Welcome to my first long haul in probably a year (or more!) While everyone was busy with the 777 and 737, I decided to devote some attention to the legendary 747 on one of its great routes (I don’t know if any of you have read the book Skyfaring by the pilot Mark Vanhoenacker, but in it he describes his 747 flights for BA - it’s a great book).
Anyway, this flight unfortunately had to occur on casual because of my grade standing. Thankfully everyone stayed out of my way at Heathrow and even though there was an silent inbound for the opposite end of the runway from me, they vacated just as I got on short final. My takeoff and approach were made even better by SIDS and STARS, so overall it was a very enjoyable flight.
Note that in the interest of seeing things, the time was changed. This flight was really an evening departure and early morning arrival, with everything happening overnight
Flight Details
- British Airways 747-400 | EGLL to FACT
- ~11:30 flight time
*Route took us through France and Spain, then down through Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, and then across the southern Atlantic to Angola, Namibia and finally South Africa
Sitting at the gate loading the flight plan, fuel and passengers.
All four engines in a blur as they rocket us off the runway and into the air
Banking in the SID
Flying over the beautiful countryside of France
The southern Alps greet us as we cross over the border to Spain and on to the Mediterranean
Dramatic lighting scenery over the desert in Algeria
On the STAR for Cape Town, banking over the bay
50… 40… 30…
Pulling into the international terminal with my all-time favorite beacon shot
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Hope you enjoyed! These were all lightly edited with the default Apple Photos software.