2Excel Aviation now have two former FedEx Express Boeing 727s based at Doncaster Sheffield Airport in the north of England. I was on site yesterday to witness the arrival of the second, G-OSRB, recently painted in the striking red and white colours.

The company’s first aircraft, G-OSRA, was in fact the last Boeing 727 built. Both have been saved from the axe following their retirement by FedEx last year.

Now, the aircraft will be used for oil spill response duties, and also in a cargo carrying capacity.

Enjoy this video of the aircraft at Doncaster.

I came across this onboard footage of a morning arrival at Geneva Airport filmed on board a Swiss A330-300 earlier this year.

If you have a few minutes to sit back and relax, it really takes in the sights and sounds of an arrival with stunning light, and the Swiss scenery passing below, before arriving at a packed ramp full of airliners from around the world.

View from Wingtips Restaurant

A new guide to spotting at Brussels Airport has been added, which is up-to-date from a recent trip (and will be kept up-to-date if anything changes). You can view the spotting guide at the top of the page under ‘Spotting Guides’, or by clicking this link: www.airportspotting.com/spotting-guides-2/brussels-airport-spotting-guide/

Brussels is the largest and busiest airport in Belgium, handling a large amount of passenger and cargo traffic.

Cargo and low-cost mix at Brussels

It is also home to Melsbroek Air Base, which handles the Belgian Air Force transport aircraft and any visiting foreign governments etc.

The airport has three runways – 25L/07R, 25R/07L, and 01/19.
It has a single large terminal building, with two long piers and various remote stands.

On the northern and western portions of the airport are a number of aprons for cargo aircraft. DHL have a base here.

Passenger movements are dominated by Brussels Airlines, Jetairfly, Jet Airways, and Vueling.
Other airlines of note include Ethiopian Airlines (787), Etihad (A330), Qatar Airways (787), Thai (777-300), Tailwind (737-400), MEA (A320), Air Arabia Maroc (A320).

Spotting is quite easy at Brussels, with a number of locations in and around the terminal, and a few good spots for photography around the perimeter for those using a car or public transport.

Here’s a video showing the various spotting locations and airline operators from my recent visit.

Nearby attractions include the Royal Army Museum in Brussels, with a large collection of preserved aircraft, and Brussels South Charleroi Airport, which is a base for Ryanair and Jetairfly.

Check out the spotting guide to Brussels and keep it handy when planning your trip. It includes spotting hotels at Brussels too!

Here’s a fantastic, atmospheric time lapse video of aircraft traffic at Singapore Changi Airport. It is mainly night time scenes, which really adds to the magic of the video as you see aircraft lights flickering past in time to the music and dancing around in the skies.

This video shows a day in the life of pilots flying De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters around the islands and resorts in the Maldives. Shot in the style of a time lapse, you’ll see them flying from dawn to dusk over turquoise seas and inlets, with stunning views. Enjoy!

If you want to get out there and capture some stunning videos or pictures of crosswind landings, here is some inspiration from five different airports.

The key to emphasising the crosswind is to be positioned looking down the runway, either in front of or behind arriving traffic.

Birmingham, UK

Dusseldorf, Germany

Funchal, Madeira

Tokyo Narita, Japan

Zurich, Switzerland

Airport Spotting Guides Europe

Comprehensive guide book to Europe’s best airports for spotting aircraft. Includes:

• Maps with spotting locations marked
• Spotting hotels
• Airlines, runway details, radio frequencies
• Nearby aviation attractions – museums, airfields, preserved aircraft.

Perfect for your spotting trips. Buy your copy here!

It’s been a while since I posted a Best of the Web video, but I saw this one today and felt I had to share it as the photography is simply stunning. It shows the huge Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ, through a series of time lapse sequences, often shot at night, both inside and out of many of the classic military jets, helicopters and former airliners in various states at the storage site.

Hope you enjoy!

Justplanes really are the best in the business when it comes to cockpit recordings, with such a wide ranging back catalogue.

I thought I’d bring you details of a few recent additions to their collection which have caught my attention.

1. Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Join the world’s most advanced airliner on flights from Addis Ababa to destinations across Africa, Asia and Europe. 8 flights included.

2. Norwegian Boeing 787-800
Fly Norwegian’s 737s on routes across Scandinavia and mainland Europe, including a flight to the most Northerly airport in the world!

3. Air Canada Boeing 767-300
Fly long haul and short haul in Air Canada’s 767s, including a trip to Hawaii, and the famous landing at St. Maarten as seen from the cockpit!

4. Air France Boeing 777-200ER
Follow the pilots of this state-of-the-art aircraft in a flight from Paris to New York JFK. It covers everything from the moment they arrive at the airport, including planning and pre-flight, to the charts, cockpit instruments, approach, landing and all the outside cockpit views.

5. Swiss Airbus A340-300
Like the Air France 777 example above, this one follows the pilots through every aspect of their flight both on the ground and in the air, as they take an A340 from Zurich to San Francisco. Fascinating documentary and cockpit views.

It’s been a few weeks since I posted a video, so it will take something pretty spectacular to make up for that. Well, how about this video of an incredibly low and fast fly-past of a MD-10 freighter at El Trompillo in Bolivia?

A bit of a different video for the ‘Best of the Web’ section this week, but since British Airways have always been good to Airport Spotting Blog and supported what we do, we thought we’d bring you their new TV advert which shows off their smart new Boeing 787-8 aircraft and onboard service. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Abigail Comber, British Airways head of marketing, said: “Our new TV advert shows the work that goes on behind the scenes, in order to get 100,000 people in the air every day. The research gave us a real appreciation for every single person that makes flying a seamless process. From the tug driver to the ramp agent, from NATS air traffic control to our chefs  – there’s more people than you realise, that get you from A to Z.”