Merry Christmas and Reflecting on The Board
 

Evening All,
I've been on this board now for going on about 17 years now. A lot has changed in that time, the dynamics of the board are a lot different and Craig's recent thread talking about 'the good old days' reminded me about the early days of the board and how much fun it was.

It's still a good source of information and there's a very broad range of expertise across the whole board.

Don't be afraid to get to know your fellow enthusiasts, they could turn out to be lifelong friends.

Anyway, Merry Christmas to all and a happy New Year. Thanks to our friends in ATC who keep things rolling/flying. 2017 will be a big year for Australian aviation, 787's for Qantas, the first sods of soil finally being turned at the Badgerys Creek site, and who knows what else is going to happen.

Mick

Merry Christmas to you, Mick, and to all the other girls and guys on the forum. It's been a pretty big year and, as Mick says, it's not going to slow down next year! Safe travels and enjoy the silly season!

It's not just pilots and ATC who keep things moving.... ;) :)

Merry Christmas to all, and especially to the shift workers (pilots included :)) who have to work today and spend time away from their family, so that others CAN spend time with family.

Geez, I forgot our ever trusty bludgers, I mean safety officers :D.

Working today Nige?

Yeah mate, 12 hours on the Farm. All going well I should see the kids for an hour or two before they go to bed tonight. :)

I'll see you out there then

Merry Christmas everyone! Thanks for all of the interesting discussions and insights into our favourite airport and to all of you involved in keeping our local aviation industry going all year long!

A very Merry Christmas everyone, and it's almost the end of yet another year.

Thank you to all the Message Board contributors this year, your knowledge and insights are a great shared resource.

2016 provided some excellent photo opportunities, from the Joe Biden and Honeywell's B757s, to new Airlines like Qatar, and new Airline Types like the United and Vietnam Dreamliners (not to mention the recent Cargo Specials by Amiri Flight, Etihad and AirBridgeCargo).

Through the Message Board I had the pleasure of hosting an Air Traffic Controller from Heathrow, devoting a full day to showing Ian all the spotting locations at Sydney Airport, as well as an Apron walk at Bankstown. Ian was surprised to see SODOPS in progress from the Beach (not something you would see at Heathrow), and immediately contacted his mates at Heathrow, saying "have a look at FlightRadar24 for Sydney". This turned out to be an excellent day all round.

In early December I also had the pleasure of hosting Lloyd from Brisbane, and we spent an afternoon, and the full next day shooting from various locations around the airport. Lloyd not only managed to catch most of the aircraft on his target list, but he also had the opportunity to catch up with some of the other locals, a few of which he had not seen for quite some years.

Here's looking forward to an even better 2017 at Sydney Airport.

We are making our alternate year visit to Australia in January, and I hope to get a day away from the family to spend a full day at the airport. Last time I used the Rydges top floor $10 offer. That was before I joined this forum; this time I will post once I know the day I will be there in case it is possible to meet up with any other board members.

Happy Christmas from a warm (by UK terms) London.

Phil