IT WOULD surprise many to find out that I am one nervous flyer despite my love and fascination for airplanes.
I would not call myself a true aviation geek yet but I consider myself as one budding aviation geek.
I have always been fascinated by airplanes. Amazing how something as enormous as the Airbus 380, Boeing 747, and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster can fly despite their large size.
During my travels in 2015 and 2016, I would regularly take photos of planes at the airports during departure, boarding, or deplaning. When the plane is taxiing on the runway, I would also have my camera ready.
I started planespotting from by boarding house since it is along the path when the plane lands at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport (Davao Airport).
After becoming part of a community of plane spotters, I started to also plane spot at the Davao Airport. Here, I was able to take better photos of planes landing at the airport.
Using a flight tracker application called Flightradar24, I was able to take photos of planes that I have always wanted to take a photo of.
I think I have already had photos of the common types of passenger planes that would usually land at the Davao Airport -- from the massive Airbus 330 of Cebu Pacific to the fondly called “tutubi” of both PAL Express (Dash Q400) and Cebu Pacific (ATR 72). In the mix are the Airbus 321 and 320 of both airlines and AirAsia.
When I am lucky, I was able to also get shots of the Boeing 737 of SilkAir. During the launch of the Davao-Doha, Qatar route, I was able to get shots of the beautiful Boeing 787 of Qatar Airways. Unfortunately, this is an evening flight and was not able to get shots of the plane since then. Among the foreign airlines operating to and from Davao Airport, it is only XiamenAir and Cathay Dragon that I do not have photos of.
Every time I snap a photo of a plane landing or taking off, the inner child in me looks on in wonder. I have seen a lot of videos explaining how planes fly but it never ceases to amaze me how something that big can take flight.
Planespotting is a fun activity for aviation geeks and those who are constantly amazed by these large metal birds. In the future, I hope to capture other types of planes and airlines wherever I travel.