Sydney - Brisbane

After three very busy days here in Sydney it was time to go home.
My Qantas flight was at 3.05 pm so I made my way to the airport arriving there around 1.40.
Although I only had a pocket camera with me ( a Panasonic DMC-TZ57) I decided to do a little bit of plane spotting for the 50 minutes I had up my sleeve.

QANTAS B737-838 VH-XZO (CN 44576)

JETSTAR A321-231 VH-VWW (CN 3916)

MALAYSIAN A330-323 9M-MTC (CN 1229)

JETSTAR B787-8 VH-VKF (CN 36231)

JETSTAR A320-232 VH-VQL (CN 2642)

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBP (CN 1174)

CATHAY B777-367 B-KQR (CN 41759)

TIGERAIR A320-232 VH-VNG (CN 3674)

ETIHAD B777-3FX A6-ETN (CN 39689)

QANTAS A330-202 VH-EBB (CN 522)

UNITED B777-222 N786UA (CN 26938)

CHINA EASTERN A330-243 B-5975 (CN 1639)

ALL NIPPON B787-9 JA837A (CN 34526)

MASKARGO A330-223F 9M-MUD (CN 1180)

MALAYSIA WELCOMES "FuWa & FengYi"

VIRGIN AUSTRALIA ERJ 190 VH-ZPO (CN 19000321)

AIR CHINA A330-343 B-6102 (CN 1695)

My aircraft, a Boeing 737-838, was leaving from gate 5 and the aircraft for this trip was VH-VZS.
We began boarding at 2.40 and I took my seat which was 15F. Unlike my trip down where my window seat didn't have a window, this time I kind of did, directly at my shoulder was a wall but I could see out from the window in front or over my shoulder. We pushed back 3.08 pm and commenced taxiing at 3.12 pm. We taxied out for runway 34L which is the furthest point from the terminal for take off; and after waiting in turn for our departure we got airborne at 3.27 pm. Our climb out was smooth and comfortable and after making a sharp right and then a slow left hand turn we set course for Brisbane climbing to 380. Our track took us up over Newcastle; Port Macquarie and the Gold Coast. We began our descent into Brisbane at 4.16 and landed in Brisbane on runway 19 at 4.44 pm.

Bankstown Airport

Our Sydney office is in a suburb called Moorebank and it is about 12 minutes away from Bankstown airport. I have never been to Bankstown airport so this afternoon I thought I would venture out there after work and have a look around for the first time. Bankstown Airport (IATA: BWU, ICAO: YSBK) is a general aviation and a domestic airport, it is also a business park. The airport is located in the City of Bankstown 22 km (14 miles) from Sydney. Bankstown Airport, also known as Sydney Metro Airport, is situated on 313 hectares (770 acres) of land and has three parallel runways, a small passenger terminal and as I mentioned a business park home to over 170 businesses.

Bankstown Airport operates 24 hours a day, with limitations placed on night circuit training. The three asphalt runways are;
11C / 29C at 1,416 meters (4,646 feet)

11L / 29R at 1,100 metres (3,609 feet)

11R / 29 L at 1,038 meters (3,406 feet)

Bankstown Airport is owned by the Federal Government and leased by Bankstown Airport Limited, It is 10 meters (34 feet) AMSL

AEROSTAR 601 VH-JHG (CN 61P-0582-7963256)

BEECH 76 VH-RMI (CN ME-70)

DICK SMITHS AUGUSTA A109E VH-DSE (CN 11207)

PIPER PA-28R-200 VH-MXT (CN 28R-7535197)

SKYFOX CA-25N GAZELLE  24-3299 (CN CA25N050)

PIPER PA-26-181 VH-NRM (CN 28-789027)

PIPER PA-28-181 VH-TVP (28-85900049)

PIPER PA-28-161 VH-TEK (CN 28-7916377)

CONVAIR 340

BAe 146-200 VH-SUF (CN E2130)

BEECHCRAFT 400A VH-BZL (CN RK-139)

REAR: CESSNA 525 VH-RJB (CN 525-0094)

POLICE BELL 412EP VH-PHZ (36614)

POLAIR  5

BEECHCRAFT B300 N5108B (CN FL-1008)

CONVAIR 340 VH-PDW (CN 086)

PA-60-600 (AEROSTAR 600) VH-TJV (CN 60-0527-171)

Brisbane-Sydney

Well it was only a few days ago I was here when I returned from Alice Springs and now I am back heading off to Sydney for a few days. I set the alarm for 4am but as usual I was awake at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. I left home at 4.30 and arrived at the airport just after 5am. I had a large item with me which needed to go to our Sydney office, so after checking that into the oversized items area I headed up stairs to the Qantas Club for some breakfast.

My Qantas flight, QF 503, was leaving from gate 17 and our boarding time was 6.05am.

I headed up to the gate a few minutes earlier so I could get a few photos along the way.

QANTASLINK DASH 8 Q 402 VH-QOM (CN 4217)

QANTAS B737-838 VH-VYI (CN 34181)

QANTAS TAILS

The aircraft for today was a Boeing 737-838 VH-VYC, we began boarding at 6.08 and in turn I took my seat which was 9A, when I got to my seat I was gutted.... There was no window, yep no window just a wall.

I was gutted and extremely disappointed, having a passion for commercial aviation I was looking forward to seeing and photographing the aircraft in Sydney as we taxied in. 

We pushed back at 6.27 and began taxiing at 6.30, runway 19 was in use so we taxied up to the Alpha 3 holding point and taxied straight out onto the runway for a rolling start. We were airborne at 6.34 and after departure we banked left and then right and set course for Sydney, climbing to 380. Our track took us down over Beaudesert, Glen Innes and Armidale. We began our descent into Sydney at 7.22am and landed in Sydney on 16L at 7.54. We had a long taxi to the gate, which was gate 2 arriving there at 8.03.

Alice Springs to Brisbane

After an amazing 4 days here in Central Australia it was time to go home.

Our flight, Qantas 1799 was leaving at 12.25pm but since we had to check out of the hotel at 10am we just made our way to the airport.

We arrived there at 10.40am, checked in and made our way through security.
Alice doesn't have a viewing deck or a view of the runway from the terminal so it is very hard to see aircraft coming and going. They do have an outdoor area where you can see the apron and runway through the trees and work equipment.

QANTASLINK B717-231 VH-NXQ           (CN 55097)

We began boarding our QantasLink 717-231 (VH-NXL) through gate 3 right on midday, I was in 3A for this trip. There are no aero bridges in Alice so there is no need to request a push back, therefore aircraft just commence taxiing. We began taxing at 12.23pm and taxied out for a runway 12 departure; taking the views of the graveyard on the way out.

LEFT: SINGAPORE B777-212 9V-SVD (CN 30869)

RIGHT: SINGAPORE B777-212 9V-SVA (CN 28524)

AIR NEW ZEALAND B767-319 ZK-NCK (CN 26971)

After back tracking and lining up we got airborne at 12.28.

The sky was clear and blue so I knew it would be a good flight home, as we climbed out we maintained runway heading for sometime before making a very small banked to the right slowly and then set course for Brisbane, climbing to flight level 320.

Our track took us north of Birdsville; Charleville; over Roma and south of Toowoomba.
The country side really put on a display as the scenery changed every few minutes; from dark red dry soil to white clay based soil to a luscious green countryside.

The flight from Alice to Brisbane is just around 2 hours 30, and as there is no entertainment on these 717's you need to provide your own entertainment.

We began our descent at 2.24pm flying in over the city clearly showing the Brisbane River, the Rugby League stadium called Suncorp Stadium (left side of image) and the AFL oval called the GABBA (right side of image) before landing on runway 19 at 2.54pm.

Due to the time difference we had to put the time forward 30 minutes so our actual arrival time was 3.24pm