FRA - EWR (11:20 - 14:00)/actual (12:22 - 14:30)
Continental CO51
Boeing 777-200ER/N77012
I tried to book my flights directly on the CO website but always got an error when I entered the multiple cities destinations. At ebookers.com I was able to book the CO flights. I decided to use this website for booking and made an annoyingly error. Instead of choosing a connection flight to FLL with a 2hour stopover in EWR I choosed a flight with a 6 hour layover in EWR. I was really pissed! I spent hours of searching for the best flights and connections and finally I didn't find a single minute to check everything twice. And EWR is not a well known place for plane spotting! Ok my fault. I have to live with that. I already flew to Newark with CO two years ago so I knew what I had to expect. My dad drove me to the train station in Wuerzburg where I took my train to the airport at 06:26 am. I arrived there at 08:00 am. Still a lot of time left until depature. I went to the CO counter to check in and drop my bag but it was still closed. Since CO joined the Star Alliance all flights starting in Terminal 1 and no longer in Terminal 2. Fiveteen minutes later (and some stupid "security" question by the agent) I had my boarding p*****. Sadly the lady wasnt able to put me on an earlier flight to FLL. I had to try it in Newark. Next step was to check the display. Perfect 1 hour delay. I was so many times in Frankfurt thats why there is nothing new for me to explore. I walked to Terminal 2 and went to McDonalds for breaksfast and watched some planes arriving. Weather was terrible. Deep clouds and a light rainshower. When I was finished I used the Skytrain back to Terminal1, Concourse A (never did this berfore). If you plan to exit the Skytrain in Concourse A you need a boarding card because there is a security checkpoint at the exit but you will be directly at the gates. I was the only person during the screening. So if you wanna avoid long lines at Terminal 1/A use the Skytrain at Concourse C and drive to A and exit there. I searched for a nice place where I was able to overlook both runways so I was able to see when my plane arrives. It was already 12:00 pm and no Continental 777. Just the 764 from Houston. An additional big delay? I decided to have a look at my departure gate and..... ohhhh.... boarding already started. I was one of the last people who entered the bus (yes it was a bus gate!) to the plane. Still wonder how I missed my bird while I was sitting at the window! Finally I made it to my seat and the plane was 100% full. The cabin made a clean impression and the IFE was great. With touchscreen and a huge and clear display. Two years ago the 777 had an very old IFE with terrible monitors and movie/tv selection. Flight time was 8 hours and 8 minutes. Shortly after take off the lunch was served. Later I watched A-Team and falled asleep for at least two hours. Picture of the Inter City train interior. Not so comfortable like in the ICE trains. My train from Wuerzburg Closed Continental check in area The huuuuuge and world famous destination board in Frankfurt Terminal 2 Some views out of the Skytrain over Concourse A & B The new pier next to Concourse A is still under construction. My plane to Newark waits on a remote stand (to the left) The last passengers enter the plane The sun came out for a couple of minutes when I boarded the plane. Parked next to us. Air China A332 in Star Alliance livery. [B]EWR - FLL (20:10 - 23:12) Continental CO1801 Boeing 737-800/N17245[/B] It was an uneventful flight and we arrived safetly in Newark, NJ. Immigration was fast without unpleasant questions by the officer. I grab my bag and headed directly to the CO service counter to question for an earlier flight to FLL. 30 minutes later (very slooooooooow ground staff) I was busy to make plans how I will survive the next 4 hours in Newark (earlier flight to FLL at 04:00pm was overbooked). I remembered a spotting location between Terminal B & C which I visited in 2008. I made some pictures from this point but the results were... Continental Connection Dash 8-100 jetBlue A320 Porter Dash8-Q400 Continental Express ERJ 145 Delta Connection CRJ900 Continental 737-700 I needed a new plan! Minutes later I entered the AirTrain and drove the next 1,5 hours from the parking garge to the train station. I made some interesting shots out of the window: Many FedEx and CoEx birds Terminal B with many heavies We are coming close to Terminal C with the skyline of Manhattan on the back Two CO 757 parked on the ramp with Jersey City on the back More CO stuff at Terminal C New tail colors for jetBlue. I like it! I was hungry, tired and just wanted a bed. At 6pm I entered Concourse C for my flight to FLL. I eat a pizza and searched for a quiet place close to the taxiways to watch the planes. Continental, Continental, Continental, oh a Lufthansa plane, Continental..... Thats Newark! Finally boarding began and I took my window seat behind the wing. This plane is equipped with DirectTV and almost 80 percent of the passenger watched American Football for $6! Why? The New York Jets played against the Miami Dolphins! So you can imagine what kind of atmosphere dominates the flight. It was a funny experience! The Dolphins lost but we landed on time. I took my bag and my rental car from Avis and drove 5 minutes to my pre booked hotel next to the airport. I was done! My plane to FLL. Luckily I got the registration! My beautiful hotel room in the Hyatt Summerfield Suites

Not much to tell about this day. First job was to buy an Ipod touch to stay in touch with my girlfriend at home (don't own a smart phone). The rest of the day I met some very good friends from germany and we hang out at beach on Key Biscane during the day, before we went to Miami Beach in the evening. They also wanted to know what plane spotting is and I drove them to the airport for a couple of minutes to show them what I gonna do here for the next days.

I stayed close to the airport in MIA and woke up very early to start a full day of plane spotting. The weather was very cloudy but luckily no rainshowers. Not the best conditions. Normally I would stay at the southern runway to catch all the flights from South America and the cargo jets. But I hate it when I have an overcast background. Its very difficult to edit this kind of pictures. Its better to have buildings on the background and planes on the ground with such bad conditions so I decided to move to "the holes" between the north and south runways. From time to time I drove to a parking lot on the top of the cargo building. Its private property and its prohibited to park there if your are not an employee or visitor of one of the companies located in the building. But hey common I am a stupid tourist who can't speak or read english. You get a very nice overview of the cargo ramp and the threshold of RWY. Some results? You're welcome! When it was dark I went to the cargo building again and made some night shots. I never did this before with planes so I hope you like the results.

My plan for this day was to make some pictures at MIA in the morning, then visit Opa Locka (which I missed two years ago, BTW thanks to ALAMO which had no car left for me, despite a prepaid voucher!) and hang out in FLL in the afternoon. What are you doing when you get up? Went to the toilet and watch out of the window to check the weather? Right! But I was shocked when I watched out of the window. Heavy rain and very very dark clouds everywhere I looked. Hey common I am in Florida! I want blue skies! I don't want the weather that I have in Germany on almost 250 days a year! And what can you do as a tourist in Miami when the weather is bad? Exactly! Nothing! I watched the weather channel to see the forecast for the rest of the day and the result: Cloud covered and rain all the day! The long and the short story of it. I drove two hours to Naples, FL to escape from the bad weather and relaxed at the beautiful, empty beach. I was there for 2-3 hours before I ride to FLL (I had a pre-booked hotel for two nights). I spent some time at the Sawgrass Mills, the biggest shopping center in Florida, before I arrived at my hotel next to the beach. Picture from the top of the cargo building. A heavy rainshower passed the airport. Terrible conditions My escape from Miami. Can you see the blue skys on the horizion :-) Its getting better... And better... Smallest Post Office in the U.S. Perfect weather in Naples! Beautiful city! Same car as last year! Terrible performance but cheap :-) Entrance to the beach The empty beach A short (toilet) stop at the Naples Municipal Airport Some bizjets. Many rich people life in the Naples area. They have a Terminal with scheduled flights to KeyWest! Inside the Terminal. Forty Myers is very close so I bet there wont be more flights in the future. Stars and Stripes on the Tower

FLL - ATL (06:40 - 08:40)
Delta Airlines DL 2526
Boeing 757-200/N555NW
I got up at 5:00 am to get my flight at 6:40 am to Atlanta! Yes you read correct! I booked an additional flight! Just for fun! Originally I planned to spend the whole day at the beach in Fort Lauderdale but some month before my initially trip started I found a very cheap flight with Delta airlines on a Saab340. At the beginning of my scheduling back in January I tried to get the intercontinental flights on an Embrear 135/145 and a Saab340 because I miss both types in my flight log. At this time the only airline with both types in the fleet is Continental(Express) and I found a good deal with a stop over in Waco, TX. But the price rasied very quick over 1000 Euros a couple of weeks later so that I had to drop my plans.Some month later I searched just for fun for some flights from FLL. And e voila I found a cheap trip to Florence, SC via Atlanta on Delta's 757 and Mesaba Aviation Saab 340 within a single day. I booked the flight immediatly for $ 160. I checked the Delta website at least once a week because I was sceptical if Delta switch the Saab 340 to a CanadairRJ. I didn't happen! Puhhh. Finally I arrived at 06:00 am at the airport and boarding already began. I just had my camera equipment with me and no bags to check. The flight was almost full and we arrived on time in Atlanta. I walked a little bit around and bought some stuff for breakfast before I entered the wonderful Saab 340 1.5 hours later. My breakfast Somewhere over Florida or Georgia Final approach on Atlanta Thrust reverse engaged After we exit RWY28 Rush hour! Sadly my window was very dirty My aircraft from FLL Delta 777 This Omni DC10 brought some soldiers home Commuter gates ATL - FLO (10:00 - 11:41)/actual RWY 10:53 - 11:57)
Delta Airlines opb. Mesaba Aviation DL3045
Saab 340/N447XJ
It seemed to become an uneventful and stressles day. But than the nigthmare began. The flight was totally full. When everybody found his seat, suddenly both pilots left the plane and went to the cargo hold in the back of the aircraft. Couple of minutes later one of the pilots made an announcement "we have trimming problems and have to put out some bags". Minutes later the flight attendant came back with two big bags and put those into an overhead bin. First problem solved. So we started our long ride on Atlantas taxiways to the southernmost runway 28. But we stopped somewhere and the pilot made the next announcement. "the plane is too heavy for take off and we have to burn some fuel on the taxiway until we reach our MTOW" What?? I never heard that before! Burn fuel on the taxiway! Strange! Ok we waited 20 minutes until the pilots loose the parking break and we were able to take off from Atlanta. And we did it! My home for the next hours. The journey begins International Terminal E Unknown building under construction. Maybe someone knows whats build up there. Eva Cargo MD11F Shorty after take off Final approach on Florence, SC FLO - ATL (12:06 - 13:54)/actual RWY (13:38 - 14:53)
Delta Airlines opb. Mesaba Aviation DL3008
Saab 340/N447XJ[/B]
We were getting late and I started to getting nervous if I will get my return flight from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. The next problem was that I didn't have a boarding card for my return flights from Florence, SC. Layover time in FLO? 15 minutes! My return flight was on the same aircraft that brought me to Florence! So when I arrived I didn't went to the exit. I stayed at the gate where I arrived (Ok Florence has just two gates and the waiting area is equipped with a total of 40 seats. Its a very very tiny airport!) The ramp agent looked a little bit strange when I told him I just left the plane behind him and want to return with exact the same aircraft to Atlanta. But she gave me the tickets without any circumstances and just sayed "You love to fly". Thats right! So I waited for boarding next to the door until a new announcement was made by the ramp agent. "We have technical issues with a seat and have to wait for a technican who will have a look at the seat". Oh yeah perfect! How long will it take until they find a technican at this huge airport? But already 30 min later they called for boarding which was very quick. Seems like it wasn't a big problem to fix the seat. But just one hour left in Atlanta to get my flight home! No problem? Forget it! Its a Saab 340 and on a Saab 340 you always have weight issues! Next announcement by the flight attendant when everybody was seated: "The plane is too heavy" Again! She called three names which have to leave the aircraft. Those will be booked on another flight. I crossed my fingers that my name is NOT on this list! And he wasn't. Sorry but this is ridiculous Delta! Why are you using a plane which is not able to transport all passengers from one city to another. Florence is just 1 hour away from Atlanta! Ok I am not on the list, lets start the plane! Oh I forgot to tell that these three passengers (two were soldiers) have bags in the cargo hold. And if a ramp worker gets only $5 a hour you can imagine how slow he works. This took at least 30 more minutes and BINGO my connection flight is in the air when I will arrive. Without me!I was pissed! very pissed! Two delays caused by weight and trimming issues?? Is the Saab really that bad?? I flew with many different props before. EMB120, Do328, Beech1900, ATR, Dash etc. but never experienced such significant weight problems as on the Saab340. Is this a typical problem of this type? Where are the experts? Boarding began Cockpit Crew View of the Terminal. Cabin view of the Saab Finally in the air! We were in the air and 1 hour and 15 minutes later (but 1,5 hours late) we landed in Atlanta, again on RWY28. We arrived at the gate at 03:00 pm. My plane back to Fort Lauderdale starts at 02:45. Good bye! Whe I was out of the plane at 03:10 my first look went to the monitors. Flight DL0424 to FLL, delayed. Now starting at 03:15 at gate A20. Boarding already began. I arrived at gate D23 from Florence. Will you make it in 5 minutes from D23 to A20 at the biggest airports of the world? Normally not but I did! I ran as fast as I could! After many "sorry`s" and "excuse me" I climbed the escalator to the top of Concourse A and I saw a crowd at gate A20. From that point I was pretty sure that I will get the flight! The flight was 45 min lates and I was just happy to be on the way back to FLL! But I was done.... ATL - FLL (14:55 - 16:49)/actual RWY (16:04 - 17:33)
Delta Airlines DL 2027
Boeing 757-200/N502US
What a wonderful sight! My plane to FLL Bring me home! Fly AirTran ehhh Delta Jets! Rotate! Nice sight of Downtown Atlanta Full ramp! Note the two white CRJ's on the back to the right More Delta jets Its getting empty Everglades Decend onto FLL My new property FLL airport. A rain shower just passed the city The beaches Turn right... Straight ahead... Last right turn. Nice ship! Those planes are stored for many years in FLL I walked to my car and drove to the top level ot the hibiscus garage at the airport to make some pictures until it was getting dark and I returned to my hotel. Brand new 737-800 for AA I love the looooong 73E IBC Cargo ramp with Saab340 and Fairchild Metroliner freighters Spirit A319 Delta 757 from Atlanta I assume Canard Bleu Parked Spirit A319 next to the Terminal Some classic aircrafts and a 727 Freighter View out of my hotel room. What a wonderful sight! My room for two nights. (Ocean Sky Resort)

Finally good weather! After three days of rain and dark clouds the sun came out. Perfect conditions for spotting. Originally my plan was to drive to Orlando in the morning with a stop at the West Palm Beach airport and later do some plane spotting in Orlando. But I had to cancel this plan because the weather was too perfect in FLL and MIA. My first target was Opa Locka. I already tried to visit this airport and the stored planes on the tarmac two years ago so finally I got the chance. I arrived there at 10 am and walked along the perimeter fence and made some pictures from planes parked inside the field. Minutes later a worker came out of one of the gates with his car. I asked him if it is possible to get ramp access and he said "no problem"! I couldn't believe that! He told me to wait for twenty minutes because he had to pick up some cargo outside the airport. When he came back he told me to follow him with the car. I drove behind him accross the ramp to an old C-47A plane N705GB. I parked my car next to the wing and he allowed me to walk accross the ramp on my own! This was plane spotters heaven!! I grabbed my camera and started my tour through Opa Locka. Unbeleivable how many classic birds are parked there. DC6, DC3, DC9, DC10 just to mention a few. And almost the whole Arrow Cargo DC10 fleet. It was a sad but interesting view! Ok lets go. But I had to wait ten minutes before two shipes passed the channel. I think I was the only person who turned off the engine. First try through the fence. Jed Midwest DC9-31 unknown 737-200 unknown Convair 340 unknown Convair 440 Private Aero Commander N685NA (build 1973) Some older aircrafts parked on the tarmac Air Plus Comet 742 GOL, Global Air & Capital Airways 737 Private DC-3 (build 1943) Learjet 45 Challenger 600 (owned by The INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY) Nice registration Sikorsky S-76A Another Private DC-3 Eastern Airlines DC-6 SRX (Avialeasing) AN12 Cockpit Section of a 737 (Unknown Airline) ex Gulf Air 767 ex Champion Air 727 private Beech C-45H (Build 1952) Arrow Cargo DC10 DC10, DC8 & 727 more from the ramp Another Arrow DC10 Me infront of a parked Arrow Cargo DC10 Bismillah Airlines DC-8F Again a Arrow DC-10 Platinum Air 727 ....Arrow Merlin Airways Fairchild Metroliner Arrow DC10 engine No.2 The nose of a Arrow DC-10 ...noses... Tol-Air Convair 240 Grumman Albatross US-Navy Three SRX Antonov 12 My race car on the ramp The aircraft I was parking Me infront of N705GB It took me one hour until I snapped all the birds (I passed the smaller Cessnas and Pipers because I am not interested in these kind of planes) when I returned to my car and gave the worker a small tip for his "job". He let me out of the airport and I was back on the road. I was so happy to be on the ramp that I forgot all the failures of the past days. I arrived at KMIA couple of minutes later and noticed that all aircrafts arriving from the east. That not good! There is no adequate location to make pictures when the planes using the east-west direction. I drove around the airport but didn't find a single position. Its possible to make pictures on the El Dorado Furniture store but the planes are already very high at this spot. If someone knows an acceptable photo position, please let me know. So I decided to drive back to Fort Lauderdale and to get on the top of the Hibiscus garage from where you can make always good pictures. No matter from which direction the planes are coming from. Couple of SBA 757's parked at the northern ramp in Miami and a AA MD80 my ride to FLL to trough a beautiful area I need some stuff My new mansion One hour later at 3 pm I was on the road again and drove nonstop northwards to Orlando, where my flight to Phoenix started on the next day. I spent the rest of the day in the Radisson Hotel and the outlet stores in Orlando. On the road to Orlando... Funny sight: "Wonderworks amusement park" View out of my hotel room My hotel room

MCO - CLE (14:00 - 16:19)
Continental Airlines CO1770
Boeing 757-300/N57885

In the morning I met the FlightDirector and his son for breakfast (thanks buddy!). Thereafter I drove to the airport and returned my car. I was in the terminal at 11:30 and had enough time left but I was a little bit confused until I found the correct check in area. Finally I found the Continental counter to drop off my bag and get my boarding cards. On the kiosk I wasn't able to print a boarding pass and I asked the stuff for help. The lady told me that my ticket for the flight to PHX was not issued and confirmed and I was rebooked on a later flight starting at 4pm. I was a little bit surprised cause my confirmations showed the correct flight times and I was even able to select my seat. Luckily she had the power to resissue my ticket and booked me on the 2pm flight so I didn't have to spend the next 4 hours in Orlando. Another surprise was that I didn't had to pay the $30 for my bag. Maybe the reason were my two international flights within one booking? However, two hours left. First I went to the top of the parking garage where I got a brilliant overview of the airport area. Inside the Terminal The Hyatt Hotel inside the Terminal. I would prefer a room with apron view. Airside 4 with AirTran and Delta Airside 3 with Continental, United and USAirways (Star Alliance) Control Tower Helicopter platform on the top of the garage Airside 1 with Allegiant and American Airside 2 with JetBlue and Southwest Still 2 hours left but I decided to take the train to Airside 3 where I took a seat close to the windows to watch the not existing traffic in Orlando. Just 5-10 planes depature on the west runways within the 1.5 hours. Finally boarding began and I took my seat for the flight to Cleveland on CO's 753. When I booked my flights I had also the opportunity to select a nonstop flight with US Airways but you know, I love flying :-) The Tramway connects the Terminal and the Gates Many lakes inside the airport territory. Awsome!! US Airways 734 Continental 753 ++OK lets go! Control Tower again Turn into RWY 18L Clear for take off Lift off! Tower, Hangar, Terminal.... Turn right.... Kissimmee Municipal Airport Downtown Disney Sea World Universal Studios The flight to Cleveland on the 757-300 was fully booked. We made a nice turn over the skyscrapers before we arrived on a rainy and overcast airport. My connection time was 1 hour so I just walked a little bit around before I headed to my depature gate. The airport is somewhere under the plane Downtown Cleveland Final approach Empty Concourse A Empty Concourse B Touch down My plane from Orlando Inside the terminal. Note the tables! Already printed with the Star Alliance Logo Concourse D is used by the Continental Express & Connection Just possible in the US :-) Never seen such a thing in Europe. CLE - PHX (14:00 - 16:19)
Continental Airlines CO362
Boeing 737-800/N17245
On the 4hour flight to Phoenix I enjoyed Continentals DirectTV for $6 and talked to the lady next to me. We also got something to eat. A warm chicken wrap and some chips. Sadly Continental will cut this service on intercontinental flights with less than 6hours! The flight was uneventful until we entered a dust storm over Phoenix and the planes was shaked in all directions. Somewhere over the US on the way to PHX We come closer to the dust storm Its getting dark! It was already dark when we arrived at the gate on time. I picked up my bag and took the shuttle bus to the rental car terminal on the west side of the airport. I got a acceptable deal on alamo.com for a SUV and one hour later I drove my Chevrolet Tahoe to my pre-booked Hilton hotel next to the airport (worst Hotel I've stayed during my trip!) I like the Mythbusters! (Hilton Phoenix Airport)

A full day of plane spotting! Main reason for spotting in Phoenix was: - get some special painted aircrafts from US Airways and Southwest airlines (no luck with the latter) - the birlliant view from the parking garages. Especially when the aircrafts pass the bridge. - possibilty of making night pictures from the aircrafts parked at the terminals - Goodyear is very close. Another missing boneyard on my "to do" list. So from morning until noon I parked my car on the top of the terminal 2 parking garage: My toy for the next days :) Me in action. First time I was able to make pictures while I was resting in the car trunk!! Due to the merger with AirTran I think they can remove these stickers. Honeywell testbed aircraft First special, Nevada Don't call this a special livery. Come to Frankfurt and you know why ;) Second special, America West old colors Third special, Arizona After 4 hours at this location I decided to leave this place for launch. When this was done I made a drive along the perimeter road southwards to my hotel. I stopped at the cargo ramp to make some pics through the fence when I saw a Open Skies 757 rolling along the taxiway to the runway. Damn!! I had no idea how to make a closer picture from this aircraft and until I was back in the car the bird was rotating.... on the way back to Europe with the Phoenix Coyotes onboard. Damn again! I made a short stop at the hotel before I returned to the airport to park my car at Terminal 4. At 3pm (I think) they always switch the arrivals from west to east. Nice "smoking" touch down pictures are the result :) Fourth special, America West latest colors ## Later I moved with the shuttle bus from T4 to T3 to make some pictures from aircrafts which were passing the bridge. Phoenix has two bridges connecting the Northern and Southern parts but luckily one of these was closed due to construction works. So all aircrafts had to pass my camera. Top of the parking garare is also a Heliport. Fifth special, Arizona Cardinals Aborted landing! Big player #2 at PHX The only daily flight from Europe! It was still not dark, I was a little bit bored so I decided to make a drive to Downtown Phoenix just to recognized that Sundays Downtowns are closed (see my trip report from 2009). Some snap shots and then back to the airport! War memorial I was beginning to like my car All-American. Abandoned buildings to the left... ....skyskrapers to the right! US Airways center The results from the parking garage: Thats it for today!

Another beautiful day in Phoenix and no weather issues like in Florda. I had some hours left in the morning before my long ride to Indio, CA. As the day before I spent some hours on the top of the parking garage of terminal 4. The morning rush is unbeleivable! Oh there is a small sticker on it!! Didn't expect this livery here! Last picture from Phoenix Sadly not a single Southwest special. Just the standard stuff. I think US & WN are responsible for at least 70-80 percent of the aircraft movements. I have to say that Phoenix is a wonderful airport with some very good spotting locations but the varity of airlines and aircrafts is awful and you get bored very quick. Lets leave this place! As mentioned before I also visited another boneyard. The "Phoenix Goodyear Airport". I started in the noon from KPHX and it took me 30-45 minutes to KGYR. Because of my big SUV I was able to drive around the airport along the perimeter fence on a dirt road. I asked some guys behind the fence on the tarmac if its possible to get on the ramp but sadly they denied my request. No big deal. My car was very high and I climbed on the top and made some acceptable pictures from the stored aircrafts. Break, Climb, Shot, Climb, Drive for the next 30 minutes. Job was done very quick and I made a short break at Arby's for lunch. I tried to visit as many fast food chains as possible which are not existing in Germany. TacoBell, Carls Junior, Wendy's, DelTaco, Arby's.... There was a lot to do! The first aircrafts came in sight The other side of the airport Indian Airlines A320 The newest arrivals after the bankrupty of Mexicana Corsair 747-300 US Airways 737-300 This plane was donated by FedEx and United Airlines to replace the older Orbis DC-10 but its still stored in the desert. United 737-300 Air Jamaica A320 ex Seagle Air a couple of CO birds stored at GYR Thomson Airways 767 line up ex KLM is now in the air for skywings, ex Indian Airlines ex JAL Mad Dog another Indian Airlines Airbus OK finally I was on the Interstate 10. But I didn't choosed the fastes direction to Indio/Palm Springs where I had a pre booked hotel room. it was a looooong ride You should now, I love this car :) where I was coming from suddenly I was in the Sahara! I don't wanna park my car there Must be a great place!!! Whats going on? Searching for drugs? Good luck.... In Blythe, CA I made a left turn to access Highway 78 southwards. I choosed this direction to drive along the Salton Sea and to visit Salton City. I found this "ghost town" one day while I was playing with google earth and swor that I will visit this place if I get the chance. I love ghost towns and if you just have a look at this link ([url=https://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&geocode=&q=phoenix&sll=51.151786,10.415039&sspn=21.787047,39.506836&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Phoenix,+Maricopa+County,+Arizona,+Vereinigte+Staaten&ll=33.290432,-115.944042&spn=0.056536,0.077162&t=k&z=14]phoenix - Google Maps[/url]) maybe you know why I choosed this way. It was unbelievable! Abonded houses, destroyed roads everywhere I looke. And a weird feeling in the air was included. Here are some impressions: Welcome to Salton City!!! They have a school!! And a fire station. Unbelievable! Looks niiiiiiiiiiiiiice. Every road got a name. And there are many roads in Salton City! I wouldn't go into the water. And its very cheap!! If you need a rooftop dish.... This guy had not much luck with his business yes some people live here perfect infrastructure Indio was not far away and I arrived at my hotel (Best Western) one hour later. It was already dark and I relaxed the rest of the day in the hot tub before I went to bed. Good night!

L.A. I am coming! First target, Victorville. I was already there last year and I was impressed by the amount of stored planes at this airport. I didn't had a SUV on my last trip and wasn't able to drive along the fence to make some shots from the planes which are parked inside the airport, far away from the ramp. After a quick and ugly breakfast at the BW Hotel I started the engines for the 2 hours trip. I passed Palm Springs and San Bernadino before I climbed the mountains up for VCV. From the Interstate 10 I spotted just a single, blue 747 parked on the ramp at the airport of San Bernadino. I didn't stop and continued to VCV! In Germany I printed some sattelite images from the airport so I was able to see the dirt roads along the perimeter fence and it wasn't difficult to find the parked aircrafts on the east side of the field. But the images where already a couple of years old and not up to date. They closed a part of the eastern dirt road due to cunstruction works so I wasn't able to get close to all aircrafts. Damn!! Greener, Cleaner, America??!!! The dirt roads around VCV. You need a SUV there! FedEx A310 Freighter United 747 Cathay Cargo 747 Cathay A340 British Airways 747 Airborne Express 767 Gadair European Airlines 757 will converted into a freighter for FedEx Kabo Air 747 United 767 Silver United 767 Good old Tristar! still in Delta colors Bangkok Airways 717 Qantas 747 and some Tristars Nice surprise to see one of the last active 707. Sadly this plane crashed this year. I drove to the hangars and made some more pictures from planes parked on the ramp: this ex ATA is now somewhere in on of the Arabian states what happened to the tail? AFAIK is this bird in use to transport prisoners Omni DC-10 Saudi Arabian 747 ex JAL 747-400 ex Lynx Aviation now active for Horizon Air converted to freighters for FedEx a single Qantas 767 and three United 737s and more Mexicana birds Omega tanker all white, no idea which operator don't mess with a 747! FedEx MD10 I was finished in taking picutres at 2pm. Plenty of time left! I decided not to use the shortest way to LAX and choosed a route trough the mountains on Highway 2. It was a wonderful road through the mountains but sadly the pass was closed. So I used another route to LAX. I noticed the name Palmdale very close on my map. Palmdale? Palmdale? Palmdale! Yeah isn't this another interesting airport. I rembered some pics on a.net with some Boeing 747-8 Freighters and the 787. Also Lookheed Martin and Northorp Grumman have a test facility at this airport. Ok lets go there. I left the mountains behind me and the wide plains of Palmdale were infront of me. The area of this airport is huge! I drove around the perimenter fence and tried to get close to the different ramps of the aircraft manufacturers. But there was always a security checkpoint. Sadly no chance to get close to the 747-8F. I made some pictures out of the car while I was driving: Ohhh I am on the route 66! This street will ending soon... On the way down to Palmdale Lookheed Martin facility The 747-8F Boeing facilty I was a little bit dissappointed while I was driving the way down to L.A. to my Hotel (Radisson), next to the airport. Hope you like my hotel room pictures :) The world famous In&Out Burger was very close so I went there to had my dinner (great tasting burgers!!) whilst I was watching the planes arriving infront of me. I made two videos for you:

At this day I met my friend Randall from Las Vegas in the morning at the hotel lobby before we started two days of spotting at LAX! But the weather was terrible this morning. Dark, deep clouds and heavy rainshowers over L.A. Not a chance to make pictures at this time. After a short breakfast we decided to have a look into the Flight Path Museum. The entrance is free and it was very intersting to see so many stuff from the past. Almost every Airline from the U.S. has a special corner at the museum with timetables, models, clothings and many other informations. You can also listen to the ATC and watch out of the window watching the planes rotating infront of you. great timeline which shows all the mergers in the U.S. One of the models is in my collection :) I believe this is the timetable of PSA but I am not really sure To big for my living room. There was an event the next day at the Flight Path Museum celebrating the '100th anniversary of Southern California Aviation' Luckily the rain stopped at noontime and we drove to the Imperial Hill which took just a minute from the museum. Finally parts of the sun came out and the dark clouds over northern L.A. created a stunning contrast on the aircrafts we photographed. Later the day we drove to another spotting location, Westchester Parkway. This location is good in the afternoon when the sun is almost down and faces the front of aircrafts. Its a little bit tricky there because the photo point is on a sidewalk next to a busy road. It lasted only a couple of minutes until two police cars stopped next to us for an interview. I forgot my ID in the car but the officers didn't care much and were very friendly to us. One of them had a basic knowledge in aviation so we chatted a little bit with the cops about. Some minutes later we continued taking pictures but the sun was almost down and we were getting hungry. We headed to Marina Del Ray for dinner at a mexican restaurant. When it was dark we tried to make some shots from the top of the parking garage at LAX but it we were not very successful. Next aircraft for the display at the Flight Path Museum

A full day dedicated to spotting planes! Normal L.A. weather, what means we had perfect conditions. After we checked out at the hotel we went to our car on the top of the parking garage next to the Radisson. This is a good location for planes arriving on RWY24. We stayed there for two hours. Finally I got an Alaska Airlines special livery and an Qantas A380 (in 2009 I had no luck). Before we headed to the Imperial Hill we made a short break in a supermarket and Randys Donuts to buy some snacks & drinks for the rest of the day. A good start! Finally! We got here the day before but with bad light conditions A regular sight. Got this Airbus in 2009 here too. Last year I missed him. I always believed such a place just exists on the TV :) We stayed at least five hours at the Imperial Hill. Its still the best spotting location at Los Angeles in my opinion. 747-8F which I saw two days before on the ground. Was also displayed at the Flight Path Museum Jackpot!!! There wasn't much cargo inside In the afternoon we went to the In-N-Out Burger for the final dinner. Later Randall left L.A. with the help of Southwest Airlines whilst I used my Chevi Tahoe to get down to Santa Ana for my last night during this trip. My friend Randall and me infront of the In-N-Out Burger My hotel room in Irvine, CA. The FedEx pakage to the right contains some Gemini Jets models :)

When I was booking my flights I tried to find a different airport out of L.A. Instead of KLAX I used the oppurtunity to get an new airport into my flight log. Burbank, LongBeach and Santa Ana were the choices. I dropped LGB very quick cause of the lack of connection flights to Europe. So I had the choice between Burbank and Santa Ana and my vote was for the latter because of the better price and connection times. The return flight was from SNA to IAH on a CO's 737-700, followed by a 767-400 to FRA. Two aircrafts which I´ve never flown before. I can't really tell you much about this day. I woke up very early because I tried to do some plane spotting at SNA from the parking garage. I didn't find any informations on the www for spotting locations at this airport so I tried the garage. I returned the car, checked in my bag and went to the top of the garage just to noticed that I can see..... nothing! I was a little bit disappointed but the traffic in SNA is not very spectacular. Whatever! I went to the boarding aera and waited almost three hours for my flight to Houston. Welcome Mr. John Wayne The aircraft for my flight to Houston Its not Atlanta :) Mr Oakley's Global Express Lets go! The University of California Irvine Newport Beach to the left. Santa Ana (and the airport) to the right. Guess the airport (on the left side) Phoenix area! Finally something to eat. Not that bad! Better than nothing! Flight was on time but I can't really remember what I did during the flight. Guess I spent $7 for the Live TV :) Three hours later we arrived at Houston, TX. Sadly I had not enough time between the flights to explore the airport a little bit. So after I got out of the plane I went straight to the gate for the final flight. I was one of the last persons who entered the aircraft. Luckily the load factor was something around 70 percent and I was able to took one of the many empty rows in the back of the aircraft. The IFE was not the newest but OK. I didn't use it frequent and felled asleep very quick.... Welcome to Houston. The home of Mr. Bush! I can't remember to saw an aircraft from any airline except Continental! This plane brought me back. Houston is a heaven for Boeing lovers! Ready for take off. [B]Goodbye my beloved country![/B] My conclusion of this trip. Its already one year ago but I still have great memories about this journey. This time it was more relaxing than in 2009. I had always enough time for plane spotting and didn't spend too much time in the aircrafts. Miami, especially Opa Locka was one of the highlights. Phoenix is a great airport for spotting with perfect locations but the traffic is very boring. Victorville was very disappointing because of the closure of one road along the perimeter fence. I hope they don't plan to do this in Goodyear too. And L.A.? its still one of the best spotting airports on this planet! So I hoped you enjoy in reading my report. Sadly I wasn't able to do such a big trip in 2011 but maybe next year. We will see..... Final flights