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Trip Report: QF BNE-SYD-BNE on a 747 and 767 (Photos)
Hi all,
Last Sunday (May 22) I went on my favorite day trip so far, an all day trip down to Sydney :D Late last year I had heard rumors on the net about a new Qantas route to Dallas, and that the routing would be SYD-DFW-BNE-SYD. I was hoping this would come true and that the BNE-SYD route would be available to domestic travelers. And in early January I heard the good news, it was official Qantas would fly SYD-DFW-BNE-SYD four times a week starting May 16 and that you could fly BNE-SYD :D As soon as I heard the news I went on the Qantas site to see what the fares were like, and QF8 was $157 :( So I thought I would just have to wait, then the next day I saw that Qantas had a sale on BNE-SYD so I looked at QF8 on Sunday May 22 (the soonest date I would be able to do it) and it was $81! :D So I asked my parents if I could do the trip and they were fine with it. So I selected QF8 on May 22, all I had to do now was select my flight home, before booking I had a look at Virgin Blue, they didn’t have any sales, nor did Tiger so I had a look at Qantas. I wanted to return in the evening, there was a Jetstar flight at 6:30pm and it was $81 but then I saw QF548 which departs at 7pm which was $85, so I thought I’d pay the extra $4 and fly with Qantas and get free dinner and fly on the more comfortable 767 :) The day after booking I told my best mate at school, Josh, about my trip. He said he would like to go with me but he didn’t book, but then in late April I came to school and he said he had booked and he showed me his itinerary, he was on QF8 with me on the 22nd but because he left it so late, all the later flights were now around $150-200, so he picked up the cheapest flight he could which was QF520 departing at 11am which cost him around $80-90. It sure was going to be a great day, as we got into May we started counting down the days and before we knew it the day had come! :D Brisbane Airport The flight left at 6:30am so I had to get there at 5am, so I set my alarm for 4am and planned to leave the house at 4:30. But I woke up at 3:30 and I knew I just wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. Tried to go to sleep early the night before, thought I wouldn’t be able to because I’d be too excited but I managed to fall asleep at about 8pm. At about 4am I got a message from Qantas saying that QF8 was delayed and would now leave at 7am. Only half an hour late so not too bad. Woke my parents up at about a quarter past four :) Packed my bag the night before so just did a quick check in the morning, made sure I had charged my camera battery the night before and also my phone. Had also done the online check in as soon as it opened at 6:30am on the 21st. Had requested 55A and I managed to get it, my friend requested 55B but had troubles doing the online check in, so he called Qantas and he was told to check in at the airport. Got to the airport a little after 5am, Josh arrived a little earlier so he could check in, he managed to secure 55B. When he checked in he asked how full the plane was, he was told that about 100 people were continuing on from Dallas and around 10 people would be joining the flight for the BNE-SYD leg! Nice looked like we would have a bit of room! So we went to security told them we were just going to Sydney, passed security no worries then proceeded to customs. Josh went first and he was fine then I went up and showed my boarding pass and also some ID, I was told that I needed a domestic sticker on my boarding pass, because I used the online check in I didn’t get one. So had to go back to the check in desks. Very quiet at this time of the morning, was no line for check in. Went straight up to the counter and told them I needed the sticker, they printed me out a new boarding pass and put the sticker on and had me sign it. The guy and the counter said for flights like QF8 its always just best to check in at the airport. So through security again, no problems and then up to customs, all was fine so my boarding pass was stamped and I was on my way to the gate. Checked the departure screens and we would be departing from Gate 80. Two days earlier at 1:30pm I was on flightradar24 waiting to see QF7 depart for Dallas as this would be the aircraft that would operate my flight. I wanted Wunala but the day before she went to Tokyo, so I would not get her. And about half an hour late VH-OEI took off from Sydney on her way to Dallas! So ‘Ceduna’ would be my first 747! Had a look to see if there were any aircraft at the international, Strategic Airlines A332 VH-SSA was there after flying BNE-DPS-BNE the day before, today she would fly BNE-HKT-MEL, took a few shots of here, no to good though as it is still dark at 5:30am. A Pacific Blue 737 was the only other aircraft there but didn’t take any photos as I see them all the time. At about 5:45 Royal Brunei B772 V8-BLD arrived so walked to Gate 78 I think, to get some shots of her. Sat down with Josh, was using the free Qantas Wi-Fi, went on Planefinder as balus wasn’t working, and saw that VH-OEI was on short finals for RWY19 with VH-OJN not far behind coming in from LAX. Took some great shots of OEI taxiing and pulling into the gate and also of VH-OJN taxiing behind. Enough talking for now, time for some photos! Check in area with the very large departures screen http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/...b00266355d.jpg Strategic A332 VH-SSA http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3364/...1f951369b0.jpg Royal Brunei B772 V8-BLD http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2688/...d29055dc61.jpg Qantas B744ER VH-OEI pulls into Gate 80 http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2577/...424e6789e3.jpg VH-OEI completes the 16 hour flight from Dallas http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5150/...012ba2cec5.jpg Qantas B744 VH-OJN arrives from LAX, taxiing behind VH-OEI http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3610/...9450355a97.jpg Emirates B77W A6-ECI arrives from Dubai http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5302/...78d9eddfbd.jpg Departure lounge http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/...0b6ae00168.jpg |
Korean Air A332 HL8211 taxies behind VH-OEI after arriving from Seoul
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3059/...ffd7ed2224.jpg At 7am boarding commenced so Josh and myself lined up, had our boarding passes scanned and we were boarding the mighty 747! May 22, 2011 Qantas QF8 BNE-SYD VH-OEI Seat 55A Was welcomed onboard and we made our way down to row 55, had a quick peak in first class, looked very nice! Josh and I took our seats, 55C was occupied, the plane was very empty! At 7:30 we pushed back (an hour behind schedule). Anyway, here are some more photos. Boarding http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3390/...a5cc0d4158.jpg Foggy window http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3280/...805c921100.jpg It started raining so that cleaned my window up http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/...4d690dc378.jpg Front economy section on OEI http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2040/...3471fa868f.jpg Back economy section, very empty! http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/...52e2d9e214.jpg Push back http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/...0e58e26fd3.jpg Nice lineup http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5265/...9534b03aa8.jpg Taxiing to RWY19, passing VA, BI and QF A333 http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2656/...04365b3427.jpg Passing the domestic terminal, I spot Virgin Australia B738 VH-YFC for the first time http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5146/...36e6c4704c.jpg Lined up on RWY19, had no aircraft to wait for http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5303/...c0906cecee.jpg Roaring down RWY19, kicking some water up http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2766/...b2a5870da0.jpg Josh took a video of the takeoff, he is having problems uploading it at the moment though, will post a link when he gets it up Qantas Hangar 2 http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2466/...74e8d2dc95.jpg Qantas Hangar 3 http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3584/...8289340418.jpg Banking left http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3084/...dabe20c790.jpg |
And were down!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3534/...50127d2e01.jpg Aircraft parked at the international off bays http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3282/...d61305d083.jpg Singapore Airlines B772ER 9V-SQK, British Airways B772ER G-YMMG, British Airways B744 G-CIVP 'Oneworld livery', United B744 N177UA and United B744 N122UA http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3422/...163bfd1879.jpg Malaysian Airlines B744 9M-MPM, Emirates B77W A6-ECP, Thai Airways A346 HS-TNC and Air Canada B77L C-FIUA http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2666/...54d2fd7d79.jpg Jetconnect B738 ZK-ZQF (Great Crusade Wallabies livery) and LAN A343 CC-CQA http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2014/...ff2c7eea1b.jpg Qantas A333 VH-QPA, Hainan Airlines A332 B-6519 and Cathay Pacific A333 B-LAF http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3502/...b46622781b.jpg Jetconnect B738 ZK-ZQB, Qantas B744 VH-OJO, Qantas B744ER VH-OEG and Air China A332 B-6090 http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3364/...3d05728260.jpg Into the Gate next to Air China http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2068/...13e91f606f.jpg De boarded the plane we were going to ask to go into the cockpit but because Josh wasn’t in Sydney very long we gave it a miss so he could have more time at the observation deck Air China at the gate, was the first time I have seen Air China http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2493/...c6a22d165c.jpg Didn’t know VH-OEG had the new livery http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2614/...d8fd36760b.jpg Went straight to customs, no problems there, then up to Quarantine and Boarder Protection, the line was huge, luckily there was someone calling for domestic passengers. We had our boarding passes checked by a guy at quarantine; he said that was fine and we can go straight through. Unfortunately he walked off with our boarding passes! We both wanted to keep our boarding passes. Oh well, I still had my original online boarding pass so it was ok. So after all of that we went straight up to two ladies who work at the terminal and asked where the observation deck is. They gave us directions and we found it easily. Caught the lift up to the observation deck and enjoyed 3 hours of Plane spotting. Plane Spotting in Sydney Spent just over 3 hours at the observation deck, will let the photos do the talking Qantas B744ER VH-OEI, Qantas A388 VH-OQB, China Southern B772ER B-2055, Singapore Airlines Cargo B744F 9V-SFJ and Jetstar A332 VH-EBJ http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/...4e48481096.jpg Emirates B77W A6-ECP – EK418 to Christchurch http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/...392af56846.jpg Qantas B744 VH-OJS ‘Socceroos Livery’ is towed over to the international http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5188/...5609e5d8a3.jpg United B744 N122UA – UA839 to Melbourne http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2316/...2ef43b5197.jpg Asiana B772ER HL7500 – OZ602 to Seoul http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5223/...bdb467e0e1.jpg |
LAN A343 CC-CQA – LA800 to Santiago via Auckland
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5021/...6d42df43ff.jpg Just before 10am, Josh left for the domestic terminal, met Adam P from Mackay who had also just flown on QF8 Delta B77L N708DN – DL16 to Los Angeles http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/...06e773ac2e.jpg Hainan A332 B-6519 – HU7914 to Hangzhou via Shenzhen http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5066/...fee621956b.jpg China Southern A333 B-6112 – CZ326 to Guangzhou http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/...e83af6bb6f.jpg Qantas B744 VH-OEG – QF63 to Johannesburg http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/...17be4eb8d9.jpg Cathay Pacific A333 B-LAF – CX162 to Hong Kong http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/...e4beb9856e.jpg Observation Deck http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2580/...0dde68d14b.jpg Thai Airways A346 HS-TNC – TG476 to Bangkok http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2615/...538a88a9b0.jpg Air China A332 B-6090 – CA176 to Beijing via Shanghai http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2715/...c65063f408.jpg Qantas A332 VH-EBO – QF581 to Perth http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/...d79411bcd8.jpg Vietnam Airlines A332 VN-A376 – VN782 to Hanoi via Ho Chi Minh City http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/...db289c38f7.jpg Singapore Airlines Cargo B744F 9V-SFJ http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/...417c2474b3.jpg Air Canada B77L C-FIUA – AC34 to Toronto via Vancouver http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5030/...58a39ab1f9.jpg Qantas B744ER VH-OEI – QF107 to Los Angeles http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2804/...137033dff4.jpg Malaysian Airlines B744 9M-MPM – Being towed to the international http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3104/...7568161ce1.jpg |
Atlas Air B744F N409MC – Taxiing to the cargo area
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2158/...516049c55f.jpg Cathay Pacific A333 B-LAL (brand spanking new!) – CX101 from Hong Kong http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/...20455e35e6.jpg Singapore Airlines Cargo B744F 9V-SFJ – Not sure where she was going http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2770/...c348584814.jpg United B744 N177UA – Fridays UA840 to LAX I believe, was delayed due to fog in Sydney and diverted to BNE http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3327/...4cfe4c32b0.jpg Aeropelican J-32 VH-OTH http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5102/...a17f41fd97.jpg Qantas B744 VH-OJS ‘Socceroos Livery’ – QF127 to Hong Kong http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/...0613314e87.jpg Qantas A388 VH-OQB – Being towed to the gate I used, she later operated QF11 to Los Angeles http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3284/...a935d27e58.jpg Air Pacific B744 DQ-FJK – FJ911 from Nadi http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2128/...ae9b0ba86f.jpg China Eastern A333 B-6127 ‘Shanghai 2010 Expo Livery’ – MU562 to Shanghai http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2577/...bfc952e83d.jpg Qantas B763 VH-ZXF – QF520 to Brisbane, with Josh onboard, taxiing out to RWY34R http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5308/...7fcdeb0c47.jpg Air Vanuatu B738 YJ-AV1 – NF11 to Port Vila http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/...1178d56d68.jpg Garuda Indonesia A332 PK-GPJ – GA713 to Jakarta http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5150/...8891b79c10.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2206/...d0b9cc8b82.jpg Singapore Airlines B772ER 9V-SQK – SQ232 to Singapore http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2757/...5ceab0880f.jpg Qantaslink Q400 VH-QOH ‘BCF Livery’ http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5229/...8309451cfa.jpg |
Jetconnect B738 ZK-ZQC – QF43 to Auckland
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2171/...ac6ab9357b.jpg China Southern B772ER B-2055 – CZ302 to Guangzhou (mustn’t have been able to get out last night before the curfew) http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5264/...9863f84963.jpg Wanted to wait for Aerolineas Argentinas to depart, but her departure wasn’t showing up on the screens, so said goodbye to Adam and was about to go down the lift when I saw the Etihad and Virgin Atlantic A346s being towed over to the international so thought I’d stay another 5 minutes and get some photos Etihad A346 A6-EHH – Being towed to the international http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5307/...2bdb7d07a2.jpg Virgin Atlantic A346 G-VSSH – Being towed to the international http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3313/...0192248c31.jpg Ok so said goodbye to Adam again and went to the train station to get a train to St James. Just before I got in the lift I saw Aerolineas fly over the airport, knew she would land on RWY34L like all the others so I wouldn’t see the arrival, had a look at the screens and she would park at the other side of the terminal so I wouldn’t see her. Sydney Bought my ticket, and caught a train at about 1pm. About a 20 minute trip to St James, walked to the centrepoint tower, after about 10 minutes of looking for the entrance in the shopping centre I found it. Bought my ticket and got the lift up. Awesome views of Sydney from centrepoint tower, stayed up for nearly an hour enjoying the views of Sydney. Here is some photos, also got a few photos of some departures from Sydney Airport. Looking out to the Harbour Bridge and Opera House http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/...83dab47061.jpg Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife World and Anzac Bridge http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2422/...46b684b83a.jpg Sydney Airport http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2615/...d116ca00ea.jpg Qantas A388 VH-OQB – QF11 to Los Angeles http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3468/...d35dd29950.jpg Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) and Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5021/...e47d24b80b.jpg Aerolineas Argentinas A343 LV-ZRA (I think, can anyone confirm?) – AR1183 to Buenos Aires via Auckland http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5029/...b835dfb5a3.jpg Virgin Australia B738 VH-YFC – DJ947 to Brisbane http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/...3a853f6a88.jpg So once I thought I had seen everything and got enough photos I caught the lift back down. Walked to St James Train station and saw behind the entrance St James church, I walked over to it and grabbed some photos, looked very nice. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2509/...71e0d86abf.jpg Ok so after all that I walked down to the train station, bought a ticket to Circular Quay and waited for a train, think it was about a 5 minute wait. Circular is the next station after St James, after the 2-3 minute train ride I got off and saw the magnificent view off Sydney Harbour, grabbed a bite to eat and sat in front of the Opera House. Once I’d finished I had a walk around the Opera House and then walked back past the train station and over to the bridge. Here are a few photos. Got heaps but only going to show a few. Opera House http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2097/...77eb677a9c.jpg Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Opera House http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/...6f4208d9cc.jpg View of the Opera House from the other side http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2048/...ebe811471b.jpg |
Harbour Bridge from the other side
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3515/...04fe464b23.jpg At about 4pm I had decided I had seen enough and of course had enough photos so I walked back to Circular Quay train station and bought a ticket back to the airport, this time to the domestic. Had about a 5 minute wait, used the free Wi-Fi at the train station. Sydney Airport Another 20 minute trip on the train and arrived at the domestic station, had a 5 minute walk to the Qantas terminal. The day before at 7:05pm I tried to check in for QF548 (as soon as check in opened) but I couldn’t, so I decided I would just do it in Sydney. I was going to go to the check in counter but then saw the check in kiosks, about 10 of them with only 1 being used so decided I would give them a go. It is so easy, I just entered my booking reference, selected the passengers I wanted to check in, selected my seat (I had requested 40A a few months ago and managed to get it, had a look to see if there was anything closer to the front but nothing) and then it printed off my boarding pass, only took about 2 minutes. Then went to security, no one in line so went straight through with no problems. Had two and a half hours to kill, decided to get some photos before it got dark. VH-TJU was at Gate 1, VH-OGB pulled into Gate 2 (unfortunately she was off to Melbourne, I was hoping I would get her as she is the oldest B763 in the fleet and I am assuming she is next to go), VH-ZXG was in Gate 3, VH-OGF in Gate 4, VH-OGU in Gate 5, VH-OGM in Gate 6, VH-OGG in Gate 7, 737s in Gates 8, 9 and 10, VH-OGN was also there but can’t remember her gate. Here are some photos. A332 in the hangars http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2288/...2c18269055.jpg VH-OGB pulling into Gate 2 http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2007/...2afa1ff33e.jpg A few aircraft were over at the international, 2 Jetstar A332s (one was VH-EBC from HNL), and also FedEx MD11, UPS MD11 and Qantas Freight B763F VH-EFR were at the freight area. Some more photos. UPS MD11 N286UP – UPS34 from Louisville via Honolulu http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2390/...a945dd022d.jpg FedEx MD11 N588FE – Not sure where she came from, somewhere in the US via HNL? And also Qantas Freight B763F VH-EFR http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/...9757f2ff82.jpg Spent maybe an hour sitting down looking through my photos, had well over 1000, but managed to get it down to 900, still need to delete some more. Had a look at the gates to see if there was anything that had arrived that interested me, it was dark by now so couldn’t see much at the international. VH-VZM was the only aircraft that caught my attention; she only entered service a few days earlier. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3389/...beec8cef11.jpg Had a look at the departure screens and saw that my flight would arrive from Melbourne at about 6:30pm and would be at Gate 3, so I took a seat at gate 3. Have only flown on a B763 twice before that I know of, BNE-PER and PER-BNE back in January last year, both were on VH-OGE (Orange), Josh said when he was n the Qantas transfer bus he saw OGE in one of the hangars, so I was hoping she stayed in there all afternoon. After about half an hour of waiting I saw a B763 taxiing over, it was in the new livery so was hoping she was mine. And it was, and VH-OGP was the rego (Forbes). VH-OGP at the gate, taken just before boarding http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2788/...07bc60647d.jpg May 22, 2011 Qantas QF548 SYD-BNE VH-OGP Seat 40A Boarding commenced on time, I was tired and just wanted to get on board quickly and not wait in line so as soon as I heard the boarding call I went straight in line. Was one of the first to board. Made my way down to seat 40A, interior of OGP is wonderful, nice new seats and plenty of leg room. Inside OGP http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/...f7aecbe93a.jpg Spoilers up http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2041/...3905e82859.jpg Pushed back on time http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5229/...079e51a53c.jpg Passing my good friend OGE who was now out of the hangars and also Josh’s new friend ZXF http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5222/...fe3fb09cf8.jpg The captain said that we were in for a long taxi to RWY34R. Took a good 5-10 minutes. Lined up on RWY34R, no aircraft to wait for, so we roared down the runway. Love the sound of the 767, so good!!! Got a great view of the international terminal when we got up, unfortunately no photos. Flew right over Sydney which looked amazing. My attempt at a photo of the international would have turned out alright if it wasn’t for the reflection. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2036/...4580e2833c.jpg Got to our cruising altitude of 37 000ft, was served dinner which was a chicken and vegetable korma (got this very same meal on QF598 from PER-BNE in January 2010) with a little bread roll and a small piece of chocolate and also my choice of drinks, I just took a can of coke. Dinner http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3539/...6eb2042a11.jpg Just watched Q for the rest of the flight as there wasn’t anything to see outside. On descent I tried to get some photos but just turned out the same as the departure in Sydney. Got a good view of the Southside and also the Brisbane CBD. Flew over Josh’s house at about 2 000ft. On finals for RWY01 over the city http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/...fea2410633.jpg Flew past the international terminal and saw Malaysian Airlines A333 9M-MTA in the new livery parked there. Looked great! Also saw all the other normal internationals at that time of night, SQ, EK and maybe a few others. Touched down and taxied to Gate 24 at the domestic got of and grabbed a few photos of OGP at the gate who would overnight in BNE and then return to Sydney the following morning. Forbes at the gate http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2407/...181af7bbe1.jpg Called my parents, they were waiting for me at the pick up area, found them after about 5 minutes and then we had the 30 minute drive home and that was the end of my awesome Sydney daytrip. Conclusion Had a fantastic trip, already want to do a daytrip to SYD again on QF8. Love the 747 so comfortable especially with only 100 people on board. Also nice having the PTVs to see the flight map. If you need to fly BNE-SYD I definitely recommend QF8, I know I will always try to use it if I go to SYD. Observation Deck was good, just very smoggy in the morning. Got better later on in the morning. Would have been better if RWY16L/R were being used. Still had an awesome time there. Would like to go to the mound and the beach next time I’m in Sydney. Centrepoint Tower and the harbour was great. Probably wouldn’t do the tower for a while though as I’ve seen everything but would walk around the harbour again. Flight home was very comfortable love the 767, awesome aircraft. Hope you enjoyed reading my report! |
very nice!
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Sounds like an awesome day. Great photos. Thanks for sharing :)
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