Jon Searles' photos with the keyword: aeroplane

Changing transport modes for one shot, I spotted this A380 (or what looks like one) from my train into Frankfurt. If my spotting is right (please correct me if I'm wrong) this marked only the second time that I managed to get a photo of an A380, after I photographed the very first one built in Paris Charles De Gaulle some years ago. Although I can't prove it, I'm assuming this one is operated by Lufthansa, as they are the primary operator of the A380 at Frankfurt am Main airport.

This is an Atec Zephyr 2002LS microlight, which is actually Czech made. Microlight planes are fairly popular in the Czech Republic due to their relatively low cost (comparable to a car), and greater capability than a traditional ultralight. In fact, some of them rival lower-end light transports in certain aspects of their performance. Microlights are a legal category used for some planes classified as ultralights in some countries, but not in others (the term "microlight" is used in several jurisdictions). This means that they are heavier than ultralights but lighter than light transports, with some characteristics of both. Many could almost be flown IFR, but generally microlights are only legal for VFR. Therefore, it is common to fly them VFR at under 4,000 feet, at speeds under about 115 m.p.h. or so, compared to about the same speed for a single-engine light transport, and half that speed for a traditional ultralight (even slower in some jurisdictions). The Atec Zephyr is one of the most popular microlights in the Czech Republic, but there has been talk of discontinuing it in favour of the newer Atec Faeta. When I checked the Atec website today, however, it appeared that the Zephyr was still in production. This Zephyr is operated by Franair, a flight school based in Kladno.

This was another shot that I took of the A380 with the next roll of film. Unfortunately, I had to change rolls as it was taxiing towards us, but luckily, it was going very slow. This might be my best of the bunch.

I took a photo of the Aeroplane Bar the last time I was in Olomouc as well, but I couldn't resist trying it again. Unfortunately, unless you only want part of the plane, or some kind of abstraction, this is one of the only angles which works because of the trees blocking the view.

This is the famed "Aeroplane Bar" in Olomouc. It is in fact a genuine Tupolev Tu-104 airliner, the first successful design of jet airliner in history, as the very first jet airliner, the De Havilland D.H.106 Comet, had an unpleasant habit of blowing up in flight. It was also the first jet airliner built in the Communist bloc, and not to be outdone, Boeing introduced the 707 a few years later, finally giving the west an airliner to be proud of. In any case, this Tu-104 will unlikely ever fly again, as it's well....a bar, and in any case one of the wings is smashed at the tip.