Glw Apt 2018 February

Glasgow Airport Movements 2018

February

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February 2018

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Glasgow Airport Movements 2015

Glasgow Airport Movements 2016

Glasgow Airport Movements 2017

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Glasgow International Arrivals & Departures

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Glasgow International`s long run of record-breaking passenger figures came to an end this year with a decline reported for January, unlike Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports which saw a healthy increase.

A boost in international traffic helped Edinburgh record its busiest-ever January with 837,542 passengers passing through the terminal, an increase of 7.1 per cent on the same period last year. Glasgow`s International traffic was 1.9 per cent lower than January 2017 following United`s decision to suspend its service to Newark over the winter period. Adverse weather conditions also impacted flights to and from Glasgow and domestic traffic was down too, resulting in an overall passenger decrease of 3% for a total 579,888.

Although January is traditionally one of the quieter months for the UK`s airports, the reduction highlights the challenges that lie ahead, not only for Glasgow International and a number of other UK airports, but the aviation industry in general. Derek Provan is due to take over from Amanda McMillan as Glasgow Airport`s new CEO and managing director in April. Born in Glasgow, Mr Provan has over 20 years of experience in aviation and joins the airport`s owner AGS from Heathrow, where he is currently interim chief operating officer. He will no doubt be hoping to build on his predecessor and her team`s successes in recent years, but it now seems he will have an even greater uphill struggle thanks to Ryanair...

Europe’s largest budget carrier made two major announcements this month, the first being that it is to launch flights from Jordan for the first time next month as it expands its operations in the Middle East. The airline, which already flies to Israel and Morocco, has announced services to two destinations in Jordan, the capital Amman, and the south-eastern city of Aqaba. Flights will commence in March this year with a scheduled service between Amman and Paphos in Cyprus with plans for the remainder of the new routes, amounting to 14 in total, to be up and running by next winter.

Currently, the vast majority of Ryanair’s routes are within the European Union, but it also flies to a number of non-EU countries that, like Jordan, have “Open Skies” agreements with the EU that allow deregulated air travel. None of Ryanair`s flights to Jordan yet link with the UK, the airline preferring instead to fly from a number of hubs on mainland Europe, including Athens, Brussels Zaventem, Budapest, Krakow, Warsaw Modlin, Cologne and Rome Ciampino, but the expansion raises the prospect of a budget route from Britain to Jordan at some point in the future.

At present the only two airlines to fly direct to Jordan from the UK are British Airways and Royal Jordanian, with return fares available from around £500. A Ryanair spokesperson said that the airline, which carried almost 130 million passengers last year, expects to fly 430,000 passengers per year to and from their latest destination.

The second announcement came on Tuesday 27 February when Ryanair gave notice that it intends to close its base at Glasgow International as of November 2018. Devastating news for the airport and its workforce as up to 300 jobs could go, plus annual passenger numbers will fall by around 500,000 as a result.

The airline, which also operates out of Prestwick, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, will cut the number of routes out of Glasgow from 23 to just three, leaving services to Dublin (3 flights per day), Wroclaw and Krakow (both twice weekly), although it`s doubtful that the Polish routes from here will be deemed sustainable in the long term.

Ryanair`s Chief Commercial Officer David O'Brien blamed the UK`s decision to leave the EU and Holyrood`s failure to replace air passenger duty (APD) with a cheaper air departure tax (ADT).

The Scottish Government had unveiled plans to replace air passenger duty in Scotland with a much cheaper air departure tax in 2017, however, these plans have yet to be implemented and require EU approval under state aid rules. Glasgow Airport had been a base for Ryanair since autumn 2014, one of several new bases opened across Europe that year. As of this winter, five Glasgow routes are to be transferred to Edinburgh Airport and Ryanair will offer 45 destinations from the capital including 11 new ones - unfortunately it looks as though Glasgow Airport`s annual passenger totals have peaked and won`t recover anytime soon.

The weather at the beginning of the month was superb and despite being relatively mild, the high tops were well-plastered with snow. The above telephoto shot, taken on 1 February from the mound next to the Paisley Moss Nature Reserve and St James Park which overlooks the airfield perimeter, shows the rugged outline of the Cobbler on the left, one of the mountains forming part of the group known as the Arrochar Alps which occupies the ground between the Rest-and-be-Thankful pass and the west side of Loch Lomond north of Tarbet.

With a similar forecast for the next day, I headed north for some landscape and wildlife photography taking in Glen Orchy, Glen Etive and Glen Coe. Ben Lui (above) near Tyndrum always looks superb in these conditions with its twin-tops and massive corrie combining to resemble an alpine peak. During WW2 a Coastal Command Hudson came to grief high on the mountain, sadly killing all four crew members but due to the remote location and access difficulties, the military authorities were unable to fully recover the aircraft and substantial wreckage remains. More information and images can be found on a separate page: Click here to view.

There wasn`t much snow at low level on 2 February, even around Rannoch Moor, but the substantial covering on the slopes meant that the Ski Centre at Glencoe and some of the traditional walkers` car parks were quite busy. Visibility was excellent and window seat passengers in any of the numerous flyovers must have had an unrivalled view of the country 30,000 ft below. These shots were taken in Glen Etive with US or Canada-bound aircraft encroaching on the scene. The long summit ridge of Ben Starav is on the left and the south end of Buachaillle Etive Beag sunlit on the right above. This is the first time I`ve managed a shot of a stag and an aircraft (albeit at a distance) in the same frame!

Catching many people by surprise, February went out with a blast in the shape of gale force winds and driving snow which blew in from Siberia and resulted in
the Met Office issuing Scotland`s first ever Red Alert weather warning. This notification advises the population to prepare for extremely severe conditions which are likely to cause widespread damage, travel disruption and power outages, plus there`s a potential risk to life. Blizzards bringing significant windchill struck most of the country on Wednesday 28th February as well as other parts of the UK but it was the central belt between Glasgow and Edinburgh and adjacent areas that the highest weather warning was initially issued for, covering the period from 15:00 hrs on the 28th until 10:00 hrs on Thursday 1 March.

When the storm bands closed in on the morning of Wednesday 28th, which they did frequently, Nevis Way in the cargo area and other locations around the airport experienced conditions more often seen on top of Scotland`s highest mountains. The airport remained closed for most of the 28th, despite the sterling efforts of the on-site snow-clearing teams which worked continuously, night and day but they were forced to admit defeat by 15:00 hrs. By that time most flights had been cancelled, although the first of the day`s Emirates Triple-sevens managed to land after a 90 minute holding pattern. A Loganair Saab 2000 also made it in before the short-lived weather window closed. Several other aircraft diverted to Prestwick or Edinburgh, including the second Triple-seven from Dubai which went to the former airport.

Around 600 passengers were stranded at Glasgow Airport, 200 of them overnight. Some sought accommodation in nearby hotels, but most stayed in the terminal and the Red Cross assisted by supplying blankets. (As is turned out, the airport didn`t reopen for business until the morning of 2 March). Public transport on road and rail throughout the country was severely disrupted with many bus and train services suspended, even beyond the areas affected. In addition, long lines of vehicles became stuck on several of Scotland`s major arteries, the worst being the M80 between Glasgow and Stirling where around 1,000 motorists were forced to spend the night. Scotland`s kids were happy though - no school for several days and plenty of opportunity for sledging!

The above slideshow features shots taken in and around the airport on Wednesday 28 February.

India Tyres at Inchinnan to the north of the airport.

Any bi-annual international Scotland v France rugby match at Murrayfield attracts a large number of visiting French supporters, most of whom make their way to the city by air. Having never been through to Edinburgh to catch these incoming charters, and with the latest Six Nations encounter scheduled for Sunday 11 February, I decided to give it a go this year. The day immediately preceding match day is always the busiest, however, due to other commitments I couldn`t manage on the Saturday, settling for the Friday instead. As it turned out there were only a couple of rugby-related arrivals but the weather was fine if a bit chilly and there were several interesting aircraft which I wouldn`t have seen at Glasgow including Lufthansa Airbus A321-231 which had recently been painted in the airline`s new livery. The new scheme has attracted a great deal of adverse criticism with many people citing the lack of yellow, traditionally in the tail logo, as contributing to a rather bland appearance.

Most of the airliners stayed over until the Monday morning to allow the French fans to celebrate or, as it turned out on this occasion, to drown their sorrows in the Scottish Capital`s bars, restaurants and clubs.

Following a hefty defeat by Wales in their first match, Scotland came from behind to see off France 32-26.

Some charter aircraft also flew in on Monday morning to supplement those already parked up, the highlight being Corsair Airbus A330-343 F-HSKY (ex F-WWCZ) which had been due on the Saturday but failed to appear due to a technical issue. This was the largest airliner to visit but it collected fans only - the French team`s taxi home, was a mundane Jet2 737! Click here if you wish to check out my Edinburgh shots.

Jet Airliners

Back at Glasgow, on February 1st, A40-MA (f/v) (above) is the first of 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8's for Oman Air and was on delivery from Boeing Field, Seattle. The next generation aircraft arrived at 20:55 hrs on Thursday 31 January 2018 and parked on Stand 81. It`s pictured here the following morning preparing to depart on the last leg of its journey. Hopefully more of these new additions will route through Glasgow.

Airbus A319-112 VQ-BAS Rossiya (f/v) brightened up a fairly quiet month when it arrived from the Turkish resort of Antalya with Zenit St Petersburg FC for their Europa League match against Celtic at Parkhead on 15 February. The strikingly coloured airliner is the Russian team`s official carrier, hence the special livery which, as it turned out, blended well with the snow-covered hills passed on approach for Runway 23. Local enthusiasts had positioned themselves at several locations around the airport`s perimeter to capture its arrival on camera when it touched down at 12:30 hrs and many were still there when the aircraft took-off again just over an hour later. Below: At first glance it looks as though the Russian team`s aircraft has broken down on the runway and had to be lifted clear by one of the cranes involved in the ongoing construction work at the northern side of the airfield.

At Parkhead on the 15th, a late goal by Callum McGregor in the 78th minute was enough to secure victory for Celtic, the team's first win at home in 12 European matches outside the qualifying phase. The same Rossiya aircraft returned on the 16th (below) to pick-up the Russian team.

On Wednesday 21 February, after night-stopping, GainJet VIP Boeing 737-406 SX-ATF (below) set off just after 13:00 hrs with Celtic for their away leg with Zenit St Petersburg. The Hoops` latest attempt at European glory ended in a frozen Russia at the first knockout hurdle on the 22nd, however, as they crashed out of the Europa League, unable to capitalise on their 1-0 home leg advantage. They were drastically outclassed by Zenit who won comfortably by 3 goals to nil (3-1 on aggregate). Up until the 61st minute, despite trailing 2-0, an away goal by the Scottish champions would have turned the tie completely in Celtic's favour, but a simple tap-in by Zenit forward Aleksandr Kokorin effectively decided the outcome.

A330-223 G-VMIK made three visits to the airport on Saturday 24th and again on Sunday 25th for crew training and it`s thought that these big Airbuses will gradually replace Virgin`s ageing Boeing 747s on the busy Glasgow - Orlando route. Having flown up from Gatwick each day, G-VMIK, a.k.a. `Honkytonk Woman`, routed towards Inverness after take-off from Glasgow and returned here for the flight crew to practice approaches and landings, all of which were on Runway 05 due to the prevailing easterly wind.

Icelandair is adding a new service to Kansas City, Missouri, as of May 25 this year as part of its summer flying programme. There will be three flights per week to the US city from Reykjavik (Keflavik) which will increase Iceland`s national carrier`s North American network to 23 destinations. Boeing 757 TF-ISZ visited Glasgow at least twice this month and is shown here, lining up for take-off on `05` on Sunday 25th February (above) and on short finals for Runway 23 on the 16th.

Noteworthy Jet Airliners visiting Glasgow International this month were BAe146-RJ85 G-JOTR Jota Aviation which worked a BA Cityflyer flight and A320-214(WL) G-EZRO easyJet (f/v) (1st); A320-214(WL) OE-IVT easyJet Europe (f/v) (2nd); Boeing 777-31H(ER) A6-EPK in Expo2020 colours worked the second of the day`s Emirates flights (3rd); Boeing 737-8AS(WL) EI-GDW Ryanair (f/v) (4th); Boeing 777-31H(ER) A6-EPK (Expo2020 colours) returned, Airbus A319-111 OE-LQN easyJet Europe (f/v) and CRJ-900LR D-ACKA Lufthansa (f/v) (5th); Jota Aviation BAe146-RJ85 G-JOTR worked a BA Cityflyer flight in the afternoon (7th); A319-111 OE-LQG easyJet Europe (f/v) (8th); Airbus A320-211 D-AIPK Lufthansa (f/v), A320-214 OE-IJO easyJet Europe (f/v) and BAe 146-RJ85 G-JOTR Jota Aviation (9th)...

The engines of Emirates Triple-seven A6-EGT created these huge vortex cloud swirls as the aircraft made its descent on Sunday 4 February.

February`s noteworthy Jet Airliner movements continued with Boeing 737-8AS(WL) EI-EMO Ryanair (Tenerife > Prestwick snow diversion), Airbus A320-214 G-EZUG easyjet (Luton > Keflavik snow diversion), A319-111 OE-LQX easyjet Europe (f/v), A320-214(WL) OE-IVI easyjet Europe (f/v) and A320-214(WL) OE-IVD easyjet Europe (f/v) (Bristol > Keflavik snow diversion) (11th); A319-111 OE-IJD easyJet Europe (f/v) (13th); Airbus A319-112 VQ-BAS Rossiya (f/v) and A320-214(WL) G-EZRH easyjet Europe (f/v) (now based) (14th);

Airbus A320-214(WL) OE-IJI (f/v) and A319-111 OE-LQO (f/v) both easyJet Europe (15th); A319-111 OE-LQJ easyjet Europe (f/v) plus Rossiya A319-112 VQ-BAS returned to collect Zenit St Petersburg (16th); Boeing 737-8MG(WL) G-JZBG Jet2 (f/v); Airbus A319-112 D-ASTC Germania (19th); Boeing 737-8AS(WL) EI-GDZ Ryanair (f/v) (20th);

Boeing 737-8K5 G-FDZR TUI transported Celtic supporters to St Petersburg for their team`s Europa League match against Zenit, plus BAe 146-RJ85 G-JOTR of Jota Aviation worked a BA Cityflyer flight (plus other dates) (21st); A319-111 OE-LQZ easyJet Europe (f/v), plus TUI Boeing 737 G-FDZR returned with Celtic fans (23rd);

Airbus A330-223 G-VMIK Virgin Atlantic (f/v) made three visits crew training, A320-214(WL) OE-IZH easyJet Europe (f/v) and Boeing 737-8AS(WL) EI-GJA Ryanair (f/v) (24th); Virgin A330 G-VMIK was back again, plus Airbus A320-214(WL) D-AIZR Eurowings (Borussia Dortmund Livery) (25th); Bombardier CRJ-900LR D-ACKJ Lufthansa (f/v) (26th); A320-251NEO(SL) G-UZHB easyjet (f/v) and A319-111 OE-LKF easyjet Europe (f/v) (27th).

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner G-TUII, Sunday 25 February 2018.

Above: easyJet Airbus A319-111 G-EZFZ taxis to the terminal after landing on 1 February. The UK budget airline is expanding with flights from Southampton to Geneva launched last month, which are mainly intended to capture part of the winter ski holiday market. Former British Olympic ski-jumper Eddie `The Eagle` Edwards waved-off the first flight to the Swiss resort on 14 December and the service will continue to operate three times per week throughout the winter on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

BA offshoot BA Cityflyer have also announced that they are expanding operations with plans for several new routes, two additional aircraft and 40 new jobs. The carrier will increase its fleet of Embraer E-Jets to 22 with the addition of two more 98-seat E190s. The operator will also link its London City base to Frankfurt with a new weekday service, and double frequencies on its existing connection to Milan / Linate. This is in addition to new seasonal flights from Manchester and Edinburgh to Florence and a weekly rotation between Manchester and Dublin. G-LCYX, one of Cityflyer`s Embraer 190s, is pictured above on finals for Glasgow`s Runway 23 on Tuesday 6 February 2018.

On Monday 12 February, London City Airport was forced to close as a precaution following the discovery of a 500kg Second World War German bomb in the Thames adjacent to the site. The 1.5 metre-long device was discovered in a bed of silt 15m underwater at the King George V Dock on Sunday during planned work. An exclusion zone was put in place resulting in the cancellation of all flights, including those to and from Glasgow, Up to 16,000 passengers were affected and some residents were evacuated from nearby properties. The bomb was moved by Royal Navy divers to a safer area within the dock then floated on an outgoing tide to a remote location where a controlled underwater explosion was carried out. London City Airport was back in business first thing on Tuesday morning.

British Airways`remaining batch of seven Boeing 767-336(ER)s, including G-BZHA seen here, are now engaged solely in short-haul operations. In Scotland, the type is a common sight at Edinburgh but less so at Glasgow, only working one Shuttle flight from London Heathrow each afternoon during the winter months. BA plans to retire these big jets by 2018 and replace them with upgraded Airbus A320s.

Below: Special-liveried Boeing 777-31H(ER) A6-EBK has visited Glasgow sporting its new colour scheme before, but it wasn`t until Monday 5 February that I managed to catch the aircraft on camera. Pity that the sky remained largely overcast for most of the day though. Emirates have decided to paint a total of 40 of their aircraft, both Airbus A380s and Boeing Triple-Sevens, with the dedicated Expo 2020 decals which will remain until the end of the event.

Expo 2020 Dubai, which will run from 20 October 2020 until 10 April 2021, will be an important platform facilitating a global exchange of ideas, collaborations and partnerships across a range of industries and domains. The Expo site, which will cover a total of 438 hectares, is located in the Dubai South district, near the Al Maktoum International Airport. More information on the event can be found on the official website: www.expo2020dubai.com.

The special livery is based on the Expo 2020 logo, inspired by an ancient gold ring excavated in Dubai, and it underlines Emirates’ support for the vision of Expo 2020 Dubai. Emirates is the Official Airline Partner of the event. Three different decal designs reflect the different themes of Expo 2020: opportunity, mobility and sustainability. The Expo 2020 decal is one of the largest to be applied on an Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft to date and it is also the first time that the surface area on top of any of their aircraft has been so covered. The Expo decal applied on the Triple-Seven takes up over 40 percent of the aircraft fuselage surface area and took a team of six over 84 hours to apply the art work.

KLM 737 PH-BGU heads back to Schiphol on a fine morning. Thursday 1 February 2018.

I`ve included another selection of video clips this month, all shot hand-held so some sections are a bit shaky, and the footage finishes rather abruptly - obviously a bit more practice required! Although I`ve reduced the quality to 720 dpi from 1080 dpi, the footage stalls in places but I`m putting that down to my old, relatively low-spec PC and tablet. Hopefully it will be okay if viewed on up to date equipment.

Boeing Triple-Seven A6-EBK taxis to the terminal after landing on the 3rd with a fuel tanker tagging along behind.

Turboprop Airliners

Not a lot to report this month, just a few first-time visitors, namely ATR 72-202(F) EI-SLX of ASL Airlines Ireland (f/v) (13th); Bombardier DHC-8-Q-402 D-ABQM (f/v) (above) still in Air Berlin colours which worked the Eurowings flight on the 14th and Aer Lingus Regional ATR 42-600 EI-GEV (f/v) (18th).

All-white Eurowings Dash 8 D-ABQK (above) called in on Friday 16 February.

Please bear in mind that all my images are subject to copyright. They are not free to use and have been embedded with a digital watermark.

FedEx ATR 72-202)F) EI-FXG is pictured here taxiing out for departure, late afternoon on Friday 9 February.

Another shot of Twin Otter G-BVVK heading for the Loganair hangar on 16 February.

Large flocks of birds in the vicinity of the airport were making their presence known again this month despite the attention of Airside Ops and their flare guns. The geese in flight on the left joined the others feeding in the field just as Eastern Airways Saab 2000 G-CIEC began its take-off run on the 8th. The solitary Heron was hunting, apparently without much success, close to where I was standing.

This very large flock of geese close to the northwest side of the airfield perimeter on Friday 16 February was causing some concern and the tower delayed the departure of a Ryanair 737 which was on the runway `ready to roll` for around 10 minutes until the birds settled on nearby farmland.

Somewhat unusually, on the afternoon of Tuesday 20 February the Inchinnan Bascule Bridge over the White Cart Water was raised although I`m not sure if this was due to river traffic or just routine maintenance work. Flybe Dash 8 G-JECK from Southampton was on approach at the time the photo was taken.

Biz-Jets

Learjet 45 LX-EAA and Falcon 900EX N7600P (f/v), Tuesday 20 February 2018.

Registered in San Marino, Global Express T7-JAT arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday 24 February. (No space at Edinburgh).

February`s corporate jets included Bombardier Challenger 604 N85PX (f/v), Challenger 605 9H-VFG VistaJet, Cessna Citation XLSs S5-ICR and I-TAKA (f/v), Learjet 45 I-FORR and Citation Mustang G-FFFC (plus other dates) (1st); Learjet 25D N304VS, plus Citation XLS S5-ICR returned (2nd); Gulfstream IV-SP N478GS, Embraer Phenom 300 CS-PHC NetJets and Phenom 100 D-AIIB (f/v) (3rd); Challenger 350 9H-VCO VistaJet, plus Phenom 100 D-AIIB returned (4th); Embraer Phenom 100 CS-DTC Valair (f/v) and Phenom 300 G-JMBO (plus other dates) (5th); Citation XLS S5-ICR (6th); Learjet 35A D-CTRI (8th); Citation XLS+ G-JALS Air Charter Scotland (10th)...

Bombardier Challenger 604 N85PX (f/v) arrived on the morning of 1 February under clear blue skies. It was routing Stockholm to Goose Bay.

Cessna CitationJet CJ2 D-IMAX (11th); Citation Excel G-IPAX Air Charter Scotland, plus CJ2 D-IMAX left a.m. but returned late afternoon (12th); Bombardier Global 6000 EC-LTF and IAI Astra-1125 SPX C-FRJZ (13th); Astra-1125 C-FRJZ returned (14th); Dassault Falcon 7X M-CELT and Learjet 60 D-CNUE (15th); Cessna 680 Citation Sovereign D-CARO (16th); IAI-1125 SPX Astra OE-GFC Tyrol Air Ambulance (f/v) (17th); Dassault Falcon 900EX N7600P (f/v) (18th); Boeing 737-406 SX-ATF GainJet Aviation, Learjet 45 LX-EAA and Citation Bravo G-CGEI (20th)...

Bombardier Global 6000 N45GX, Learjet 31A D-CGGG and Cessna Citation II G-FJET (21st); Citation XLS+ G-JALS of Air Charter Scotland and Learjet 35A D-CITL (22nd); GainJet VIP Boeing 737 SX-ATF returned with Celtic FC, plus Raytheon Hawker 800XPi CS-DRU NetJets (23rd); Global Express T7-JAT (f/v) and Cessna Citation CJ2+ G-TWOP (24th); Cessna Citation Encore+ D-CAPB and CitationJet CJ1 OE-FIX (f/v) (26th).

Falcon 900EX N7600P, a first-time visitor to Glasgow is pictured here on Monday 19 February after night-stopping.

Cessna Citation CJ2+ D-AIKN and Hawker Beechcraft 750 9H-BSA were stop-overs from last month.

Spanish-registered Bombardier Global 6000 EC-LTF is no stranger to Glasgow Airport, having visited on numerous occasions. There was an extra high, spring-tide on the afternoon of Wednesday the 14th when these shots were taken causing the Black Cart Water to burst its banks at the Barnsford Bridge, partially flooding the fields to the north of the airfield.

FAI Airservice Learjet 60 D-CNUE lifts-off from Runway 23 on Friday 16 February 2018.

General Aviation

No doubt racking-up a huge parking bill, Flight Calibration Services` PA-31 Navajo Chieftain G-FNAV still hadn`t moved from Area Juliet by the start of the month after going non-operational on 3 November 2017.

I believe the aircraft required a replacement engine and it wasn`t until either 3/4 February that it was towed into the Gama Aviation hangar for the long-awaited repairs to begin.

G-FNAV finally left Glasgow mid-afternoon on Friday 23 February (I`d imagine the owners will need a stiff drink when the VISA statement comes through the door next month) but it only got as far as Prestwick, apparently due to another technical glitch.

Choppers and GA aircraft calling in this month included Sikorsky S-76C G-ROON (1st); Piaggio P-180 Avanti II D-INKY (5th); AgustaWestland AW189 G-MCGR HM Coastguard (6th); King Air 200 G-FLYW and Cirrus SR-22 G-GCVV plus Tayside Aviation PA-34 Seneca G-JLCA did a couple of low overshoots around noon (8th);PA-31 Navajo Chieftain G-LYDF Lyddair (14th); Piaggio P-180 Avanti F-HBAI (16th); King Air 200 G-FSEU (18th); King Air 200 M-WATJ (19th)...

King Air 200 M-WATJ takes to the air on the 20th.

Diamond DA62 G-DVOR (f/v). PA-31 G-FNAV finally departed Glasgow at 15:00 hrs - Hooray! (23rd); Beech King Air 100 N3538 (24th); SOCATA TBM-930 N990MA (f/v), Piaggio P-180 Avanti M-ONTE, King Air 200 G-IASB and Beech Baron 58 N581AF (26th); Dornier D0.228-201 C-FPSH with RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team markings (27th); King Air 200 G-FLYK arrived at 00:20 hrs and was on the ground for an hour (28th).

US-registered King Air 100 N3538 stopped to refuel on Saturday 24th.

Military

USAF C-146A Wolfhound 97-3093, call-sign `Rich 1049`, (f/v) touched down at 20:30 hrs on Friday 2 February and remained until the morning of the 4th. The C-146A is the military version of the twin-engine Dornier 328 turboprop commuter airliner modified to permit cargo and CASEVAC missions. The type has been continuously deployed since October 2011 and can carry a maximum of 27 passengers or 6,000 pounds of cargo, or up to four stretcher patients. Several of these aircraft have routed through Glasgow in the past.

About 12:10 hrs on Monday 12 February 2018, Italian Air Force Alenia C-27J Spartan MM62223 landed and parked on Taxiway `Y`where it remained for less than 80 minutes before departing.

This unidentified C-130 Hercules flew fairly low over Erskine about 17:00 hrs on Tuesday 20 February, heading in a southwesterly direction. It was probably one of two RAF machines heading for Prestwick (see below).

and Finally...

On Friday 23 February, I made a very brief early morning stop at Prestwick on the way tothe Galloway Forest Park to try some bird photography with my new bridge camera.

Three military aircraft were parked over on the south side of the airfield; Kuwait Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III serial number KAF342 and a pair of C-130J Hercules of the Royal Air Force, namely ZH870 and ZH889.

Following a visit to the RSPB`s Ken Dee Marshes Reserve I headed to Bellymack Hill Farm near Laurieston. The activity at the Red Kite Feeding Station here is one of the region`s wildlife highlights and although the action begins at 14:00hrs it often lasts an hour or more. Unlike some other Kite feeding stations, it`s possible to stand outside for photographs, rather than being restricted to the hide.

February / March is a good time to visit as it`s pre-nesting season so numbers are usually good and on this occasion there was an impressive count of around 120 birds. Red Kites are spectacular fliers and will often make food passes in mid-air or snatch prey from an opponent, although I only managed run-of-the-mill shots this time. Sometimes a buzzard to two will also put in an appearance but today there was a surprise visit by a pair of Hawks - courtesy of the RAF!

Both in the all-black training scheme, they seemed to be trying to out manoeuvre one another and flew very low over the valley, only to reappear twice within five minutes. They were well off to the side though and being in the middle of my lunch at the time I had to settle for this grainy effort.

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