Sydney Airport Message Board Sydney Airport Message Board  

Go Back   Sydney Airport Message Board > Technical > Trip Reports


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 29th June 2011, 11:38 PM
Brock Little's Avatar
Brock Little Brock Little is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 484
Default Trip Report: OOL-SYD-OOL with the new DJ



Introduction

Another busy term of Year 11 has passed, and what's better than another spotting daytrip to Sydney to end it with? AND, on my birthday, which is on pretty much the first day of the June/July holidays! This time, I was going to fly Virgin Australia, and booked the flights a day after the airline was relaunched. The flights themselves were quite cheap, with me ending up paying $157 return for both fares, inclusive of all taxes. I opted to fly on DJ500, the first flight to SYD out of OOL leaving at 6am, and DJ539 from SYD to OOL which was scheduled to be an E190 (which I haven't flown on yet) arriving back at OOL at a respectable time of 7:30pm. That gave me just under twelve hours of chilling in Sydney, and the opportunity to do some sunset spotting with my brand new Canon 600D! This would also be my first flight in a Boeing since I went to NTL in 2008! So I started counting down the days until that familiar early morning wakeup on the 25th of June...

DJ500
DATE: 25th June, 2011
AIRCRAFT: Boeing 737-8FE
REGISTRATION: VH-VUK "Mackay-Be Diva"
SECTOR: Gold Coast (OOL) – Sydney (SYD)
SEAT: 12A
ETD/ATD (Gate, Local): 0600/0600
ETA/ATA (Gate, Local): 0730/0730

I checked in online the moment it opened, and promptly printed out my boarding pass. Virgin Australia's website was simple to access, so no troubles were met at all.

So at 3:40am in the morning, I was woken up by my alarm and was excited with the prospect of spending another day spotting in Sydney...and on my 16th birthday! As I had packed my bag the night before, I just needed to have a shower, get dressed, have breakfast and the like. By 4:50am, I was completely ready and in the car on my way to the airport! Again, thanks to my Dad for driving me down this early!

Once at the airport and the farewells had been exchanged, I made my way through security which was no trouble at all, just a quick random explosive trace test of my bag and I that had to be undertaken. The terminal, as you could imagine, was quite empty at this time, only two flights were departing at around 6ish - DJ500 and JQ401 which I flew on last time I went down to SYD. I looked on the FIDS and saw that my flight would be departing from Gate 5, but I randomly made my way over to Gate 4 for some reason and was convinced I was getting VH-VBK, until I noticed that people were milling around the gate next to me and that VBK would be doing DJ504! Woops! Must be the early wakeup. Gate 5 was calling, so I walked over there, sat down and waited to board, rereading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for the...eighth or ninth time now?

After the boarding call for any Velocity Gold members, and 'guests' travelling on onward connections to Perth or with partner airlines, a general boarding announcement was made. I joined the queue and soon enough, I was through the boarding gate and out on the tarmac, breathing in the fresh morning air. My ride for this morning was going to be VH-VUK, as I had discovered last night due to it operating DJ545. Within a minute, I was in the aircraft and in my window seat, 12A. The window was positioned perfectly! Photos weren't a very good option at this time, as it was still quite dark and I just settled on watching the news on my Live 2 Air screen.

Not long after this, the aircraft was pushed back, engines started and we were ready to go! It was great being back on the 737. We had a quick (and quite bumpy) taxi to runway 14 and then took off into the pre-dawn sky, littered with stars and a continuously brightening orange tinge in the sky to the east. The subsequent climb and cruise was something I would never forget about this daytrip.

I had booked this seat and flight in anticipation of a beautiful sunrise, and, I was rewarded immensly. My episode of the Simpsons played on, entertaining nothing but the side of my head as I was basically looking out of the window the whole duration of the flight.


DEFINITELY BOOKING DJ500 AGAIN!

Wow. Just wow. If you can formulate a longer, more descriptive word than that, then good on you, because I was lost for words.

Anyway, the sun kept on rising into the sky, but very slowly, which still gave that orangey tinge to the sky even during our descent into Sydney. Tracking west of Newcastle, we made a quick turn to the left and were vectored out over the ocean again for an approach to runway 34R. The moment I put my camera away for the landing, we passed under the cloud which was illuminated by the weak orange light of the sun, and would have been a great photo opportunity. Oh well, I thought. There'll be another opportunity like that. We arrived at the gate on time and I was met by Andrew on the other side, as well as the cockpit of VH-XFA on the opposite side of the DJ terminal finger. She looked amazing! We hurried out of the terminal to see OGB for the last time as it was being prepared to leave Australia forever. We saw it, and it didn't look too nice. The kangaroo was completely painted over and no registration was visible on the fuselage. We left from that area quickly as no photos could be taken from the position it was parked in, and found a taxi to take us to Shep's Mound, where I have never been before.

Spotting in Sydney

After a quick cab ride, we arrived at The Mound on a beautiful clear day in Sydney. I instantly understood why this was such a great spotting place (apart from the numerous poles that get in the way of photos), as the morning light was brilliant on various aircraft making their way from the gates to the runways and vice-versa. We were in a rush, as XFA was about to taxi past just as we got there. I still had my 55mm lens on from the flight, so I wasn't completely prepared and missed it taxiing past, but luckily it was on its way to 34L. However the Skyteam Korean Air B777 departed at the same time, so unfortunately I didn't get a photo of that.

Some photos from Shep's Mound:









__________________
Photos

JetPhotos.net (1381 Photos)
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 29th June 2011, 11:39 PM
Brock Little's Avatar
Brock Little Brock Little is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 484
Default TR cont.




Whilst down at the mound we came across a fellow spotter who was down from CNS (who unfortunately I wasn't able to get his name) and Damien Aiello, who has one of the best set ups I have ever seen. This photo explains it all: http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6794939&nseq=8
Damien very kindly let us on his spotting platform, and I can't thank him enough for the excellent photos this increase in height produced.

We spotted at the mound until around 11 when it started to get a bit backlit, and decided to have a gourmet, professionally prepared lunch at...McDonalds. :mrgreen: BUT THE MILKSHAKE MACHINE WASN'T WORKING!!! :x

Well after some Maccas it was off to The Beach for the afternoon. I was looking forward to this as my departure time was after sunset and allowed us to stay at The Beach for the golden hour.

Some photos from The Beach:






__________________
Photos

JetPhotos.net (1381 Photos)
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 29th June 2011, 11:40 PM
Brock Little's Avatar
Brock Little Brock Little is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 484
Default TR cont.







Whilst down there, Jayden, Tim, Benny and Damien (from Shep's Mound), as well as some other spotters arrived throughout the afternoon for some spotting! After watching QF31 depart for Singapore and onwards to London, we headed back to the airport and caught the silouette of BA10 departing to Bangkok from The Bridge.



DJ539
DATE: 25th June, 2011
AIRCRAFT: Embraer ERJ-170-100LR
REGISTRATION: VH-ZHF "Little Miss Sunshine Coast"
SECTOR: Sydney (SYD) - Gold Coast (OOL)
SEAT: 16F
ETD/ATD (Gate, Local): 1810/1815
ETA/ATA (Gate, Local): 1930/1930

We headed back to the terminal, and made it smoothly through security and onwards to McDonalds for a much needed milkshake...which I wasn't able to get at General Holmes Drive since the machine was BROKEN! :twisted:

Anyway, we sat at the table facing the apron, watching all the Virgin jets come and go. Soon enough, information concerning my flight was heard over the PA...but it wasn't a boarding call. It was a gate change. This was fair enough, and five minutes later we decided to head on over to my new gate, gate 32. So we looked at the window to see what new E190 I would be getting...
I had been granted a gift and was given an E170 for my flight home!!! ZHF was waiting at my gate, looking to be getting prepped for a quick departure. It was meant to operate a CBR flight, so it seems that they had switched the aircraft around as our load was light whereas the CBR flight's load was pretty full and possibly oversold. Unintentionally, I had booked a flight that would get me on an aircraft that would soon be retired out of the Virgin Australia fleet!

The other passengers had no idea of the wonderful thing that had just occurred! Ten minutes later, a boarding call was made after a few pages for different passengers. Boarding was efficient and quick, and I said goodbye and a final thanks to Andrew for a great day! Walking down the aerobridge, I went downstairs as I had to board from the rear, but they had no rear stairs on the aircraft and I, along with a few other passengers, were told to walk back up and board from the front. I sat down in 16F and the man next to me moved to the empty row in front once everyone had boarded the aircraft!

First impressions of the aircraft were really great. The seats were the most comfortable I had ever been on, as well as the legroom which was definitely substantial on this flight. After a slight boarding delay, we were pushed back and were soon taxiing out to runway 16L, with YFE in front of us. I filmed the takeoff but the file was WAY too big to be uploaded to YouTube, so sorry.

A smooth takeoff followed and we were well on our way to the Gold Coast. A beautiful smell wafted through the cabin during our initial climb, but I didn't ask what it was and just read my book all through the climb, cruise, and descent. I could not see anything out of the window as it was pitch black, but once we were on base for runway 14 I saw the lights of Surfers Paradise. We were given a more northerly approach, which seemed unusual, but this may have been due to some arriving or departing traffic. So I saw all the lights of the Gold Coast, and tried to film the approach and landing but my camera battery died, as well as my SD Card running out of memory.

Before I knew it, we had flown over my house and had made a smooth landing on runway 14. After a quick taxi to the gate, I disembarked the aircraft and was back on the familar OOL apron. I said my final farewell to ZHF, as this would probably be the last time I would ever fly a Virgin Australia E170. I called Dad and he drove down to pick me up after a very tiring day!

Conclusion

I had yet another great time in Sydney. This time was definitely better than the last, probably helped by the fact that I met some new people as well as spotting with my new and better camera, flying Virgin Australia and getting an E170 on the flight home! I'd just like to thank Damien, Andrew and the guy from Cairns again for making this day very memorable! I wouldn't hesistate to book another daytrip down there...this time on QF8!

Thanks for reading my trip report, and I apologise for the lack of photos inflight as I wasn't planning on making a trip report out of this daytrip, but I hoped you enjoyed the spotting photos all the same!
__________________
Photos

JetPhotos.net (1381 Photos)

Last edited by Brock Little; 30th June 2011 at 08:49 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 30th June 2011, 12:54 AM
Zac M's Avatar
Zac M Zac M is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Canberra
Posts: 1,369
Default

An oversold DJ672 (last flight to Canberra...never). I have flown it three times, most I have ever seen on it was about 70 (in a 190) and that was only due to a large school group. The other two times it would have been no more than 25. I dare say that for some reason or another the E190 was needed for extra capacity in Canberra the next day.

Also just a tip, rather than paying for the cab, get the free shuttle bus to the long term carpark and then walk toward the control tower to get to the mound (about 10 minutes). It's a lot cheaper than paying for a taxi!!!
__________________
Recent Flights:
1/3/24 QF1274 (X4A)
1/3/24 QF1269 (X4B)
24/1/24 JQ724 (YXS)
26/1/24 QF1913 (UYY)
20/1/24 QF1451 (LQM)
19/1/24 QF1442 (QOR)
7/1/24 QF1530 (YQW)
7/1/24 JQ740 (YXQ)
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 30th June 2011, 08:42 AM
Jacob P Jacob P is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 144
Default

Hey Brock, awesome trip report and a happy birthday!
By any chance did you manage to get a shot of VH-EBN QF A330-200 operating QF421 SYD-MEL about 0930AM from the mound? I ask as I was on this flight and would be great to get a shot.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 30th June 2011, 08:47 AM
Brock Little's Avatar
Brock Little Brock Little is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 484
Default

Thanks very much Jacob, and yes I did!!!

__________________
Photos

JetPhotos.net (1381 Photos)
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 30th June 2011, 09:05 AM
Jacob P Jacob P is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 144
Default

Awesome shot! Thanks for that Brock.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 30th June 2011, 08:52 PM
NeilP NeilP is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bexley, NSW. 10mins from YSSY
Posts: 209
Default

Love reading your trip reports, Brock. I always look out for them...

Have been thinking about upgrading my camera too, and the Canon 600D looks the goods. Some great shots there...

Great stuff, and happy birthday!
__________________
Cheers,
NeilP
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 30th June 2011, 10:10 PM
Brock Little's Avatar
Brock Little Brock Little is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 484
Default

No worries Jacob, and thanks very much Neil!!!

Yes, I would definitely recommend the 600D. It's an awesome camera!
__________________
Photos

JetPhotos.net (1381 Photos)
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 1st July 2011, 01:29 AM
Justin L Justin L is offline
Administrator
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 757
Default

Once again enjoyed your trip report Brock. Keep it up!
__________________
ABQ ABX ACV ADD ADL AKL ALB AMA AMS ANC ARN ATH ATL AUA AUH AUS AVL AVV AZA BCN BDL BFL BGO BGR BHD BHM BHQ BIL BIS BKI BKK BLD BLI BLV BNA BNE BOG BOI BOJ BOS BSB BTR BUF BUD BUR BWI BZE BZN CAI CBR CGK CHC CHS CLE CLT CMH CNS CNX COS CPH CPT CTG CTS CUE CUN CUZ CVG CXF CZM DAL DBO DCA DEN DFW DLH DOH DRW DSM DTW DUD DUR DXB ECP ELP EUG EWR EYW EZE FAI FAR FAT FCA FCO FLG FLL FNL FNT FRA FRS FSD FU'K FWA GCN GDL GDN GEG GGW GIG GJT GOT GRI GRR GRU GSP GTF GUA GVA GYE HAM HAN HBA HBE HEL HHH HKD HKG HLZ HND HNL HOU HRL HSV HVB IAD IAH ICN ICT IDA IND INV ISP IST ITM ITO JAB JAX JFK JNB JNU JOG JTR KEF KGC KIX KMI KMJ KMQ KOA KRK KTN KUL LAS LAX LBB LBE LEJ LFT LGA LGB LHR LIH LIM LIN LRD LST MAD MAF MAO MCI MCO MCT MCY MDE MDT MDW MEL MEM MEX MFE MFR MHU MIA MID MKE MNL MOB MOT MQL MRY MSN MSP MSY MTJ MTY MUC MVD MXP MZT NAN NAS NRT NTL OAG OAK OGG OKA OKC OMA OME ONT OOL ORD OSL OTZ OUI PAE PBG PDX PEK PER PHL PHX PIA PIT PLO PLZ PNH PSC PSG PSP PTY PVD PVG PVR PVU RAP RDD RDM RDU REC REP RIC RIX RNO ROC RSW SAL SAN SAT SAV SBA SBD SBN SBP SCK SCL SDF SDU SEA SFO SGF SGN SGU SHA SHV SIN SIT SJC SJD SJO SJU SLC SMF SMX SNA SOF SSA STL STS SUN SYD SYO SYR TIJ TLL TMW TPA TPE TSV TUL TUS TWF TYS VAR VIE VNO VPS WAW WDH WGA WLG WRG WVB XIY XNA YEG YHM YHZ YKM YOW YQB YQG YQM YTZ YUL YUM YVR YWG YXE YYC YYJ YYT YYZ ZRH

Next Trips:
29-31MAR LAS-ANC/FAI-ANC-LAS AS
08-09APR LAS-SNA-LAS WN
10-29APR LAS-LAX-SYD-ADL-MEL-ADL-KGC-ADL-MEL-SYD-LAX-LAS AA/QF/VA
02-05MAY LAS-ATL-LIT-LAS WN
11-12MAY LAS-DEN/CYS-DEN-LAS UA
18-19MAY LAS-DFW-BRO/HOU-LAS AA/WN
25-27MAY LAS-GEG/MSO-LAS WN/G4
08-09JUN LAS-PDX-LAS AS
21-24JUN LAS-GJT-LAS G4
04-08JUL LAS-SEA-ANC-ADQ-ANC-SEA-LAS AS
17-18AUG LAS-SEA-KTN-SEA-LAS AS
29AUG-03SEP LAS-MSP-TVC-DFW-LAS SY/AA
28-29SEP LAS-DEN-LAS UA
08-11NOV LAS-EWR/BTV-ORD-LAS UA
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time now is 07:24 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright © Sydney Airport Message Board 1997-2022
Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Conditions of Use and Privacy Statement