Delta 767

For a bit of a change on Madeira traffic, a Boeing 767 of the US airline Delta, at Amsterdam Schiphol, beeing towed to the stand, with Air France A321 F-GTAZ taxiing to the runway:

20 year old 767 N190DN

Photo of the Week: First SAS NEO

Last Saturday Madeira received its first A320 NEO, from SAS...
After Easyjet, SAS is the second airline to fly the 320 NEO to Madeira.
Those engines looks really nice!

Didn't manage to get the arrival so, a few shots of the taxi for the departure....

entering runway 05...

lining up ....

Like I said...those engines look really nice...

Brussels Tomorrowland

Last Sunday, Brussels Airlines brought us another of its flying artkworks :)
Amare / Tomorrowland...and how beaultifull it is!

A320 OO-SNF landing on runway 05, from Brussels

detail on the amazing artwork...

The push-back for the return flight.
Too bad it wasn't parked on a stand in front of the balcony...

(My) First Germanwings....

...at Madeira....

Finally, a few weeks after Eurowings started flying to Madeira (check HERE), managed to photograph a plane with the Germanwings livery...
The sun was really shy early in the morning for the arrival on runway 05....

D-AGWT over runway 05 treshold...

 but it was already shining for the departure...(or, at least, for the push-back....)

Sevenair

Os aparelhos "da casa", pela sua presença frequente, acabam por ser boas cobaias para umas experiências diferentes...
Neste caso tentei uns registos a 1/20, enquanto Jetstream CS-DVQ da Aerovip / Sevenair aguardava no holding do "Charlie", para a pista 05, com o A321 da TAP, CS-TJF, aterrando em frente....

Foto da Semana: Despedida ao Alpha Jet

Após 25 anos de operação na Força Aérea Portuguesa, foi hoje efectuado o último voo do Alpha Jet na Força Aérea Portuguesa.
Sem dúvida uma perda, ainda mais porque é um aparelho que se vai sem deixar sucessor...
Com um importante papel na formação de pilotagem avançada, obrigará à implementação de programas de formação no exterior, algo que já acontecia em certa medida mas, que agora (suponho eu) decorrerá de forma, integral....

Ficam alguns dos poucos registos que tive oportunidade de efetuar aos Alpha Jet pelos céus madeirenses...normalmente aquando de exibições dos Asas de Portugal ou outras efemérides, como por exemplo as comemorações do Dia da Força Aérea, em 2010.

Close-up ao 15206 no Funchal, com a pintura dos Asas de Portugal

15208 e 15206 em acrobacia com formação cerrada

Chegada dos Alpha Jet dos Asas de Portugal à Madeira, em 2008

Smoke on!

A unica vez que tive oportunidade de fotografar os Alpha Jet ainda com pintura camuflada, bem como o Caracol, ostentando a pintura comemorativa dos 50 Anos da Esquadra 103

Suponho que a partir de hoje apenas poderemos admirar os Alpha Jet portugueses em locais como o Museu do Ar, onde, espero, sejam preservados mais alguns exemplares deste aparelho, que não deixou de marcar uma era na Força Aérea Portuguesa....

Alpha Jet que se encontra presentemente no Museu do Ar, na Base Aérea de Sintra.(15224)

33 Anos de Linces

A Esquadra 504 da Força Aérea - Linces, assinala hoje o 33º aniversário da chegada dos seus primeiros aparelhos e início de actividade.

O único Falcon 20 da Força Aérea está preservado no Museu do Ar, na Base Aérea de Sintra.

Actualmente operando 3 Falcon 50, em missões de transporte aéreo especial (apoio à recolha e transplante de órgãos, transportes médicos urgentes, transporte de altas individualidades, etc), a Esquadra 504 deu início à sua actividade a 12 de Janeiro de 1985, com a chegada de 2 (e um terceiro posteriormente) Falcon 20, aparelhos que actualmente já não se encontram ao serviço.

Para melhor conhecer a história da Esquadra, recomendo visita à página do Walkaround, dedicada ao Falcon 20 e à 504, AQUI

Parabéns Linces e continuação de Boas Missões!

Highlights 2017 at Madeira

Last year has been marked by the disappearance of 3 major visitors at Madeira Airport: Monarch, Air Berlin and Niki so, the first highlights should be definitely to these airlines that flew the Madeira skies for so many years...

Monarch A321 with sharklets G-ZBAM landing on runway 05
More on Monarch HERE

Air Berlin A320 special Etihad livery D-ABDU departing from runway 23
More one Air Berlin, HERE

For Niki...a real oldie (at least for me...), back from Aug.2006, still with the first livery I saw them use (looked kind of a chocolat bar....)..A321 OE-LOS :

More on Niki, HERE

In February made the firsts (and only) shots to Hawker 900XP of Madjet after its complete refiting.
This plane used to be based at Madeira...
Check all pics HERE

In March we had a premiera from down under... :)
First time I got a Royal Australian Air Force plane and also first time we got a C-27 Spartan at Madeira, on a technical stop. Check HERE

A34-004 departing from runway 05

Also in March, had (probably for the last time) the oportunity of photographing a couple of Sata A310's together...check HERE

CS-TKN and CS-TGU 

Transavia special liveries are dificult to find around here, so  it was nice to get for the first time F-GZHO with #MyPicOnAPlane special livery....Check HERE

In April, Brussels Airlines made its first flight to Madeira:

A319 OO-SSM being received with the water salute on the airline's first flight to Madeira.
check HERE

Also in April, Condor made us a surprise with a Condor 767...
D-ABUI, check HERE

Continuing in April, finally made a few shots to Easyjet's Shakespeare special livery, G-EZBI. Check HERE

In May, we had an Air Tractor and a couple of helicopters for some aerial fire fighting tests at Madeira...
Spanish EC-LNT, during the take-off for the tests:

More of the Air Tractor, HERE

The Helicopters were operated by HTA (CS-HBB made the tests and the other remained on backup).
Check HERE

In June we had, for the first time, Air Europa's B737, with a series of charter flights from Spain.
Check HERE

EC-MKL departing from runway 23 with 30th aniversary special sticker. More, HERE

In July, Aerovip brought another Jetstream to ensure the inter-island route while the usual CS-DVQ went to the mainland for a deep maintenance...

Swedish registration SE-FVP arriving for the first time at Madeira. Check HERE

The maintenance of CS-DVQ included the new Sevenair Group livery that fits really nice (personal opinion) on the Jetstream:

Also in July, Arke (Tui Nederland) made a few flights with something diferent: A canadian registration (Sunwing) B738 with a Tui Family Life special livery:

C-FTOH lining up to runway 05. More, HERE

Still on July, Madeira got finally the return of the daily cargo flights from / to the mainland (Lisbon).
Check HERE

Now the flights are beeing made with an ATR-72, by Swiftair, which has already flew several cargo flights to Madeira, with the B737 and ATR-42

In August, a UEFA competitions provided us another premiere...Ukranian Wind Rose came for the first time at Madeira, with Dynamo Kiev, to play to local team C.S.Marítimo. Check HERE

There was another premiere regarding the UEFA championship but didn't manage to get it...an A319 of the Bulgaria Government.

In September, a birdstrike in the nose of Tuifly D-ATUH provided us another nice traffic, although not for the first time...Ukraine Air Alliance An-12 UR-GCV had to bring another nose to the grounded plane...Check HERE

Also in September, got another Arke from Sunwing...C-GOWG, more HERE:

In October,  Brussels Airlines finally started flying to Madeira with the A320 opening the possibility of getting some special liveries...and it did...first A320 flight was made with OO-SNA (Red Devils livery). Check HERE

Also in October, and due to the backrupt of Air Berlin, Eurowings started flying to Madeira. The first flight was made....with an Air Berlin plane........
More, HERE

A320 D-ABFC

Still in October, Madeira received the first A321 NEO to operate to Portugal. Novair's SE-RKB. More HERE

October was a really nice month, regarding highlights... :)
at the end of the month we got, for the first time, a Royal Canadian Air Force C-130, on a technical night-stop. Check HERE

130613  landing on runway 05

In November, a special present...the second ever A318 at Madeira. An Austrian CJ OE-ICE that arrived almost at night.
More HERE

In December, finally got my first pic of a Eurowings plane..Check HERE

A319 D-AGWD landing on runway 05

Also in December it was time for Brussels Airlines "Magritte" to visit us...(there are still a few special liveries to come....hello!!! Brussels!), check HERE

OO-SNC landing at runway 05, on a dull day...

The last Niki

From last December, 9th 2017..
the last Niki flight I managed to photograph...I guess it really reflects the kind of messy bussiness relations around those german airlines...Niki flight, with an Air Berlin livery plane, operated by Tuifly....4 days later, Niki annouced its shutdown...

B738 D-ABMQ landing on runway 05