by almost two hours (that's Deutsche Bahn for you these days), we didn't have time for anything besides a hasty dinner and a cup of tea. My plan was to spend Sunday and Monday in HAM, and the luck was on my side once again: RWY 23 was used for arrivals, which meant I could use a spot on a motorway overpass to capture approaching airplanes. It felt almost like FRA: a spot on an motorway overpass, with a good view of incoming aircraft. The weather, too, reminded me of FRA: it was rather windy, and there were occasional rain showers. Despite that, I managed to catch a few new to me airplanes.
On Monday morning, I was at the same spot again, spending a couple of hours capturing arrivals. The highlight of the day was an Airbus A330-200 from Iran Air. On that very Monday, the EU introduced a fresh round of sanctions against Iran Air, and a day later the company cancelled all its European routes. So it seems that I was lucky to capture one of the very last Iran Air flights.
It was all really nice, but visiting the observation platform in XFW was the main reason why I was so keen on visiting Hamburg. Why? Because Airbus A330-700L, aka BelugaXL. This whimsically looking airplane has been at the very top of my wishlist right from the moment I took up aircraft photography. And a chance to be close to the place were airplanes are built was a nice bonus, too.
Getting to XFW using public transport is a two-hour ordeal, so I decide to splurge on a Bolt ride. It cost me a pretty penny, but it was a smart move, nevertheless.
The weather on that Friday couldn't have been better — warm and sunny, with only a gentle breeze. This made it being outdoors a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I bought a rather nice sandwich in a bakery near the hotel, and it was delish, which only added to the overall pleasantness of my expedition.
At the very least, I hoped to capture a BelugaXL, and I did that within 30 minutes of settling at the observation deck. Yet again, the luck was on my side, as there was a lot of activity on the airfield. So in addition to not one but two Beluga XLs, I also captured several new and partially assembled aircraft. Knowing that a long bus ride back to the city awaited me, I reluctantly had to pack my gear and end what was one of the best aircraft photography sessions of the year.
It might very well be my last aircraft photography-related trip of the year, and I'm glad and thankful that this year of capturing aircraft has ended on such a high note.
