Trip Reports Forum | Helsinki Heavies

My good buddy Aziz and I decided to go and see the Finnair MD11’s before they were retired from the fleet, arriving in glorious sunshine at Gatwick we boarded the 08:30 easyJet flight to Helsinki after the scrum of trying to find a seat. We pushed back and taxied to the east, passing the Royal Thai Flights B737, which, little did I know, was probably the most exotic plane of the W/E!

2hrs 30 mins + 2 hours time difference later we landed in a downpour, which was a real dampener, we went for a coffee and after giving CPR to Aziz as 2 Danishes and 2 coffees were £12. We sat down for a few hours of spotting. The Finnair heavies returned from the Far East between 14.30 and 16.00. Looking at the arrivals board the first MD11 was due at 15.00. She arrived early and with much snapping of the shutters, she was duly captured. There was a lull and we decided to check in at our hotel and picking up the hire car.

We had previous investigate the spotting areas and set off to find the threshold of 22R
This was easy and we settled down for the departures of the heavies back to the Far East. However the rain clouds were still in evidence and the light wasn’t good but we came a long way so we had no choice but to brave it out. Some bright spots appeared and some reasonable photos were taken, however the traffic was mainly Finnair with a couple of other European carriers, a nice surprise was the KLM MD11, out of maintenance and departing like a rocket ship. We were hoping to get the 23:50 departure of the MD11 but the clouds darkened and the light just faded away. So we went for a drive to Malmi the GA airport, a few interesting a/c inc a DC-3 and some float planes

Saturday was brighter but still overcast, we wanted to get the arrivals on 22L and after visiting the cargo ramps and GA ramp we set of to find the spot. This was not as easy as the Sat Nav tried to send us up a road which wasn’t there and only by watching out for the A/C did we find a spot on top of a rocky outcrop under the flight path with a view to the runway. Not the best place by all accounts and most of the shots ended up backlight, we later learnt that we should have gone to the fence and the field to the right of 22L for better angles. We went for food and coffee before the 16.00 departures of the heavies on 22R. We found the spot near the DHL warehouse, where lift off shots can be take with a 400mm lens and with a bit of cropping can give good action shots. Once the mad rush had finished we went back up to the threshold of 22L as the traffic was landing on 15/33. a Hummingbird a320 and a Rossiya A319 were the highlights but again most of the traffic was Finnish.

Sunday our departure day and low and behold bright sunshine, unfortunately not a lot happens in the mornings except the European flights and the odd IT flight by Thomas Cook and Air Finland. A few hours at the airport and I even missed the elusive retro jet for the 3rd time! We climbed aboard the A320 and I settled down to reflect on a long w/e, where we got what we wanted but with very little else. The busiest period is afternoon early evening and as there is only one easyJet flight a day. The trip became a bit expensive as an overnight stop is required. Shooting from the cafe was ok but any angle, other than 90 degrees to the glass, by the camera distorted the shot and the glass it is heavily tinted. To get anywhere else you need a car. Unless you have a need to see the Finnair heavies, I would recommend that you spend your money on somewhere else!

Sounds like an interesting trip!

Really nice shot of a great aircraft.

nice report, certainly an insight into the trouble of booking advance trips. Superb photo too.

Hummingbird? sorry Freebird the DC-3 is also in the galley

Superb photo, how do you get them so sharp!

taken in TV mode:-ASA 100:- high shutter speed to reduce camera shake, 1/500th to 1/750th and breath slowly, try and use someting to rest on. if you have an SLR, in auto it may default to 400ASA which has more noise(bigger grains) than 100ASA hence softer photo

Thanks,

I will give that a try next time!

Cheers