On Friday the 30th of March, I planned a spotting trip to Perth Airport. Upon arrival to Perth the day before, I saw an Antonov An-124 parked on the ramp by Terminal 1, and remarked to myself that it would be great if that aircraft was departing sometime tomorrow. A few minutes later, I was in contact with Perth spotters to find out that the Antonov had been due to depart at 10:00 that day, but was now rescheduled for 12:00 on Friday.
I got to the Perth Airport outdoor observation deck with nearly an hour to spare on Friday and met with many other spotters who were also on the lookout for the Antonov. The legendary sivideo aviation, who many of you may have heard of, was one of the many in attendance (I have linked his video below!)
Around 12:15, the Antonov taxied out from behind Terminal 1 and headed for Runway 03, right in front of the observation deck! Specifically, it was an Antonov An-124-100M registered UR-82027, operated by Antonov Design Bureau. She had flown into Perth to delivery some drilling equipment for WA Iron Ore mines.
The aircraft spent several minutes powering up at the runway holding point, while a QF 737 and A330 landed, before taxiing into position and spending even more time powering up on the runway. Finally, at 12:36, the Antonov finally departed for Johor Bahru, leaving a smokey trail from its D-18T Engines!
Here are 10 of my shots of the departure. It was my first time spotting an An-124 so I’m very pleased with how they turned out!
Taken with Canon EOS 700D + Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM
Video from sivideo aviation
