KC Sim 2 Report post Posted December 3, 2008 The siege of Suvarnabhumi Airport has stirred some airplanes into hyperactivity . . . ranging from Cardiq Air B733F to an AN-124-100 of Antonov Design Bureau, both chartered by freight forwarder EGL to move stranded cargo through SIN to other parts of the world. Beyond the deployment of regular airliners by airlines to "rescue" stranded passengers, there were also some biz-jets joining the fray, including: Learjet of Pacific Flight Services VH-PFA arriving from Pattaya's Utapao Airport Also arriving from Utapao Airport is this IAI 1124 . . . Away from the Pattaya action . . . we now welcome a new regular visitor to Changi Airport in the form of an AN26 from Ukraine. She regularly plies between Batam and Singapore. When AirAsia increased her flight frequencies on the KUL-SIN-KUL route from 2 daily rotations to 7 per day, we knew it would greatly increase our chances of seeing more special liveries . . . and it did not disappoint. On 2 December, there were at least three such special liveries - ManU A320 (which I did not see) and these two - Williams Team and Visit Malaysia Year 2007. Normally an afternoon arrival, a delay resulted in KL169D arriving in the morning instead . . . naturally with a healthy dose of sunshine. Now a regular into Changi Airport, Megantara Air's B732 arrive in SIN at least twice (and sometimes thrice) a day. Not a regular movement . . . this B757-200 has just undergone PTF (passenger to freighter) conversion by SASCO at Seletar Airport and is being put through its paces in its pre-delivery air test. Air India Express continues to be a joy to watch . . . this colourful specimen had me dancing for joy too. Love the tails of these Indian birds . . . they mitigate the sense of loss we felt when British Airways removed the World Images from their tails. After the great morning sun came what must be one of the most violent storms we have experienced in a long time. At around 1715hrs, the dark clouds turned the skies an ink-black and gusty winds drove sheets of rain - making umbrellas a joke. I know, because I was caught in the storm and despite having a huge TNT golf umbrella (thanks Mischa), I was still wet from the thighs down. And Tsen Tsan reported a huge mess at the Changi Business Park caused by fallen trees. Makes me wonder how many Qantas planes diverted to KUL . . . lol. KC Sim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chaity 1 Report post Posted December 3, 2008 Wow! A lot of photos this time. Best-best !! Weather over here in KUL also not good lately. Don't think QF would like to divert here as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Raymond Ngu 0 Report post Posted December 3, 2008 Jetstar Australia sent in Seaworld special colour VH-VQQ yesterday JQ 57 from Cairns via Darwin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simon 3 Report post Posted December 4, 2008 Wow Jetstar special livery :blink: Awesome, thanks Raymond Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC Sim 2 Report post Posted December 4, 2008 (edited) Some days just have a way of turning out rather special, even as they began as mundane as can be. Yesterday was one such day but as the afternoon wore on, it was beginning to look quite interesting. BA's often-nothing-to-look-at B747-400 from London turned out to have a colourful "DREAMFLIGHT" sticker neatly tucked into its mid-section . . . in previous years, I thought these stickers were removed by November . . . but I am not complaining. Saudi Arabian Airlines joined the fray when she sent in its B747-300 HS-VAC in a non-standard livery. It landed not long after sister-ship HZ-AIS departed and I was particularly happy to see HS-VAC, having previously flown it from Bangkok to Dubai (where it went technical) and then from London-Gatwick back to Bangkok in 2004. Then, it was flying for Phuket Air to whom it still belongs. And while a Cathay Pacific Cargo freighter isn't anything to wow about, this is probably one of the first visits of B-LIB, CX Cargo's new fleet of B747-400ERF. I only wished these were painted in the silver bullet livery. And Qantas decided to route its Sydney-Mumbai flight through Singapore today . . . resulting in the visit of its lovely A330-200 VH-EBI. For those who are not sure if they like the new Qantas livery better . . . here's a comparison that might help you decide. And so here's an A330-300 with the old livery . . . followed by an A330-200 in the new livery (both approximately taken from the same angle). And Changi's newest and most exotic visitor - an AN26 from Ukraine - is possibly its most silent visitor too. Its approach was totally stealthy and it just suddenly appeared!! And the highlight of the day . . . also time to end the day as the sun was dropping behind a tall cloud . . . is Jetstar's A320 with the Seaworld livery. This is Australia's answer to Southwest Airline's Shamu and Alaska Airlines' Salmon-Thirty-Seven. KC Sim Edited December 4, 2008 by KC Sim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan Soh 3 Report post Posted December 4, 2008 KC, Trust you to keep this thread alive! Great shots I must say! I see you got a whole string of special liveried arrivals so good for you. Keep them coming. Ryan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simon 3 Report post Posted December 4, 2008 Wow BA 'Dreamflight' livery is still around, great I do have this 1/400 scale model Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC Sim 2 Report post Posted December 4, 2008 This thread has been around for a touch older than 2 years and many photographers and visitors have kept it alive . . . sincere thanks to all who have contributed, either in the form of images, additional information, encouragements and comments . . . or simply by visiting. Contributing to this thread and other ongoing discussions at Mwings has been a genuine pleasure - and along the way, I have gained many friendships - this is what so great about our hobby. I hope that perhaps a similar thread could be established for major airports in the region such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, a generic one for Japan and China. For Europe, Pieter has AMS covered and that thread continues to be a gem to visit regularly. KC Sim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted December 4, 2008 This thread has been around for a touch older than 2 years and many photographers and visitors have kept it alive . . . sincere thanks to all who have contributed, either in the form of images, additional information, encouragements and comments . . . or simply by visiting. Contributing to this thread and other ongoing discussions at Mwings has been a genuine pleasure - and along the way, I have gained many friendships - this is what so great about our hobby. I hope that perhaps a similar thread could be established for major airports in the region such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, a generic one for Japan and China. For Europe, Pieter has AMS covered and that thread continues to be a gem to visit regularly. KC Sim Agree 100% with you, KC: this is exactly what makes our hobby so great - genuine friendship(s) !!! Thanks a lot for your input, together with the other SIN-city friends; 26650, a highlight indeed, even though, I've seen a few recently in the Ukraine myself It's a pleasure to facilitate here about the Schiphol-visitors; don't be surprised to see a 'nostalgic' 737-800 at that appropriate topic soon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Hunt 0 Report post Posted December 5, 2008 Hi Guys, Not quite Singapore, but I saw that KC had uploaded shots of B-LIB landing in Singapore. Well guess who got it a few hours earlier in Hong Kong departing, and I remember thinking "I wonder where the new B747-467ERF's fly to.......now I know! Enjoy! Andrew Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simon 3 Report post Posted December 5, 2008 Fuyoh...nice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted December 5, 2008 HS-VAC looks like ex-Lufty to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC Sim 2 Report post Posted December 6, 2008 For those of us who love the ever-so-rare Russian-built aircract, these are wonderful times as yet another of these is now flying regularly into Changi Airport. Spotters based in Labuan are seeing this Antonov AN-32A arriving daily from Singapore . . . I just love those huge engines!! Relative new Star Alliance member - Turkish Airlines has been rather good in deploying its Star Alliance-liveried A340-300 to Singapore . . . I love this livery and all its variations over the years. KC Sim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simon 3 Report post Posted December 6, 2008 Nice Turkey 343 Star Alliance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted December 6, 2008 For those of us who love the ever-so-rare Russian-built aircract, these are wonderful times as yet another of these is now flying regularly into Changi Airport. Spotters based in Labuan are seeing this Antonov AN-32A arriving daily from Singapore . . . I just love those huge engines!! ...and LOVE the sounds too... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan Soh 3 Report post Posted December 6, 2008 6 Dec 2008 The weather was pretty f888ed up this evening at about 5.30pm. Not only did I not manage to capture much, it started to pour heavily at Changi Business Park. Catching the last bits of sun rays before the stormy Cu enveloped the skies. I will never learn how to capture a 777-300 or an A346 in flight. So damn long... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jerrold Wu 0 Report post Posted December 8, 2008 Turkish Airlines has been rather good in deploying its Star Alliance-liveried A340-300 to Singapore Great catch! I wish they would have deployed -JDL while I was in SIN more often! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC Sim 2 Report post Posted December 10, 2008 Today (10 Dec), we had two lovely subjects and both (in one way or another) had a Malaysian link. The top catch of the day came from Johor Bahru in the shape of a HeavyLift Cargo Airlines Shorts SC5 Belfast registered in the Philippines (RP-C8020). I saw this gentle giant sitting on the ramp at Johor Bahru when I went on a joyride flight with FireFly a month ago . . . so it was a pleasant surprise to see it appear on the inbound flight board. The engines were really gentle . . . almost just a whisper. The second special today was AirAsia's Bank Rakyat A320 . . . I knew it had to come some day and today's as good as any. AirAsia's abundant supply of special livery is making spotting a joy again . . . with six daylight arrivals at Changi, chances have improved dramatically that every special livery will some day drop in. Not a special, but I just wanted to share this image because of the beautiful light on the plane . . . against a storm that had just passed. This B744 is 9V-SPL, one of two former "Tropical Megatops". KC Sim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T Azahan 1 Report post Posted December 10, 2008 Cheers KC. Finally u caught Bank Rakyat..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC Sim 2 Report post Posted December 10, 2008 Cheers KC. Finally u caught Bank Rakyat..... Yes!!! And the feeling was like winning a million ringgits. When I passed through KLIA in October enroute back from TGG to SIN, I missed photographing Bank Rakyat by just moments while walking from the plane to the LCCT arrival hall. Hope to catch it again . . . and again . . . and again in much better weather. KC Sim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radzi 2 Report post Posted December 10, 2008 Saw a Garuda B767 (yes, B767) parked at the remote bay between the T2 F-finger and South cross on the 5th. Anybody caught it in flight? It could be a special Hajj charter sitting out during the transition time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fablee 0 Report post Posted December 15, 2008 8/12/08 Panda operated the a.m flight from gate E3 T2. Just returned to SIN so can only post now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Walter Sim 1 Report post Posted December 15, 2008 good catch! very envious of all the good stuff you get in SIN. Like they always say, the grass is always greener on the other side Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fablee 0 Report post Posted December 15, 2008 good catch! very envious of all the good stuff you get in SIN. Like they always say, the grass is always greener on the other side Thanks, Walter. Yeah I agree about that grass bit. When I was at KLIA 3 yrs ago, I remember how excited I was to see even part of Hibiscus, parked w/o the nose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Simon 3 Report post Posted December 16, 2008 I will be spotting at Changi this Sunday, can anyone point out the best place to spot? Thanks in advance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites