Glw Apt 2019 June

The passenger totals for May 2019 revealed that 855,000 people passed through the airport which disappointingly was down 7.9% compared with the same period last year. This makes a rolling 12 month total of 9.37 million, down 4.7%. The best-performing international routes last month were to Newark, NJ, and New York JFK served by United and Delta Airlines respectively, which were both up around 22%. Lufthansa to Munich was up 19.4% and Icelandair to Keflavik +7.2%. Many other routes saw drastic reductions due to a variety of factors. The lead slideshow at the top of the page shows Emirates A380-861 A6-EOH (f/v), in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Livery, arriving on 30 June.

Saturday 1 June saw Emirates back to two flights per day with A380-861 A6-EEL working the lunchtime flight and Triple-Seven A6-ENQ in the evening. Pictured above is A380 A6-EEK arriving on 10 June, with A6-EDY taking off from Runway 05 in the rain on Monday 25 June (below) when mid-afternoon thunderstorms had delayed flights and forced several aircraft on approach to reroute, stay in a holding pattern, or go-around before landing.

Just a few days later, the country was basked in sunshine on the edge of a heatwave which baked much of mainland Europe, breaking several historical records at single locations in France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain. In particular, the all-time temperature record in metropolitan France was broken on June 28 with a new record of 45.9°C, established at Gallargues-le-Montueux, Gard, near the city of Nîmes. In Austria and the Netherlands, the whole month of June 2019 was the warmest ever recorded but although the UK benefited from some excellent weather, it avoided the extreme temperatures experienced on the opposite side of the English Channel.

Corfu

At the beginning of the month I was still on holiday in Corfu where, somewhat unusually, the weather was more akin to a Scottish summer with cooler temperatures and plenty of rain. There were long spells of no activity at the airport too therefore mid-June onward would be a better time to visit if you`re interested in photographing the planes. Typically, the forecast for the week after we flew home was constant sunshine and 30°C!

Corfu is a very lush island and the risk of a major forest fire is always present therefore each summer the Greek government station a pair of Hellenic Air Force PZL M-18B Dromader water bombers at the airport. I managed to snap this one from the hotel grounds as it arrived on my last full day but missed the second. Both were parked up on the executive ramp opposite the terminal but too distant for a decent shot and it was too dark when I was waiting to board my return evening flight. I`d managed a decent view on a previous holiday though and even saw the aircraft practising their `bomb runs`...

The Dromader (Polish: `Dromedary`) is a single engine, single-seat agricultural aircraft that`s manufactured in Poland. The aircraft is used mainly as a crop-duster or firefighting machine. PZL-Mielec obtained assistance from US aircraft manufacturer Rockwell in perfecting the design while the Polish company supplied their high-power radial engines for the Rockwell Thrush Commander. The Dromader shares outer wing panels and a section of a fuselage with this aircraft.

The Dromader first took to the skies in 1976 and is still in production. Many variants are in use around the world, including over 200 in North America. In addition to the aircraft currently serving in the Hellenic Air Force, the air arms of Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia previously operated the type.

The mouse mat above, which was on sale at the souvenir shop of the Cafe Royal, shows Corfu Airport`s dramatic situation and includes a fine view of the Corfu Holiday Palace Hotel where I was staying. My latest batch of Corfu aircraft shots is still being edited but I`ll add a link here when complete.

Below: This is the sharp end of Jet2 Boeing 737-8MG(WL) G-JZBN, the aircraft having just powered down at Glasgow after arriving from Corfu in the early hours of Thursday 6 June. Severe thunderstorms over mainland Europe required the crew to re-route to the north of Amsterdam, the adverse weather closing all but one of Schiphol`s six runways for a time, causing extensive delays.

Over to Mull

Later in the month I spent a week on the Isle of Mull and called in briefly at Oban Airport on Saturday 15th before heading into town for the ferry. Only two aircraft, SOCATA TB20 Trinidad G-TYNE and US-registered Cessna 182T Skylane N1424C, were present but the controller told me that a batch of French-registered lights were due in that afternoon, weather permitting. The aircraft were on a flying tour of Scotland and were due to re-position from Inverness but overcast skies, varying visibility and heavy showers meant a possible delay. After overnighting at Oban, their next destination was unknown but, as hoped, I found that they had made Glenforsa Airfield on Mull their next temporary base and most were still there on Sunday when I passed.

Seven French aircraft were present, namely Dyn’Aero MCR1Sportster F-PACJ, Jodel D.140E Mousquetaire IV F-GSVD, Constructeur Amateur Oceanair TC-160 F-PSEA, Diamond DA20-C1 Eclipse F-HFCL and Piper PA-28 Cherokee F-BNKS. Two planes were under wraps by the time I arrived, one of which was Maule MX-7-235 Star Rocket F-GJER which I`d snapped flying above Loch na Keal a few hours before. The other is as yet unidentified.

Also present was an immaculate, bright yellow Boeing E.75 biplane bearing the American registration N4596N and ‘U.S Mail’ on the fuselage. This veteran belongs to the owner of the Glenforsa Hotel and is based on Mull each summer, over-wintering in a hangar on the mainland. The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 was designed as a military trainer, with over 10,600 built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934 and the type became known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman or Kaydet. It served as a primary trainer for the United States Army Air Force (USAAF), the United States Navy (as the NS and N2S), and with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as the Kaydet throughout World War II. At the end of hostilities, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold onto the civilian market and immediately became popular as crop dusters, aerobatic display and wing walking machines for use in air shows.

Although Glenforsa Airfield sees some interesting aircraft visiting each season, Mull is best known for another type of aerial activity. The following day, Sunday 16 June 2019, I`d booked on a boat trip to see the island`s resident White-tailed Eagles, more commonly referred to as Sea Eagles. These wildlife watching cruises leave from Ulva Ferry on the west coast of Mull and the route varies depending on weather conditions and the latest sightings. On this occasion we travelled north, passing a few seals and a couple of pairs of the target species en route, before turning west and making a full anti-clockwise circuit of the island of Ulva.

These magnificent raptors were once fairly widespread across northern Scotland but were persecuted to extinction by the early 1900s. The species was reintroduced to the country using birds from Norway in the 1970s and the first successful breeding occurred on Mull in 1985. Together with the Golden Eagle, these birds are the reason Mull is often called ‘Eagle Island’. Adult birds have a wingspan of over 2 metres.

The visibility was superb throughout the cruise and on seeing a flyover, one guy who obviously had Flightradar24 on his mobile announced to the other passengers that it was an Air France A380 routing from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Mexico City. An Icelandair 757, no doubt heading for Keflavik, appeared about an hour later but otherwise the skies were clear apart from seabirds and the occasional eagle.

I passed by Glenforsa Airfield again on the 21st to find that the based Stearman had been joined by Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow G-AYAC and Cherokee Warrior G-BOYI. The pilot of the biplane had just completed an engine run to check a radio interference fault and said that a new suppressor would fix the problem. He was hoping to get airborne later that afternoon if the weather settled.

Next, it was a sail out to the Treshnish Isles off the west coast of Mull to see the Puffins. Lunga, the largest island in the archipelago, is justly famous for its colonies of breeding seabirds and due to the island`s relative isolation the Puffins aren’t the least bit shy and will usually allow people to approach within a foot or so. Harp Rock, an impressive sea stack on the west side of Lunga, holds nesting Razorbills, Guillemots and Kittiwakes which cram the ledges in their thousands.

I`ve made numerous trips to Lunga over the years and never tire of watching the Puffins` antics. In early May, the birds are busy collecting nesting material to line their burrows, and although most of the chicks, aka Pufflings, will have hatched by mid-June, they will stay deep in their burrows. This is when the parent birds begin to return with sandeels drooping from their beaks to feed their hungry offspring. Come July, young heads will pop out, impatient for their next feed. Things become hectic by mid / late July when the youngsters also start to take to the air, rapidly building up strength so that they`ll be ready to vacate the island and skim over the ocean until the next breeding season.

So, just to recap, there`s plenty of impressive aerial activity on Mull and the surrounding islands each summer but it`s almost exclusively of the feathered variety!

D-Day - 75th Anniversary

The 6th of June this year marked the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, the largest and most ambitious amphibious operation in the history of warfare. Air power was key to success, indeed in the two months immediately preceding the invasion RAF Bomber Command and the USAAF had been successfully attacking road and rail links to isolate the proposed battle area. Also, the strategic air offensive against Germany, conducted by both RAF and American bomber forces had shifted the battle to the skies above the Third Reich, forcing the Luftwaffe onto the defensive. As a result, when the Allied Normandy beach landings took place there was, initially, very little the Luftwaffe could do in response, especially during daylight hours.

Coastal Command aircrews, including those of the Royal Canadian Air Force as pictured above, patrolled the approaches to the French coast, protecting against enemy submarines and surface craft including the formidable E-Boats, and Air-Sea Rescue crews plucked fallen airmen from the 'drink'. On D-Day over 11,590 Allied aircraft of all types were involved to varying degrees, 5,656 of which belonged to the Royal Air Force. What is often forgotten is that over 1,800 RAF personnel and 456 vehicles landed on the Normandy beaches by sea and by 9 June, this had increased to over 3,500 RAF personnel and 815 vehicles. They were involved in airfield construction, aircraft maintenance, armaments and forward controlling.

In the days that followed D-Day, as the German Air Force attempted to relocate aircraft to the battle area, the Allied fighter pilots patrolled the perimeters establishing an aerial 'umbrella' and the bombers cratered the local enemy airfields, in addition to the continued bombardment of rail and road centres. While maintaining air superiority the Allied fighter pilots were able to exploit their situation, flying armed reconnaissance in the battle area, firing machine guns, dropping bombs, and unleashing rockets. At times the land battle ground to a halt and the Allied bombers were called in to break the stalemate but this was not not always successful with many friendly troops killed or wounded. Thousands of French civilians also died during the Liberation.

The strange-looking craft pictured below, on display at the Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine, is the ASR-10, an experimental air and sea rescue barge built for the Royal Air Force by Carrier Engineering Ltd in 1942. The intention was to moor ASR-10s at regular intervals around the British Coast with concentrations under flight paths taken by returning bombers and fighter planes. They would act as all-weather additions to the fleet of high-speed launches which were used extensively by the RAF in the Air Sea Rescue role.

The ASR-10s were made of steel with no engine or rigging and were intended to act as temporary refuges for pilots and aircrew who had the misfortune to find themselves afloat in the sea as a result of enemy action or aircraft malfunction. The ASR-10`s hull was painted in these gaudy colours to ensure that it was as visible as possible to downed airmen. The idea was that survivors would swim to the barge and climb inside where they would find it equipped with radios, six bunk beds and emergency rations as well as alternative signalling apparatus.

These rescue barges did not prove particularly successful as they had to be moored close to shore and coastal observers monitoring them could usually spot an aircraft in distress from the same position anyway. It does not appear that many Allied airmen took refuge in the barges but at least one Luftwaffe crew did after being shot down in the English Channel. The RAF`s fast rescue launches however, were far more effective in plucking pilots from the sea and saved over 13,000 aircrew and other personnel. On D-Day alone, the cutters of the US Coast Guard Rescue Flotilla saved more than 400 lives.

In 1945, with peace secured, the Air Sea Rescue fleet was drastically reduced with many wartime craft being sold off to private operators. The remaining launches were stripped of their armament and converted to act as target towing launches, seaplane tenders, and range safety vessels. This ASR-10 currently on display at the Scottish Maritime Museum has been restored to its original condition after it had been converted to a yacht in the 1950s. Wartime images of the ASR-10 are rare. This shot shows one of these craft along with an RAF Rescue motor launch during an exercise.

On Thursday 13 June 2019, the Scottish Government announced that it was putting Prestwick Airport up for sale after purchasing it in November 2013 for just £1 to avert closure. This latest move comes 18 months after speculation about a potential sale of the Ayrshire facility, which has taken on almost £40 million of Scottish Government loans that will need to be repaid. Transport Scotland said it was testing the market by placing an advert in the Official Journal of the European Union, inviting expression of interest in the business, but admitted that no potential buyers had so far been identified.

Ryanair has been the only passenger airline to operate scheduled services from Prestwick in recent years but much of the airport`s income is generated by cargo and military flights, and other aviation-related services. Operators had hoped that Prestwick would be chosen as a major UK Space Port, tasked with horizontal space launches from its 2,986-metre concrete case runway, but it appears to be well down the list of favoured sites. In 2017/18 Prestwick made a £7.6m loss on a turnover of around £18.2m and had total liabilities of £46.5m compared to assets of £8.3m.

Strikes

There were various periods of industrial action at Glasgow and Aberdeen airports throughout June as the dispute is between AGS Airports and the Unite union over pay and pensions dragged on. A couple of the strikes were postponed to allow further discussions in an effort to resolve the situation but as the month drew to a close no amicable solution had been reached. Unite members work in various roles including security and although the airport operators brought in staff from elsewhere to cover, lengthy delays passing through the check area were reported on occasions.

Golf: The Solheim Cup

Within the terminal at present are several large advertising boards promoting the forthcoming Solheim Cup. The Biggest Event In Women`s Golf takes place at Gleneagles between 9 - 15 September 2019 with teams comprising the top US and European professional female golfers battling it out at one of Scotland`s world famous courses. The tournament is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force behind its creation with the inaugural tournament held in 1990.

Glasgow Airport has signed up to become one of the 2019 Cup`s main sponsors which should mean many of the 100,000 expected spectators will arrive at the airport. Previous Ryder Cups (the equivalent men's event) saw numerous Gulfstream and other high-end biz-jets parking up here with the golfers, their families and support teams being helicoptered to the event. Judging by this advertising billboard at the airport, Tunnock`s hope that at least some of the competitors will stock up with Tea Cakes before heading for Gleneagles!

The Solheim Cup was originally held in even-numbered years, with the Ryder Cup held every odd-numbered year. Following the September 11 Twin Towers terrorist attacks in 2001, however, the latter competition was postponed for a year. As part of the general reshuffling of team golf events the Solheim Cup switched to odd-numbered years beginning in 2003. The current holders are the USA who won at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa, in 2017. The official website has much more information and is worth a look: www.solheimcup2019.com.

Jet Airliners

British Airways Airbus A321-231 G-MEDL.

At the Paris Air Show this month, International Airlines Group (IAG) stunned the aviation world by announcing that it has signed a letter of intent with Boeing to purchase 200 new B737 MAX airliners. If the £19 billion deal is finalised, the 737-8 and 737-10s, powered by CFM Leap engines, would be delivered between 2023 and 2027.

It is anticipated that the aircraft would be used by a number of the Group's airline brands including Vueling, LEVEL, and British Airways operating from London Gatwick Airport.

Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, said that he had every confidence in Boeing and expected that the aircraft would make a successful return to service in the coming months having received approval from the regulators.

Flawed technology in the new variant of the 737 is thought to have contributed to two fatal crashes within six months of each other which ended 346 lives and resulted in the type being grounded worldwide. Earlier this month Boeing said that it had finally addressed the issue but is still facing lawsuits and calls from victims' families for more answers. IAG’s preliminary order will be the first for the MAX variant since the second disaster occurred.

On 27 June, however, it was announced that a further problem with the new software had been identified, which was unrelated to the original failing. The latest critical safety issue was discovered during recent FAA testing with the platform so it could be some time yet before the 737 MAX aircraft will be allowed to take to the skies again. If software changes don’t fix the problem, hardware modifications will be needed.

Spot the Spotter!

Virgin Atlantic Airways Boeing 747-41R G-VXLG sets off for Orlando on Saturday 8 June.

Airliners worth a mention this month as follows: Airbus A380-861 A6-EEL Emirates (1st); A380-861 A6-EUG (f/v) Emirates, Boeing 737-8AS(WL) EI-GSH Ryanair (f/v) and McDonnell Douglas MD-82 LZ-DEO ALK Airlines (working a BH Air flight) (2nd); A380-861 A6-EEM Emirates and Embraer ERJ-145EP G-SAJK Loganair (f/v) (3rd); A380-861 A6-EEO Emirates, Boeing 737-81D(WL) C-FFPH Sunwing Airlines and Embraer ERJ-135ER G-SAJT Loganair (f/v) (4th); A380-861 A6-EDR (f/v) Emirates and Embraer ERJ-135ER G-SAJR Loganair (f/v) (5th); A380-861 A6-EDL (f/v) Emirates and Boeing 737-9K2(WL) PH-BXO KLM (SkyTeam livery) (6th); A380-861 A6-EEG Emirates (7th); Airbus A380-861 A6-EEX (f/v) Emirates and Airbus A321-231(WL) G-TCVB Thomas Cook Airlines (f/v) (8th); Airbus A380-861 A6-EEE Emirates, Airbus A330-243 EC-LNH Wamos Air (f/v) (operating various Thomas Cook long-haul flights this month), A330-243 G-OMYT Thomas Cook Airlines, Airbus A321-131 D-AIRF and A320-271N D-AINN A320N both Lufthansa, plus Boeing 737-49 LZ-CGY BH Air (9th); Airbus A380-861 A6-EEK (f/v) Emirates and A330-243 OY-VKF Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and Boeing 737-8MG(WL) G-JZBF Jet2 (f/v) (10th)...

Noteworthy airliners continued with A380-861 A6-EDZ Emirates and Boeing 737-8Q8(WL) C-FYJD Sunwing Airlines (11th); A380-861 A6-EEJ Emirates and Airbus A320-251N G-UZHZ easyJet (f/v) (12th); A380-861 A6-EDW (f/v) Emirates. Boeing 737-49R LZ-CGY Cargo Air operated a BH Air flight and Fokker 100 YR-FKA Carpatair (13th); A380-861 A6-EEP (f/v) Emirates (14th); A380-861 A6-EDD Emirates. Boeing 767-375(ER) C-GSCA Air Canada Rouge, a medical diversion en route from Budapest to Toronto, about-turned over Benbecula and landed on Runway 05, the most direct route, despite ‘23’ being in use (15th); A380-861 A6-EEO Emirates, Boeing 767-333(ER)(WL) C-FMWU kicked-off the seasonal Air Canada Rouge Toronto / Glasgow service, Airbus A320-232 LZ-BHI BH Air and Fokker F100 YR-FKA Carpatair (16th); Airbus A330-343 OY-VKI Thomas Cook Scandinavia (17th); A380-861 A6-EDX (f/v) Emirates (18th); A380-861 A6-EOW (f/v) Emirates (19th); A380-861 A6-EOZ (f/v) Emirates and Airbus A320-231 LZ-LAG BH Air (20th)...

A380-861 A6-EUD (f/v) Emirates, Boeing 737-8AS(WL) SP-RSX Ryanair Sun, plus Fokker F100 YR-FKA Carpatair (21st); A380-861 A6-EOC (f/v) Emirates (Expo 2020 blue livery). Wamos Air Boeing 747-4H6 EC-MRM (f/v), which flew in to operate a Thomas Cook flight to Cancun, had been due to return a.m on the 23rd but it was towed to stand 6 shortly before departure after fuel was found to be leaking from the wings - flight cancelled. Airbus A320-251N G-UZHX easyJet (f/v) (22nd); A380 A6-EOC (Expo 2020 blue) again, Boeing 747-419 EC-MDS (f/v) Wamos Air from Manchester stopped at Glasgow to pick-up Orlando-bound Thomas Cook passengers. A320-214(WL) OE-INF (f/v) easyJet Europe and McDonnell Douglas MD-82 LZ-DEO of ALK Airlines also paid a visit (23rd); Boeing 757-256(WL) TF-FIU Icelandair (Aurora Borealis livery) (24th); A380-861 A6-EEA Emirates (Expo 2020 orange livery), Boeing 747-419 EC-MDS Wamos Air and Boeing 737-81D(WL) C-FFPH Sunwing Airlines (25th)...

Virgin Atlantic Airways Boeing 747-443 G-VGAL on short finals for Runway 23. Friday 14 June 2019.

Boeing 777-31H(ER) A6-EDK (f/v) Emirates and Embraer ERJ-145EP G-SAJJ Loganair (f/v) (26th); A380-861 A6-EEG Emirates, Boeing 777-31H(ER) A6-ENR Emirates (Expo 2020 orange), Boeing 757-2Q8(WL) N704X Delta Air Lines and Airbus A320-231 LZ-LAG Bulgarian Air Charter (27th); A380-861 A6-EDA Emirates (28th); A380-861 A6-EUI Emirates and Airbus A320-232 LZ-BHM Balkan Holidays Air (BH Air) (f/v) (29th); A380-861 A6-EOH (f/v) Emirates (ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Livery), Boeing 757-224(WL) N14120 United (Star Alliance livery), Airbus A320-232 LZ-BHI (BH Air) and Fokker F100 YR-FZA Carpatair (30th).

Embraer crossover: ERJ-145EP G-SAJJ of Loganair and BA Cityflyer ERJ-190SR G-LCYK. Sunday 30 June.

Dreamliner G-TUIB taxis out for a `05` departure on Friday 28 June.

On Sunday 30 June, BA CityFlyer ERJ-190SR G-LCYO seemed to descend at a very steep nose-up angle and narrowly avoided bumping its tail on landing.

The pilot of Wizz Air A321-231(WL) HA-LTB (above) must`ve had a rough night before landing at Glasgow on the morning of Friday 28 June. Firstly, he vacated Runway 05 via the wrong link which was subject to a weight restriction which his aircraft exceeded, then he misheard his stand number thinking he`d been allocated `16` rather than `36`. It was only when he reported that his stand was occupied that the controller, obviously not impressed, informed him of his mistake!

Snapping the arrival of A380 A6-EEP on 14 June 2019 with mobile phone and Selfie Stick.

It`s been a while since a United Airlines Boeing 757 in Star Alliance colours appeared here, so N14120 on June 30th made a welcome change.

Below: Toronto-bound Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-333(ER)(WL) C-FMWU taxis out to line-up for a `05` departure on June 25th...

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Turboprop Airliners

Saab 340B(F) ES-NSC (f/v) (ex Nyxiar) became based as of June 5th to cover Loganair flights. ATR 72-202 SP-SPE Sprint Air and ATR 72-202F EI-FXI ASL Airlines Ireland were noted on the 15th. Britten-Norman BN-2B-26 Islander G-HEBO of Hebridean Air Services called in on the 21st. Highlight was US-registered Saab 340B N441FF (f/v) which arrived from from Luxembourg on the 26th. I presume it was heading State-side.

Nordica ATR-72 ES-ATA was joined by ES-ATB (f/v) on 1 June and both aircraft operated Flybe flights throughout the month.

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.

Biz-Jets

June this year saw a fair number of corporate jets passing through but didn`t seem exceptionally busy for a summer month. I`ll update with first visits and some routing information in due course. US Gulfstream IV N344AA is pictured above parked up on the northside on 7 June. Virgin 747 G-VLIP is in the background.

Visiting `biz` included `Challenger 350 9H-VCJ VistaJet (1st); Gulfstream G550 B-8135 (f/v), Challenger 350 9H-VCG VistaJet, Challenger 300 OK-AOA and Cessna Citation XLS D-CDCM (2nd); Embraer EMB-145BJ Legacy 650 N742SP, Cessna 700 Citation Longitude N707CL Textron Aviation and Gulfstream G150 D-CGEP (4th); Gulfstream IV N841WS, Challenger 605 OE-IIX (f/v), Cessna Citation Bravo G-IPLY and Learjet 75 G-ZENJ (5th); Learjet 75 G-ZENJ again (6th); Gulfstream IV N344AA (f/v) and Embraer Legacy 500 G-TULI (7th); Gulfstream G550 N800JH, Bombardier Challenger 604 OE-ITH, Challenger 350 9H-VCG VistaJet plus Dassault Falcon 900B N767WB (f/v) (8th); VIP Boeing 737-522 LY-KDT KlasJet (f/v), Cessna Citation XLS+ D-CEFO Air Hamburg and Citation Excel G-CXLS (9th); Gulfstream G650 N652CH and Gulfstream IV N156WJ (10th)...

Embraer EMB-145BJ Legacy 650 N742SP. Area R, Thursday 6 June 2019.

Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy 650 N650TB (f/v), Gulfstream G-IV-X N807BC (f/v), Global 6000 9H-VJY (f/v) VistaJet, Learjet 45 G-UJET and Embraer Phenom 300 D-CASH (f/v) (11th); Citation 680A Latitudes F-HATV (f/v) and CS-LTL (f/v), plus Citation Bravo G-CMBC (12th); CitationJet CJ1 D-IMOI and Phenom 100 D-ISTP (f/v) (13th); Cessna Citation Excel CS-DXR and Citation Mustang F-HERE AstonJet (14th); Challenger 605 9H-VFB VistaJet, Cessna Citation Bravo S5-BSA (f/v), Citation Excel CS-DXJ and Citation Mustang G-FFFC (15th); Beech 400A Beechjet SP-TAT (f/v) (16th); Challenger 605 N605LC (f/v), Challenger 350 9H-VCO VistaJet, Hawker Beechcraft 900XP N144UV and Citation Bravo S5-BSA again (17th); Bombardier Global Express N980CC, Cessna 689A Citation Latitude CS-LAU and Learjet 45 G-UJET (18th); Bombardier Global 6000 9H-VJD VistaJet, Dassault Falcon 7X G-MATO and Embraer Phenom 100 SP-IAF (19th); Bombardier Challenger 850 D-AJOY Air X, Global 6000 9H-VJF plus Falcon 2000EXs CS-DLH and CS-DLM (f/v) both NetJets, Gulfstream G200 N70HQ (f/v) and Citation XLS G-SNJS (f/v) (20th)...

Dassault Falcon 900 C-FXOO (f/v), Cessna 750 Citation X C-FJIC and CitationJet CJ2 G-LFBD (21st); Cessna Citation Latitude CS-LTF, CitationJet CJ2 D-ICBA (f/v)(22nd); Cessna Citation Sovereign SE-RFH, Citation Excel CS-DXU and Beech 400A Beechjet G-FXMR (23rd); Bombardier Global 6000 CS-GLC (24th); Citation Excel CS-DXF and Raytheon 400XT G-FXPR (25th); Gulfstream V-SP N558GA and Phenom 100 M-KELY (26th); Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy 600 N742SP, Bombardier Global 6000 CS-GLG, Dassault Falcon 2000EX CS-DLK (f/v), CitationJet CJ1 F-HGPG (f/v), CitationJet CJ2 OE-FUX and Citation Excel CS-DXG (27th); Citation Bravo S5-BSA and Learjet 31A D-CAMB (28th); Hawker Beechcraft 750 9H-BSA (29th); Gulfstream G450 G-ULFM (Pen-Avia Ltd) Pendley Aviation LLP and Learjet 45 LX-ONE (30th).

Austrian Challenger 605 OE-IIX and Chinese Gulfstream G550 B-8135 on Taxiway Y.

Above: Citation Bravo S5-BSA about to land on Friday 28 June. It was routing from Alta, Norway, to Biggin Hill.

Bombardier Global 6000 CS-GLC arrived from Nantes on the afternoon of Monday 24 June.

Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy 650 N650TB. Wednesday 12 June 2019.

General Aviation

US-registered SOCATA TBM-700 N700CS stopped over 13 / 14 June. I believe it was en route to the Paris Airshow and called in again on the way back.

King Air 200 G-FLYK of Fly Wales taxis in to park on Area Juliet on Wednesday 12 June.

Not a great deal of activity in this category during the month but the following get a mention: Pilatus PC-12 HB-FWC (f/v) (1st); Sikorsky S-92 G-MCGD HM Coastguard (3rd); King Air 90 M-TSRI, Piper PA-46 Malibu Mirage G-JTBP (f/v) and Diamond DA62 2-SALE (5th); Beech C90GTI Kingair G-MOSJ and Piper PA-28-161 Cherokee Warrior II G-RSKR (6th); King Air 90 M-TSRI again (7th); Cessna 340A N789MD (f/v) and Quest Kodiak 100 D-FFOX (f/v) (8th); King Air 90GTI G-MOSJ and Piper PA-23 Aztec 250 G-CALL (10th); King Air 200 G-FLYK Fly Wales (12th)...

SOCATA TBM-700 N700CS (13th); SOCATA TBM-930 N930AD (f/v) (14th); Diamond DA42 Twinstar D-GGER (15th); King Air 200 G-FLYK (16th); Piper PA-31 Navajo Chieftain G-IFIT (17th); Grob G.115 Tutor G-BYWS (f/v) UAS (18th); Pilatus PC-12 M-YBLS and King Air 200 G-JASS (21st); Piaggio P-180 Avanti D-INKY (22nd); King Air 350 G-SRBM, plus King Air 200s G-OLIV and M-CDMS. AgustaWestland AW169 G-ICEI (f/v) (24th); SOCATA TBM-900 N940WE (f/v) (25th); King Air 200 G-REXA, SOCATA TBM-700 N700CS returned and Piper PA-28R Arrow III SE-GVV (f/v) now based (26th); Pilatus PC-12 G-PCTW, Bell 206L Longranger IV G-PTOO and Agustawestland AW-109-SP G-IWPI (f/v) (27th); Pilatus PC-12 M-YBLS and King Air 200 G-ZVIP (28th); King Air 350 M-SPEC (29th); King Air 350 G-SRBM (30th).

Military

Hawker Beechcraft Raytheon AT-6B Texan II N610AT (f/v) stopped off on Sunday 9 June, en route from the USA to this year`s Paris Air Show which ran from 17 to 23 June 2019. The company demonstrator left Glasgow for Le Bourget at 10:10 hrs on Tuesday 11th, departing via Runway 05. The Texan II has replaced the US Air Force's Cessna T-37B and the US Navy's T-34C Turbo Mentor and is equipped with an all-digital, glass cockpit and features a hard-point wing to carry external fuel tanks, weapons and other external stores. The United States Air Force (USAF) use the T-6 for basic pilot and Combat Systems Officer (CSO) training and the US Navy and US Marine Corps use it for Primary and Intermediate Naval Flight Officer (NFO) training. Ten T-6C Texan II T MK.1s are now in service with the Royal Air Force at RAF Valley in Wales to take over the basic fast jet training role previously fulfilled by the Tucano T.Mk 1. Students will progress onto the aircraft from the Prefect and advance to the Hawk T2.

Glasgow International Airport`s military highlight of the month must surely go to RAF E-3D Sentry ZH103 (f/v), call-sign `NATO 31` which did 6 x touch-and-goes on Runway 05 around 18:00 hrs on Tuesday 11 June. BAe-146 ZE708 also called in that day.

RAF A400M Atlas C.1 ZM413 did a couple of Runway 23 ‘go-arounds’ about 19:45 hrs on Monday 17 June. Gulfstream C-37B 166377 (below), operated by the US Navy, arrived on 27 June, but far more unusual was the go-around by French Air Force Boeing KC-135FR Stratotanker, serial number 739, call-sign `FAF 4011`, on the 28th.

Seen around the Perimeter...

And Finally, A Few From Prestwick...

On Thursday 27 June, I made a very brief stop at Prestwick on a drive down the Ayrshire coast. It was a fine day with a cloudless sky but far from ideal with regard to aircraft photography as severe heat haze combined with work on the airport`s main runway meant the only decent angle was on planes as they taxied past the mound. Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner LN-LNA was parked over on the northside. Its tail art commemorates Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 - 12 October 1969), a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies' Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion. Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. Another Norwegian Dreamliner was in the Chevron hangar.

Beech Super King Air G-RAFK (above) was up training and overflew the airfield. This is ex ZK451/K of 45(R) Squadron, RAF Cranwell (UK) and is now operated by SERCO LTD. Airbus Helicopters EC135T2+ G-GLAA, Austrian CitationJet CJ2 OE-FUX and US Army Cessna UC-35A Ultra 50123 all landed while I was at the mound. A couple of the C-47s from the 75th Anniversary D-Day Dakota Squadron had stopped off on their way back to the USA but they were parked over on the south side along with a trio of C-130s. Their position and direct sunlight ruled out decent shots.